Word of the Day

Paragon is a noun that means a model of excellence.  The Greek word parakanon (pahr AHK uh non) means to sharpen. It later came to refer to a stone that was used to sharpen something, a touchstone. This made paragon a synonym of touchstone in the other sense of the word, a test for determining the quality of something.  Some people think my little puppy looks a little weird, but I think...

Waggish is an adjective that means playful or mischievous.  Waggish comes to us from Old English. A Wagghalter is a now obsolete English word from centuries ago that referred to someone likely to be hanged — presumably from their playful for mischievous behavior. In more recent years we can refer to waggish behavior in less serious terms, for example: At first, I panicked when I saw what appe...

Aphorism is a noun that means a short observation that contains a general truth.  Our word of the day comes to us directly from Ancient Greek. It may help to think of an aphorism as something you might hear from a wise ancient philosopher.  I’m always encouraged when my daughter asks questions. After all, according to Socrates’ lovely aphorism, ‘wonder is the beginning of wisdom.’

Pontificate is a verb that means to express one's opinion in a pompous way.  Our word of the day comes to us from the Catholic Church through the Latin word pontifex (PONE tee fecks) meaning ‘high priest or bishop.’ In time it came to be used outside of the church to refer to someone smugly offering their opinion as if came from God above.  Andy loves to pontificate on every film he sees...

Fabulist is a noun that means a person who invents elaborate and dishonest stories.  Fabulist has its roots in the word fable, which comes to us from the Latin fabula (FAB oo la). It may refer either to a person who tells fables or a person who lies.  Angie’s tales of growing up in rural Montana are a bit exaggerated. But she’s such an imaginative fabulist that I don’t care whether her s...

Abience is a noun that means a strong urge to avoid something.  Our word of the day comes from the Latin word abeo (AH bay oh) which means ‘to go away.’ Its descendent abience is commonly used in a psychological context, for example: the patient’s abience of sporting events suggests he’s had some bad experiences with them in the past. It is common for people to avoid activities that remind th...

Philocaly is a noun that means a love of beauty.  You may know from other words of Greek origin like philosophy and philomath that philocaly’s first five letters — PHILO — indicate a love of something. In this case it’s a love of beauty as ‘caly’ comes from the Greek word kallos (KAHL os) meaning ‘beauty.’ My love of Ancient Greek art is driven by a philocaly. The stunning beauty of the way t...

Sough is a verb that means to rustle, moan or sigh.  Sough comes to us from Middle English. It looks and sounds a lot like the word ‘sigh,’ but sough is a broader word that may refer either to the sound coming from the lungs of an exasperated person or the wind rustling through trees.  As a kid I always loved the sounds of our rural neighborhood. In particular, the way the wind would sou...

Galere is a noun that means a group of undesirables.  Galere comes from French, and you may be able to guess from the word’s spelling that it shares an ancestor with the word ‘gallery.’ It may help to think of a galere as a gallery of unpleasant people.  Those thugs in the hallway frightened me. I’d never seen a more menacing galere of creeps in my life.

Friable is an adjective that means easily broken or crumbled.  Friable comes for the Latin word friabilis (free AH bee lees) meaning ‘crumble.’ A friable object can be easily crumbled or broken into many pieces.  The guys in the moving van did a horrible job with our dishes. They placed the most friable objects in areas they were most likely to be damaged.

Wifty is an adjective that means light-headed or scatterbrained.  It’s appropriate that our word of the day is a synonym of unclear. But its linguistic origin is unclear. But we do know that it was first used by an early twentieth century poet and novelist named Gilbert Frankau. Tommy seemed wifty after taking a blow to the head. This worried us until we realized that Tommy always seemed a li...

Alate is an adjective that means having wings. The Latin word Alatus (AH lah toos) is where our word of the day comes from. It’s mainly used to refer to insects or seeds.  Before my trip to Florida, I’d never seen an alate ant. Having an ant flying toward me was a pretty scary sight for an eight-year-old.

