WORD OF THE DAY
kibitzer \ KIB-it-ser \ noun
Definition
1: one who looks on and often offers unwanted advice or comment; broadly
2: one who offers opinions
Examples
It wasn't long after they bought their house that Dana and Regan heard from kibitzers in the neighborhood offering tips on design and remodeling.
"'Bill [Clinton] can't help himself from giving advice. He loves the game. He's the great kibitzer."
— Roger Stone, quoted in The New York Times, 6 Nov. 2016
Did You Know?
The Yiddish language has given English some particularly piquant terms over the years, and kibitzer (or kibbitzer) is one such term. Kibitzer, from the Yiddish kibitser, came to that language from the German word kiebitzen, meaning "to look on (at cards)."
Kiebitzen may or may not be derived from a German word for "lapwing," a type of bird noted for its shrill and raucous cry. (We can speculate that the bird's cry reminded people of the shrill commentary of onlookers at card games.)
The word became more popular and widespread after the 1929 play The Kibitzer came out. Although kibitzer usually implies the imparting of unwanted advice, there is a respectable body of evidence for a kibitzer as a person simply making comments.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Monday, January 30, 2017
Fastidious
WORD OF THE DAY
fastidious \ fass-TID-ee-us \ adjective
Definition
1a : having high and often capricious standards
1b: difficult to please
1c: showing or demanding excessive delicacy or care
1d: reflecting a meticulous, sensitive, or demanding attitude
2 : having complex nutritional requirements
Examples
"I may have thrown in a little thing here or there, but I'm pretty fastidious about sticking to the script if I like it…."
— Michael Shannon, Screen International, 21 Nov. 2016
"The luckiest house cats reside in homes where they can stalk tiny rodents, but that's not always the case for felines who cohabit with fastidious modern-day humans. The menu is more likely to be a can of Salmon Surprise, and food is always plentiful."
— Jessica Firger, Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
There's nothing offensive about fastidious workmanship, and yet the word fastidious traces to the Latin noun fastidium, meaning "aversion" or "disgust." Fastidium itself is probably a combination of the Latin words fastus, meaning "arrogance," and taedium, meaning "irksomeness" or "disgust." (Taedium also gave us our tedium.)
In keeping with its Latin roots, fastidious once meant "haughty," "disgusting," and "disagreeable," although those uses are now archaic or obsolete. Today, the word is most often applied to people who are very meticulous or overly difficult to please, or to work which reflects a demanding or precise attitude.
fastidious \ fass-TID-ee-us \ adjective
Definition
1a : having high and often capricious standards
1b: difficult to please
1c: showing or demanding excessive delicacy or care
1d: reflecting a meticulous, sensitive, or demanding attitude
2 : having complex nutritional requirements
Examples
"I may have thrown in a little thing here or there, but I'm pretty fastidious about sticking to the script if I like it…."
— Michael Shannon, Screen International, 21 Nov. 2016
"The luckiest house cats reside in homes where they can stalk tiny rodents, but that's not always the case for felines who cohabit with fastidious modern-day humans. The menu is more likely to be a can of Salmon Surprise, and food is always plentiful."
— Jessica Firger, Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
There's nothing offensive about fastidious workmanship, and yet the word fastidious traces to the Latin noun fastidium, meaning "aversion" or "disgust." Fastidium itself is probably a combination of the Latin words fastus, meaning "arrogance," and taedium, meaning "irksomeness" or "disgust." (Taedium also gave us our tedium.)
In keeping with its Latin roots, fastidious once meant "haughty," "disgusting," and "disagreeable," although those uses are now archaic or obsolete. Today, the word is most often applied to people who are very meticulous or overly difficult to please, or to work which reflects a demanding or precise attitude.
Friday, January 27, 2017
Vanguard
WORD OF THE DAY
vanguard \ VAN-gahrd \ noun
Definition
1 : the troops moving at the head of an army
2 : the forefront of an action or movement
Examples
The general received a report from scouts in the vanguard that the swampy terrain was not passable.
"Students have long been at the vanguard of South Korea's robust history of protest, drawing on deep-rooted Confucian traditions that elevated scholars as guardians of morality."
— Susan Chira, The New York Times, 10 Dec. 2016
Did You Know?
Vanguard and avant-garde both derive from the Anglo-French word avantgarde, itself from avant, meaning "before," and garde, meaning "guard." In medieval times, avantgarde referred to the troops that marched at the head of the army.
English speakers retained that meaning when they adopted vanguard in the 15th century. Avant-garde, which is now used in English to refer to a group of people who develop new and often very surprising ideas in art, literature, etc., didn't make its own English debut until almost 400 years later.
vanguard \ VAN-gahrd \ noun
Definition
1 : the troops moving at the head of an army
2 : the forefront of an action or movement
Examples
The general received a report from scouts in the vanguard that the swampy terrain was not passable.
"Students have long been at the vanguard of South Korea's robust history of protest, drawing on deep-rooted Confucian traditions that elevated scholars as guardians of morality."
— Susan Chira, The New York Times, 10 Dec. 2016
Did You Know?
Vanguard and avant-garde both derive from the Anglo-French word avantgarde, itself from avant, meaning "before," and garde, meaning "guard." In medieval times, avantgarde referred to the troops that marched at the head of the army.
