Word of the Day

Today's word of the day is ululate. It's spelled U-L-U-L-A-T-E. Ululate is a verb that means to howl or wail.  It's very likely that the sound of wailing birds inspired the origin of the Latin word ululare (oo loo LAHR ay) which, of course, means, to wail. Ululate can also apply to humans, but it's best to use it when describing humans making an animal-like wail.  When I heard Maria's st...

Today’s word of the day is pungle. P-U-N-G-L-E. Pungle is a verb that means to make a payment or contribution of money. Derived from the Spanish word pongale (pon GAHL ay) pungle emerged in the mid nineteenth century in the American West. It's frequently used in an informal context combined with the word 'up.' For example: The five of us were starving after a night of poker and we thought about co...

Today’s Word of the day is Psephology. It’s spelled P-S-E-P-H-O-L -O-G-Y. Psephology ia a noun that means the scientific study of elections.  The Greeks gave us the word psephos (SEE fos) which means pebbles. Why pebbles? Because tiny rocks were used to count votes in Ancient Greece. And you probably recognize the 'ology' part of the word as a suffix that means we're referring to a body of kn...

Today's word of the day is supercilious, S-U-P-E-R-C-I-L-I-O-U-S. Supercilious is an adjective that means behaving as if one thinks one is superior to others.  Super is often used as a word or prefix in a way that is admirable or positive. But supercilious reminds us that 'super' a prefix of Ancient Greek descent that simply means 'above,' can be negative or positive depending on its context....

Today's word of the day is uxorial. It's spelled U-X-O-R-I-A-L. Uxorial is an adjective that means related to the characteristics of a wife. The Latin word for wife is uxor (OOK sor). While the word can be used in any context that refers to a wife, it is probably most appropriate to use this old world sounding word in an old world context, such as:  Linda didn't enjoy her marriage to George....

Today's word of the day is jocund, J-O-C-U-N-D. Jocund is an adjective that means marked by high spirits. A good way to remember the meaning of jocund is to recall that the word is a distant relative of the word joke. Both are derived from iokus (YO coos) a Latin word that eventually meant 'agreeable.' I was worried about how Jeff would feel after the bad news. But it was nice to see him back in a...

Today's word of the day manumit. It's spelled M-A-N-U-M-I-T. Manumit is a verb that means to release from slavery. The origin of manumit comes from two Latin words. There's manu (MAH noo) and (ay MEET tay ray). Together they mean 'send out from one's hand.'  In school we studied the history of a slave who bore his shackles with great patience. He hoped someday that his master would manumit hi...

Today's word of the day is carrefour, C-A-R-R-E-F-O-U-R. Carrefour is a noun that refers to a crossroads or a plaza. The key to grasping carrefour's meaning and proper use is in the word 'four.' But it's not what you think. The Latin word for four is quattuor. (KWAT to wahr), which has, over the years evolved into the C-A-R-R-E of carrefour. An easy way to remember this is to recall that a quarter...

Today's word of the day is plenary. It's spelled P-L-E-N-A-R-Y. Plenary is an adjective that means complete in every aspect. Derived from the Latin word plenus (PLEE noos) meaning 'full,' plenary is frequently used to describe something such as a concert or a classroom, as 'fully attended.'  For example: The orchestra was excited by the audience turnout. It was the first plenary concert they'...

Today's word of the day is cupidity, C-U-P-I-D-I-T-Y. Cupidity is a noun that means an inordinate desire for wealth.  There's a good chance that you spotted Cupid, the Roman god of love in the word cupidity. But don't let that confuse you. Another way to understand the Roman god's domain is that he was the god of desire, which would include a desire of wealth. An excessive amount of this desi...

Today's word of the day is domiciliary. It's spelled D-O-M-I-C-I-L-I-A-R-Y. Domiciliary  is an adjective that means related to or taking place in the home. You may recognize the word domicile in domiciliary. It comes from the Latin word domus (DOME oos) which later gave us words like domestic. Domiciliary may be used to describe anything that applies to the home.  Rex couldn't attend the...

Today's word of the day is aggrandize, A-G-G-R-A-N-D-I-Z-E. Aggrandize  is a verb that means to enlarge. Recognizing the word 'grand' in aggrandize is the key to understanding its meaning. coming from the French word agrandir (ah grahn DEER) meaning 'to enlarge' it simply means to make something bigger.  But aggrandize isn't a word to throw around lightly. It should be used to describe g...

