WORD OF THE DAY
causerie \ kohz-REE \ noun
Definition
1a: an informal conversation
1b: chat
2 : a short informal essay
Examples
The professor invited the award-winning playwright to her class to have a causerie with her literature students.
"[The book] is, to be technical, a causerie, a brilliant and engaging, though none too rigorous, monologue by a self-described archaeologist of gossip, a man who has been everywhere and seen everything and known everyone…."
— Simon Callow, The Guardian (UK), 15 Mar. 2017
Did You Know?
Causerie first appeared in English in the early 19th century, and it can be traced back to French causer ("to chat") and ultimately to Latin causa ("cause, reason"). The word was originally used to refer to a friendly or informal conversation.
Then, in 1849, the author and critic Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve began publishing a weekly column devoted to literary topics in the French newspaper Le Constitutionnel. These critical essays were called "Causeries du lundi" ("Monday chats") and were later collected into a series of books of the same name.
After that, the word causerie acquired a second sense in English, referring to a brief, informal article or essay.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Monday, October 30, 2017
Decry
WORD OF THE DAY
descry / dih-SKRYE / verb
Definition
1: to catch sight of
2: find out, discover
Examples
In their research, the psychologists descried an association between violent crime and hot weather.
"Recent construction work on the Borough side had uncovered a cache of human bones. Builders soon reported strange noises and moving objects, and some refused to work. A visiting medium claimed to descry hundreds of tortured souls, including the shade of Guy Fawkes."
— Matt Brown, Time Out, 20 Feb. 2008
Did You Know?
With descry and the more common decry ("to express strong disapproval of"), we have a case of linguistic double-dipping. That is, English borrowed from the same French root twice. Both words ultimately come from the Old French verb decrier, meaning "to proclaim" or "to decry."
English speakers borrowed the term as descry in the 14th century and used it to mean "to proclaim" or "to spy out from a distance" (as a watchman might), and eventually simply "to catch sight of" or "discover." Meanwhile, in French, decrier itself developed into the modern French décrier ("to disparage, to decry"). English speakers borrowed this word as decry in the 17th century.
Be careful not to confuse descry and decry. They may be close relatives, but in modern English they have distinct meanings.
Friday, October 27, 2017
Wardrobe
WORD OF THE DAY
wardrobe \ WOR-drohb \ noun
Definition
1a: a room or closet where clothes are kept
1b: a receptacle for clothes : clothespress
1c: a large trunk in which clothes may be hung upright
2a: a collection of wearing apparel (as of one person or for one activity)
2b: a collection of stage costumes and accessories
3 : the department of a royal or noble household entrusted with the care of wearing apparel, jewels, and personal articles
Examples
Over the years, Sandra has managed to acquire a large and varied wardrobe.
"Stylists will be on hand to guide shoppers to a personalized wardrobe, which customers can then order online to be delivered to the store that same day."
— Travis M. Andrews, The Los Angeles Times, 13 Sept. 2017
Did You Know?
There is a lot of word history packed into wardrobe. The word was borrowed by Middle-English speakers from a variant of Anglo-French garderobe. A combination of garder and robe, garderobe itself has been borrowed into English as a synonym of wardrobe.
If the roots of garderobe look familiar, it is because they are the source of a number of different English words. Garder has given us the verbs guard and ward. And French robe, of course, is the source of the English robe and shares its own origins with the English verbs rob and reave (a synonym of plunder).
If this connection seems odd, it might help to know that robe can be traced back to Germanic origins related to the Old High German words roub ("booty" or "looted clothing") and roubōn ("to rob").
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Slapdash
WORD OF THE DA
slapdash \ SLAP-dash \ adjective
Definition
1: done or made without careful planning
2: haphazard, slipshod
Examples
"Sunflower Cottage just above the weir had been taken by two female animals…. More, it was being done properly, the River Bank's housewives agreed. There was none of this casual, slapdash housekeeping that bachelor gentlemen were so apt to consider sufficient."
— Kij Johnson, The River Bank: A Sequel to Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, 2017
"Much to my surprise, Gus didn't take me to task regarding my chronic gerund abuse or my slapdash approach to punctuation."
— Jerry Nelson, The Farm Forum (Aberdeen, South Dakota), 11 Sept. 2017
Did You Know?
One of the first known uses of slapdash in English came in 1679 from the British poet and dramatist John Dryden, who used it as an adverb in his play The kind keeper; or Mr. Limberham: "Down I put the notes slap-dash."
The Oxford English Dictionary defines this sense in part as "[w]ith, or as with, a slap and a dash," perhaps suggesting the notion of an action (such as painting) performed with quick, imprecise movements.
