Homogeneous

 WORD OF THE DAY

homogeneous / adjective / hoh-muh-JEEN-yus

Definition

1: of the same or a similar kind or nature

2: of uniform structure or composition throughout

3a: having the property that if each variable is replaced by a constant times that variable the constant can be factored out 

3b: having each term of the same degree if all variables are considered

Examples

A lot has changed for the better for the LGBTQ+ community since the 2015 Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges…. LGBTQ+ individuals who live in rural or more homogeneous populations can more easily see and connect with people who understand them." 

— Carrie Vittitoe, Today's Woman, October 2021

Was the idea of a homogeneous corporate culture still relevant?

— Srikanth Karra, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2021

As neighbors looked on, workers on a cherry picker methodically dismantled No. 28 with a chipping gun, creating a gaptoothed streetscape out of what had been, for 138 years, a pleasingly homogeneous row.

— New York Times, 5 Nov. 2021

Did You Know?

Homogeneous, which derives from the Greek roots homos, meaning "same," and genos, meaning "kind," has been used in English since the early 1600s. 

The similar word homogenous (originally created for the science of genetics and used with the meaning "of, relating to, or derived from another individual of the same species") can also be a synonym of homogeneous. 

The words need not be used exclusively in scientific contexts—one can speak of, for example, "a homogenous/homogeneous community."

Myopic

WORD OF THE DAY

myopic / adjective / mye-OH-pik

Definition
1a (medical): not able to clearly see objects that are far away (myopia)
1b: affected with myopia
1c: nearsighted
2a: lacking in foresight or discernment
2b: narrow in perspective and without concern for broader implications

Examples
"Three years ago, when chef Gerardo Gonzalez announced that he would leave New York for a hotel gig in the Caribbean, some probably wondered why a bright young talent was cutting his career short. 'I always try to resist the myopic view of things,' Gonzalez says from the Grand Cayman's Palm Heights Hotel, which granted him carte blanche to reimagine what a dining program should look like at a luxury resort."
— Gabe Ulla, Vanity Fair, 21 July 2021

After the Revolution the newly independent American states, governed by large elected legislatures, formed a loose confederation in which each state myopically pursued its own highly localized interests.
— Russell Baker, "A Heroic Historian on Heroes"

Did You Know?
Myopia is a condition in which visual images come to a focus in front of the retina of the eye, resulting in defective vision of distant objects.
Those with myopia can be referred to as "myopic" (or, less formally, "nearsighted").
Myopic has extended meanings, too. Someone myopic might have trouble seeing things from a different perspective or considering the future consequences before acting.
Myopic and myopia have a lesser-known relative, myope, meaning "a myopic person."
All of these words ultimately derive from the Greek myōps, which comes from myein (meaning "to be closed") and ōps (meaning "eye, face").

Ziggurat

WORD OF THE DAY

ziggurat / noun / ZIG-uh-rat

Definition
1a: an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure built in successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top
1b: a structure or object of similar form

Examples
"[Adam Borba] … has steadily maneuvered his way up Hollywood's creative ziggurat for some time. He co-produced 'Pete's Dragon' (2016) before adding executive producer to his list of credits with 'A Wrinkle in Time' (2018) and the highly anticipated 'Peter Pan & Wendy,' coming in 2022."
— Greg Archer, The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, California), 14 Nov. 2021

Most dramatic was the ziggurat, which is some 85 feet tall and once stood at least twice as high.
— Leon Mccarron, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Jan. 2022

Did You Know?
French professor of archaeology François Lenormant spent a great deal of time poring over ancient Assyrian texts.
 In those cuneiform inscriptions, he recognized a new language, now known as Akkadian, which proved valuable to the understanding of ancient Mesopotamian civilization.
Through his studies, he became familiar with the Akkadian word for the towering Mesopotamian temples: ziqqurratu.
In 1877 he came out with Chaldean Magic, a scholarly exposition on the mythology of the Chaldeans, an ancient people who lived in what is now Iraq.
In his work, which was immediately translated into English, he introduced the word ziggurat to the modern world in his description of the ziggurat of the Iraqi palace of Khorsabad.

Bamboozle

 WORD OF THE DAY

bamboozle /verb / bam-BOO-zul

Definition

1a: to deceive by underhanded methods 

1b: dupe, hoodwink

2: to confuse, frustrate, or throw off thoroughly or completely

BAMBOOZLE in Context

"Picasso … showed a talent for bamboozling the authorities, and was able by quick thinking and quicker talking to foil attempts by the Germans to seize a bank vault in which he and Matisse had stored stacks of their work that were worth millions." 