Skeuomorph is a noun that means a digital object or feature that imitates a physical object. Our word of the day has its roots in Greek. It’s a combination of the word skeuos (SKYOO ohss) meaning ‘container’ and morphe (MORE fay) meaning ‘form.’ Together they refer to some kind of digital object that imitates a physical object — like a trash can icon on your computer that indicates where you put f...

Métier is a noun that refers to an activity one is good at. As you might guess, metier (MAY tee ay) comes directly from the French. It may refer to a person’s career or just something they’re good at.  I used to think I’d be great at golf if I ever tried it. But after a few rounds with Mr. Glover, I realized the sport wasn’t my metier. 

Acolyte is a noun that means one who assists.  Acolyte originated from the Greek work akolouthos (ah KOE loo thos) but it was the Catholic Church who popularized the term by using acolyte to describe someone who has been ordained to carry wine, water and lights at Mass services.  The word still has this meaning today, but it may also be used to describe someone who is a sidekick or assis...

Remuneration is a noun that means payment for a service or work.  Our word of the day takes root in the Latin word remunera (ray MOON ay ruh) which means reward. Remuneration can mean the same as ‘payment,’ but its a broader word, that can refer to something other than money, for example: It felt great to take a dip in Aunt Shelly’s swimming pool after mowing her lawn. It was wonderful remune...

Nexus is a noun that means a connection or link between two things.  Our word of the day comes directly from Latin. Its pronunciation has changed over the years from NECK soos to NECK sis, but its meaning is the same. It refers to something that links two things, for example: My old high school was a helpful nexus to many close friends.  Without old St. Augustine High, I would have never...

Melee is a noun that means a confused fight or struggle.  Melee comes from the Latin word misceo (mish AY oh) which means a mix or a blend or various elements. You can think of a melee as an awkward mix of people engaged in a struggle or fight.  What started as an ordinary line in front of the retail store soon turned into a melee. The store owners admitted it may have been a mistake to...

Jaunty is an adjective that means having a lively and self-confident manner.  The French word gentil (ZHAN tee) means kind. From there we get jaunty whose meaning has shifted over the years to mean lively and a little cocky.  Arnold’s jaunty demeanor can often put people off. He’s often regarded as cocky. 

Carceral is an adjective that means related to prison.  Our word of the day may remind you of incarcerate — and for good reason. They both came from the Latin word Carcer (CAR cheh) which means jail or prison. Carceral is a broad term that means anything related to prison.  Our theatre troupe made seventeen performances last year. But that’s not including the carceral performances we mad...

Peripeteia (PAIR uh puh tay uh)  is a noun that refers to a sudden reversal of fortune.  Our word of the day comes directly from the Greeks. It’s derived from the words that mean ‘around’ and ‘fall.’ The Greeks used it often in tragedy, which would feature a mighty figure seeing his or her fortune disappear, but the word may be used in more lightweight circumstances too: After find a win...

Mettlesome is an adjective that means full of vigor and stamina.  The root of our word of the day is mettle M-E-T-T-L-E.  a 16th century, variation of metal — M-E-T-A-L, that means the same thing, but used in a more figurative sense. For example, a soldier’s mettle — with two Ts — refers to his courage and stamina.  At first I worried about how our team would face adversity. But I s...

Refection is a noun that means refreshment by food or drink.  Our word of the day began as the Latin word for ‘renew.’ Reficiere (REF ee chee air ay) that over time evolved into refection. I had a quick burger after work. It wasn’t a full meal, but it was enough to give me the refection I needed after a rough day. 

Roborant is an adjective that means having a strengthening or restorative effect.  The latin word roboros (ro BORE ohs) means “I strengthen.” Its distant offspring roborant, refers to anything that has a strengthening effect. I took a really roborant nap this afternoon. When I woke up, I had enough energy to conquer my workload. 

Pugnacious is an adjective that means likely to fight or quarrel.  Pugno (POON yo) is the Latin word for ‘fight.’ It’s where we get words like pugilist, impugn and of course, our word of the day pugnacious.  Martha can be a bit pugnacious when she doesn’t get her way. We were afraid of how she would react when we didn’t give her a pony for her birthday. Pugnacious is spelled P-U-G-N-A-C-...