The word for today is… word (form): 1: secure from violation or profanation 2: secure from assault or trespass : unassailable Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Inviolable is a venerable word that has been with us since the 15th century. Its opposite, violable (“capable of being or likely to be violated”), appeared
The word for today is… : loss of hair, wool, or feathers alopecia (noun): Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Doctors use “alopecia” to refer to various forms of hair loss, including “alopecia areata,” a sudden loss of hair in patches that involves little or no inflammation. It may surprise you to learn
The word for today is… cohort (noun): 1: companion, colleague 2a: band, group b: a group of individuals having a statistical factor (such as age or class membership) in common in a demographic study c: one of 10 divisions of an ancient Roman legion d: a group of warriors or
The word for today is… ken (noun, verb): noun 1: the range of perception, understanding, or knowledge 2a: the range of vision b: sight, view verb 1 archaic : see 2 chiefly dialectal : recognize 3 chiefly Scotland : know Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Ken is a word that can encompass all that
The word for today is… assail (verb): 1: to attack violently : assault 2: to encounter, undertake, or confront energetically 3: to oppose, challenge, or criticize harshly and forcefully 4a: to trouble or afflict in a manner that threatens to overwhelm b: to be perceived by (a person, a person’s
The word for today is… homage (noun): 1a: a feudal ceremony by which a man acknowledges himself the vassal of a lord b: the relationship between a feudal lord and his vassal c: an act done or payment made in meeting the obligations due from a vassal to a feudal
The word for today is… tendentious (adjective): : marked by a tendency in favor of a particular point of view : biased Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Tendentious is one of several words English speakers can choose when they want to suggest that someone has made up their mind in advance. You may
The word for today is… burgeon (verb): 1a: to send forth new growth (such as buds or branches) : sprout b: bloom 2: to grow and expand rapidly : flourish Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Burgeon arrived in Middle English as burjonen, a borrowing from the Anglo-French verb burjuner, meaning “to bud or
The word for today is… palpable (adjective): 1: capable of being touched or felt : tangible 2: easily perceptible : noticeable 3: easily perceptible by the mind : manifest Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Palpable, which has since the 14th century described things that can be literally felt through the skin (such as a
The word for today is… noblesse oblige (noun): : the obligation of honorable, generous, and responsible behavior associated with high rank or birth Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In a tale collected in 16th-century Germany, a noblewoman wonders why the hungry poor don’t simply eat Krosem (a sweet bread), her cluelessness
The word for today is… gingerly (adjective, adverb): adjective : very cautious or careful adverb : with extreme care concerning the result of a movement or action : very cautiously and carefully Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Always extra pleasure when WOTD features an adverb – breaks up the endless procession of nouns, adjectives and
The word for today is… salary (noun): : fixed compensation paid regularly for services Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Middle English salarie, salaire “compensation, payment,” borrowed from Anglo-French (also continental Old French), borrowed from Latin salarium “official pay given to the holder of a civil or military post,” noun derivative from neuter
The word for today is… admonish (verb): 1a: to indicate duties or obligations to b: to express warning or disapproval to especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner 2: to give friendly earnest advice or encouragement to 3: to say (something) as advice or a warning Source : Merriam -Webster
The word for today is… tenuous (adjective): 1a: having little substance or strength : flimsy, weak b: shaky 2: not thick : slender 3: not dense : rare Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Something tenuous has been stretched thin and might break at any time. A person with a tenuous hold on his sanity
The word for today is… qua (preposition): : in the capacity or character of : as Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : A preposition today – what a treat. A preposition is a word—and almost always a very small, very common word—that shows direction (to in “a letter to you”), location (at in
The word for today is… circumlocution (noun): 1: the use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea 2: evasion in speech Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In The King’s English (1906), lexicographers H. W. Fowler and F. G. Fowler advised, “Prefer the single word to the
