Word of the Day

Higgler is a noun that refers to a person who travels around selling items or ‘a peddler.’ Our word of the day has been around since the 17th century as a way to describe a traveler who engages in the act of higgling. It is believed that this word was a variation on the word ‘haggle,’ as in, ‘haggling over a price.’ Here’s an example of higgler in use: When people saw me traveling around with my b...

Intermontane is an adjective that means ‘situated between mountains.’  The Latin prefix I-N-T-E-R means ‘between,’ while montanus (mon TAHN oose) means 'mountains.’ Our word of the day’s first known use came in 1807. Here’s an example: Our intermontane location of the army base made them difficult to find by enemy forces. Unfortunately being located among the mountains also made it difficult t...

Impuberal is an adjective that means ‘having not reached puberty’ or ‘immature.’  The Latin word pubertas (poo BURR toss) means ‘the age of maturity or adulthood.’ Its young English descendant, puberty means the same. The addition of the prefix I-M, meaning ‘not,’ gives us a word that means ‘not yet mature.’ Example: All those impuberal jokes at our workplace get to be a bit annoying after a while...

Glossolalia is a noun that refers to the practice of speaking in an unknown language.  Our word of the day comes from two Greek words: glossa (GLOSS uh) for ‘language’ and ‘lalia’(la lee AH) which means ‘speech.’ It’s been part of the English language since the late 19th century and is sometimes used in a religious context to describe the practice of ‘speaking in tongues.’ Here’s an example of glo...

Amaranthine is an adjective that means never fading or undying.  Our word of the day comes from a plant called an amaranth that is known for never fading. Its name comes from the Greek word amarantos (ah mar RAHN tose) which means ‘not fading.’ Amaranthine is an adjective that can be used to describe any object that doesn’t fade. Example: Most of my clothes tend to lose their lustre after a few ye...

Interjacent is an adjective that means lying among or between other things.  The Latin prefix I-N-T-E-R means ‘between.’ The Latin word jacere (juh SARE ay) means ‘to be situated,’ Since the late 16th century, our word of the day has been used to describe things situated between things. Example: The mountains were a gorgeous view, but as a fan of hamburgers, I was a little distracted by all the in...

Intempestive is an adjective that means untimely or out of season. The Latin word tempestivus (tem PESS teev oose) means timely. With the addition of the prefix I-N, meaning ‘not,’ we get a word that means ‘untimely.’ Here’s an example of intempestive in use: I normally enjoy a good Christmas parade, but last week’s was a little intempestive. Maybe having it take place in early June wasn’t such a...

Yips is a noun that refers to nervousness affecting an athlete before a big play or game.  Nobody knows the origin of our word of the day, but we know it’s been used in the sports world since the 1930s. Here’s an example of yips in use: Those missed free throws I made at the end of the game were clearly an example of the yips. With the game on the line and two seconds left on the clock, I simply p...

Altisonant is an adjective that means lofty or pompous.  The Latin prefix A-L-T-I comes from ‘altus’ (AWL toose) meaning high, as in ‘altitude’ or ‘alto.’ Sonant (SEW nant) means ‘sound.’ Since the 16th century, altisonant has been used by English speakers to describe someone who sounds ‘high and mighty.’ Here’s an example: Rex can get a little big for his britches from time to time. Most of the t...

Afterclap is a noun that refers to unexpected damage after a supposedly closed event. Our word of the day is a portmanteau, meaning it combines two words. Afterclap combines the Old English ‘after’ with the Middle English ‘clap’ and the result is a perfect way to describe unforeseen consequences. Here’s an example: The afterclap of our cleaning up of our yard is that all the neighbors want to come...

Adorkable is an adjective that means fashionable or socially awkward in a way regarded as appealing or cute.  Although it’s a very recent addition to the English language, it’s a combination of two words that have been around for a while. The Latin-derived ‘adorable’ has been with us since the early 17th century while ‘dork’ emerged in the 1960s. Together they describe someone just goofy enough to...

Brunt is a noun that refers to the worst part of a specified thing.  Coming from middle English, our word of the day was once used to describe a violent blow. In more recent years, it is more likely to be used to figuratively refer to an emotional blow someone may receive through criticism or an insult. Example: The brunt of Kevin’s rant was borne by Sheila. It was, after all, her bad decisions th...

