Word of the Day

Compendious is an adjective that means containing all the essential facts, but concise. The Latin word compendiosus (com PEN dee oh soos) means ‘advantage, brief.’ From there our word of the day was born, eventually evolving into a word for ‘containing all the essential facts, but concise.’ As a young lawyer, I could be a little verbose. Let’s just say my briefs weren’t very compendious. 

Bedazzle is a verb that means to greatly impress with skill.  The root word of bedazzle is dazzle, which means to blind someone temporarily. Bedazzle is more likely to be used metaphorically. For example: He bedazzled us with his guitar-playing skill. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing.

Tenebrous is an adjective that means shadowy or obscure.  Tenebrous has its origin in the Latin noun tenebrae, (TEN ay BRIE aye) meaning ‘darkness.’ It’s been used in English since the 15th century.  Those ghost stories around the campfire were awfully creepy. The tenebrous atmosphere played a big role in setting the scene. 

Acuity is a noun that means sharpness of thought, vision or hearing. Our word of the day means to be sharp, physically and mentally. So it makes sense that acuity would have evolved from the Latin word acurere (ah coo WHERE ay) meaning ‘to sharpen.’ After dad’s accident, we feared his damage would make him less responsive. But to our relief, he maintained a remarkable acuity.

Maculate is an adjective that means spotted or stained. Maculate comes from the Latin word macula (MA cool ah) meaning spot. You may have noticed the similarity between our word of the day and the word immaculate. Immaculate is the antonym, which means ‘spotless’ or ‘without stain.’  The stuff I found in the attic was pretty dirty. Mostly I found dusty old clothes and maculate portrait of my...

Ballyhoo is a noun that refers to extravagant publicity or fuss.  The origin of ballyhoo is unclear, but we do know it emerged in the late 19th century. It’s a fun word to use when you want to sound like an old-school Hollywood producer or carnival barker. The album was a big success thanks to the ballyhoo it was given by the label. Without all that publicity, I don’t think many people would...

Procellous is an adjective that means stormy or turbulent.  Procella (pro CHELL uh) is the Latin word for squall or ‘sudden gust of wind.’ From that our word of the day evolved into a synonym of stormy or turbulent.  Driving back from Des Moines was a challenge. The procellous weather wasn’t easy to navigate. 

Innumerate is an adjective that means without basic mathematics skills.  The Latin word numero (NEW mare oh) means number. By adding the prefix I-N, we get a word that means ‘not numerate.’ The best way to think of innumerate is as the math equivalent of illiterate. A person who is illiterate cannot read. A person who doesn’t have basic math skills is innumerate.  When I was two, I found...

Agglomeration is a noun that means a large collection.  Our word of the day comes from the Latin agglomerare (a glom ay RAR ay) meaning ‘to wind or add into a ball.’ It may help to think of a ball of yarn as an agglomeration of yarn.  It was difficult to collect all of my old childhood items from my closet. It took a while to gather such a huge agglomeration of stuff.

Emissive is an adjective that means having the power to radiate light. The Latin prefix E-M-I-S-S refers to something that is ‘emitted’ or ‘sent out.’ Emissive may be used in a scientific context to refer to radiating light, or more informally it may simply refer to something like colors being emitted. For example: The cinematography of that film is stunning. I like the emissive qualities of that...

Galvanic is an adjective that means sudden and dramatic. An 18th century Italian physicist Luigi Galvini made a number of key discoveries in the field of biolelectricity. The French word gavanique (gal van EEK) was first coined in his honor. It may help to think of a galvanic experience as sudden like a charge of electricity.  I was stunned by Tyler’s announcement that we had won first prize....

Rigmarole is a noun that means a lengthy or complicated process.  In the Mid 18th century, a document that contained a list of offenses was referred to as a ragman’s role. In time, this evolved into our word of the day that has evolved into having a broader meaning. I can’t believe how long it took to have my name legally changed. The rigmarole I went through was endless.

