The word for today is… fomite (noun): an object (such as a dish, doorknob, or article of clothing) that may be contaminated with infectious agents (such as bacteria or viruses) and serve in their transmission Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Disinfectant on your hands keeps us healthier and fomites no longer
The word for today is… commodious (adjective): 1 : comfortably or conveniently spacious 2 archaic : handy, serviceable Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Although it’s now used to mean “roomy,” in the 18th century “commodious” was regularly used to mean “handy” or “serviceable,” a meaning that is true to the word’s
The word for today is… interloper (noun): one that interlopes: such as a : one that intrudes in a place or sphere of activity b : an illegal or unlicensed trader Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : When English speakers combined “inter-” with “-loper” in the late 1500s, they already had a word landloper
The word for today is… wistful (adjective): 1 : full of yearning or desire tinged with melancholy 2 : musingly sad Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Are you yearning to know the history of wistful? If so, I can ease your melancholy a little by telling you that wistful comes from a combination
The word for today is… pantheon (noun): 1a : the gods of a people especially b : a temple dedicated to all the gods 2 : a group of illustrious or notable persons or things I 3 : a building serving as the burial place of or containing memorials to the famous dead of
The word for today is… calculus (noun): 1a : a method of computation or calculation in a special notation (as of logic or symbolic logic) b : the mathematical methods comprising differential and integral calculus 2 : calculation 3a : a concretion usually of mineral salts around organic material found especially in hollow organs
The word for today is… galvanize (verb): 1 : to cause (people) to become so excited or concerned about an issue, idea, etc., that they want to do something about it 2 : to cause (a force that is capable of causing change) to become active 3 technical : to cover (steel or
The word for today is… smarmy (adjective): 1 : revealing or marked by a smug, ingratiating, or false earnestness 2 : of low sleazy taste or quality Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Something smarmy will often ooze with self-satisfaction and insincerity. Much like its synonyms unctuous and slick, smarmy has a history
The word for today is… derrick (noun): 1 : a hoisting apparatus employing a tackle rigged at the end of a beam 2 : a framework or tower over a deep drill hole (as of an oil well) for supporting boring tackle or for hoisting and lowering Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : During
The word for today is… hoity-toity (adjective): 1 : thoughtlessly silly or frivolous 2 : marked by an air of assumed importance Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Today we most often use hoity-toity as an adjective, but before it was an adjective it was a noun meaning “thoughtless giddy behavior.” The
The word for today is… menorah (noun): a candelabra with seven or nine lights that is used in Jewish worship Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : English speakers originally used the Hebrew borrowing menorah for the seven-branched candelabra used in Jewish worship since ancient times. The nine-branched Hanukkah candelabra is
The word for today is… commensurate (adjective): 1 : corresponding in size, extent, amount, or degree : proportionate 2 : equal in measure or extent Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Commensurate is a word that really measures up. And no wonder – it’s a descendant of the Latin noun mensura, meaning “measure,” from “mensus,
Today marks my first birthday as collator of the BFD’s Word of the Day. As a birthday present to myself I am going to re-post my favourite word from the last year. This was first posted on 2nd February 2021 and was the first word I chose after
The word for today is… malice (noun): 1 : desire to cause pain, injury, or distress to another 2 : intent to commit an unlawful act or cause harm without legal justification or excuse Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Malicious and malevolent are close in meaning, since both refer to ill will that
The word for today is… jovial (adjective): : characterized by good-humored cheerfulness and conviviality Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Jupiter, also called Jove, was the chief Roman god and was considered a majestic, authoritative type—just the kind of god to name a massive planet like Jupiter for. Our word jovial
The word for today is… feign (verb): 1a : to give a false appearance of b : to assert as if true 2 archaic a : invent, imagine b : to give fictional representation to 3 obsolete : disguise, conceal Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Feign is all about faking it, but that hasn’t always