English speakers retained that meaning when they adopted vanguard in the 15th century. Avant-garde, which is now used in English to refer to a group of people who develop new and often very surprising ideas in art, literature, etc., didn't make its own English debut until almost 400 years later.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Barbican
WORD OF THE DAY
barbican \ BAR-bih-kun \ noun
Definition
1a: an outer defensive work
1b: a tower at a gate or bridge
1a: an outer defensive work
1b: a tower at a gate or bridge
Examples
"He heard the voices of the sentries in the barbican as they conversed with the newcomers."
— Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Mad King, 1926
"He heard the voices of the sentries in the barbican as they conversed with the newcomers."
— Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Mad King, 1926
"The result is an honest-to-goodness fairy-tale castle that sits perched on a hilltop, guarding against invaders high above Malibu's coastline. There are turrets, barbicans and winding stone steps that lead to circular rooms."
— Ann Brenoff, The Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2007
— Ann Brenoff, The Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2007
Did You Know?
You've heard of moats and drawbridges, but barbicans may be unfamiliar. Those stone outworks stand in front of the gate of a castle or bridge and historically helped prevent invaders from gaining access to the main entryway. Up to a point, the case for the history of the word barbican is well fortified.
It is clear that English speakers seized the term from the Anglo-French barbecane, which in turn had been taken from the Medieval Latin barbacana (both of those words had the same meaning as the modern word). The etymological path crumbles from there, however. Some speculate that the ultimate ancestor of barbican might lie in a Persian phrase meaning "house on the wall," but that speculation has never been proven
You've heard of moats and drawbridges, but barbicans may be unfamiliar. Those stone outworks stand in front of the gate of a castle or bridge and historically helped prevent invaders from gaining access to the main entryway. Up to a point, the case for the history of the word barbican is well fortified.
It is clear that English speakers seized the term from the Anglo-French barbecane, which in turn had been taken from the Medieval Latin barbacana (both of those words had the same meaning as the modern word). The etymological path crumbles from there, however. Some speculate that the ultimate ancestor of barbican might lie in a Persian phrase meaning "house on the wall," but that speculation has never been proven
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Cogitate
WORD OF THE DAY
cogitate \ cog·i·tate \ˈkä-jə-ˌtāt\ verb
Definition:
1: to ponder or meditate on usually intently <cogitating the possible consequences of my decision>
2: to meditate deeply or intently
Examples:
I was cogitating about my chances of failing.
By the time he finishes cogitating what to do with his life, it'll be almost over.
Did You Know:
Latin cogitatus, past participle of cogitare to think, think about, from co- + agitare to drive, agitate
Do you ever like to just stop and think? In our fast paced world, we hardly ever have the time to sit down and cogitate on the questions of life. Our society seems to value action, with manifest results, rather than the pursuits of the mind. However, if we never take time to cogitate, to figure out who we are and where we are going, how will we ever know what that first step is? We don't just need "doers" in this word of ours; we also need the cogitators, i.e. the "thinkers," who create the ideas behind our actions!
The verb cogitate refers to the action of deep thinking or contemplation. When you defer a decision to cogitate, it means that you are waiting to act until you have thought long and hard about all of your options. To cogitate means much more than to quickly think or deduce something; what sets it apart from our daily brainwork is the deep effort put into the turning over of our minds. You might think of a professor who cogitates right before class in order to focus his mind on the upcoming task. Sometimes, you don't even need a subject in mind before you begin to cogitate. Those of us who are more in tune with our spiritual side can simply cogitate, or mediate, while we listen to the inspiring sounds of the outdoors, as long as they don't break our concentration!
Cogitate is also used more specifically to signify the act of thinking about something or formulating a plan. While you could close your eyes to cogitate, allowing whatever comes into your mind to become the item of focus, you can also more pointedly cogitate a strategy to close up that pressing business deal. Many times, you can differentiate this usage of the word if you can see a noun placed right after cogitate in a sentence. Case in point: A writer may cogitate an outline as a way to organize her story ideas. In this and other examples, something is "receiving" the action; the outline, in this case, is the thing that is being thought about or created. You can cogitate a recipe, or a sales' pitch; in fact, whenever you need to come up with something clever or make something better, you can surely cogitate whatever that happens to be. After reading this entry, you'll find that it's always a good idea to cogitate your sentences before you write them so you can be sure to use cogitate correctly!
cogitate \ cog·i·tate \ˈkä-jə-ˌtāt\ verb
Definition:
1: to ponder or meditate on usually intently <cogitating the possible consequences of my decision>
2: to meditate deeply or intently
Examples:
I was cogitating about my chances of failing.
By the time he finishes cogitating what to do with his life, it'll be almost over.
Did You Know:
Latin cogitatus, past participle of cogitare to think, think about, from co- + agitare to drive, agitate
Do you ever like to just stop and think? In our fast paced world, we hardly ever have the time to sit down and cogitate on the questions of life. Our society seems to value action, with manifest results, rather than the pursuits of the mind. However, if we never take time to cogitate, to figure out who we are and where we are going, how will we ever know what that first step is? We don't just need "doers" in this word of ours; we also need the cogitators, i.e. the "thinkers," who create the ideas behind our actions!
The verb cogitate refers to the action of deep thinking or contemplation. When you defer a decision to cogitate, it means that you are waiting to act until you have thought long and hard about all of your options. To cogitate means much more than to quickly think or deduce something; what sets it apart from our daily brainwork is the deep effort put into the turning over of our minds. You might think of a professor who cogitates right before class in order to focus his mind on the upcoming task. Sometimes, you don't even need a subject in mind before you begin to cogitate. Those of us who are more in tune with our spiritual side can simply cogitate, or mediate, while we listen to the inspiring sounds of the outdoors, as long as they don't break our concentration!