Today's word of the day is Scintilla. It's spelled S-C-I-N-T-I-L-L-A. Scintilla is a noun that means a brief spark. Scintilla is a direct descendant of the the Latin word for spark, scintilla (skeen TEEL ah). But over the years, its meaning has shifted and scintilla can now refer literally to an actual spark or metaphorically to a brief, exciting moment in time, for example: Hearing the announcer...

Today’s word of the day is saporific, S-A-P-O-R-I-F-I-C. Saporific is an adjective that means having the power to produce the sensation of taste. Sapor (SAP or) is the Latin word for ‘taste,’ while facare (fas SARE ay) gives us ‘make.’ Together we get soporific, which simply refers to the ability to create taste. A broad term, saporific doesn’t necessarily refer to something that tastes good.&nbsp...

Today’s word of the day is thrasonical. It’s spelled T-H-R-A-S-O-N-I-C-A-L. Thrasonical is an adjective that means boastful or vainglorious. An Ancient Greek comedic play called Eunuchus (YOU nee cuss) featured a character whose name is the origin of our word of the day. Thraso was a boastful soldier in the play. These days a person didn’t need to be a soldier to earn the unflattering term. They j...

Today’s word of the day is transmogrify, T-R-A-N-S-M-O-G-R-I-F-Y. Transmogrify is a verb that means to completely alter the form of. The precise origin of transmogrify is unclear, but there seems to be a similarity with words like transmigrate and transform. The key is to understand that transmogrify doesn’t just mean ‘change.’ It should be used to describe something more complete than, say, chang...

Today’s word of the day is coxcomb. It’s spelled C-O-X-C-O-M-B. Coxcomb is a noun that means a foolish or conceited man. This word of Middle English descent refers to the comb on top of a rooster’s head. And just as we often think of a rooster as strutting around arrogantly, a coxcomb is one — usually a male — who behaves in a conceited way.  I like James, but he can be something of a coxcomb...

Today’s word of the day is commodious, C-O-M-M-O-D-I-O-U-S. Commodious is an adjective that means roomy and spacious.  The Latin word Commodus (COM oh doos) means ‘useful’ and, true to its definition, it has been very useful at producing important English words. The word accommodating might be a helpful way to understand the best use of our word of the day. After years of living in tiny, cram...

Today’s word of the day is volitant. It’s spelled V-O-L-I-T-A-N-T. Volitant is an adjective that means having the power of flight. Believe it or not, a word that describes a creature’s ability to fly is related to the word volatile. They both come from the Latin volito (VALL ee toe) meaning ‘to rush back and forth’ or ‘hurry.’ But a bird that is volitant is not necessarily in a bad mood. It simply...

Today’s word of the day is resplendent, R-E-S-P-L-E-N-D-E-N-T. Resplendent is an adjective that means shiny and colorful; pleasing to the eye. The Latin splendere (splen DARE ay) means to shine. It’s related to many words like splendid, splendor and, of course, our word of the day, resplendent. It means pleasing to the eye, but more specifically it refers to something that pleases the eye because...

Today’s word of the day is matutinal, M-A-T-U-T-I-N-A-L. Matutinal is an adjective that means related to or occurring in the early morning.  Matuta (Ma TOO ta) is the Roman Goddess of Dawn. Her name derives from Latin and she gave birth to our word of the day.  The scheduling was probably my least favorite thing about my life as a Marine. Being a night owl, I had a real problem with thos...

Today’s word of the day is autoschediasm. It’s spelled A-U-T-O-S-C-H-E-D-I-A-S-M. Autoschediasm is a noun that means anything done with little forethought or preparation. The Greek word for something done off hand schediasm (ske DIE asm) is where our word of the day came from. The Latins came around later and added the ‘auto,’ but the basic meaning has remained the same. The word ‘improvisation’ i...

Today’s word of the day is aegis, A-E-G-I-S. Aegis is a noun that means protection. Although aegis comes directly from Latin, its true origin is in Greek mythology. The word began life as a reference to the shield of Athena. From there, aegis came to refer to a form of protection from a respected mentor.  Under the aegis of the coach, I was allowed to skip a few days of practice. Without the...

Today’s word of the day is degust. It’s spelled D-E-G-U-S-T. Degust is a verb that means to savor something fully. The Latin word for taste is degusto (DAY goose toe). But how do we decide when degust is the word we want rather than ‘taste’? When we degust something we savor it completely.  It took nearly forty-five minutes to eat my steak. It was so delicious I wanted to degust every bite. O...