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
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
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
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
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.