Cogitate is also used more specifically to signify the act of thinking about something or formulating a plan. While you could close your eyes to cogitate, allowing whatever comes into your mind to become the item of focus, you can also more pointedly cogitate a strategy to close up that pressing business deal. Many times, you can differentiate this usage of the word if you can see a noun placed right after cogitate in a sentence. Case in point: A writer may cogitate an outline as a way to organize her story ideas. In this and other examples, something is "receiving" the action; the outline, in this case, is the thing that is being thought about or created. You can cogitate a recipe, or a sales' pitch; in fact, whenever you need to come up with something clever or make something better, you can surely cogitate whatever that happens to be. After reading this entry, you'll find that it's always a good idea to cogitate your sentences before you write them so you can be sure to use cogitate correctly!
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Uncouth
WORD OF THE DAY
uncouth \ un-KOOTH \ adjective
Definition
1a: strange or clumsy in shape or appearance
1b: outlandish
2a: lacking in polish and grace
2b: rugged
3a: awkward and uncultivated in appearance, manner, or behavior
3b: rude
Examples
"Increasingly, consumers are turning to mints and breath-freshening strips that don't come with gum's social baggage—namely, how to dispose of it when the flavor's gone as well as the uncouth sight of one's jaws constantly working."
— Robert Klara, Adweek.com, 3 Oct. 2016
"No, I'm not some sort of barbarian who would open a bottle of wine to enjoy some before offering it as a gift. That would be uncouth."
— Irv Erdos, The San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Dec. 2016
Did You Know?
Uncouth comes from the Old English word uncūth, which joins the prefix un- with cūth, meaning "familiar" or "known." How did a word that meant "unfamiliar" come to mean "outlandish," "rugged," or "rude"? Some examples from literature illustrate that the transition happened quite naturally. In Captain Singleton, Daniel Defoe refers to "a strange noise more uncouth than any they had ever heard."
In William Shakespeare's As You Like It, Orlando tells Adam, "If this uncouth forest yield anything savage, I will either be food for it or bring it for food to thee." In Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane fears "to look over his shoulder, lest he should behold some uncouth being tramping close behind him!" So, that which is unfamiliar is often perceived as strange, wild, or unpleasant. Meanings such as "outlandish," "rugged," or "rude" naturally follow.
uncouth \ un-KOOTH \ adjective
Definition
1a: strange or clumsy in shape or appearance
1b: outlandish
2a: lacking in polish and grace
2b: rugged
3a: awkward and uncultivated in appearance, manner, or behavior
3b: rude
Examples
"Increasingly, consumers are turning to mints and breath-freshening strips that don't come with gum's social baggage—namely, how to dispose of it when the flavor's gone as well as the uncouth sight of one's jaws constantly working."
— Robert Klara, Adweek.com, 3 Oct. 2016
"No, I'm not some sort of barbarian who would open a bottle of wine to enjoy some before offering it as a gift. That would be uncouth."
— Irv Erdos, The San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Dec. 2016
Did You Know?
Uncouth comes from the Old English word uncūth, which joins the prefix un- with cūth, meaning "familiar" or "known." How did a word that meant "unfamiliar" come to mean "outlandish," "rugged," or "rude"? Some examples from literature illustrate that the transition happened quite naturally. In Captain Singleton, Daniel Defoe refers to "a strange noise more uncouth than any they had ever heard."
In William Shakespeare's As You Like It, Orlando tells Adam, "If this uncouth forest yield anything savage, I will either be food for it or bring it for food to thee." In Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane fears "to look over his shoulder, lest he should behold some uncouth being tramping close behind him!" So, that which is unfamiliar is often perceived as strange, wild, or unpleasant. Meanings such as "outlandish," "rugged," or "rude" naturally follow.
Monday, January 23, 2017
Sanction
WORD OF THE DAY
sanction \ SANK-shun \ verb
Definition
1 : to make valid or binding usually by a formal procedure (such as ratification)
2 : to give effective or authoritative approval or consent to
Examples
Because he was using equipment that was not sanctioned by league officials, Jared was disqualified from the competition.
"Villanova University this summer will host a regional conference sanctioned by the Vatican on how sports and faith can promote positive social change."
— Robert Moran, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 22 Dec. 2016
Did You Know?
Sanction can be both a verb and a noun meaning "authoritative approval" or "a coercive measure." The noun entered English first, in the 15th century, and originally referred to a formal decree or law, especially an ecclesiastical decree. (The Latin sancire, meaning "to make holy," is an ancestor.)
The noun's meaning then extended in different directions. By the end of the 17th century, it could refer to both a means of enforcing a law (a sense that in the 20th century we began using especially for economic penalties against nations violating international law) and the process of formally approving or ratifying a law.
When the verb sanction appeared in the 18th century, it had to do with ratifying laws as well. Soon it had also acquired an additional, looser sense: "to approve."
sanction \ SANK-shun \ verb
Definition
1 : to make valid or binding usually by a formal procedure (such as ratification)
2 : to give effective or authoritative approval or consent to
Examples
Because he was using equipment that was not sanctioned by league officials, Jared was disqualified from the competition.
"Villanova University this summer will host a regional conference sanctioned by the Vatican on how sports and faith can promote positive social change."
— Robert Moran, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 22 Dec. 2016
Did You Know?
