The word for today is… inalienable (adjective): : incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Alien, alienable, inalienable—it’s easy enough to see the Latin word alius, meaning “other,” at the root of these three words. Alien joined our language in the 14th century, and one
The word for today is… furlong (noun): : a unit of distance equal to 220 yards Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Furlong is an English original that can be traced back to Old English furlang, a combination of the noun furh (“furrow”) and the adjective lang (“long”). Though now standardized as a
The word for today is… brusque (adjective): 1: markedly short and abrupt 2: blunt in manner or speech often to the point of ungracious harshness Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : If you’ve ever felt swept aside by someone with a brusque manner, that makes a certain amount of etymological sense.
The word for today is… surfeit (noun, verb): noun 1: an overabundant supply : excess 2: an intemperate or immoderate indulgence in something (such as food or drink) 3: disgust caused by excess transitive verb : to feed, supply, or give to surfeit intransitive verb archaic : to indulge to satiety in a
The word for today is… discomfit (verb, noun): verb 1: to put into a state of perplexity and embarrassment : disconcert 2a: to frustrate the plans of : thwart b: archaic : to defeat in battle noun : the state of being confused, embarrassed, or upset : discomfiture Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Disconcerted by discomfit
The word for today is… vicarious (adjective): 1: experienced or realized through imaginative or sympathetic participation in the experience of another 2a: serving instead of someone or something else b: that has been delegated 3: performed or suffered by one person as a substitute for another or to the benefit
The word for today is… aegis (noun): 1: a shield or breastplate emblematic of majesty that was associated with Zeus and Athena 2a: protection b: controlling or conditioning 3a: auspices, sponsorship b: control or guidance especially by an individual, group, or system Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : English borrowed aegis from
The word for today is… fatuous (adjective): : complacently or inanely foolish : silly 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… redoubt (noun): 1a: a small usually temporary enclosed defensive work b: a defended position : protective barrier 2: a secure retreat : stronghold Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Based on its spelling, you might think that redoubt shares its origin with words such as doubt and redoubtable, both
The word for today is… conjecture (noun, verb): noun 1a: inference formed without proof or sufficient evidence b: a conclusion deduced by surmise or guesswork c: a proposition (as in mathematics) before it has been proved or disproved 2 obsolete a: interpretation of omens b: supposition verb 1: to arrive
The word for today is… effigy (noun): : an image or representation especially of a person: especially a crude figure representing a hated person Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : An earlier sense of effigy is “a likeness of a person shaped out of stone or other materials,” so it’s not surprising
The word for today is… prestidigitation (noun): : sleight of hand, legerdemain Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The secret to performing magic tricks is all in the hands-or at least, that’s what is suggested by the etymologies of prestidigitation and its two synonyms legerdemain and sleight of hand. The French word
The word for today is… meticulous (adjective): : marked by extreme or excessive care in the consideration or treatment of details Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Meticulous comes from the Latin word for “fearful”—meticulosus—and ultimately from the Latin noun metus, meaning “fear.” Although meticulous currently has no “fearful” meanings, it
The word for today is… praxis (noun): 1: action, practice: such as a: exercise or practice of an art, science, or skill b: customary practice or conduct 2: practical application of a theory Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Both praxis and practice come ultimately from the Greek verb prassein (“to do”
The word for today is… pusillanimous (adjective): : lacking courage and resolution : marked by contemptible timidity Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The Latin roots of this derisive adjective are pusillus, meaning “very small” (and related to pusus, meaning “boy”) and animus, which means “spirit” and is the ancestor to many words in
The word for today is… insinuate (verb): transitive 1a: to impart or suggest in an artful or indirect way : imply b: to introduce (something, such as an idea) gradually or in a subtle, indirect, or covert way 2: to introduce (someone, such as oneself) by stealthy, smooth, or artful means