Over 100 years later, the word acquired the adjectival sense with which we are more familiar today, describing something done in a hasty, careless, or haphazard manner.
slapdash \ SLAP-dash \ adjective
Definition
1: done or made without careful planning
2: haphazard, slipshod
Examples
"Sunflower Cottage just above the weir had been taken by two female animals…. More, it was being done properly, the River Bank's housewives agreed. There was none of this casual, slapdash housekeeping that bachelor gentlemen were so apt to consider sufficient."
— Kij Johnson, The River Bank: A Sequel to Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, 2017
"Much to my surprise, Gus didn't take me to task regarding my chronic gerund abuse or my slapdash approach to punctuation."
— Jerry Nelson, The Farm Forum (Aberdeen, South Dakota), 11 Sept. 2017
Did You Know?
One of the first known uses of slapdash in English came in 1679 from the British poet and dramatist John Dryden, who used it as an adverb in his play The kind keeper; or Mr. Limberham: "Down I put the notes slap-dash."
The Oxford English Dictionary defines this sense in part as "[w]ith, or as with, a slap and a dash," perhaps suggesting the notion of an action (such as painting) performed with quick, imprecise movements.
Over 100 years later, the word acquired the adjectival sense with which we are more familiar today, describing something done in a hasty, careless, or haphazard manner.
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Overwhelm
WORD OF THE DAY
Definition
1: upset, overthrow
2a : to cover over completely
2c: submerge
2c: to overcome by superior force or numbers
2d: to overpower in thought or feeling
Examples
"The ships … [are] small enough to maneuver into tricky anchorages and light enough on passengers to not overwhelm the wildlife or fragile communities they access."
— Sophy Roberts, Traveler, September 2017
"Studies have shown that people can feel empathy, attachment, and other emotions toward robots that exhibit signs of life.… When [the Mars rover] Curiosity serenaded itself with a robotic version of 'Happy Birthday' a few years ago—a very human act—some people were in tears, overwhelmed by sympathy for a machine…."
— Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 15 Sept. 2017
Did You Know?
You could say that the introduction of overwhelm to the English language was a bit redundant. The word, which originally meant "to overturn or upset," was formed in Middle English by combining the prefix over- with the verb whelmen, which also meant "to overturn." Whelmen has survived in English as whelm, a verb which is largely synonymous with overwhelm. Since their appearance in the 14th century, however, overwhelm has won over English speakers who have come to largely prefer it to whelm, despite the latter's brevity. Perhaps the emphatic redundancy of overwhelm makes it seem like the more fitting word for describing the experience of being overcome by powerful forces or feelings.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Pelf
WORD OF THE DAY
pelf \ PELF \ noun
Definition
: money, riches
Examples
"Nowadays Western Union is good only if you want to wire cash to your child in college or pelf to a partner in peril."
— Vincent L. Hall, The Dallas Morning News, 19 June 2011
"The glitter of guineas is like the glitter of buttercups, the chink of pelf is like the chime of bells, compared with the dreary papers and dead calculations which make the hobby of the modern miser."
— G. K. Chesterton, A Miscellany of Men, 1912
Did You Know?
In the late Middle Ages, the Anglo-French word pelfre, meaning "booty" or "stolen goods," was borrowed into English as pelf with the added meaning of "property." (Pelfre is also an ancestor of the English verb pilfer, meaning "to steal.") Eventually, pelf showed gains when people began to use it for "money" and "riches."
In some regions of Britain the word's use was diversified further, in a depreciative way, to refer to trash and good-for-nothings. The first of those meanings was a loss by about the mid-17th century; the second has little value outside of the Yorkshire region of England.
Monday, October 23, 2017
Burke
WORD OF THE DAY
burke / BERK \ verb
Definition
1 : to suppress quietly or indirectly
2 : bypass, avoid
Examples
The mob boss dropped a few well-timed bribes to prosecutors in an effort to burke any investigation into possible wrongdoing.
"There is, however, a respectable and reasonable ethical argument against clinical trials of correctional treatment methods which must not be burked in our enthusiasm for the acquisition of knowledge."
— Norval Morris, "Should Research Design and Scientific Merits Be Evaluated?," in Experimentation with Human Beings, 1972
Did You Know?
When an elderly pensioner died at the Edinburgh boarding house of William Hare in 1827, the proprietor and his friend William Burke decided to sell the body to a local anatomy school. The sale was so lucrative that they decided to make sure they could repeat it.
They began luring nameless wanderers (who were not likely to be missed) into the house, getting them drunk, then smothering or strangling them and selling the bodies. The two disposed of at least 15 victims before murdering a local woman whose disappearance led to their arrest. At Burke's execution (by hanging), irate crowds shouted "Burke him!"
As a result of the case, the word burke became a byword first for death by suffocation or strangulation and eventually for any cover-up.
burke / BERK \ verb
Definition
1 : to suppress quietly or indirectly
2 : bypass, avoid
Examples
The mob boss dropped a few well-timed bribes to prosecutors in an effort to burke any investigation into possible wrongdoing.
