The word for today is… calumny (noun) – 1 : a misrepresentation intended to harm another’s reputation 2 : the act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to harm another’s reputation Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Calumny made an appearance in these famous words from Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “If thou
The word for today is… harry (verb) – 1 : to make a pillaging or destructive raid on 2 : to force to move along by harassing 3 : to torment by or as if by constant attack Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Was there once a warlike man named Harry who is the source
The word for today is… jocund (adjective) – : marked by or suggestive of high spirits and lively mirthfulness Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Don’t let the etymology of jocund play tricks on you. The word comes from jucundus, a Latin word meaning “agreeable” or “delightful,” and ultimately from the Latin verb
The word for today is… fealty (noun) – 1a : the fidelity of a vassal or feudal tenant to his lord b : the obligation of such fidelity 2 : intense fidelity Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In The Use of Law, published posthumously in 1629, Francis Bacon wrote, “Fealty is to take an oath
The word for today is… deride (verb) – 1 : to laugh at or insult contemptuously 2 : to subject to usually bitter or contemptuous ridicule or criticism Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : When deride was borrowed into English in the 16th century, it came to us by combining the prefix de- with ridere,
The word for today is… titanic (adjective) – having great magnitude, force, or power : colossal Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Before becoming the name of one of the most famous ships in history, titanic referred to the Titans, a family of giants in Greek mythology who were believed to have once ruled
The word for today is… poignant (adjective) – 1a(1) : painfully affecting the feelings : piercing (2) : deeply affecting : touching b : designed to make an impression : cutting poignant satire 2a : pleasurably stimulating b : being to the point : apt 3 : pungently pervasive a poignant perfume Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Poignant comes to us
The word for today is… prescience (noun) – foreknowledge of events: a : divine omniscience b : human anticipation of the course of events : foresight Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The more common use of this word is its derived adjective prescient. If you know the origin of “science,” you already know half the
The word for today is… indigent (adjective) – 1 : suffering from extreme poverty : impoverished 2a archaic : deficient b archaic : totally lacking in something specified Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : First known use in the 15th century. Middle English, from Middle French, from Old French, from Latin. Indigent-, indigens, present participle of indigere
The word for today is… echelon (noun, verb) – noun 1a (1) : an arrangement of a body of troops with its units each somewhat to the left or right of the one in the rear like a series of steps (2) : a formation of units or individuals resembling such an echelon
The word for today is… collaborate (verb) – 1 : to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor 2 : to cooperate with or willingly assist an enemy of one’s country and especially an occupying force 3 : to cooperate with an agency or instrumentality with which one is
The word for today is… solipsism (noun)- : a theory holding that the self can know nothing but its own modifications and that the self is the only existent thing : extreme egocentrism Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Fans of René Descartes credit the French philosopher with introducing solipsism as a major
The word for today is… enjoin (verb) – 1 : to direct or impose by authoritative order or with urgent admonition 2a : forbid, prohibit b : to prohibit by a judicial order : put an injunction on Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Please concentrate this morning, this is not the easiest of offerings to get
The word for today is… majuscule (noun) – a large letter (such as a capital) Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Majuscule looks like the complement to “minuscule,” and the resemblance is no coincidence. “Minuscule” appeared in the early 18th century as a word for a lowercase letter, then later as the word
The word for today is… verdant (adjective) – 1a : green in tint or color b : green with growing plants 2 : unripe in experience or judgment Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : English speakers have been using “verdant” as a ripe synonym of “green” since the late 16th century, and as a descriptive term
I have a cunning plan. A plan so cunning…well you know how it goes with tails and weasels and so on. I am as guilty as many in being downbeat as to where we find ourselves at present; only yesterday I commented on this forum how depressing I found