Sanction can be both a verb and a noun meaning "authoritative approval" or "a coercive measure." The noun entered English first, in the 15th century, and originally referred to a formal decree or law, especially an ecclesiastical decree. (The Latin sancire, meaning "to make holy," is an ancestor.)
The noun's meaning then extended in different directions. By the end of the 17th century, it could refer to both a means of enforcing a law (a sense that in the 20th century we began using especially for economic penalties against nations violating international law) and the process of formally approving or ratifying a law.
When the verb sanction appeared in the 18th century, it had to do with ratifying laws as well. Soon it had also acquired an additional, looser sense: "to approve."
Friday, January 20, 2017
Tenet
WORD OF THE DAY
tenet \ TEN-ut \ noun
Definition
1: a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true
2: one held in common by members of an organization, movement, or profession
Examples
According to many, the first tenet of real estate is that location is fundamental to determining the value of a property.
"A basic tenet of [Frank Lloyd] Wright's designs was that structures should grow out of the features that are already on the land, that land and buildings should seem an integrated whole."
— Linda Charlton, The Daily Commercial (Leesburg, Florida), 20 Dec. 2016
Did You Know?
In Latin, tenet is the third person singular of the verb tenēre ("to hold") and means "he/she/it holds." It is believed to have been borrowed into English around 1600 from Latin writings in which it often introduced the opinions held by a particular church or sect.
There are a good many tenēre descendants in English, including some words that end in -tain (abstain, contain, maintain, and sustain, to name a few), and others that begin with ten- (such as tenable, meaning "capable of being held," and tenacious).
tenet \ TEN-ut \ noun
Definition
1: a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true
2: one held in common by members of an organization, movement, or profession
Examples
According to many, the first tenet of real estate is that location is fundamental to determining the value of a property.
"A basic tenet of [Frank Lloyd] Wright's designs was that structures should grow out of the features that are already on the land, that land and buildings should seem an integrated whole."
— Linda Charlton, The Daily Commercial (Leesburg, Florida), 20 Dec. 2016
Did You Know?
In Latin, tenet is the third person singular of the verb tenēre ("to hold") and means "he/she/it holds." It is believed to have been borrowed into English around 1600 from Latin writings in which it often introduced the opinions held by a particular church or sect.
There are a good many tenēre descendants in English, including some words that end in -tain (abstain, contain, maintain, and sustain, to name a few), and others that begin with ten- (such as tenable, meaning "capable of being held," and tenacious).
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Cantankerous
WORD OF THE DAY
cantankerous \ kan-TANK-uh-rus \ adjective
Definition
: difficult or irritating to deal with
Examples
"[Kenneth] Lonergan's brow was furrowed, and he was speaking, as he often does, in a low, growling mumble.… Among his theatre and movie-industry peers, he is famous for being famously cantankerous."
— Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2016
"Far from being cantankerous, she says [Roald] Dahl was endlessly ingenious in his desire to amuse, even when mortally ill, and only grumpy when finishing a book."
— Elizabeth Gricehow, The Daily Telegraph (London), 12 Nov. 2016
Did You Know?
It's irritating, but we're not absolutely sure where cantankerous comes from. Etymologists think it probably derived from the Middle English word contack (or contek), which meant "contention" or "strife."
Their idea is that cantankerous may have started out as contackerous but was later modified as a result of association or confusion with rancorous (meaning "spiteful") and cankerous (which describes something that spreads corruption of the mind or spirit).
Considering that a cantankerous person generally has the spite associated with contack and rancor, and the noxious and sometimes painful effects of a canker, that theory seems plausible. What we can say with conviction is that cantankerous has been used in English since at least the 1730s.
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Raiment
WORD OF THE DAY
raiment \ RAY-munt \ noun
Definition
: clothing, garments
Examples
"On their arrival the station was lively with straw-hatted young men, welcoming young girls who bore a remarkable family likeness to their welcomers, and who were dressed up in the brightest and lightest of raiment."
— Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure, 1895
"A deepest navy cashmere dressing robe with every edge trimmed in the finest white cord…. I wear this raiment while working at my desk."
— Tom Wolfe, Esquire, 9 Aug. 2016
Did You Know?
If you seek a fancy word to describe the clothes on your back, you have no shortage of colorful options. There's apparel and attire, certainly, as well as garments. Habiliments and vestments suggest clothes of a particular profession (as in "a clergyman's vestments"), while garb is effective for describing clothes of a particular style (as in "traditional Scottish garb").
If slang is more your game, try duds, rags, or threads. Raiment tends to appear mostly in classical contexts, though it pops up from time to time in contemporary English from authors looking to add a touch of formality. Raiment derives from Middle English, where it was short for arrayment, from the verb arrayen ("to array").
raiment \ RAY-munt \ noun
Definition
: clothing, garments
Examples
"On their arrival the station was lively with straw-hatted young men, welcoming young girls who bore a remarkable family likeness to their welcomers, and who were dressed up in the brightest and lightest of raiment."
— Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure, 1895
"A deepest navy cashmere dressing robe with every edge trimmed in the finest white cord…. I wear this raiment while working at my desk."
— Tom Wolfe, Esquire, 9 Aug. 2016
Did You Know?
If you seek a fancy word to describe the clothes on your back, you have no shortage of colorful options. There's apparel and attire, certainly, as well as garments. Habiliments and vestments suggest clothes of a particular profession (as in "a clergyman's vestments"), while garb is effective for describing clothes of a particular style (as in "traditional Scottish garb").