Filigree is a noun that refers to an ornamental wire made of gold or silver.  The Latin word filum (FEE loom) means ‘thread.’ By the late 17th century, filum had evolved into our word of the day and had come to refer to a form of decoration. Here’s an example of filigree in use: Stacy always had flamboyant tastes, but the way she decorated her dog’s house with gold filigree was a little excessive.

Plebiscite is a noun that refers to a direct vote of all the members of an electorate on an important issue.  The Latin prefix P-L-E-B means ‘the common people,’ much like the word ‘plebeian,’ while scitum (SKI toom) also Latin, means ‘decree’ or ‘resolution.’ Here’s an example of plebiscite in use: The local plebiscite was greeted with great enthusiasm and passed with overwhelming success. I gues...

Anamnesis is a noun that refers to the medical or psychiatric history of a patient.  Our word of the day comes from Greek where it simply referred to ‘memory.’ Since the 17th century, the word has been adopted into English and used mainly in the medical field. Here’s an example: The doctors didn’t see anything in Mrs Miller’s history that suggested she needed blood pressure medication, but it’s al...

Obreptitous is an adjective that means done falsely or secretly.  Coming from the Latin word obrepere (oh brep AIR ay) which means ‘to creep upon,’ our word of the day can be thought of as a synonym for ‘sneaky’ or ‘underhanded.’ Example: I don’t know what happened to the last donut in the break room, but I have my suspicions that it was taken through obreptitious means. It’s the only way to expla...

Macaronism is a noun that refers to the excessive use of big, showy words in writing or speech.  Originally coming from French, macaronism was used in the 17th century to refer to the excessive use of foreign words for the sake of sounding sophisticated and learned. In time it came to mean any showy or extravagant use of words. Here’s an example: Daryl’s macaronism has really gotten out of hand. I...

Epaulette is a noun that refers to an ornamental shoulder piece on an item of clothing.  Our word of the day comes fairly directly from the French word for ‘shoulder.’ In more recent years it has come to be used to refer figuratively to any kind of honor given. Example: After my performance in the play, I received the most flattering epaulette of my acting career. The critic said, and I quote, “Th...

Centrifugal is an adjective that means moving or tending to move away from a centre.  Dating back to the early 18th century, our word of the day comes from two Latin words, centrum (SCENT room) meaning ‘center,’ and fugus (FOO goose) meaning ‘fleeing.’  Centrifugal is often used to describe a particular act of physics in which a spinning object moving at a high speed will move from the center. Exa...

Cynology is a noun that refers to the study of dogs.  The prefix of our word of the day C-Y-N comes from the Greek word kynos (KYE nos) which means ‘Dog.’ The suffix O-L-O-G-Y means ‘the study of’ as in ‘biology,’ ‘geography’ or ‘archaeology.’ Cynology is often used in a scientific context, for example: My professor’s work in the field of cynology was interesting, but not exactly groundbreaking. F...

Hobbyhorse is a noun that refers to a topic that someone talks about frequently.  Dating back to the 15th century, our word of the day came from Old English as a reference to a toy given to children. In time, the word developed a metaphorical meaning and came to refer to a topic that someone is greatly preoccupied with. Here’s an example: Michael’s hobbyhorse had always been the swimming pool at t...

Matrifocal is an adjective that means ‘based on the mother as the head of the family or household.’ The Latin word mater (MA ter) means mother. This mother has given birth to many English words like ‘maternity’ and ‘maternal.’ It’s also the basis for our word of the day. Matrifocal could be thought of as a synonym for matriarchal. Example: In college, I studied matrifocal societies. It was fascina...

Displume is a verb that means to strip of honors or an award.  The word of the displume is plume, a Latin-based word that refers to the covering or feathers of a bird. The prefix D-I-S means to remove, so to displume a bird means to remove its feathers. Our word of the day may be used in this way or in a more figurative sense, for example: The committee decided to displume the athlete when they di...

Unfeigned is an adjective that means genuine or sincere.  The root word of unfeigned is feign, a word of Latin origin that means to invent or pretend. Our word of the day adds the prefix U-N which means ‘not.’ If something is unfeigned, it’s not invented or pretended. In other words, it’s real or honest. Here’s an example of unfeigned in use: When I developed a cold on the day of our big history t...

Sybarite is a noun that refers to a person accustomed to luxury.  Our word of the day is a toponym, meaning it is a word derived from a location. In this case, the location is an ancient Greek city called Sybaris located in what is now Southern Italy. Sybaris was well known among those who sought great luxury and extravagance. Centuries later, the word named for it lives on as a noun to describe t...