Word of the Day

Today’s word of the day is knavery, K-N-A-V-E-R-Y. Knavery is a noun that means a roguish or mischievous act. If you’re familiar with Shakespeare, you’ve heard many people referred to as a knave. You may have noticed that the word is never intended as a compliment. This word of Middle English descent is a synonym of such unflattering terms as ‘scoundrel’ or ‘rascal.’  As a junior high teacher...

Today’s word of the day selcouth. It’s spelled S-E-L-C-O-U-T-H. Selcouth is an adjective that means unusual, strange. Selcouth is derived from an Old English combination of words that meant ‘seldom’ and ‘known.’ So our word of the day can simply mean that something is strange as in unfamiliar or it can refer to something or someone that is downright weird. For example: That jacket Harry wore yeste...

Today’s word of the day is pleonasm, P-L-E-O-N-A-S-M. Pleonasm is a noun that means the excessive use of words. Our word of the day began in Ancient Greece. The word pleonasmós (play on ESS moss) meant “I am superfluous.” Today pleonasm refers to a needlessly wordy use of words.  When my English teacher told me I shouldn’t waste time being verbose and excessive and redundant while writing pas...

Today’s word of the day is sibylline. It’s spelled S-I-B-Y-L-L-I-NE. Sibylline is an adjective that means mysterious. History buffs may recall a figure known as the Cumaean Sybil, a priestess who presided over the Appollonian oracle at a Greek colony. Her reputedly divine powers have been preserved in Greek and Roman Legend. The priestesses’ name comes from the Greek Sybilla (SEE bee la) which mea...

Today’s word of the day is adust, A-D-U-S-T. Adust is an adjective that means scorched or burned. Adustus (AHH doos toos) is the Latin word for scorched. It has traditionally been used in a medical context, but may also be used to describe an item that has been burned. After the fire, our favorite shade tree was adust. It saddened me to see something so lovely reduced to a charred piece of wood. A...

Today’s word of the day is lucubration. It’s spelled L-U-C-U-B-R-A-T-I-O-N. Lucubration is a noun that means laborious or intensive study. The Latin word Lucubro (loo COO bro) means ‘to study by lamplight or candle light.’ Although our word of the day’s meaning has broadened since its original definition, the image of someone intently studying in the late night hours is a good one to help understa...

Today’s word of the day is giant, R-I-A-N-T. Riant is an adjective that means cheerful or happy.  Riant comes directly from France where it means ‘laughing.’ The word happy may refer to a long-term condition as in ‘he lived a happy life’ or it may simply mean laughing or mirthful at a particular time.  Riant is best used to refer to the latter, as in: In spite of her current problems, Sh...

Today’s word of the day is gallinaceous. It’s spelled G-A-L-L-I-N-A-C-E-O-U-S. Gallinaceous is an adjective that means related to or resembling turkeys, chicken or other domestic fowl. The Latin word gallina (guh LEE nah) refers to a hen, but gallinaceous may refer to any poultry. The word can be a fun way to describe a person unfortunate enough to resemble a turkey or chicken. For example: That s...

Today's word of the day is etiolate, E-T-I-O-L-A-T-E. Etiolate is a verb that means to drain or make weak. The French have generously donated the word etiolator (ay tee oh LAY) to our language. it has since undergone renovation to become etiolate. It means 'to make pale.' But to understand our word of the day's proper use, it would help to recall that when something is made pale, it has blood drai...

Today's word of the day is iconoclast. It's spelled I-C-O-N-O-C-L-A-S-T. Iconoclast is a noun that means a person who attacks settled customs or institutions. You may you know the icon as referring to an object or person of uncritical devotion. It came from the Ancient Greek eikon (ee KON ahh) to mean a religious symbol or image. With the addition of 'cast,’ we get 'image breaker,' a good metaphor...

Today's word of the day is Byzantine, B-Y-Z-A-N-T-I-N-E.  Byzantine is an adjective that means elaborate and complex. Historian recall the Byzantine empire as one riddled with elaborate and complex rules. A Byzantine process is difficult to get through. I wanted to surprise my employees with a bonus, but the Byzantine administration made things difficult. I had to jump through many hoops to g...

Today's word of the day is lenity. It's spelled L-E-N-I-T-Y. Lenity is a noun that means the state of being mild or gentle. The Latin word lenitas (lay NEE tas) means mild or gentle, and our word of the day hasn't drifted very far from its ancient origin. To behave with lenity is to be mild or gentle -- especially with someone who hasn't been mild or gentle with you. After years of enduring insult...