If slang is more your game, try duds, rags, or threads. Raiment tends to appear mostly in classical contexts, though it pops up from time to time in contemporary English from authors looking to add a touch of formality. Raiment derives from Middle English, where it was short for arrayment, from the verb arrayen ("to array").
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Abstemious
WORD OF THE DAY
abstemious \ ab-STEE-mee-us \ adjective
Definition
1: marked by restraint especially in the consumption of food or alcohol
2: reflecting such restraint
Examples
Allie's midlife heart attack opened her eyes to the importance of taking care of her body and turned her to a more abstemious and healthful lifestyle.
"He is so abstemious that he once declared that to avoid temptation, he would never appear anywhere alcohol was served unless his wife was with him."
— Michael Barbaro and Monica Davey, The New York Times, 16 July 2016
Did You Know?
Abstemious and abstain look alike, and both have meanings involving self-restraint or self-denial. So they must both come from the same root, right? Yes and no.
Both get their start from the Latin prefix abs-, meaning "from" or "away." But abstain traces to the Latin abstinēre, a combination of abs- and the Latin verb tenēre ("to hold"), while abstemious comes from the Latin abstēmius, which combines abs- with tēm- (a stem found in the Latin tēmētum, "intoxicating beverage," and tēmulentus, "drunken") and the adjectival suffix -ius ("full of, abounding in, having, possessing the qualities of").
Monday, January 16, 2017
Wassail
WORD OF THE DAY
wassail \ WAH-sul \ verb
Definition
1a: to indulge in riotous drinking
1b: carouse
2 : (dialectal, England) to sing carols from house to house at Christmas
3 : to drink to the health or thriving of
Examples
Every year at Christmastime the magazine publishes a recipe for a traditional drink that can be used to wassail one's friends, neighbors, and family members.
"In the middle of January we come into the orchards to wassail these trees, singing their praises, and driving evil spirits from their branches with screaming and gunshots."
— Pete Brown, The Apple Orchard, 2016
Did You Know?
The salutation wassail, from the Old Norse toast ves heill ("be well"), has accompanied English toast-making since the 12th century. By the 14th century, wassail was being used for the drink itself, and it eventually came to be used especially of a hot drink (of wine, beer, or cider with spices, sugar, and usually baked apples) drunk around Christmastime.
This beverage warmed the stomachs and hearts of many Christmas revelers and was often shared with Christmas carolers. In the 14th century the verb wassail also came to describe the carousing associated with indulgence in the drink; later, it was used of other activities associated with wassail and the holiday season, like caroling.
17th-century farmers added cattle and trees to the wassail tradition by drinking to their health or vitality during wintertime festivities.
wassail \ WAH-sul \ verb
Definition
1a: to indulge in riotous drinking
1b: carouse
2 : (dialectal, England) to sing carols from house to house at Christmas
3 : to drink to the health or thriving of
Examples
Every year at Christmastime the magazine publishes a recipe for a traditional drink that can be used to wassail one's friends, neighbors, and family members.
"In the middle of January we come into the orchards to wassail these trees, singing their praises, and driving evil spirits from their branches with screaming and gunshots."
— Pete Brown, The Apple Orchard, 2016
Did You Know?
The salutation wassail, from the Old Norse toast ves heill ("be well"), has accompanied English toast-making since the 12th century. By the 14th century, wassail was being used for the drink itself, and it eventually came to be used especially of a hot drink (of wine, beer, or cider with spices, sugar, and usually baked apples) drunk around Christmastime.
This beverage warmed the stomachs and hearts of many Christmas revelers and was often shared with Christmas carolers. In the 14th century the verb wassail also came to describe the carousing associated with indulgence in the drink; later, it was used of other activities associated with wassail and the holiday season, like caroling.
17th-century farmers added cattle and trees to the wassail tradition by drinking to their health or vitality during wintertime festivities.
Friday, January 13, 2017
Baleful
WORD OF THE DAY
baleful \ BAIL-ful \ adjective
Definition
1 : deadly or pernicious in influence
2 : foreboding or threatening evil
Examples
"His face might have been chiselled out of marble, so hard and set was its expression, while its eyes glowed with a baleful light."
— Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, 1887
"Out of nowhere, a huge fad sweeps the country. It dominates social media and leads to a blizzard of think pieces, which are followed almost immediately by a backlash, as critics warn of the fad’s baleful consequences."
— James Surowiecki, The New Yorker, July 25, 2016
Did You Know?
The bale of baleful comes from Old English bealu ("evil"), and the bane of the similar-looking baneful comes from Old English bana ("slayer" or "murderer"). Baleful and baneful are alike in meaning as well as appearance, and they are sometimes used in quite similar contexts—but they usually differ in emphasis.
Baleful typically describes what threatens or portends evil (e.g., "a baleful look," "baleful predictions"). Baneful applies typically to what causes evil or destruction (e.g., "a baneful secret," "the baneful bite of the serpent").
Both words are used to modify terms like influence, effect, and result, and in such uses there is little that distinguishes them.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
Beguile
WORD OF THE DAY
beguile \ bih-GHYLE \ verb
Definition
1 : to lead by deception
2 : to deceive by cunning means
3 : to draw notice or interest by wiles or charm
4 : to cause (as time) to pass in a pleasant manner
Examples
The carnival barker beguiled Ricky into buying a chance at the target-shooting game, even though it was all but impossible to win.
