The word for today is… anfractuous (adjective) full of windings and intricate turnings : tortuous Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Plots and paths can be anfractuous. They twist and turn but do not break. Never mind that our English word comes from Latin anfractus (same meaning as anfractuous), which in turn comes
The word for today is… mordant (adjective, noun, verb) adjective 1 : biting and caustic in thought, manner, or style (a mordant wit) 2 : acting as a mordant (as in dyeing) 3 : burning, pungent noun 1 : a chemical that fixes a dye in or on a substance by combining with the
The word for today is… rigmarole (noun) – 1 : confused or meaningless talk 2 : a complex and sometimes ritualistic procedure Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In the Middle Ages, the term Rageman or Ragman referred to a game in which a player randomly selected a string attached to a roll of verses
The word for today is… peach (noun,verb) – noun 1a : a low spreading freely branching Chinese tree (Prunus persica) of the rose family that has lanceolate leaves and sessile usually pink flowers and is widely cultivated in temperate areas for its edible fruit which is a single-seeded drupe with a
The word for today is… inroad (noun) – 1 : an advance or penetration often at the expense of someone or something 2 : a sudden hostile incursion : raid Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Inroad is a combination of in and road, both of which are pretty mundane, as far as words go. But
The word for today is… zealot (noun) – 1 : a zealous person; especially a fanatical partisan 2 capitalized : a member of a fanatical sect arising in Judea during the first century a.d. and militantly opposing the Roman domination of Palestine Source : Merria-Webster Etymology : In the 1st century A.D., a
The word for today is… flotilla (noun) – 1 : a fleet of ships or boats; especially a navy organizational unit consisting of two or more squadrons of small warships 2 : an indefinite large number e.g. a flotilla of changes Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Flotilla comes from the diminutive form of
The word for today is… execrable (adjective) – 1 : deserving to be execrated : detestable 2 : very bad : wretched Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Execrable is a descendant of the Latin verb exsecrari, meaning “to put under a curse.” Since its earliest uses in English, beginning in the 14th century, execrable has meant
The word for today is… gadfly (noun) – 1 : any of various flies (such as a horsefly, botfly, or warble fly) that bite or annoy livestock 2 : a person who stimulates or annoys other people especially by persistent criticism Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The history of gadfly starts with gad, which
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
