The word for today is… pernicious (adjective): 1: highly injurious or destructive : deadly 2 archaic : wicked Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Few would choose to be associated with people or things that are insidious, sinister, or pernicious; all three of these words have decidedly unpleasant meanings, each with its own particular
The word for today is… convoke (verb): : to call together to a meeting Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The Latin noun vox ("voice") and verb vocare ("to call") have given rise to many English words, including convoke. Other English descendants of those roots are usually spelled with
The word for today is… obtuse (adjective): 1a: not pointed or acute : blunt b (1) of an angle : exceeding 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees (2): having an obtuse angle c of a leaf : rounded at the free end 2a: lacking sharpness or quickness of sensibility or intellect : insensitive,
The word for today is… chutzpah (noun): : supreme self-confidence : nerve, gall Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The word chutzpah has been boldly circulating through English since the mid-1800s. It comes from the Yiddish word khutspe, which comes in turn from the Hebrew word ḥuṣpāh. The ch in chutzpah indicates
The word for today is… brachiate (verb): : to progress by swinging from hold to hold by the arms Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Certain members of the ape family, such as the gibbon, have the ability to propel themselves by grasping hold of an overhead tree branch (or other projection) and
The word for today is… ecstatic (adjective, noun): adjective : of, relating to, or marked by ecstasy noun : one that is subject to ecstasies Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Ecstatic has been used in English since the late 1500s, arriving (via Medieval Latin) from the Greek adjective ekstatikós meaning, among other things
The word for today is… genre (noun): 1: a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content 2: kind, sort 3: painting that depicts scenes or events from everyday life usually realistically Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Genre, as you might guess from the
The word for today is… malapropism (noun): : the usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase especially : the use of a word sounding somewhat like the one intended but ludicrously wrong in the context Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Mrs. Malaprop, a character in Richard Sheridan's
The word for today is… presage (noun, verb): noun 1: something that foreshadows or portends a future event : omen 2: an intuition or feeling of what is going to happen in the future 3 archaic : prognostication 4: warning or indication of the future verb 1: to give an omen or
The word for today is… somnolent (adjective): 1: of a kind likely to induce sleep 2: inclined to or heavy with sleep : drowsy Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Somnolent first appeared in the late 15th century in the redundant phrase "somnolent sleep." It came into English by way of
The word for today is… encroach (verb): 1: to enter by gradual steps or by stealth into the possessions or rights of another 2: to advance beyond the usual or proper limits Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Encroach comes from the Middle English verb encrochen, which means "to get or
The word for today is… audition (noun, verb): noun 1: the power or sense of hearing 2: the act of hearing 3: a trial performance to appraise an entertainer's merits transitive verb : to test or try out especially in an audition intransitive verb : to give a trial performance
The word for today is… facetious (adjective): 1: joking or jesting often inappropriately : waggish 2: meant to be humorous or funny : not serious Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Facetious is one of a small group of English words that not only use all five vowels once, but use them in alphabetical
The word for today is… sward (noun): 1: a portion of ground covered with grass 2: the grassy surface of land Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Sward sprouted from the Old English sweard or swearth, meaning “skin” or “rind.” It was originally used as a term for the skin of the
The word for today is… circuitous (adjective): 1: having a circular or winding course 2: not being forthright or direct in language or action Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, the titular hero Bilbo Baggins takes a circuitous route to the Lonely Mountain, which
The word for today is… nomenclature (noun): 1: name, designation 2: the act or process or an instance of naming 3a: a system or set of terms or symbols especially in a particular science, discipline, or art b: an international system of standardized New Latin names used in biology for