"There is, however, a respectable and reasonable ethical argument against clinical trials of correctional treatment methods which must not be burked in our enthusiasm for the acquisition of knowledge."
— Norval Morris, "Should Research Design and Scientific Merits Be Evaluated?," in Experimentation with Human Beings, 1972
Did You Know?
When an elderly pensioner died at the Edinburgh boarding house of William Hare in 1827, the proprietor and his friend William Burke decided to sell the body to a local anatomy school. The sale was so lucrative that they decided to make sure they could repeat it.
They began luring nameless wanderers (who were not likely to be missed) into the house, getting them drunk, then smothering or strangling them and selling the bodies. The two disposed of at least 15 victims before murdering a local woman whose disappearance led to their arrest. At Burke's execution (by hanging), irate crowds shouted "Burke him!"
As a result of the case, the word burke became a byword first for death by suffocation or strangulation and eventually for any cover-up.
Friday, October 20, 2017
Palliate
WORD OF THE DAY
palliate / PAL-ee-ayt / verb
Definition
1 : to reduce the violence of (a disease); also : to ease (symptoms) without curing the underlying disease
2 : to cover by excuses and apologies
3 : to moderate the intensity of
Examples
"He had an ability to describe and champion technological innovation and global integration in a rhetoric that palliated fears of change."
— Matthew Continetti, Commentary, 16 Nov. 2016
"I have held onto generations of them not just for the headaches I inherited but for bellyaches, cramps, the cold, a cold, the side effects of antimalarial pills, tennis elbow. I've found that a hot-water bottle excels at palliating less-specific aches, ones that don't answer to 'Where does it hurt?'"
— Chantel Tattoli, The New York Times Magazine, 19 Jan. 2017
Did You Know?
Long ago, the ancient Romans had a name for the cloak-like garb that was worn by the Greeks (distinguishing it from their own toga); the name was pallium.
In the 15th century, English speakers modified the Late Latin word palliatus, which derives from pallium, to form palliate. Our term, used initially as both an adjective and a verb, never had the literal Latin sense referring to the cloak you wear, but it took on the figurative "cloak" of protection. Specifically, the verb palliate meant (as it still can mean) "to lessen the intensity of a disease."
The related adjective palliative describes medical care that focuses on relieving pain or discomfort rather than administering a cure.
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Hew
WORD OF THE DA
hew \ HYOO \ verb
Definition
1: to cut or fell with blows (as of an ax)
2: to give form or shape to with or as if with an ax
3: conform, adhere
Examples
"He is best known stateside for the … productions of 'Twelfth Night' and 'Richard III' that he brought to Broadway in 2013, which hewed as closely as possible to the staging choices made at the turn of the 17th century."
— Eric Grode, The New York Times, 5 Sept. 2017
"Although the novel hews to the broad outlines of the Drumgold investigation, Lehr takes major liberties with the story, inventing plot twists, scenes, and characters…."
— Malcolm Gay, The Boston Globe, 7 Sept. 2017
Did You Know?
Hew is a strong, simple word of Anglo-Saxon descent. It can suggest actual ax-wielding, or it can be figurative: "If … our ambition hews and shapes [our] new relations, their virtue escapes, as strawberries lose their flavor in garden-beds" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
It's easy to see how the figurative "shape" sense of hew developed from the literal "hacking" sense, but what does chopping have to do with adhering and conforming? That sense first appeared in the late 1800s in the phrase "hew to the line."
The "hew line" is a line marked along the length of a log indicating where to chop in order to shape a beam. "Hewing to the line," literally, is cutting along the mark—adhering to it—until the side of the log is squared.
hew \ HYOO \ verb
Definition
1: to cut or fell with blows (as of an ax)
2: to give form or shape to with or as if with an ax
3: conform, adhere
Examples
"He is best known stateside for the … productions of 'Twelfth Night' and 'Richard III' that he brought to Broadway in 2013, which hewed as closely as possible to the staging choices made at the turn of the 17th century."
— Eric Grode, The New York Times, 5 Sept. 2017
"Although the novel hews to the broad outlines of the Drumgold investigation, Lehr takes major liberties with the story, inventing plot twists, scenes, and characters…."
— Malcolm Gay, The Boston Globe, 7 Sept. 2017
Did You Know?
Hew is a strong, simple word of Anglo-Saxon descent. It can suggest actual ax-wielding, or it can be figurative: "If … our ambition hews and shapes [our] new relations, their virtue escapes, as strawberries lose their flavor in garden-beds" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
It's easy to see how the figurative "shape" sense of hew developed from the literal "hacking" sense, but what does chopping have to do with adhering and conforming? That sense first appeared in the late 1800s in the phrase "hew to the line."
The "hew line" is a line marked along the length of a log indicating where to chop in order to shape a beam. "Hewing to the line," literally, is cutting along the mark—adhering to it—until the side of the log is squared.