"The elusive and suddenly quite prolific Terrence Malick is fascinated, and beguiled, by nothing less than the legacy of all existence in his long-gestating, avant-nature doc Voyage of Time…."
— Sam C. Mac, Slant Magazine, 21 Nov. 2016
Did You Know?
Deceive, mislead, delude, and beguile all mean "to lead astray" or "to frustrate," usually by underhandedness. Deceive implies imposing a false idea or belief that causes ignorance, bewilderment, or helplessness (as in "they tried to deceive me about the cost").
Mislead implies a leading astray that may or may not be intentional (as in "I was misled by the confusing sign"). Delude implies deceiving so thoroughly as to obscure the truth (as in "we were deluded into thinking we were safe").
Beguile stresses the use of charm and persuasion in deceiving (as in "they were beguiled by false promises"), and more generally describes the use of that charm to capture another's attention.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Haberdasher
WORD OF THE DAY
haberdasher \ HAB-er-dash-er \ noun
Definition
1 : (British) a dealer in notions (such as needles, thread, buttons, etc.)
2 : a dealer in men's clothing and accessories
Examples
Mr. Watson planned to visit the haberdasher during the week to buy some new shirts for his wardrobe.
"There was a time when downtown St. Louis was known for its clothing and shoe companies, haberdashers and other apparel businesses."
— Julia M. Johnson, St. Louis Business Journal, 27 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
At various times throughout its history, the term haberdasher has referred to a dealer of hats or caps, a seller of notions (sewing supplies, such as needles and thimbles), and apparently (perhaps somewhat coyly) to a person who sells liquor.
Nowadays, with hats not being as fashionable as they once were, the word mostly is applied generally as a clothing outfitter for men, with haberdashery referring to the establishment or the goods sold there. Haberdasher derives via Middle English from hapertas, an Anglo-French word for a kind of cloth, as does the obsolete noun haberdash, which once meant petty merchandise or small wares.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Jitney
WORD OF THE DAY
jitney \ JIT-nee \ noun
Definition
1 : a small bus that carries passengers over a regular route on a flexible schedule
2 : an unlicensed taxicab
Examples
After doing some shopping along the boardwalk, we boarded a jitney whose route took us back to our hotel.
"Another option, especially if you're staying along Cable Beach or areas west, is to hop a ride on the jitneys into and out of Downtown Nassau, a great way to chat with locals who are doing the same thing (each ride is about $1.50)."
— Kaeli Conforti, BudgetTravel.com, 14 Nov. 2016
Did You Know?
Jitneys weren't worth a dime—just a nickel. In the early 1900s, jitney was slang for "nickel," but it wasn't long before the term was applied to a new mode of public transportation that only cost a nickel.
When they were introduced in American cities at the beginning of the century, vehicular jitneys could be any automobiles that carried passengers over a set route for a cheap fare, but eventually the term was applied specifically to small buses—and, nowadays, to the motor shuttles used by airlines and hotels).
In the mid-1900s, the word jitney was combined with jeep to create a new coinage: jeepney, meaning "a Philippine jitney bus converted from a jeep."
jitney \ JIT-nee \ noun
Definition
1 : a small bus that carries passengers over a regular route on a flexible schedule
2 : an unlicensed taxicab
Examples
After doing some shopping along the boardwalk, we boarded a jitney whose route took us back to our hotel.
"Another option, especially if you're staying along Cable Beach or areas west, is to hop a ride on the jitneys into and out of Downtown Nassau, a great way to chat with locals who are doing the same thing (each ride is about $1.50)."
— Kaeli Conforti, BudgetTravel.com, 14 Nov. 2016
Did You Know?
Jitneys weren't worth a dime—just a nickel. In the early 1900s, jitney was slang for "nickel," but it wasn't long before the term was applied to a new mode of public transportation that only cost a nickel.
When they were introduced in American cities at the beginning of the century, vehicular jitneys could be any automobiles that carried passengers over a set route for a cheap fare, but eventually the term was applied specifically to small buses—and, nowadays, to the motor shuttles used by airlines and hotels).
In the mid-1900s, the word jitney was combined with jeep to create a new coinage: jeepney, meaning "a Philippine jitney bus converted from a jeep."
Monday, January 9, 2017
Immutable
WORD OF THE DAY
immutable \ ih-MYOO-tuh-bul \ adjective
Definition
: not capable of or susceptible to change
Examples
"There's an immutable attraction between fingers and potato chips, making resistance, as the saying goes, futile."
— Michele Henry, The Toronto Star, 30 Nov. 2016
"Like much of the American heartland, the summertime landscape in Iowa's Webster County is dominated by several immutable features: hot sun and lots of it; a ruler-straight grid of byways …; shining grain silos towering above the plains; and farmhouses…."
— Michelle Donahue, PCMag.com, 8 Nov. 2016
Did You Know?
Immutable comes to us through Middle English from Latin immutabilis, meaning "unable to change." Immutabilis was formed by combining the negative prefix in- with mutabilis, which comes from the Latin verb mutare and means "to change."
Some other English words that can be traced back to mutare are commute (the earliest sense of which is simply "to change or alter"), mutate ("to undergo significant and basic alteration"), permute ("to change the order or arrangement of"), and transmute ("to change or alter in form, appearance, or nature").
There's also the antonym of immutable—mutable—which of course can mean "prone to change" and "capable of change or of being changed."
