The word for today is… clandestine (adjective) – marked by, held in, or conducted with secrecy Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In 1658, the English poet John Milton wrote of “clandestine Hostility cover’d over with the name of Peace.” Three and a half centuries later we use clandestine in much the
The word for today is… impresario (noun)- 1 : the promoter, manager, or conductor of an opera or concert company 2 : a person who puts on or sponsors an entertainment (such as a television show or sports event) Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : English borrowed “impresario” directly from Italian, whose noun impresa
The word for today is… fatuous (adjective) – complacently or inanely foolish Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : ‘I am two fools, I know, For loving, and for saying so’. In whining Poetry, wrote John Donne, simultaneously confessing to both infatuation and fatuousness. As any love-struck fool can attest, infatuation can make
The word for today is… ebullient (adjective) – 1 : boiling, agitated 2 :having or showing liveliness and enthusiasm Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Someone who is ebullient is bubbling over with enthusiasm, so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that the adjective ebullient derives from the Latin verb ebullire, which
The word for today is… touchstone (noun) – 1 : a fundamental or quintessential part or feature 2 : a test or criterion for determining the quality or genuineness of a thing 3 : a black siliceous stone related to flint and formerly used to test the purity of gold and silver by the
The word for today is… adulation (noun) – : excessive or slavish admiration or flattery Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : If “adulation” makes you think of a dog panting after its master, you’re on the right etymological track; the word ultimately derives from the Latin verb adulari, meaning “to fawn on” (a
The word for today is… purloin (verb) – : to appropriate wrongfully and often by a breach of trust Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The word purloin features in the title of a famous Edgar Allan Poe story in its past tense form: “The Purloined Letter” was included in Poe’s 1845 Tales,
chimera (noun) – 1 a capitalized : a fire-breathing she-monster in Greek mythology having a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail b : an imaginary monster compounded of incongruous parts 2 : an illusion or fabrication of the mind 3 : an individual, organ, or part consisting
The word for today is… lodestone (noun) – 1 : magnetite possessing polarity 2 : something that strongly attracts Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Lodestone is made up of distinctly English components, ones that have been part of our language since before the 12th century. “Lode” comes from the Old English “lad,” which means
The word for today is… weird (noun, adjective) – noun: 1 : fate, destiny 2 : soothsayer adjective: 1 : of strange or extraordinary character 2 : of, relating to, or caused by witchcraft or the supernatural Source : Online Etymology Dictionary Etymology : Noun. Middle English wird, werd, going back to Old English wyrd, going back
The word for today is… obstreperous (adjective) – 1 : marked by unruly or aggressive noisiness 2 : stubbornly resistant to control Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The handy Latin prefix ob-, meaning “in the way,” “against,” or “toward,” occurs in many Latin and English words. “Obstreperous” comes from ob- plus strepere, a verb
The word for today is… folderol (noun) – 1 : a useless ornament or accessory 2 : nonsense Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Hogwash. Claptrap. Hooey. Drivel. Malarkey. English is rife with words that mean “nonsense,” and “folderol” is one of the many. Though not the most common of the words for nonsense, it’
discomfit (verb, noun) – verb: 1 : to put into a state of perplexity and embarrassment : 2a : to frustrate the plans of b archaic : to defeat in battle noun: the state of being confused, embarrassed, or upset Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Disconcerted by discomfit and discomfort? Here’s a little usage history
The word for today is… pristine (adjective) – 1 : belonging to the earliest period or state 2a : not spoiled, corrupted, or polluted (as by civilization) b : fresh and clean as or as if new Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : When pristine was anglicized in the 16th century, people borrowed the meanings of
The word for today is… minatory (adjective) – having a menacing quality Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Knowing that minatory means “threatening,” can you take a guess at a related word? If you’re familiar with mythology, perhaps you guessed Minotaur, the name of the bull-headed, people-eating monster of Crete.
The word for today is… bunkum (noun) – : insincere or foolish talk Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Some words in our language have more colorful histories than others, but in the case of bunkum, you could almost say it was an act of Congress that brought the word into being. Back in
