lamia: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 31 is:

lamia \LAY-mee-uh\ noun
: a female demon : vampire

Example sentence:
In his latest horror flick, a seductive lamia revengefully preys upon the young men of a suburban town, who, it turns out, were responsible for her brutal death.

Did you know?
According to Greek mythology, Lamia was a queen of Libya who was beloved by Zeus. When Hera, Zeus's wife, robbed her of her children from this union, Lamia killed every child she could get into her power. Stories were also told of a fiend named Lamia who, in the form of a beautiful woman, seduced young men in order to devour them and who also sucked the blood of children. Such nightmarish legends uncannily compelled poet John Keats, and many other writers before and after him, to write their own tales of Lamia, which still haunt and terrify those souls who dare read them.

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antic: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 30 is:

antic \AN-tik\ adjective
*1 : characterized by clownish extravagance or absurdity
2 : whimsically gay : frolicsome

Example sentence:
As the movie progresses, the characters become involved in a series of antic misadventures, each one funnier and more absurd than the last.

Did you know?
When Renaissance Italians began exploring the ancient Roman ruins around them, they discovered fantastic mural paintings that they called "pitture grottesche" (which means "cave paintings," from the fact that they were found in caves, or "grotte"). Because they were so old, the murals were also called "antichi," or "ancient things." English speakers began to use "antics," both for depictions that are incongruous, caricatured, and ludicrous (such as gargoyles, which we now might refer to as "grotesques") and for ludicrous or outlandish behavior. Within 20 years of its earliest recorded uses as a noun, "antic" appeared as an English adjective. Originally, it meant "grotesque" or "bizarre" (a sense now considered archaic), but today it means "playful, funny, or absurd" and the noun means "a wildly playful or funny act."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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goldbrick: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 29 is:

goldbrick \GOLD-brik\ noun
1 a : a worthless brick that appears to be of gold b : something that appears to be valuable but is actually worthless
*2 : a person who shirks assigned work

Example sentence:
While the goldbricks in the office were goofing off, Leslie was rushing to finish the project on time.

Did you know?
"The gold brick swindle is an old one but it crops up constantly," states an 1881 _National Police Gazette_ article referring to the con artist's practice of passing off bricks made of base metal as gold. By the time World War I was under way, the word "goldbrick" was associated with another sort of trickery. The sense of the word meaning "shirker" originated in the slang of the United States Army, where it referred to a soldier who feigned illness or injury in order to get out of work or service. That sense has since expanded in usage to refer to any person who avoids or tries to get out of his or her assignment.

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valetudinarian : M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 28 is:

valetudinarian \val-uh-too-duh-NAIR-ee-un\ noun
: a person of a weak or sickly constitution; especially : one whose chief concern is being or becoming a chronic invalid

Example sentence:
Will complained constantly of his aches, pains, and sniffles; he was a terrible valetudinarian.

Did you know?
It's ironic that hypochondriacs and others who are convinced that their health is fragile often outlive their heartier compatriots. It is also ironic that "valetudinarian," a word for someone who is sickly (or at least thinks he or she is) comes from "valere," a Latin word that means "to be strong" or "to be well." Most of the English offspring of "valere" imply having some kind of strength or force -- consider, for instance, "valiant," "prevail," "valor," and "value." But the Latin "valere" also gave rise to "valetudo." In Latin, "valetudo" refers to one's state of health (whether good or bad), but by the time that root had given rise to "valetudinarian" in the early 1700s, English-speaking pessimists had given it a decidedly sickly spin.

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confidant: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 27 is:

confidant \KAHN-fuh-dahnt\ noun
: one to whom secrets are entrusted; especially : intimate

Example sentence:
Only Julian?s closest confidants knew that he was hunting for a new job.

Did you know?
If you're confident in the trustworthiness of your confidants, you've inadvertently guessed the origins of the word "confidant." It comes from the French word "confident," which in turn derives from the Italian adjective "confidente," meaning "confident, trustworthy." The Italian word, in turn, can be traced back to the Latin verb "confidere," "to confide" (the root of which is "fidere," meaning "to trust"). Other descendants of "confidere" in English include "confide," "confidence," and "confident," as well as "confidential" (which was formed from "confidence").

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sleuth: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 26 is:

sleuth \SLOOTH\ verb
*intransitive verb : to act as a detective : search for information
transitive verb : to search for and discover

Example sentence:
After several employees complained of nausea, a shrewd bit of medical sleuthing turned up the culprit: a bacterium in the drinking water.