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Malign
WORD OF THE DAY
malign / muh-LYNE / verb
Definition
1: to utter injuriously misleading or false reports about
2: speak evil of
Examples
The tech guru recalls how as a high schooler he was often maligned or simply ignored by the popular kids in his school.
"I am a contrarian on the Apple Watch, which I believe has been unfairly maligned by tech pundits. I love mine, and I get pretty frustrated by a lot of Apple products."
— Nick Wingfield, The New York Times, 14 Sept. 2017
Did You Know?
When a word's got mal- in it, it's no good. That prefix traces to the Latin word malus (which means "bad"), and it puts the negative vibes in both the verb and adjective forms of malign(from the Latin malignus, meaning "evil in nature") and a host of other English words.
You can see it in malpractice (bad medical practice) and malady (a bad condition, such as a disease or illness, of the body or mind).
A malefactor is someone guilty of bad deeds, and malice is a desire to cause injury, pain, or distress to another person. Other mal- formed words include malaise, malcontent, maladroit, malodorous, and malnourished.
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Euphony
WORD OF THE DAY
euphony \ YOO-fuh-nee \ noun
Definition
1: pleasing or sweet sound; especially : the acoustic effect produced by words so formed or combined as to please the ear
2: a harmonious succession of words having a pleasing sound
Examples
He awakened on a warm morning to the euphony of birdsong outside his window.
"After the war, 'A Shropshire Lad' travelled in the breast pockets of the generation who had taken up rambling and rediscovering the English countryside, even though—aside from a few place names, like Bredon Hill and Wenlock Edge, evidently chosen more for euphony than for anything else—it's not much of a geographic guide."
— Charles McGrath, The New Yorker, 26 June 2017
Did You Know?
Euphony was borrowed from French at the beginning of the 17th century; the French word (euphonie) derives from the Late Latin euphonia, which in turn traces back to the Greek adjective euphōnos, meaning "sweet-voiced" or "musical."
Euphōnos was formed by combining the prefix eu- ("good") and phōnē ("voice").
In addition to its more commonly recognized senses, euphony also has a more specific meaning in the field of linguistics, where it can refer to the preference for words that are easy to pronounce.
This preference may be the cause of an observed trend of people altering the pronunciation of certain words—apparently in favor of sound combinations that are more fluid and simpler to say out loud.
euphony \ YOO-fuh-nee \ noun
Definition
1: pleasing or sweet sound; especially : the acoustic effect produced by words so formed or combined as to please the ear
2: a harmonious succession of words having a pleasing sound
Examples
He awakened on a warm morning to the euphony of birdsong outside his window.
"After the war, 'A Shropshire Lad' travelled in the breast pockets of the generation who had taken up rambling and rediscovering the English countryside, even though—aside from a few place names, like Bredon Hill and Wenlock Edge, evidently chosen more for euphony than for anything else—it's not much of a geographic guide."
— Charles McGrath, The New Yorker, 26 June 2017
Did You Know?
Euphony was borrowed from French at the beginning of the 17th century; the French word (euphonie) derives from the Late Latin euphonia, which in turn traces back to the Greek adjective euphōnos, meaning "sweet-voiced" or "musical."
Euphōnos was formed by combining the prefix eu- ("good") and phōnē ("voice").
In addition to its more commonly recognized senses, euphony also has a more specific meaning in the field of linguistics, where it can refer to the preference for words that are easy to pronounce.
This preference may be the cause of an observed trend of people altering the pronunciation of certain words—apparently in favor of sound combinations that are more fluid and simpler to say out loud.
Monday, October 16, 2017
Chary
WORD OF THE DAY
chary / CHAIR-ee / adjective
Definition
1 : hesitant and vigilant about dangers and risks
2 : slow to grant, accept, or expend
Examples
"Alexander Graham Bell didn't expect his telephone to be widely used for prank calls. And Steve Jobs was chary of children using his iThings." — Hayley Krischer, The New York Times, 7 Sept. 2017
"An A-1 writer but also chary with spoken words, he told me: 'I don't own a computer. I write longhand. In notebooks. It's then typed up. Retyped until I feel I've got it.'"
— Cindy Adams, The New York Post, 2 Aug. 2017
Did You Know?
It was sorrow that bred the caution of chary. In Middle English chary meant "sorrowful," a sense that harks back to the word's Old English ancestor caru (an early form of care, and another term that originally meant "sorrow" or "grief").
In a sense switch that demonstrates that love can be both bitter and sweet, chary later came to mean "dear" or "cherished." That's how 16th-century English dramatist George Peele used it: "the chariest and the choicest queen, That ever did delight my royal eyes."
Both sorrow and affection have largely faded from chary, however, and in Modern English the word is most often used as a synonym of either careful or sparing.
Friday, October 13, 2017
Lagniappe
WORD OF THE DAY
lagniappe \ LAN-yap \ noun
Definition
1: a small gift given a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase
2: something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure
Examples
Our meal began with a lagniappe of pickled vegetables.