Friday, January 6, 2017
Factitious
WORD OF THE DAY
factitious \ fak-TISH-us \ adjective
Definition
1 : produced by humans rather than by natural forces
2 a : formed by or adapted to an artificial or conventional standard
2b : produced by special effort
2c: sham
Examples
"For all the factitious factoids about state education spending, the reality from the federal government and even the nation's largest teachers union is that Pennsylvania far outspends most states—and by a comfortable margin."
— The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 24 June 2016
"Brucie's worsening situation, like many events in Sweat's early scenes, is a harbinger of bad economic times that ultimately afflict all the characters. Nottage takes her time, piling up the details carefully and compassionately; Kate Whoriskey's direction keeps the action taut without any factitious pressuring."
— Michael Feingold, The Village Voice, 9 Nov. 2016
Did You Know?
Like the common words fact and factual, factitious ultimately comes from the Latin verb facere, meaning "to do" or "to make." But in current use, factitious has little to do with things factual and true—in fact, factitiousoften implies the opposite.
The most immediate ancestor of factitious is the Latin adjective facticius, meaning "made by art" or "artificial."
When English speakers first adopted the word as factitious in the 17th century, it meant "produced by human effort or skill" (rather than arising from nature). This meaning gave rise to such meanings as "artificial" and "false" or "feigned."
factitious \ fak-TISH-us \ adjective
Definition
1 : produced by humans rather than by natural forces
2 a : formed by or adapted to an artificial or conventional standard
2b : produced by special effort
2c: sham
Examples
"For all the factitious factoids about state education spending, the reality from the federal government and even the nation's largest teachers union is that Pennsylvania far outspends most states—and by a comfortable margin."
— The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 24 June 2016
"Brucie's worsening situation, like many events in Sweat's early scenes, is a harbinger of bad economic times that ultimately afflict all the characters. Nottage takes her time, piling up the details carefully and compassionately; Kate Whoriskey's direction keeps the action taut without any factitious pressuring."
— Michael Feingold, The Village Voice, 9 Nov. 2016
Did You Know?
Like the common words fact and factual, factitious ultimately comes from the Latin verb facere, meaning "to do" or "to make." But in current use, factitious has little to do with things factual and true—in fact, factitiousoften implies the opposite.
The most immediate ancestor of factitious is the Latin adjective facticius, meaning "made by art" or "artificial."
When English speakers first adopted the word as factitious in the 17th century, it meant "produced by human effort or skill" (rather than arising from nature). This meaning gave rise to such meanings as "artificial" and "false" or "feigned."
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Maelstrom
WORD OF THE DAY
maelstrom \ MAIL-strum \ noun
Definition
1 : a powerful often violent whirlpool sucking in objects within a given radius
2 : something resembling a maelstrom in turbulence
Examples
The mayor has been swept up in the media maelstrom surrounding the laundering of thousands of dollars in state funds by city officials.
"The dark eye of Saturn's northern polar storm dominates the top left portion of the image, while smaller storms can be seen embedded in the surrounding maelstrom of the hexagon-shaped jet stream."
— Anthony Wood, New Atlas (newatlas.com), 7 Dec. 2016
Did You Know?
Maelstrom comes from an early Dutch proper noun that is a combination of the verb malen ("to grind") and the noun stroom ("stream"). The original Maelstrom, now known as the Moskstraumen, is a channel located off the northwest coast of Norway that has dangerous tidal currents and has been popularized among English speakers by writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne (whose writing was widely translated from French) in stories exaggerating the Maelstrom's tempestuousness and transforming it into a whirling vortex.
Maelstrom entered English in the 16th century and was soon applied more generally in reference to any powerful whirlpool. By the mid-19th century, it was being applied figuratively to things or situations resembling such maelstroms in turbulence or confusion.
maelstrom \ MAIL-strum \ noun
Definition
1 : a powerful often violent whirlpool sucking in objects within a given radius
2 : something resembling a maelstrom in turbulence
Examples
The mayor has been swept up in the media maelstrom surrounding the laundering of thousands of dollars in state funds by city officials.
"The dark eye of Saturn's northern polar storm dominates the top left portion of the image, while smaller storms can be seen embedded in the surrounding maelstrom of the hexagon-shaped jet stream."
— Anthony Wood, New Atlas (newatlas.com), 7 Dec. 2016
Did You Know?
Maelstrom comes from an early Dutch proper noun that is a combination of the verb malen ("to grind") and the noun stroom ("stream"). The original Maelstrom, now known as the Moskstraumen, is a channel located off the northwest coast of Norway that has dangerous tidal currents and has been popularized among English speakers by writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne (whose writing was widely translated from French) in stories exaggerating the Maelstrom's tempestuousness and transforming it into a whirling vortex.
Maelstrom entered English in the 16th century and was soon applied more generally in reference to any powerful whirlpool. By the mid-19th century, it was being applied figuratively to things or situations resembling such maelstroms in turbulence or confusion.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Deem
WORD OF THE DAY
deem \ DEEM \ verb
Definition
1a: to come to think or judge
1b: consider
2a: to have an opinion
2b: believe
Examples
The covered bridge was closed to automobile traffic for the winter because town officials deemed it a hazard to motorists.
"Being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature is something I never could have imagined or seen coming. From an early age, I've been familiar with and reading and absorbing the works of those who were deemed worthy of such a distinction: Kipling, Shaw, Thomas Mann, Pearl Buck, Albert Camus, Hemingway. These giants of literature … have always made a deep impression."
— Bob Dylan, speech, 10 Dec. 2016
Did You Know?