Today's word of the day is sisyphean, S-I-S-Y-P-H-E-A-N. Sisyphean is an adjective that means endless. The myth of Sisyphus is an ancient Greek tale of a King whose punishment for deceitful behavior was to be forced to roll an giant rock up a hill only to have the rock roll back down the hill, urging him to repeat the act over and over again for all eternity. When something is described as Sisyphe...

Today's word of the day is eximous. It's spelled E-X-I-M-I-O-U-S. Eximious is an adjective that means distinguished. The Latin word eximius (ex EEM ee oos) means 'set apart' or 'select.' As you might guess, eximious is not a word to toss around casually. You wouldn't refer to an eximious toothpaste or bus boy, but a more respected item or position could possibly earn the word. For example: Our pro...

Today's word of the day is burble, B-U-R-B-L-E. Burble is a verb that means to speak in an excited manner. The Middle English word for bubble is burblen. From there our word of the day was  born. It is best used to describe someone whose excited speech has rendered their words crazy and unintelligible.  When my nine-year-old saw the puppy she wanted, she started to burble with joy. The o...

Today's word of the day is beamish. It's spelled B-E-A-M-I-S-H. Beamish is an adjective that means bright with optimism. Coming from the English word beam, which may refer to a ray or light or the act of smiling, beamish is an upbeat word that describes being bright and hopeful.  I have a good feeling about our softball game Sunday. Our team has been in a beamish mood that makes a victory see...

Today's word of the day is agrapha, A-G-R-A-P-H-A. Agrapha is a noun that means famous sayings that are falsely attributed. A word borrowed from Greek that referred to sayings of Jesus not in the canonical gospels but found in other New testament or early Christian writings, has, in recent years, been used more broadly. Now agrapha may refer to any quote or saying that is falsely attributed to som...

Today's word of the day is garboil. It's spelled G-A-R-B-O-I-L. Garboil is a noun that means a confused or disordered state. The Latin word bullire (boo LEE ray) means to boil or liquify. The image of a boiling pot of water perfectly captures the kind of chaos people must have had in mind when they understood the word garboil to mean a confused or disordered state. Tammy did a great job of managin...

Today's word of the day is agog. It's spelled A-G-O-G. Agog is an adjective that means full of interest or excitement. The origin of agog seems to be the French phrase en gogues (en GOG) which means in good humor. But agog's meaning has shifted a little over the years. A person may be agog -- meaning full of interest or excitement -- without necessarily being in a good mood.  For example: Whe...

Today's word of the day is legerity, L-E-G-E-R-I-T-Y. Legerity is a noun that means alert quickness of mind and body. The Latin word Levis (LEV ees) means light, as in 'light on your feet.' This is a good way to think of legerity. As a younger man, the prizefighter was praised for his legerity. But these days he just plods around the ring, waiting to get repeatedly jabbed. Once again, legerity is...

Today's word of the day is instantiate. It's spelled I-N-S-T-A-N-T-I-A-T-E. Instantiate is a verb that means to represent by a concrete example. Instantiate is derived from a the Latin word Instantia (een sta TEE uh) which means counterexample. Centuries later, the offspring of instantia has come to mean 'to represent by a concrete example.'  The damage to our jeep came to instantiate the tro...

Today's word of the day is crocodilian, C-R-O-C-O-D-I-L-I-A-N. Crocodilian is an adjective that means hypocritical or insincere. If you recognize the word crocodile in our word of the day, you can probably guess that crocodilian means 'related to or like a crocodile.' But a less common use of the word is as a synonym of hypocritical or insincere. Anyone who's seen a crocodile patiently hide in wat...

Today's word of the day is esperance. It's spelled E-S-P-E-R-A-N-C-E. Esperance is a noun that means hope or expectation. The French word esperance (es pair AHHNS) is the ancestor of our word of the day. It's a more formal word for 'hope' or 'expect' and it is usually best used in a poetic or literary context. The evening was still young. But all esperance of hearing from my friend again had aband...

Today's word of the day is flackery, F-L-A-C-K-E-R-Y. Flackery is a noun that means promotion or publicity. The exact origin of flack, meaning 'a press agent' or 'one who provides publicity,' is unknown. But the rumor mill suggests the it comes from a well-known movie publicist of the 1930s named Gene Flack. True or not, the story illustrates the kind of person who would engage in what would be ca...

Today's word of the day is oscitant. It's spelled O-S-C-I-T-A-N-T. Oscitant is an adjective that means drowsy. Coming directly from the Latin word Oscitans (Oh ski TAN) which means sluggish, oscitant can be used to describe the state of being sleepy or lazy. Professor Brooks took a nap while the students watched a film. This was unusual behavior for the professor, but he'd never been so oscitant i...