The word for today is… ossify (verb): 1 : to change into bone 2 : to become hardened or conventional and opposed to change Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The skeletons of mammals originate as soft cartilage that gradually transforms into hard bone (in humans, the process begins in the womb and continues
The word for today is… cryptic (adjective): 1 : secret, occult 2a : having or seeming to have a hidden or ambiguous meaning b : marked by an often perplexing brevity 3 : serving to conceal 4 : not recognized 5 : employing cipher or code Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The history of “cryptic” starts with
The word for today is… emigrate (verb): to leave one’s place of residence or country to live elsewhere Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Immigrant and emigrant both refer to a person leaving their own country for another. However, immigrant (and its verb form immigrate) typically stress the country going to,
The word for today is… liminal (adjective): 1 : of, relating to, or situated at a sensory threshold : barely perceptible or capable of eliciting a response 2 : of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The noun limen refers to the point at which
The word for today is… sophistry (noun): subtly deceptive reasoning or argumentation :reasoning or arguments that sound correct but which are actually false. Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The original Sophists were ancient Greek teachers of rhetoric and philosophy prominent in the 5th century B.C. In their heyday, these philosophers
The word for today is… aghast (adjective): : struck with terror, amazement, or horror : shocked and upset Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : If you are aghast, you might look like you’ve just seen a ghost, or something similarly shocking. “Aghast” traces back to a Middle English verb, gasten, meaning “to frighten.
The word for today is… jamb (noun): 1 : an upright piece or surface forming the side of an opening (as for a door, window, or fireplace) 2 : a projecting columnar part or mass Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Middle English jambe, borrowed from Anglo-French jambe, gaunbe “side post of a door
The word for today is… defenestration (noun): 1 : a throwing of a person or thing out of a window 2 : a usually swift dismissal or expulsion (as from a political party or office) Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : These days defenestration is often used to describe the forceful removal of someone
The word for today is… tousle (verb, noun): verb : dishevel, rumple noun 1 Scotland : rough dalliance : tussle 2 : a tangled mass (as of hair) Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Tousle is a word that has been through what linguists call a “functional shift.” That’s a fancy way of saying it
The word for today is… boilerplate (noun): 1 : syndicated material supplied especially to weekly newspapers in matrix or plate form 2a : standardized text b : formulaic or hackneyed language bureaucratic boilerplate 3 : tightly packed icy snow Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In the days before computers, small, local newspapers around the U.
The word for today is… bromide (noun): 1 : a binary compound of bromine with another element or a radical including some (such as potassium bromide) used as sedatives 2a : a commonplace or tiresome person : bore b : a commonplace or hackneyed statement or notion Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : After bromine was
The word for today is… undulate (adjective, verb): adjective : having a wavy surface, edge, or markings verb 1 : to form or move in waves : fluctuate 2 : to rise and fall in volume, pitch, or cadence 3 : to present a wavy appearance Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Undulate and “inundate” are word
The word for today is… scuttlebutt (noun): 1a : a cask on shipboard to contain fresh water for a day’s use b : a drinking fountain on a ship or at a naval or marine installation 2 : rumor, gossip Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Nowadays, office workers catch up on the latest
The word for today is… callow (adjective): : lacking adult sophistication : immature Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : You might not expect a relationship between the word callow and baldness, but that connection does in fact exist. Callow comes from calu, a word that meant “bald” in Middle English and Old English. By
The word for today is… Nimrod (noun): 1 : a descendant of Ham represented in Genesis as a mighty hunter and a king of Shinar 2 not capitalized : hunter 3 not capitalized, slang : idiot, jerk Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Nimrod is described in Genesis as “the first on earth to be
The word for today is… garnish (verb, noun): verb 1a : decorate, embellish b : to add decorative or savory touches to (food or drink) 2 : to equip with accessories noun 1 : embellishment, ornament 2 : something (such as lemon wedges or parsley) used to decorate or flavor food or drink 3a : an
