The word for today is… ambidextrous (adjective) – 1a : using both hands with equal ease or dexterity b soccer : using both feet with equal ease : 2 : designed or suitable for use by the left or right hand 3 : unusually skillful 4 : characterized by duplicity Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Latin dexter originally
The word for today is… durable (adjective) – able to exist for a long time without significant deterioration in quality or value Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Something “durable” lasts a long time, so it’s no surprise that the word comes to us, via Anglo-French, from the Latin verb durare, meaning
The word for today is… nugatory (adjective) – 1 : of little or no consequence 2 : having no force Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Nugatory, which first appeared in English in the 17th century, comes from the Latin adjective nugatorius and is ultimately a derivative of the noun nugae, meaning “trifles.” Like its
The word for today is… funambulism (noun) – 1 : tightrope walking 2 : a show especially of mental agility Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Back in ancient Rome, tightrope walking was a popular spectacle at public gatherings. The Latin word for “tightrope walker” is “funambulus,” from the Latin funis, meaning “rope,” plus ambulare,
crepuscular (adjective) – 1 : of, relating to, or resembling twilight 2 : occurring or active during twilight Source : Online Etymology Dictionary Etymology : figurative use, “dim, indistinct,” is attested from 1660s; literal use, “pertaining to or resembling twilight,” from 1755. From Latin crepusculum “twilight, dusk,”; related to creper “obscure, uncertain,” from Proto-Italic *krepos
The word for today is… mesmerise (verb) – 1 : to subject to mesmerism (hypnotic induction held to involve animal magnetism) 2 : spellbind Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Experts can’t agree on whether Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) was a quack or a genius, but all concede that the late 18th-century physician’s
The word for today is… nebula (noun) – 1 : any of numerous clouds of gas or dust in interstellar space 2 : a galaxy other than the Milky Way galaxy —not used technically Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Nebula comes to us from Latin, where it meant “mist” or “cloud.” In its earliest
The word for today is… tonsorial (adjective) \- : of or relating to a barber or the work of a barber Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Tonsorial is a fancy word that describes the work of those who give shaves and haircuts. (It can apply more broadly to hairdressers as well.) It
The word for today is… diaspora (noun) – 1 capitalized, Judaism a : the Jews living outside Palestine or modern Israel b : the settling of scattered colonies of Jews outside ancient Palestine after the Babylonian exile c : the area outside ancient Palestine settled by Jews 2a : people settled far from their ancestral
The word for today is… episcopal (adjective) – 1 : of or relating to a bishop 2 : of, having, or constituting government by bishops 3 capitalized : of or relating to the Protestant Episcopal Church representing the Anglican communion in the U.S. Source : Online Etymology Dictionary Etymology : mid-15c., “belonging to or characteristic
The word for today is… manicule (noun) – a symbol in the shape of a pointing hand, used to draw attention to a section of text. Source : Atlas Obscura Etymology : A manicule takes the form of a hand with an outstretched index figure, gesturing towards a particularly pertinent piece of text.
The word for today is… jeopardy (noun)) – 1 : exposure to or imminence of death, loss, or injury 2 (law) : the danger that an accused person is subjected to when on trial for a criminal offense Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Geoffrey Chaucer employed the word jeopardy in his late 14th-century masterpiece,
The word for today is… proselytise (verb) – 1 : to induce someone to convert to one’s faith 2 : to recruit someone to join one’s party, institution, or cause Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Proselytise comes from the noun proselyte (meaning “a new convert”), which comes from the Late Latin noun
The word for today is… febrile (adjective) – marked or caused by fever Source : Merriam – Webster Etymology : Not too surprisingly, febrile originated in the field of medicine. We note its first use in the work of the 17th-century medical reformer Noah Biggs. Biggs used it in admonishing physicians to care for
The word for today is… nostrum (noun) – : a medicine of secret composition recommended by its preparer but usually without scientific proof of its effectiveness 2 : a usually questionable remedy or scheme : panacea Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In those thrilling days of yesteryear, declared a 1990 Consumer Reports article, “patent-medicine pitchmen
The word for today is… absolve (verb) – 1: to set (someone) free from an obligation or the consequences of guilt 2 : to pardon or forgive (a sin) : to remit (a sin) by absolution Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The act of absolving can be seen as releasing someone from blame or