In the Middle Ages, demen was a fateful word. Closely related to doom, this precursor of deem meant "to act as a judge" or "to sentence, condemn, or decree." These meanings passed to deem itself, but we haven't used deem to mean "to legally condemn" since the early 17th century.
Though deem is still frequently used in contexts pertaining to the law, today it means "to judge" only in a broader sense of "to decide (something specified) after inquiry and deliberation," as in "the act was deemed unlawful" or "the defendant is deemed to have agreed to the contract."
Outside of the law, deem usually means simply "to consider." Some usage commentators consider deem pretentious, but its use is well established in both literary and journalistic contexts. We deem it perfectly acceptable.
deem \ DEEM \ verb
Definition
1a: to come to think or judge
1b: consider
2a: to have an opinion
2b: believe
Examples
The covered bridge was closed to automobile traffic for the winter because town officials deemed it a hazard to motorists.
"Being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature is something I never could have imagined or seen coming. From an early age, I've been familiar with and reading and absorbing the works of those who were deemed worthy of such a distinction: Kipling, Shaw, Thomas Mann, Pearl Buck, Albert Camus, Hemingway. These giants of literature … have always made a deep impression."
— Bob Dylan, speech, 10 Dec. 2016
Did You Know?
In the Middle Ages, demen was a fateful word. Closely related to doom, this precursor of deem meant "to act as a judge" or "to sentence, condemn, or decree." These meanings passed to deem itself, but we haven't used deem to mean "to legally condemn" since the early 17th century.
Though deem is still frequently used in contexts pertaining to the law, today it means "to judge" only in a broader sense of "to decide (something specified) after inquiry and deliberation," as in "the act was deemed unlawful" or "the defendant is deemed to have agreed to the contract."
Outside of the law, deem usually means simply "to consider." Some usage commentators consider deem pretentious, but its use is well established in both literary and journalistic contexts. We deem it perfectly acceptable.
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Oligopsony
WORD OF THE DAY
oligopsony \ ah-luh-GAHP-suh-nee \ noun
Definition
: a market situation in which each of a few buyers exerts a disproportionate influence on the market
Examples
The small number of supermarkets in the region has created an oligopsony in which the stores can dictate the price they pay to farmers for meat and fresh produce.
"Under the crude oil export ban, domestic refineries were granted an oligopsony. Now oil companies will have more pricing power, which stands to boost their profits even if it doesn't lead to one extra drop of oil coming out of the ground."
— Ben Adler, Grist, 31 Dec. 2015
Did You Know?
You're probably familiar with the word monopoly, but you may not recognize its conceptual and linguistic relative, the much rarer oligopsony. Both monopoly and oligopsony are ultimately from Greek, although monopoly passed through Latin before being adopted into English. Monopoly comes from the Greek prefix mono-, which means "one," and pōlein, "to sell."
Oligopsony derives from the combining form olig-, meaning "few," and the Greek noun opsōnia—"the purchase of victuals"—which is ultimately from the combination of opson, "food," and ōneisthai, "to buy." It makes sense, then, that oligopsony refers to a buyer's market in which the seller is subjected to the potential demands of a limited pool of buyers.
Another related word is monopsony, used for a more extreme oligopsony in which there is only a single buyer.
Monday, January 2, 2017
Baleful
WORD OF THE DAY
baleful \ BAIL-ful \ adjective
Definition
1 : deadly or pernicious in influence
2 : foreboding or threatening evil
Examples
"His face might have been chiselled out of marble, so hard and set was its expression, while its eyes glowed with a baleful light."
— Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, 1887
"Out of nowhere, a huge fad sweeps the country. It dominates social media and leads to a blizzard of think pieces, which are followed almost immediately by a backlash, as critics warn of the fad’s baleful consequences."
— James Surowiecki, The New Yorker, July 25, 2016
Did You Know?
The bale of baleful comes from Old English bealu ("evil"), and the bane of the similar-looking baneful comes from Old English bana ("slayer" or "murderer"). Baleful and baneful are alike in meaning as well as appearance, and they are sometimes used in quite similar contexts—but they usually differ in emphasis.
Baleful typically describes what threatens or portends evil (e.g., "a baleful look," "baleful predictions"). Baneful applies typically to what causes evil or destruction (e.g., "a baneful secret," "the baneful bite of the serpent").
Both words are used to modify terms like influence, effect, and result, and in such uses there is little that distinguishes them.
baleful \ BAIL-ful \ adjective
Definition
1 : deadly or pernicious in influence
2 : foreboding or threatening evil
Examples
"His face might have been chiselled out of marble, so hard and set was its expression, while its eyes glowed with a baleful light."
— Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, 1887
"Out of nowhere, a huge fad sweeps the country. It dominates social media and leads to a blizzard of think pieces, which are followed almost immediately by a backlash, as critics warn of the fad’s baleful consequences."
— James Surowiecki, The New Yorker, July 25, 2016
Did You Know?
The bale of baleful comes from Old English bealu ("evil"), and the bane of the similar-looking baneful comes from Old English bana ("slayer" or "murderer"). Baleful and baneful are alike in meaning as well as appearance, and they are sometimes used in quite similar contexts—but they usually differ in emphasis.
Baleful typically describes what threatens or portends evil (e.g., "a baleful look," "baleful predictions"). Baneful applies typically to what causes evil or destruction (e.g., "a baneful secret," "the baneful bite of the serpent").
Both words are used to modify terms like influence, effect, and result, and in such uses there is little that distinguishes them.
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