Did you know?
"They were the footprints of a gigantic hound!" Those canine tracks in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles set the great Sherlock Holmes sleuthing on the trail of a murderer. It was a case of art imitating etymology. When Middle English speakers first borrowed "sleuth" from Old Norse, the term referred to "the track of an animal or person." In Scotland, a "sleuthhound" was a bloodhound used to hunt game or track down fugitives from justice. In 19th century U.S. English, "sleuthhound" became an epithet for a detective and was soon shortened to "sleuth." From there, it was only a short leap to turning "sleuth" into a verb describing what a sleuth does.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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filial : M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 25 is:

filial \FILL-ee-ul\ adjective
*1 : of, relating to, or befitting a son or daughter
2 : having or assuming the relation of a child or offspring

Example sentence:
Martha's acute sense of filial responsibility made her check on her mother whenever a few days went by without contact.

Did you know?
"Filial" is descended from the Latin "filius," meaning "son," and "filia," meaning "daughter," and in English (where it has been used since at least the 14th century) it has always applied to both sexes. At one time, the word carried the dutiful sense "owed to a parent by a child," typically found in the then-common phrases "filial respect" and "filial piety." It can now be used more generally for any emotion or behavior of a child to a parent. You might suspect that "filia" is also the source of the word "filly," meaning "a young female horse" or "a young girl," but it isn't. Rather, "filly" is from Old Norse "fylja."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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amphibology : M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 24 is:

amphibology \am-fuh-BAH-luh-jee\ noun
: a sentence or phrase that can be interpreted in more than one way

Example sentence:
Not wanting to voice what I really felt, I resorted to amphibology and said, "I can't say too many good things about her."

Did you know?
A venerable old word in English, "amphibology" is from Greek "amphibolos" (via Late Latin and Latin). "Amphibolos," from "amphi-" ("both") and "ballein" ("to throw"), literally means "encompassing" or "hitting at both ends"; figuratively it means "ambiguous." Amphibology is an equivocator's friend. An editor who has been sent an unsolicited manuscript to critique, for example, might reply, "I shall lose no time in reading your book." Or a dinner guest who feels the onset of heartburn might say something like, "Ah, that was a meal I shall not soon forget!" But amphibology's ambiguity can be unintended and undesirable as well, as in "When Mom talked to Judy, she said she might call her back the next day." (_Who_ said _who_ might call _whom_ back?)

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equivocal: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 23 is:

equivocal \ih-KWIV-uh-kul\ adjective
1 *a : subject to two or more interpretations and usually used to mislead or confuse b : uncertain as an indication or sign
2 a : of uncertain nature or classification b : of uncertain disposition toward a person or thing : undecided c : of doubtful advantage, genuineness, or moral rectitude

Example sentence:
When asked if he would run for president, the senator gave only equivocal answers, providing little information about his plans.

Did you know?
"Equivocal," "vague," and "ambiguous" all mean "not clearly understandable" and are used to describe confusing speech or writing. "Equivocal" -- which can be traced back to the Latin prefix "aequi-" ("equi-") and the Latin word "vox" ("voice") -- applies to language left open to differing interpretations with the intention of deceiving or evading ("moral precepts with equivocal phrasing"). "Vague" implies a lack of clear formulation due to inadequate conception or consideration ("I had only a vague idea of how to get there"). "Ambiguous," like "equivocal," applies to language capable of more than one interpretation but usually does not have the negative connotations of deception or evasion ("the poet's wording is intentionally ambiguous").

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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telegraphese : M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 22 is:

telegraphese \tel-uh-graf-EEZ\ noun
: language characterized by the terseness and ellipses that are common in telegrams

Example sentence:
The translator couldn't keep up with the speaker, so what we heard of the speech sounded like telegraphese.

Did you know?
E-mail's the thing nowadays, but in the 19th century the way to send a quick message to someone far away was, of course, the telegraph. The original French namers of the telegraph ("telegraphe" in French) took a lesson from the Greeks: Greek "tele-" means "distant," and "-graphe" traces to a Greek verb meaning "to write." Later, a message sent by telegraph was dubbed in English a "telegram" (from Greek "gramma," meaning "letter"). Telegrams were a great innovation, but they were expensive. You had to pay by the word, so folks created a kind of shorthand that let them keep their missives brief. By the late 1800s, "telegraphese" was being used for any language that was as terse as the clipped and cryptic style used in telegrams.

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provenience: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 21 is:

provenience \pruh-VEE-nee-unss\ noun
: origin, source

Example sentence:
Its exact provenience is shrouded in mystery, but some people think the Hope diamond was cut from a gem stolen from the French crown jewels in 1792.

