The word for today is… altruism (noun) – 1 : unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others 2 : behavior by an animal that is not beneficial to or may be harmful to itself but that benefits others of its species Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Altruism refers to a quality
The word for today is… heliacal (adjective) – relating to or near the sun —used especially of the last setting of a star before and its first rising after invisibility due to conjunction with the sun Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The word heliacal rose in the mid-16th century. Its source is
The word for today is… rictus (noun) – 1 : the gape of a bird’s mouth 2 a : the mouth orifice b : a gaping grin or grimace Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Rictus began its English career in the late 17th century as a technical term for the mouth of an animal,
The word for today is… peruse (verb) – 1a : to examine or consider with attention and in detail : study b : to look over or through in a casual or cursory manner 2 : read especially : to read over in an attentive or leisurely manner Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :Peruse can mean “to
The word for today is… cornucopia (noun) – 1 : a curved, hollow goat’s horn or similarly shaped receptacle (such as a horn-shaped basket) that is overflowing especially with fruit and vegetables (such as gourds, ears of corn, apples, and grapes) and that is used as a decorative motif emblematic of
The word for today is… magnum opus (noun) – a great work – especially the greatest achievement of an artist or writer Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : You probably recognize magnum (“great”) as a Latin word that shows up in altered forms in several English words, and perhaps you can also come up
The word for today is… heinous (adjective) – hatefully or shockingly evil : abominable Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Humans have contrasted love with hate and good with evil for eons, putting love and good on one side and hate and evil on the other. The etymology of heinous reflects the association of
The word for today is… blithesome (adjective) – : with lightheartedness or unconcern Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Blithe had been bounding about in the language for six centuries before English speakers attached a -some to its tail to make blithesome. Poet Robert Greene appears to have been among the first to employ
The word for today is… exhilarate (verb)- : to make (someone) very happy and excited or elated Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Many people find “exhilarate” a difficult word to spell. It’s easy to forget that silent “h” in there, and is it an “er” or “ar” after the “l”
The word for today is… veracity (noun) – 1 : conformity with truth or fact : accuracy 2 : devotion to the truth : truthfulness 3 : power of conveying or perceiving truth 4 : something true Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Veracity has been a part of English since at least 1623, and we can honestly tell
The word for today is… importunate (adjective) – troublesomely urgent : overly persistent in request or demand Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Importunate has been part of the English language since the 16th century, and the synonymous “importune” arrived even earlier, in the 15th century. The seemingly superfluous inclusion of the suffix -ate
The word for today is… actuary (noun) – 1 obsolete : clerk, registrar 2 : a person who calculates insurance and annuity premiums, reserves, and dividends Source : Online Etymology Dictionary Etymology : First known use in the 1550s. Registrar, clerk from Medieval Latin actuarius. Copyist, account-keeper, short-hand writer, from Latin actus in the specialized
The word for today is… paean (noun) – 1 : a joyous song or hymn of praise, tribute, thanksgiving, or triumph 2 : a work that praises or honors its subject Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : According to the poet Homer, the Greek god Apollo sometimes took the guise of Paean, physician to the
The word for today is… plethora (noun) – 1 : a bodily condition characterized by an excess of blood and marked by turgescence and a florid complexion 2 : abundance, profusion Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Plethora comes from a similar Greek word meaning “fullness.” It was first used in English in the 16th
The word for today is… frugal (adjective) – : characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Those who are frugal are unwilling to (lavishly) enjoy the fruits of their labors, so it may surprise you to learn that frugal ultimately derives from the Latin frux,
The word for today is… archipelago (noun) – 1 : an expanse of water with many scattered islands 2 : a group of islands 3 : something resembling an archipelago Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The Greeks called it the Aegean Pelagos and the Italians referred to it as Arcipelago (principal sea), but English speakers
