The word for today is… auxiliary (adjective, noun): adjective 1a: offering or providing help b: functioning in a subsidiary capacity 2 of a verb : accompanying another verb and typically expressing person, number, mood, or tense 3a: supplementary b: constituting a reserve 4 of a boat : equipped with sails and a
The word for today is… armada (noun): 1: a fleet of warships 2: a large force or group usually of moving things Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : A Spanish word that originally meant simply “armed”, armada is now used in Spanish-speaking nations as the name of their national navies. In
The word for today is… flounce (verb, noun, noun, verb): verb 1a: to move with exaggerated jerky or bouncy motions, also : to move so as to draw attention to oneself b: to go with sudden determination 2: flounder, struggle noun : an act or instance of flouncing noun : a strip of
The word for today is… genuflect (verb): 1a: to bend the knee b: to touch the knee to the floor or ground especially in worship 2: to be humbly obedient or respectful Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Genuflect comes from the Late Latin word genuflectere, formed from the noun genu (“knee”
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