Did you know?
Did you suspect that "provenience" and "provenance" originate from the same source? You're right; they're parent and child. "Provenance" is the older of the two. It has been used to mean "origin" in English since at least the 1780s, when it was borrowed from French. Its linguistic grandfather is the French verb "provenir," meaning "to come forth, originate." The French verb, in turn, derives from Latin "provenire," a composite of "pro-" (meaning "forth") and "venire" (meaning "come"). "Provenience" is a chip off the old block, originating as a modification of "provenance" about 100 years after its parent debuted in English texts. The source of the extra syllable in "provenience" is most likely "proveniens," a participle of "provenire." (The similar Latin participle
"conveniens" gave us "convenience," another "venire" derivative.)

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bouleversement : M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 20 is:

bouleversement \bool-vair-suh-MAHNG (the "NG" is not pronounced, but the vowel is nasalized)\ noun
*1 : reversal
2 : a violent disturbance : disorder

Example sentence:
The economist pointed out that, in a bouleversement of housing trends, more people are purchasing homes now, whereas rentals have dropped off.

Did you know?
English picked up "bouleversement" from French in the latter part of the 18th century (it ultimately traces to Middle French "boule," meaning "ball," and "verser," meaning "to overturn"), and while not very common, it has steadily remained in use since that time. F. Scott Fitzgerald, for one, used it in his 1920 novel _This Side of Paradise_: "For the second time in his life Amory had had a complete bouleversement and was hurrying into line with his generation." Both Fitzgerald's use and our own example sentence suggest the idea of turning something around, but some usage of "bouleversement" dispenses with this notion and instead implies a general kind of upheaval or dramatic change, as in a revolution.

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Argus: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 19 is:

Argus \AHR-gus\ noun
1 : a hundred-eyed monster of Greek mythology
*2 : a watchful guardian

Example sentence:
The students moved nervously through the hallway under the watchful eyes of Principal Burns, an all-seeing Argus who seemed to be able to spot horseplay even with his back turned.

Did you know?
If you've ever seen a peacock display his magnificent spotted tail, then you've seen the eyes of Argus the All-Seeing, a mythological creature reputed to have one hundred eyes on his head and body. Argus was chosen by the Greek goddess queen Hera to keep an eye on Io, a priestess turned heifer who had caught the eye of Hera's dallying husband Zeus. Argus proved to be a vigilant watchman, but all of his eyes were eventually lulled to sleep by Hermes, who then killed him. After his death, Hera transferred the eyes of Argus to the tail of the peacock. Despite his fate, "Argus" survives in English today as a word for someone who vigilantly oversees everything around him or her.

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expropriate: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 18 is:

expropriate \ek-SPROH-pree-ayt\ verb
1 : to deprive of possession or proprietary rights
*2 : to transfer (the property of another) to one's own possession

Example sentence:
When Maria went home, we expropriated her pens and extra paper to finish the group project.

Did you know?
If you guessed that "expropriate" has something in common with the verb "appropriate," you're right. Both words ultimately derive from the Latin adjective "proprius," meaning "own." "Expropriate" came to us by way of the Medieval Latin verb "expropriare," itself from Latin "ex-" ("out of" or "from") and "proprius." "Appropriate" descends from Late Latin "appropriare," which joins "proprius" and Latin "ad-" ("to" or "toward"). Both the verb "appropriate" ("to take possession of" or "to set aside for a particular use") and the adjective "appropriate" ("fitting" or "suitable") have been with us since the 15th century, and "expropriate" has been a part of the language since at least 1611. Other "proprius" descendants in English include "proper" and "property."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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pomaceous: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 17 is:

pomaceous \poh-MAY-shuss\ adjective
1 : of or relating to apples
*2 : resembling a pome

Example sentence:
"Her face was looking papery and translucent... but she still had nice legs, with the pomaceous calves of a Pittsburgh girl." (Michael Chabon, The New Yorker, April 1990)

Did you know?
"Pomaceous" was first planted in the English language by physician Edward Baynard when, in 1706, he advised, "Apples and pomaceous Juices, are the greatest Pectorals." ("Pectoral" is now a rarely used word for a food that helps digestion.) Since then, "pomaceous" has mainly been sown by botanists and poets. The word, which is ultimately derived from Late Latin "pomum" (meaning "apple"), was originally used of apples and things relating to apples, but later it was also applied to things that look like pears. (Pears, like apples, belong to the pome family.)

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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lexicographer: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 16 is:

lexicographer \lek-suh-KAH-gruh-fer\ noun
: an author or editor of a dictionary

Example sentence:
The great lexicographer Noah Webster, who wrote the first authoritative dictionary of American English, was born on October 16, 1758.

