ruly: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for September 4 is:

ruly \ROO-lee\ adjective
: obedient, orderly

Example sentence:
Concert organizers worried that rambunctious fans might get out of hand, but the crowd was surprisingly ruly.

Did you know?
You're probably familiar with "unruly," meaning "not readily controlled or disciplined." Have you ever wondered, "Is there a 'ruly' too?" If so, did it seem to you that such a word should exist? A little over 150 years ago, someone apparently followed that same thought process, creating "ruly" by dropping the prefix from "unruly." Whoever did so probably thought the coinage was a new one, but that's not quite the case. There had once been another "ruly" with much the same meaning as the modern term, but it had been out of use for over 200 years. Ultimately, "ruly" and "unruly" come from "reuly," a Middle English word meaning "disciplined." "Reuly" in turn comes from Middle English "reule," a predecessor of "rule."

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insinuate: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for September 3 is:

insinuate \in-SIN-yuh-wayt\ verb
1 a : to introduce (as an idea) gradually or in a subtle, indirect, or covert way *b : to impart or suggest in an artful or indirect way : imply
2 : to introduce (as oneself) by stealthy, smooth, or artful means

Example sentence:
Caleb wouldn't openly accuse Trudy of lying, but he wasn't above insinuating it.

Did you know?
The meaning of "insinuate" is similar to that of another verb, "suggest." Whether you "suggest" or "insinuate," you are conveying an idea indirectly. But although these two words share the same basic meaning, each gets the idea across in a different way. When you "suggest," you put something into the mind by associating it with other ideas, desires, or thoughts. You might say, for example, that a book's title suggests what the story is about. "Insinuate," on the other hand, usually includes a sense that the idea being conveyed is unpleasant, or that it is being passed along in a sly or underhanded way.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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pillory: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for September 2 is:

pillory \PILL-uh-ree\ noun
1 : a device formerly used for publicly punishing offenders consisting of a wooden frame with holes in which the head and hands can be locked
*2 : a means for exposing one to public scorn or ridicule

Example sentence:
"Whenever [Charlie Brown] stepped onto a baseball field, the mound turned into a pillory, the boos and catcalls flying at him with the speed of a fastball." (Robert Seltzer, _San Antonio Express-News_, February 26, 2006)

Did you know?
In days gone by, criminals who got caught might well have found themselves in the stocks (which held the feet or both feet and hands) or a pillory. Both of those forms of punishment -- and the words that name them -- have been around since the Middle Ages. We latched onto "pillory" from the Anglo-French "pilori" (which has the same meaning as our English term), but the exact origins of the French term are uncertain. For centuries, "pillory" referred only to the wooden frame used to hold a ne'er-do-well, but by the early 1600s, folks had turned the word into a verb for the act of putting someone in a pillory. Within a century, they had further expanded the verb to cover any process that led to as much public humiliation as being pilloried.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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stipulate: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for September 1 is:

stipulate \STIP-yuh-layt\ verb
1 : to make an agreement to do something : contract
*2 : to specify (something) as a condition or requirement (as of an agreement or offer)

Example sentence:
The lease stipulates that the tenant's failure to pay rent by the end of the month may result in eviction.

Did you know?
Like many terms used in the legal profession, "stipulate" has its roots in Latin. It derives from "stipulatus," the past participle of "stipulari," a verb meaning "to demand a guarantee (as from a prospective debtor)." "Stipulate" has been a part of the English language since the 17th century. In Roman law, oral contracts were deemed valid only if they followed a proper question-and-answer format; "stipulate" was sometimes used specifically of this process of contract making, though it also could be used more generally for any means of making a contract or agreement. The "specify as a condition or requirement" sense of the word also dates from the 17th century, and it is the sense that is most often encountered in current use.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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tyro: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for August 31 is:

tyro \TYE-roh\ noun
: a beginner in learning : novice

Example sentence:
A reviewer described the new photography manual as "a clear explanation of the basics, ideal for tyros but too elementary for seasoned shutterbugs."

Did you know?
The word "tyro" is hardly a newcomer to Western language. It comes from the Latin "tiro," which means "young soldier," "new recruit," or more generally, "novice." The word was sometimes spelled "tyro" as early as Medieval Latin, and can be spelled "tyro" or "tiro" in English (though "tyro" is the more common American variant). Use of "tyro" in English has never been restricted to the original "young soldier" meaning of the Latin term. Writers in the 17th and 18th centuries wrote of tyros in various fields and occupations. Herman Melville used "tyro" to refer to men new to whaling and life at sea. More recently, _The New York Times Book Review_ and _Rolling Stone_ used the noun attributively (that is, directly before another noun), referring to a "tyro sleuth" and a "tyro director," respectively.

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protean: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for August 30 is:

protean \PROH-tee-un\ adjective
1 : of or resembling Proteus in having a varied nature or ability to assume different forms
*2 : displaying great diversity or variety : versatile

Example sentence:
Bradley has made the most of the space in his tiny apartment by selecting furniture pieces that are protean, such as storage cubes that double as extra seats.

Did you know?
Proteus was the original master of disguise. According to Greek mythology, the grizzled old shepherd of Poseidon's sea creatures possessed the gift of prophecy but didn't like to share his knowledge. Proteus would escape those who wanted to question him by changing his shape. The only way to get a straight answer from him was to sneak up behind him during his midday nap and hold onto him (while he frantically changed from shape to shape) until he eventually revealed what he knew. The adjective "protean" describes anyone or anything that is as mutable and adaptable as the mythological shepherd.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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berate: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for August 29 is:

berate \bih-RAYT\ verb
: to scold or condemn vehemently and at length

Example sentence:
I quit my job after my boss berated me for addressing a letter incorrectly.

Did you know?
"Berate" and one sense of the verb "rate" can both mean "to scold angrily or violently." This sense of "rate" was first recorded in the 14th century, roughly a century before the now more familiar sense meaning "to estimate the value of." We know that "berate" was probably formed by combining "be" and the older sense of "rate," but the origins of "rate" itself are somewhat more obscure. We can trace the word back to the Middle English form "raten," but beyond that things get a little murky. It's possible that "rate," and by extension "berate," derives from the same ancient word that led to the Swedish "rata" (meaning "to find blame, despise") and earlier the Old Norse "hrata" ("to fall, stagger"), but this is uncertain.

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