"Lagniappe—the unexpected surprises, the extras—are one of the reasons I love New Orleans.… I live, and travel, for the unexpected surprise. I may get lost, but there's usually an unexpected treat in that unplanned detour."
— Jill Schensul, The Record (Bergen County, New Jersey), 19 Mar. 2017
Did You Know?
"We picked up one excellent word," wrote Mark Twain in Life on the Mississippi (1883), "a word worth traveling to New Orleans to get; a nice limber, expressive, handy word—'lagniappe'.... It is Spanish—so they said." Twain encapsulates the history of lagniappe quite nicely.
English speakers learned the word from French-speaking Louisianians, but they in turn had adapted it from the American Spanish word la ñapa. (What Twain didn't know is that the Spanish word is from Quechua, from the word yapa, meaning "something added.")
Twain went on to describe how New Orleanians completed shop transactions by saying "Give me something for lagniappe," to which the shopkeeper would respond with "a bit of liquorice-root, … a cheap cigar or a spool of thread." It took a while for lagniappe to catch on throughout the country, but in time, New Yorkers and New Orleanians alike were familiar with this "excellent word."
lagniappe \ LAN-yap \ noun
Definition
1: a small gift given a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase
2: something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure
Examples
Our meal began with a lagniappe of pickled vegetables.
"Lagniappe—the unexpected surprises, the extras—are one of the reasons I love New Orleans.… I live, and travel, for the unexpected surprise. I may get lost, but there's usually an unexpected treat in that unplanned detour."
— Jill Schensul, The Record (Bergen County, New Jersey), 19 Mar. 2017
Did You Know?
"We picked up one excellent word," wrote Mark Twain in Life on the Mississippi (1883), "a word worth traveling to New Orleans to get; a nice limber, expressive, handy word—'lagniappe'.... It is Spanish—so they said." Twain encapsulates the history of lagniappe quite nicely.
English speakers learned the word from French-speaking Louisianians, but they in turn had adapted it from the American Spanish word la ñapa. (What Twain didn't know is that the Spanish word is from Quechua, from the word yapa, meaning "something added.")
Twain went on to describe how New Orleanians completed shop transactions by saying "Give me something for lagniappe," to which the shopkeeper would respond with "a bit of liquorice-root, … a cheap cigar or a spool of thread." It took a while for lagniappe to catch on throughout the country, but in time, New Yorkers and New Orleanians alike were familiar with this "excellent word."
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Interdigitate
WORD OF THE DAY
interdigitate \ in-ter-DIJ-uh-tayt \ verb
Definition
: to become interlocked like the fingers of folded hands
Examples
A finger joint is formed when the "fingers" on the ends of two boards interdigitate for a secure fit.
"Forest and savanna interdigitate over a great front thousands of miles long and a half million square miles in area-half the size of the entire central African forest."
- David Western, Discover, October 1986
Did You Know?
It probably won't surprise you to learn that interdigitate comes from the prefix inter-, as in interlock, and the Latin word digitus, meaning "finger." Digitus also gave us digit, which is used in English today to refer to (among other things) the finger or toe of any animal.
Interdigitate usually suggests an interlocking of things with fingerlike projections, such as muscle fibers or the teeth of an old-fashioned bear trap. The word can also be used figuratively to imply a smooth interweaving of disparate things, such as the blending of two cultures within a shared region.
interdigitate \ in-ter-DIJ-uh-tayt \ verb
Definition
: to become interlocked like the fingers of folded hands
Examples
A finger joint is formed when the "fingers" on the ends of two boards interdigitate for a secure fit.
"Forest and savanna interdigitate over a great front thousands of miles long and a half million square miles in area-half the size of the entire central African forest."
- David Western, Discover, October 1986
Did You Know?
It probably won't surprise you to learn that interdigitate comes from the prefix inter-, as in interlock, and the Latin word digitus, meaning "finger." Digitus also gave us digit, which is used in English today to refer to (among other things) the finger or toe of any animal.
Interdigitate usually suggests an interlocking of things with fingerlike projections, such as muscle fibers or the teeth of an old-fashioned bear trap. The word can also be used figuratively to imply a smooth interweaving of disparate things, such as the blending of two cultures within a shared region.
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Tendentious
WORD OF THE DAY
tendentious / ten-DEN-shus / adjective
Definition
1: marked by a tendency in favor of a particular point of view
2: biased
Examples
The book proved to be a tendentious account of the town's history, written to rescue the reputation of one of its less scrupulous founders.
"The French satirical publication … has a record of ruffling feathers with tendentious headlines."
— Daniel J. Solomon, The Forward (forward.com), 29 Aug. 2017
Did You Know?
Tendentious is one of several words English speakers can choose when they want to suggest that someone has made up his or her mind in advance.