— John Banville, The New Republic, 1 Nov. 2021

Variant mutations that would totally bamboozle antibodies can’t always fool T cells, which means a lot more of them will be fairly Omicron-proof, Gralinski told me.

— Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2021

Did You Know?

In 1710, Irish author Jonathan Swift wrote an article on "the continual Corruption of our English Tongue" in which he complained of "the Choice of certain Words invented by some pretty Fellows." 

Among the inventions Swift disliked was bamboozle, which was used by contemporary criminals. Other than that, the origin of bamboozle remains a mystery, but the word has clearly defied Swift's assertion that "All new affected Modes of Speech ... are the first perishing Parts in any Language."

Quip

WORD OF THE DAY

quip / noun / KWIP

Definition
1a: a clever usually taunting remark
1b: gibe
1c: a witty or funny observation or response usually made on the spur of the moment
2: quibble, equivocation
3a: something strange, droll, curious, or eccentric
3b: oddity

Examples
"[Ronald Reagan] faced the age question during his reelection campaign in 1984, when he was only 73. In his debate against Democrat Walter F. Mondale, he dispelled the issue with a quip: 'I will not make age an issue in this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience.'"
— Doyle McManus, The Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2021

Trump made a similar quip last month about Dingell, who died in February, at a rally in Dingell's home state of Michigan.
— William Cummings, USA TODAY, 18 June 2019

In response to the quip, anchor Bret Baier equated Democrats accepting Biden despite the verbal slip-ups to about how Republicans feel toward Trump.
— Mike Brest, Washington Examiner, 9 Mar. 2020

Did You Know?
Quip is a shortening of quippy, a noun that is no longer in use.
Etymologists believe that quippy came from Latin quippe, a word meaning "indeed" or "to be sure" that was often used ironically.

Intemperate

 WORD OF THE DAY

intemperate / adjective / in-TEM-puh-rut

Definition
1: having extreme conditions
2: having or showing a lack of emotional calmness or control
3: given to excessive use of intoxicating liquors

Examples
"It is probably useful … for us to let our ideas flow with intemperate fervor on topics about which we care passionately."
— Jim Slusher, The Chicago Daily Herald, 2 Sept. 2021

Something more assertive is required: a crust that can stand up for itself, that holds without crumbling and can survive intemperate handling and a long, brisk walk.
— Ruby Tandoh, The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2021

Did You Know?
Intemperate means more or less "not well tempered"-and that definition also provides a clue about its origins.
The word derives from Latin intemperatus, formed by combining "in-" with a form of the verb temperare, meaning "to temper" or "to mix."
Both "intemperate" and its antonym "temperate" entered the English language in the 14th century.
Other "temperare" words include "distemper," "temperament," "temperature," "temperance," and "temper" itself.
Synonyms of "intemperate" in the sense of "not controlled" include "unbounded," "unbridled," "unrestrained," and "unchecked."

Winsome

WORD OF THE DAY

winsome / adjective / IN-sum

Definition
1: generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence
2: cheerful, lighthearted

Examples
"Among the fabled activists who risked their lives and transformed those of many others in the civil rights movement, [Julian Bond] stood out with his smooth patter, winsome charm, and understated glamour."
— Gene Seymour, The New Republic, 1 Mar. 2021

Shirley MacLaine is the winsome elevator operator that one of those executives is toying with.
— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2021

Did You Know?
Winsome comes from Old English wynn, meaning "joy" or "pleasure," which was altered in spelling to win (with the same meaning).
That win is obsolete and is unrelated to today's win—referring to victory and coming from Old English winnan, "to struggle, suffer, or acquire."
The adjective winning, meaning "tending to please or delight," as in "a winning smile" or "winning ways," is believed to be from the victorious win.

Non sequitur

 WORD OF THE DAY

non sequitur / noun / NAHN-SEK-wuh-ter

Definition

1a: an inference that does not follow from the premises

1b: a fallacy resulting from a simple conversion of a universal affirmative proposition or from the transposition of a condition and its consequent 

2: a statement (such as a response) that does not follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said

Examples

"[Norm Macdonald] was always open about how much he worshipped David Letterman…. His impersonation of his idol on SNL … was sharp enough to turn some of Letterman's verbal quirks and repeated non sequiturs ('Ehh....got any gum?') into a spot-on impression." 

— Rolling Stone, 15 Sept. 2021

The resultant traces oof smoke seem non sequitur as the distillery eschews the use of peat.

—Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 8 Oct. 2021

Did You Know?

In Latin, non sequitur means "it does not follow." 

The phrase was borrowed into English in the 1500s by people who made a formal study of logic. 

For them, it meant a conclusion that does not follow from the statements that lead to it. 