Did you know?
Happy Dictionary Day! We're celebrating with a look at a word that is dear to our hearts: "lexicographer." The ancient Greeks were some of the earliest makers of dictionaries; they used them mainly to catalog obsolete terms from their rich literary past. To create a word for writers of dictionaries, the Greeks sensibly attached the suffix "-graphos," meaning "writer," to "lexikon," meaning "dictionary," to form "lexikographos," the direct ancestor of the English "lexicographer." "Lexikon," which itself descends from the Greek "lexis" (meaning "word" or "speech"), also gave us "lexicon," which can mean either "dictionary" or "the vocabulary of a language, speaker, or subject."

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tontine: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 15 is:

tontine \TAHN-teen\ noun
: a joint financial arrangement whereby the participants usually contribute equally to a prize that is awarded entirely to the participant who survives all the others

Example sentence:
When all the participants in the tontine but one were murdered, you can guess who the primary suspect was.

Did you know?
Tontines were named after their creator, a Neapolitan banker named Lorenzo Tonti. In 1653, Tonti convinced investors to buy shares in a fund he had created. Each year, the investors earned dividends, and when one of them died, his or her share of the profits was redistributed among the survivors. When the last investor died, the capital reverted to the state. Louis XIV of France used tontines to save his ailing treasury and to fund municipal projects, and private tontines (where the last surviving investor -- and subsequently his or her heirs -- got the cash instead of the state) became popular throughout Europe and the U.S. Eventually, though, tontines were banned; there was just too much temptation for unscrupulous investors to bump off their fellow subscribers.

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tintinnabulation: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 14 is:

tintinnabulation \tin-tuh-nab-yuh-LAY-shun\ noun
1 : the ringing or sounding of bells
*2 : a jingling or tinkling sound as if of bells

Example sentence:
The best man's toast to the bride and groom ended with the customary tintinnabulation of a hundred clinking champagne glasses.

Did you know?
If "tintinnabulation" rings a bell, that may be because it traces to a Latin interpretation of the sound a ringing bell makes. Our English word derives from "tintinnabulum," the Latin word for "bell." That Latin word, in turn, comes from the verb "tintinnare," which means "to ring, clang, or jingle." Like the English terms "ting" and "tinkle," "tintinnare" originated with a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it -- that is, it is onomatopoeic. Edgar Allan Poe celebrates the sonic overtones of "tintinnabulation" in his poem "The Bells," which includes lines about "the tintinnabulation that so musically wells / From the bells, bells, bells, bells, / Bells, bells, bells -- / From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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terra firma: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 13 is:

terra firma \tair-uh-FER-muh\ noun
: dry land : solid ground

Example sentence:
The passengers on the ocean liner looked forward to setting foot on terra firma at the end of the long voyage.

Did you know?
The etymology of "terra firma" hasn't been watered down a bit. The phrase comes directly from New Latin, where it literally means "solid land." When "terra firma" first set foot in English prose in the 17th century, it referred specifically to the dry land of continents or mainlands (as distinct from smaller, more water-bound landforms, such as islands), or even more specifically, to certain Italian mainland territories controlled by Venice. By the end of the 17th century, the broader sense of "terra firma" (any dry land) had also established footing. That sense remains firmly established to this day. Figurative use ("a theory built on the terra firma of facts," for example) is also common. The older senses, however, have since crumbled away.

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celerity: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 12 is:

celerity \suh-LAIR-uh-tee\ noun
: rapidity of motion or action

Example sentence:
Sarah's employees appreciate the celerity with which she responds to queries and deals with problems.

Did you know?
In the novel _Of Human Bondage_, W. Somerset Maugham tells of an undertaker's shop window that displays the words "Economy, Celerity, Propriety" in "silver lettering on a black cloth . . . with two model coffins." But "celerity" isn't dead in English, where it has proven its vitality since the Middle Ages. Middle English speakers borrowed "celerite" from Anglo-French (and speedily changed it to "celerity"). The word is ultimately from Latin "celer," which means "swift." Another "celer" word in English is "accelerate."

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harangue: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 11 is:

harangue \huh-RANG\ noun
1 : a speech addressed to a public assembly
*2 : a ranting speech or writing
3 : lecture

Example sentence:
The comedian's stand-up act consisted mostly of sharp harangues against celebrities and the media.

Did you know?
In Old Italian, the noun "aringo" referred to a public assembly, the verb "aringare" meant "to speak in public," and the noun "aringa" referred to a public speech. "Aringa" was borrowed into Middle French as "arenge," and it is from this form that we get our noun "harangue," which made its first appearance in English in the 16th century. Perhaps due to the bombastic or exasperated nature of some public speeches, the term quickly developed an added sense referring to a speech or writing in the style of a rant (though the word "rant" is not etymologically related). There is also a verb "harangue," which refers to the act of making such a speech.

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