Orbicular is an adjective that means having a rounded shape. The Latin word orbiculus (OR bee coo loose) translates roughly to ‘ball.’ And its descendant, our word of the day may refer to anything rounded in shape. Orbicular is often used by geologists to refer to rocks that are spherical in shape, but the word may be used in more informal contexts.  As a kid, I always wondered how planets de...

Convoke is a verb that means to call together or summon. Our word of the day combines the prefix C-O-N meaning ‘together’ with the Latin vocare (vo CAR ay) which means ‘call.’Convoke is typically used in a formal sense. A person is more likely to convoke a meeting or a council than, say, a party. We knew something important was happening when the head of the department convoked an emergency confer...

Capacious is an adjective that means roomy or having a lot of space. Capacious comes from the Latin word capax (cap AXE) which roughly translates to ‘capacity.’ It may help to think of a large room as having a capacity to hold many people or things, so a capacious room would be a room with lots of space.  I love the capacious kitchen in my new apartment. It’s so nice to have enough space for...

Gustatory is an adjective that means related to the sense of taste. The Latin word gustare (goo STAR ay) means ‘to taste’ and it has given us many words related to tasting, including our word of the day. Gustatory is a neutral word that refers to anything involving the sense of taste.  Whenever I taste seafood, I’m reminding of my childhood in New Orleans. Those gustatory sensations of fried...

Pangloss is a noun that refers to a person who is optimistic regardless of the circumstances. Panglass was a character in an 18th century novel by Voltaire called Candide. The character was known for remaining upbeat and optimistic even when things were going catastrophically wrong. It’s important not to use the word to describe an ordinary optimist, but someone whose optimism has reached foolish...

Galumph is a verb that means to move in a clumsy way.  19th century English author Lewis Carrol is best known for the book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but he’s also widely been credited with adding to the vernacular by combining common words in a humorous way.  In the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland called Through the Looking Glass, he created the word ‘galumph’ by appar...

Raconteur is a noun that refers to a skilled storyteller.  Raconteur comes directly from the French word raconter (RACK on tay) meaning ‘relate.’ But don’t let the word’s simple origin trick you. A raconteur isn’t just someone who relates a story. They do so in an engaging, entertaining way.  Some people doubted the veracity of Eddie’s wild stories, but personally, I found him such an ex...

Enigmatic is an adjective that means mysterious.  Enigma comes to us directly from Greece, where it means ‘riddle.’ Comic book fans may recall a character named Ed Nygma, the alter ego of the Batman villain known as The Riddler. Not everyone called enigmatic has such a direct connection to riddles, but the word generally refers to those who are — like a riddle — difficult to figure out. ...

Aeonian is an adjective that means everlasting.  The word aeon comes from Greek, meaning ‘age,’ as in a period of time like The Stone Age. When used in geology, aeon specifically refers to a thousand million years. Aeonian may mean lasting an aeon or it may simply mean everlasting or eternal, as in: the time Aurora and I spent was limited but our love is aeonian. 

Pellucid is an adjective that means clear or easily understood. The Latin word lucere (LOO chair ay) means shine. Combined with per, for ‘through,’ we get shine through, meaning clear. Our word of the day may be used to describe something like water that is clear in a literal sense, or something like an idea or a passage of writing that is clear in a figurative sense.  The film critic’s writi...

Extemporize is a verb that means to perform without preparation.  Ex tempore (ecks TEM poor ay) is a Latin phrase that means ‘done instantly.’ From this origin we get a word that is often used when describing speeches or musical performances performed instantly as opposed to written out in advance. After getting in trouble for making highly controversial statements, the Senator’s aides recomm...

Salient is an adjective that means most noticeable or important.  The most common use of salient is to describe something that stands out or is most obviously noted. But it may also be used to describe an animal standing on its hind legs as if leaping. This explains why our word of the day comes from the Latin Salire (say LEER ay) meaning to leap. Jeff’s observation about the house’s strange...

Tumult is a noun that means a loud, confused noise. Our word of the day’s origin begins with the Latin word tumultus (too MOOL toos) meaning ‘uprising.’ An uprising is one of many things that may cause the loud, confusing noise of a tumult. I woke up to the sound of tumult outside. I later found out a fight had broken out in the street.