But we now use non sequitur for any kind of statement that seems to come out of the blue.

Perpetuity

 WORD OF THE DAY

perpetuity / noun / per-puh-TOO-uh-tee

Definition
1: eternity
2: the quality or state of being perpetual
3a: the condition of an estate limited so that it will not take effect or vest within the period fixed by law
3b: an estate so limited
4: an annuity payable forever

Examples
"Nearly 120 acres in Bradford County … will be free from development in perpetuity, thanks to a conservation easement acquisition by the North Florida Land Trust."
— The Florida Times-Union, 18 Sept. 2021

Rules governing how the capital budget is spent prohibit the allocation of money for an endowment fund that could be used in perpetuity to cover maintenance on public works.
— New York Times, 29 Dec. 2021

Did You Know?
Continual existence—that elusive philosophical concept is reflected in perpetuity, which traces to Latin perpetuus, an adjective meaning "continual" or "uninterrupted."
The word has specific legal use. It can refer, for example, to an arrangement in a will rendering land forever incapable of being surrendered or transferred (or at least, for a period longer than is set by rules against such arrangements) or to an annuity that is payable forever.

Winsome

 WORD OF THE DAY

winsome / adjective / WIN-sum

Definiton
1: generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence
2: cheerful, lighthearted

Examples
"Among the fabled activists who risked their lives and transformed those of many others in the civil rights movement, [Julian Bond] stood out with his smooth patter, winsome charm, and understated glamour."
— Gene Seymour, The New Republic, 1 Mar. 2021

Shirley MacLaine is the winsome elevator operator that one of those executives is toying with.
— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2021

Did You Know?
Winsome began as wynsum many centuries ago. It was formed from wynn, the Old English word for "joy" or "pleasure," and the suffix -sum, an older form of the -some we see today in many adjectives, such as awesome, irksome, and lonesome.
Wynn later became win, meaning "pleasure," but that noun is now obsolete. We do, however, use another word that has a "pleasing" connection and is related, albeit distantly, to winsome.
Winning ("tending to please or delight," as in "a winning smile" or "winning ways"), the present participle of the familiar verb win, is from Old English winnan, meaning "to struggle."
Both winnan and wynn are thought to be related to Latin venus, which means, among other things, "charm."

Stola

 WORD OF THE DAY

stola / noun / STOH-luh

Definition
: a long draped robe similar to the Greek chiton worn by women of ancient Rome

Examples
"Lady Liberty is dressed in a free-flowing robe called a stola. Over the stola, she is wearing a cloak called a palla, which is fastened by a clasp on her left shoulder.
— Debra Hess, The Statue of Liberty, 2004

The over-garment worn by women (stola) was trimmed around the bottom with a border (instita) that often lengthened into a train.
— Quintus Claudius, Volume 1 of 2

Did You Know?
The Roman stola resembles the Greek chiton.
It is a long, full robe, generally sleeveless, that hangs nearly to the feet and is girdled around the waist.
It falls in either folds or pleats from the shoulders to the girdle, then from the girdle to the floor.
It was worn by women, especially matrons, of ancient Rome.

Gloss

 WORD OF THE DAY

gloss / verb / GLAHSS

Definition
1a: to provide a gloss for
1b: explain, define
1c: interpret
2: to dispose of by false or perverse interpretation

Examples
"Glossing the process, [Janelle Shane] told me, 'As the algorithm generates text, it predicts the next character based on the previous characters—either the seed text, or the text it has generated already.'"
— Jacob Brogan, Slate, 9 May 2017

"...trying to gloss away the irrationalities of the universe"
 — Irwin Edman

Did You Know?

You likely know gloss as a noun meaning "shine," or as part of the phrase gloss over, meaning "to treat or describe (something) as if it were not important," but those uses are unrelated to the other verb use of gloss.
It comes from the noun gloss that refers primarily to a brief explanation.
It is Greek in origin, coming from glossa or glotta, meaning "tongue," "language," or "obscure word."
Glossary is from this same root, as are two anatomical terms: glottis refers to the elongated space between the vocal cords and also to the structures that surround this space; epiglottis refers to the thin plate of flexible cartilage in front of the glottis that folds back over and protects the glottis during swallowing.