You may be partial to predisposed or prone to favor partisan, but whatever your leanings, we're inclined to think you'll benefit from adding tendentious to your repertoire.
A derivative of the Medieval Latin word tendentia, meaning "tendency," plus the English suffix -ious, tendentious has been used in English as an adjective for biased attitudes since at least the end of the 19th century.
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Gregarious
WORD OF THE DAY
gregarious \ grih-GAIR-ee-us \ adjective
Definition
1a: tending to associate with others of one's kind
1b: social
1c: marked by or indicating a liking for companionship : sociable
1d: of or relating to a social group
2a : (of a plant) growing in a cluster or a colony
2b: living in contiguous nests but not forming a true colony — used especially of wasps and bees
Examples
The documentary is filmed inside the burrows of the gregarious prairie dogs using high-tech equipment.
"Young players … don't feel close to him like they do an older player like Phil Mickelson, who has been a much more gregarious mentor."
— Brian Wacker, Golf Digest, August 2017
Did You Know?
When you're one of the herd, it's tough to avoid being social. The etymology of gregarious reflects the social nature of the flock; in fact, the word grew out of the Latin noun grex, meaning "herd" or "flock."
When it first began appearing in English texts in the 17th century, gregarious was applied mainly to animals, but by the 18th century it was being used for social human beings as well.
By the way, grex gave English a whole flock of other words too, including egregious, aggregate, congregate, and segregate.
gregarious \ grih-GAIR-ee-us \ adjective
Definition
1a: tending to associate with others of one's kind
1b: social
1c: marked by or indicating a liking for companionship : sociable
1d: of or relating to a social group
2a : (of a plant) growing in a cluster or a colony
2b: living in contiguous nests but not forming a true colony — used especially of wasps and bees
Examples
The documentary is filmed inside the burrows of the gregarious prairie dogs using high-tech equipment.
"Young players … don't feel close to him like they do an older player like Phil Mickelson, who has been a much more gregarious mentor."
— Brian Wacker, Golf Digest, August 2017
Did You Know?
When you're one of the herd, it's tough to avoid being social. The etymology of gregarious reflects the social nature of the flock; in fact, the word grew out of the Latin noun grex, meaning "herd" or "flock."
When it first began appearing in English texts in the 17th century, gregarious was applied mainly to animals, but by the 18th century it was being used for social human beings as well.
By the way, grex gave English a whole flock of other words too, including egregious, aggregate, congregate, and segregate.
Monday, October 9, 2017
Denegation
WORD OF THE DAY
denegation \den-ih-GAY-shun \ noun
Definition
: denial
Examples
"I sought to interrupt him with some not very truthful denegation; but he waved me down, and pursued his speech."
— Robert Louis Stevenson, The Master of Ballantrae, 1889
"I see Horton say emphatically No…. His denegation is plausible; Gray believes it and accepts it…."
— Henry James, The Ivory Tower, 1917
Did You Know?
Even if we didn't provide you with a definition, you might guess the meaning of denegation from the negation part. Both words are ultimately derived from the Latin verb negare, meaning "to deny" or "to say no," and both first arrived in English in the 15th century.
Negare is also the source of our abnegation ("self-denial"), negate ("to deny the truth of"), and renegade (which originally referred to someone who leaves, and therefore denies, a religious faith).
Even deny and denial are negare descendants. Like denegation, they came to us from negare by way of the Latin denegare, which also means "to deny."
Friday, October 6, 2017
Bombard
WORD OF THE DAY
bombard \ bahm-BARD \ verb
Definition
1 : to attack especially with artillery or bombers
2 : to assail vigorously or persistently (as with questions)
3 : to subject to the impact of rapidly moving particles (as electrons)
Examples
After running an editorial supporting the town's controversial plan, the newspaper was bombarded with letters and email from residents wishing to voice their opposition.
"Hundreds of willing—and unwilling—participants will line up on either side of the lot and bombard each other with tomatoes."
— Jimmy Fisher, The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania), 17 Aug. 2017
Did You Know?
In the late Middle Ages, a bombard was a cannon used to hurl large stones at enemy fortifications. Its name, which first appeared in English in the 15th century, comes from the Middle French bombarde, which in turn was probably a combination of the onomatopoeic bomb- and the suffix -arde (equivalent to the English -ard).
The verb bombard blasted onto the scene in English in the 17th century, with an original meaning of "to attack especially with artillery"; as weapons technology improved throughout the centuries, such artillery came to include things like automatic rifles and bomber aircraft. Nowadays one can be bombarded figuratively in any number of ways, such as by omnipresent advertising messages or persistent phone calls.
bombard \ bahm-BARD \ verb
Definition
1 : to attack especially with artillery or bombers
2 : to assail vigorously or persistently (as with questions)
3 : to subject to the impact of rapidly moving particles (as electrons)
Examples
After running an editorial supporting the town's controversial plan, the newspaper was bombarded with letters and email from residents wishing to voice their opposition.
