The word for today is… fettle (noun, transitive verb) – (n) : state or condition of health, fitness, wholeness, spirit, or form —often used in the phrase in fine fettle, (v) : to cover or line the hearth of (something, such as a reverberatory furnace) with loose material (such as sand or gravel)
The word for today is… anathema (noun) – 1a : someone or something intensely disliked or loathed —usually used as a predicate nominative b : one that is cursed by ecclesiastical authority 2a : a ban or curse solemnly pronounced by ecclesiastical authority and accompanied by excommunication b : the denunciation of something as accursed
The word for today is… effluent (adjective, noun) – : (adjective) flowing out, (noun): something that flows out: such as a : an outflowing branch of a main stream or lake b : waste material (such as smoke, liquid industrial refuse, or sewage) discharged into the environment especially when serving as a pollutant Source
The word for today is… tort (noun) – : a wrongful act other than a breach of contract for which relief may be obtained in the form of damages or an injunction Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Tort came into English straight from French many centuries ago, and it still looks a little
The word for today is… obeisance (noun) – 1 : a movement of the body made in token of respect or submission : bow 2 : acknowledgment of another’s superiority or importance : homage Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : When it first appeared in English in the 14th century, obeisance shared the same meaning as
The word for today is… mountebank – (noun) 1 : a person who sells quack medicines from a platform 2 : a boastful unscrupulous pretender Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Mountebank derives from the Italian montimbanco, which was formed by combining the verb “montare” (“to mount”), the preposition “in” (converted to im, meaning “in”
The word for today is… insouciance (noun) – : lighthearted unconcern Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Don’t worry – be insouciant. Perhaps your mind will rest easier if we explain that English speakers learned “insouciance” from the French in the 1700s (and the adjective “insouciant” has been part of our language since the
The word for today is… phlegmatic (adjective) – 1 : resembling, consisting of, or producing the humor phlegm 2 : having or showing a slow and stolid temperament Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : According to the ancient Greeks, human personalities were controlled by four bodily fluids or semifluids called humors: blood, black bile, yellow
The word for today is… pabulum – (noun) 1 : food especially : a suspension or solution of nutrients in a state suitable for absorption 2 : intellectual sustenance 3 : something (such as writing or speech) that is insipid, simplistic, or bland Source : Merriam – Webster Etymology : Pabulum derives from the Latin term for “food”
The word for today is… destine (verb) – 1 : to decree beforehand 2a : to designate, assign, or dedicate in advance b : to direct, devise, or set apart for a specific purpose or place Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Middle English, from Anglo-French destiner, from Latin destinare, from de- + -stinare (akin to Latin
The word for today is… tribute (noun) – 1a : something given or contributed voluntarily as due or deserved especially : a gift or service showing respect, gratitude, or affection b : something (such as material evidence or a formal attestation) that indicates the worth, virtue, or effectiveness of the one in question 2a
The word for today is… feint (noun, verb) – (n) : something feigned (v) 1 : to lure or deceive with a feint 2 : to make a pretense of Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Noun: borrowed from French feinte, going back to Middle French fainte, feinte “act of dissembling, subterfuge,” noun derivative from feminine
The word for today is… sarcophagus (noun) – a stone coffin Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Body-eating coffins might sound like something out of a horror film, but flesh-eating stone? The latter plays a role in the etymology of sarcophagus; it is the literal translation of líthos sarkóphagos, the Greek phrase that
I was out chatting to some friends when the news filtered through that we had been handed our latest dose of house arrest. I have been handed this sentence for the crime of living nominally in Auckland even though I can not even see another house from my property. One
The word for today is… charlatan (noun) – A person who makes elaborate, fraudulent, and often voluble claims to skill or knowledge; a quack or fraud. Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In medieval times, people claiming medical skills they did not have roamed throughout Italy, selling “medicine” that was often completely without
The word for today is… pariah (noun) – 1 : a member of a low caste of southern India 2 : one that is despised or rejected Source : Online Etymology Dictionary Etymology : 1610s, “member of a low caste in southern India, shunned as unclean,” from Portuguese paria or directly from Tamil (Dravidian) paraiyar,