Meritorious

 WORD OF THE DAY

meritorious / adjective / mair-uh-TOR-ee-us

Definition
: deserving of honor or esteem

Examples
"It's no secret that these companies have a lot on the line here. They're well resourced, and they're going to marshal every argument that they have, meritorious or meritless."
— Lina Khan, quoted in The New York Magazine, 27 Oct. 2021

He was later awarded the Bronze Star and a Silver Star for meritorious service.
— New York Times, 9 Nov. 2021

Did You Know?
People who demonstrate meritorious behavior certainly earn our respect, and you can use that fact to remember that meritorious ultimately traces to the Latin verb merēre, which means "to earn."
Nowadays, the rewards earned for meritorious acts are likely to be of an immaterial nature: gratitude, admiration, praise, etc.
But that wasn't always so. The history of meritorious recalls a reward more concrete in nature: money.
The Latin word meritorius, an ancestor of the English meritorious, literally means "bringing in money."

Cerulean

 WORD OF THE DAY

cerulean / adjective / suh-ROO-lee-un

Definition
: resembling the blue of the sky"

Examples
"To our left, as we made our way along the trail, was an expansive valley enclosed by the cerulean heights of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a 550-mile expanse of the Appalachian Mountains."
— Stephanie Hill, The Herald-Dispatch (Huntington, West Virginia), 3 Dec. 2021

Outside, children fly kites, the flimsy colored plastic shuddering in the gusts that blast and swell, before leaping up into cerulean skies.
— Steph Dyson, CNN, 29 Oct. 2021

Did You Know?
Cerulean comes from Latin caeruleus, which means "dark blue" and is most likely from caelum, "sky."

Tome

 WORD OF THE DAY

tome / noun / TOHM

Definition
1: book, especially a large or scholarly book
2: a volume forming part of a larger work
3a: part 
3b: segment
4: cutting instrument

Examples
The tome is split into three sections by timeline, covering the golden age of the 1900s-’30s, the 1940s-’60s midcentury years, and the horror boom across the 1970s-2000s.
— Adam Rowe, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2022

Tuesday’s meeting will be the first of three chances in the next two months for the council to make amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, the massive tome most recently adopted in 2006 and amended in 2011.
— Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2021

Did You Know?
Tome comes from Latin tomus, which comes from Greek tomos, meaning "section" or "roll of papyrus."
Tomos is from the Greek verb temnein, which means "to cut." In ancient times, some of the longest scrolls of papyrus occasionally were divided into sections.
When it was first used in English in the 16th century, tome was a book that was a part of a multi-volume work or a major part of a single-volume book.
Now a tome is most often simply a large and often ponderous book.

Affable

 WORD OF THE DAY

affable / adjective / AF-uh-bul

Definition
1: being pleasant and at ease in talking to others
2: characterized by ease and friendliness

Examples
"… Perkatory, the coffee shop founded by her late mother in Devil's Beach's quaint business district, … is located in a building owned by Lana's dad, Peter, an affable hippie and the island's leading purveyor of gossip."
— Colette Bancroft, The Tampa Bay Times, 29 Nov. 2021

Bertie's a bright, affable fellow, but every little success he has feels cheapened in comparison with his dad's overpowering accomplishments.
— Lev Grossman, Time, 7 Feb. 2005

Did You Know?
Affable is one of several English words that evolved from the Latin verb fari, which means "to speak."
The adjective comes from Latin affabilis, which comes from the fari relative affari ("to speak to"), plus -abilis, meaning "able."
Some other fari derivatives are infant, fable, and fate.
Infant comes from the Latin infans, which means "incapable of speech" and combines in- and fans, the present participle of fari.
Fable comes from the Latin fabula, a fari offspring that means "conversation."
Fate comes from the Latin word fatum, meaning "what has been spoken" and deriving from fatus, the past participle of fari.

One of the peculiarities of the English language is that ungendered words (especially nouns) may occasionally take gendered pronouns or modifiers.
A ship, for example, is often called "she." We also find that some general-purpose words (especially adjectives) tend to be used of one sex rather than the other.
Such is the case with affable, which our records show is far more likely to be used to describe a man than a woman.
This should not be taken as evidence that men are friendlier or easier to speak with (nor should you shy away from describing a woman as affable), but it does serve to illustrate the manner in which the word is often used.

Voluble

 WORD OF THE DAY

voluble / adjective / VAHL-yuh-bul

Definition
1a: easily rolling or turning
1b: rotating
2a: characterized by ready or rapid speech
2b: glib, fluent

Examples
"[Erich Jarvis] hypothesized that the most vocal animals are typically the ones that have to worry less about predators. Interestingly, he noticed that especially voluble vocal learners 'tend to be near the top of the food chain—like humans, whales, and dolphins or elephants.'"
— Emma Bryce, Live Science, 2 July 2021

On the sidelines & in the booth, this voluble mountain of energy was a trailblazer.
— Katie Campione, PEOPLE.com, 28 Dec. 2021

Did You Know?
English has many terms for gabby types, but it's important to choose the right word to get across what kind of chatterbox you mean.
Talkative usually implies a readiness to engage in talk or a disposition to enjoy conversation.
Loquacious generally suggests the power to express oneself fluently, articulately, or glibly, but it can also mean "talking excessively."
Garrulous is even stronger in its suggestion of excessive talkativeness; it is most often used for tedious, rambling talkers.
Voluble is a word ultimately derived from the Latin verb volvere, meaning "to roll," that  describes an individual who speaks easily and often—someone whose words smoothly roll off their tongue, so to speak.