"Hundreds of willing—and unwilling—participants will line up on either side of the lot and bombard each other with tomatoes."
— Jimmy Fisher, The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania), 17 Aug. 2017
Did You Know?
In the late Middle Ages, a bombard was a cannon used to hurl large stones at enemy fortifications. Its name, which first appeared in English in the 15th century, comes from the Middle French bombarde, which in turn was probably a combination of the onomatopoeic bomb- and the suffix -arde (equivalent to the English -ard).
The verb bombard blasted onto the scene in English in the 17th century, with an original meaning of "to attack especially with artillery"; as weapons technology improved throughout the centuries, such artillery came to include things like automatic rifles and bomber aircraft. Nowadays one can be bombarded figuratively in any number of ways, such as by omnipresent advertising messages or persistent phone calls.
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Vituperate
WORD OF THE DAY
vituperate \ vye-TOO-puh-rayt \ verb
Definition
1 : to criticize or censure severely or abusively
2 : to use harsh condemnatory language
Examples
"Hang on, let me tell you a story: Years ago, I had a co-worker who knew I enjoyed golf and who decided that he would vituperate golf. 'It's so boring, it's such a waste of time. Who in his right mind would want to play golf?'"
— Jay Nordlinger, The National Review, 17 Apr. 2017
"Lenin on the Train … is the latest entry in a vast literature dedicated to answering the question of just how was it that this pointy-bearded intellectual, who spent much of his life in libraries, and whose primary pastime was vituperating against fellow socialists in obscure journals, achieved so much—and at such a drastic human cost."
— Daniel Kalder, The Dallas Morning News, 16 Apr. 2017
Did You Know?
Vituperate has several close synonyms, including berate and revile. Berate usually refers to scolding that is drawn out and abusive. Revile means to attack or criticize in a way prompted by anger or hatred.
Vituperate can be used as a transitive or intransitive verb and adds to the meaning of revile by stressing an attack that is particularly harsh or unrelenting.
It first appeared in English in the mid-16th century and can be traced back to two Latin words: the noun vitium, meaning "fault," and the verb parare, meaning "to make or prepare."
vituperate \ vye-TOO-puh-rayt \ verb
Definition
1 : to criticize or censure severely or abusively
2 : to use harsh condemnatory language
Examples
"Hang on, let me tell you a story: Years ago, I had a co-worker who knew I enjoyed golf and who decided that he would vituperate golf. 'It's so boring, it's such a waste of time. Who in his right mind would want to play golf?'"
— Jay Nordlinger, The National Review, 17 Apr. 2017
"Lenin on the Train … is the latest entry in a vast literature dedicated to answering the question of just how was it that this pointy-bearded intellectual, who spent much of his life in libraries, and whose primary pastime was vituperating against fellow socialists in obscure journals, achieved so much—and at such a drastic human cost."
— Daniel Kalder, The Dallas Morning News, 16 Apr. 2017
Did You Know?
Vituperate has several close synonyms, including berate and revile. Berate usually refers to scolding that is drawn out and abusive. Revile means to attack or criticize in a way prompted by anger or hatred.
Vituperate can be used as a transitive or intransitive verb and adds to the meaning of revile by stressing an attack that is particularly harsh or unrelenting.
It first appeared in English in the mid-16th century and can be traced back to two Latin words: the noun vitium, meaning "fault," and the verb parare, meaning "to make or prepare."
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Ajita
WORD OF THE DAY
agita \ AJ-uh-tuh \ nound
Definition
: a feeling of agitation or anxiety
Examples
"Home-sharing through websites has meant more lodging choices for visitors to Massachusetts. But it's also become a source of considerable agita on Beacon Hill: How to tax and regulate this sudden behemoth?"
— The Boston Globe, 18 June 2017
"According to an American Psychological Association (APA) report, 43 percent of women say they're more stressed out than they were five years…. Women under age 33 report the highest levels of agita of any generation, with those 33 to 46 close behind."
— Shaun Dreisbach, Glamour, April 2016
Did You Know?
Judging by its spelling and meaning, you might think that agita is simply a shortened version of agitation, but that's not the case. Both agitation and the verb it comes form, agitate, derive from Latin agere, meaning "to drive."
Agita, which first appeared in American English in the mid-late 20th century, comes from a dialectical pronunciation of the Italian word acido, meaning "heartburn" or "acid," from Latin acidus. (Agita is also occasionally used in English with the meaning "heartburn.")
For a while the word's usage was limited to New York City and surrounding regions, but the word became more widespread in the mid-1990s.
agita \ AJ-uh-tuh \ nound
Definition
: a feeling of agitation or anxiety
Examples
"Home-sharing through websites has meant more lodging choices for visitors to Massachusetts. But it's also become a source of considerable agita on Beacon Hill: How to tax and regulate this sudden behemoth?"
