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 derives
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
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
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
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
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
The word for today is… quisling (noun, often attributive) – one who commits treason: traitor, collaborator Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Vidkun Quisling was a Norwegian army officer who in 1933 founded Norway’s fascist party. In December 1939, he met with Adolf Hitler and urged him to occupy Norway. Following the
The word for today is… itinerant (adjective) – : traveling from place to place Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In Latin, iter means “way” or “journey.” That root was the parent of the Late Latin verb itinerari, meaning “to journey.” It was that verb which ultimately gave rise to today’s English word
The word for today is… risible (adjective) – 1a : capable of laughing b : disposed to laugh 2 : arousing or provoking laughter especially 3 : associated with, relating to, or used in laughter Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : If someone makes a ridiculous remark about your risible muscles, he or she is not necessarily
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
