The word for today is… acumen (noun): : keenness and depth of perception, discernment, or discrimination especially in practical matters Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : A keen mind and a sharp wit can pierce the soul as easily as a needle passes through cloth. Remember the analogy between a jabbing needle and
The word for today is… pedantic (adjective): 1: of, relating to, or being a pedant 2: narrowly, stodgily, and often ostentatiously learned 3: unimaginative, dull Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In Shakespeare’s day, a pedant was a male schoolteacher. The word’s meaning was close to that of the Italian
The word for today is… scurrilous (adjective): 1a: using or given to coarse language b: vulgar and evil 2: containing obscenities, abuse, or slander Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Scurrilous (and its much rarer relation scurrile, which has the same meaning) comes from the Middle French word scurrile, which comes ultimately
The word for today is… fauna (noun): : animal life – especially the animals characteristic of a region, period, or special environment Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Faunus and Fauna were the Roman woodland god and goddess for whom animals were a particular concern. Faunus was the Roman equivalent of the Greek god
The word for today is… flora (noun): 1: a treatise on or list of the plants of an area or period 2: plant, bacterial, or fungal life Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Flora means “flower” in Latin, and Flora was the Roman goddess of spring and flowering plants, especially wildflowers and
The word for today is… grotesque (noun, adjective): noun 1a: a style of decorative art characterized by fanciful or fantastic human and animal forms often interwoven with foliage or similar figures that may distort the natural into absurdity, ugliness, or caricature b: a piece of work in this style 2:
The word for today is… absurd (adjective, noun): adjective 1: ridiculously unreasonable, unsound, or incongruous 2: having no rational or orderly relationship to human life : meaningless 3: dealing with the absurd or with absurdism noun : the state or condition in which human beings exist in an irrational and meaningless universe
The word for today is… allege (verb): 1: to assert without proof or before proving 2: to bring forward as a reason or excuse 3 archaic : to adduce or bring forward as a source or authority Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : These days, someone alleges something before presenting evidence to prove
The word for today is… tawdry (adjective, noun): adjective 1: cheap and gaudy in appearance or quality 2: morally sordid, base, or distasteful Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In the 7th century, Etheldreda, the queen of Northumbria, renounced her husband and her royal position in order to become a nun. She
The word for today is… blarney (noun): 1: skillful flattery : blandishment 2: nonsense, humbug Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The village of Blarney in County Cork, Ireland, is home to Blarney Castle, and in the southern wall of that edifice lies the famous Blarney Stone. Legend has it that anyone who
The word for today is… querulous (adjective): 1: habitually complaining 2: fretful, whining Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : English speakers have called fretful whiners querulous since late medieval times. The Middle English form of the word, querelose, was an adaptation of the Latin adjective, querulus, which in turn evolved from the
The word for today is… emulate (verb): 1a: to strive to equal or excel b: imitate – especially : to imitate by means of an emulator 2: to equal or approach equality with Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but we’ll posit that
The word for today is… cacophony (noun): 1: harsh or jarring sound : dissonance 2: an incongruous or chaotic mixture : a striking combination Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : If you’re hooked on phonetics, you may know that the Greek word phone has made a great deal of noise in English. Cacophony
The word for today is… ulterior (adjective): 1: going beyond what is openly said or shown and especially what is proper 2a: further, future b: more distant c: situated on the farther side Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Although now usually hitched to the front of the noun motive to refer
The word for today is… refurbish (verb): : to brighten or freshen up : renovate Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : As seems proper given how English prefixes work, before you could refurbish something you could furbish it. That shorter word was borrowed into Middle English in the 14th century from Anglo-French as furbisshen;
The word for today is… verbiage (noun): 1: a profusion of words usually of little or obscure content 2: manner of expressing oneself in words : diction Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Verbiage descends from French verbier, meaning “to trill” or “to warble.” The usual sense of the word implies an overabundance