— The Boston Globe, 18 June 2017
"According to an American Psychological Association (APA) report, 43 percent of women say they're more stressed out than they were five years…. Women under age 33 report the highest levels of agita of any generation, with those 33 to 46 close behind."
— Shaun Dreisbach, Glamour, April 2016
Did You Know?
Judging by its spelling and meaning, you might think that agita is simply a shortened version of agitation, but that's not the case. Both agitation and the verb it comes form, agitate, derive from Latin agere, meaning "to drive."
Agita, which first appeared in American English in the mid-late 20th century, comes from a dialectical pronunciation of the Italian word acido, meaning "heartburn" or "acid," from Latin acidus. (Agita is also occasionally used in English with the meaning "heartburn.")
For a while the word's usage was limited to New York City and surrounding regions, but the word became more widespread in the mid-1990s.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Salubrious
WORD OF THE DAY
salubrious \ suh-LOO-bree-us \ adjective
Definition
: favorable to or promoting health or well-being
Examples
The hot springs are popular both for relaxation and for their reported salubrious effect.
"There are many reasons why soup so often hits the spot. Certainly, it's got salubrious effects—with chicken soup topping the cure-all list."
— Ligaya Figueras, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 24 Feb. 2017
Did You Know?
Salubrious and its synonyms healthful and wholesome all mean favorable to the health of mind or body. Healthful implies a positive contribution to a healthy condition (as in Charles Dickens' advice to "take more healthful exercise").
Wholesome applies to something that benefits you, builds you up, or sustains you physically, mentally, or spiritually. Louisa May Alcott used this sense in Little Women: "Work is wholesome.... It keeps us from ennui and mischief, is good for health and spirits, and gives us a sense of power and independence...."
Salubrious is used similarly to both words but tends to apply chiefly to the helpful effects of climate or air.
salubrious \ suh-LOO-bree-us \ adjective
Definition
: favorable to or promoting health or well-being
Examples
The hot springs are popular both for relaxation and for their reported salubrious effect.
"There are many reasons why soup so often hits the spot. Certainly, it's got salubrious effects—with chicken soup topping the cure-all list."
— Ligaya Figueras, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 24 Feb. 2017
Did You Know?
Salubrious and its synonyms healthful and wholesome all mean favorable to the health of mind or body. Healthful implies a positive contribution to a healthy condition (as in Charles Dickens' advice to "take more healthful exercise").
Wholesome applies to something that benefits you, builds you up, or sustains you physically, mentally, or spiritually. Louisa May Alcott used this sense in Little Women: "Work is wholesome.... It keeps us from ennui and mischief, is good for health and spirits, and gives us a sense of power and independence...."
Salubrious is used similarly to both words but tends to apply chiefly to the helpful effects of climate or air.
Monday, October 2, 2017
Farceur
WORD OF THE DAY
farceur \ fahr-SER \ noun
Definition
1: joker, wag
2: a writer or actor of farce or satire
Examples
Grace's class presentation went very well, but she could have done without the snide remarks from the farceurs at the back of the room.
"Jerry Lewis didn't just play a nutty professor. For years he reigned as a mad comic scientist of the screen—a brash innovator who exploded conventions and expectations on either side of the camera, and a take-no-prisoners farceur who mixed slapstick antics with a seething man-child persona of his own making."
— Justin Chang, The Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2017
Did You Know?
You've probably already spotted the "farce" in farceur. But although farceur can now refer to someone who performs or composes farce, it began life as a word for someone who is simply known for cracking jokes.
Appropriately, farceur derives via Modern French from the Middle French farcer, meaning "to joke."
If you think of farce as a composition of ridiculous humor with a "stuffed" or contrived plot, then it should not surprise you that farce originally meant "forcemeat"—seasoned meat used for a stuffing—and that both farce and farceur can be ultimately traced back to the Latin verb farcire, meaning "to stuff."
farceur \ fahr-SER \ noun
Definition
1: joker, wag
2: a writer or actor of farce or satire
Examples
Grace's class presentation went very well, but she could have done without the snide remarks from the farceurs at the back of the room.
"Jerry Lewis didn't just play a nutty professor. For years he reigned as a mad comic scientist of the screen—a brash innovator who exploded conventions and expectations on either side of the camera, and a take-no-prisoners farceur who mixed slapstick antics with a seething man-child persona of his own making."
— Justin Chang, The Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2017
Did You Know?
You've probably already spotted the "farce" in farceur. But although farceur can now refer to someone who performs or composes farce, it began life as a word for someone who is simply known for cracking jokes.
Appropriately, farceur derives via Modern French from the Middle French farcer, meaning "to joke."
If you think of farce as a composition of ridiculous humor with a "stuffed" or contrived plot, then it should not surprise you that farce originally meant "forcemeat"—seasoned meat used for a stuffing—and that both farce and farceur can be ultimately traced back to the Latin verb farcire, meaning "to stuff."
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