Zeitgeist

 WORD OF THE DAY

zeitgeist / noun / TSYTE-gyste

Definition
1a: the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era
1b: the spirit of a time and place

Examples
But by the time a second season arrives, audiences might have already moved on; Squid Game captured the zeitgeist based almost solely on word of mouth.
— Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2021

"The lead single and opening track, 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' has been streamed more than 1 billion times on Spotify. Its accompanying music video has been viewed more than 1 billion times on YouTube. 'Nevermind' is the defining album of an era and generation, an embodiment of the cultural zeitgeist of the 1990s."
— Hickory Daily Record (North Carolina), 28 Nov. 2021

Did You Know?
Scholars have long maintained that each era has a unique spirit, a nature or climate that sets it apart from all other epochs.
In German, such a spirit is known as Zeitgeist, from the German words Zeit, meaning "time," and Geist, meaning "spirit" or "ghost."

Antithetical

 WORD OF THE DAY

antithetical / adjective / an-tuh-THET-ih-kul

Definition
1a: being in direct and unequivocal opposition
1b: directly opposite or opposed
2: constituting or marked by antithesis

Examples
"In all seriousness, area trails can get crowded, particularly during holidays, and an adventure with too many others, for some, is antithetical to their preferred outdoor experience."
 — David Jasper, The Bulletin (Bend, Oregon), 26 Nov. 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is self-consciously an agent of historical change, as much as Nehru, but often in an antithetical mode.
— Raghu Karnad, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2021

Did You Know?
Antithetical and antithesis come from Greek antitithenai ("to oppose").
The oldest sense of antithesis refers to a language pattern that contrasts parallel ideas, as in "action, not words" or "they promised freedom and provided slavery," and antithetical originally referred to anything that was marked by such antithesis.
For example, you could say "The phrase 'action, not words' is an antithetical construction."
It is more common, however, for antithesis to mean "the exact opposite" and for antithetical to mean "directly opposite."

Sully

 WORD OF THE DAY

sully / verb / SUL-ee

Definition
1a: to make soiled or tarnished
1b: defile
2: soil, stain

Examples
"When she began living next to the beach in Barcelona, New Yorker Elizabeth Sherr was distressed to see all the cigarette butts and litter sullying its golden sand. The 24-year-old began a campaign to pick up the rubbish piece by piece, posting videos on TikTok encouraging others to get involved."
— Graham Keeley, i (inews.co.uk), 10 June 2021

Anyway, what would be the point of selling people on a safe space just to sully it with dangers?
— Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 8 Nov. 2021

Did You Know?
The spelling of sully has shifted several times since it was sylian in Old-English, but its meaning has remained essentially the same: "to soil."
If you're looking for other words that mean "to soil," you can try out befoul, besmirch, blacken, foul, grime, stain, or simply dirty.
You might wonder if the English word sullen (meaning "gloomy or morose") is a relative of sully, and the answer is no.
Sullen traces back by way of Anglo- and Old French to Latin solus, meaning "alone."

Palindrome

 WORD OF THE DAY

palindrome / noun / PAL-un-drohm

Definition
: a word, verse, or sentence (such as "Able was I ere I saw Elba") or a number (such as 1881) that reads the same backward or forward

Examples
"The original members—Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni, whose first names form the palindrome ABBA—were a perpetual presence on the radio airwaves during their 1972 to '82 heyday, and one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music."
— Ray Schweibert, The Atlantic City (New Jersey) Weekly, 16 Nov. 2021

And Jones seemed to have an early lead on the Cam-Mac palindrome scoreboard.
— BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2021

Did You Know?
Palindromic wordplay is nothing new. Palindromes have been around since at least the days of ancient Greece, and our name for them comes from two Greek words, palin, meaning "back" or "again," and dramein, meaning "to run."
Nowadays, we can all appreciate a clever palindrome (such as "Drab as a fool, aloof as a bard" or "A man, a plan, a canal: Panama"), or even a simple one like "race car," but in the past palindromes were more than just smart wordplay.
Until well into the 19th century some folks thought palindromes were actually magical, and they carved them on walls or amulets to protect people or property from harm.