The word for today is… myrmidon (noun): 1 capitalized : a member of a legendary Thessalian people who accompanied their king Achilles in the Trojan War 2: a loyal follower Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The Myrmidons, legendary inhabitants of Thessaly in Greece, were known for their fierce devotion to Achilles, the
The word for today is… encomium (noun): : glowing and warmly enthusiastic praise Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Kudos to encomium for being a marvelous, magnificent, must-have word for high praise for over four centuries—at least in formal speech and writing. Indeed, like its synonym panegyric, encomium (from the Greek word
The word for today is… feckless (adjective): 1: weak, ineffective 2: worthless, irresponsible Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Someone feckless is lacking in feck. And what, you may ask, is feck? In Scots—our source of feckless—feck means “majority” or “effect.” The term is ultimately an alteration of the Middle
The word for today is… environment (noun): 1: the circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one is surrounded 2a: the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (such as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival
The word for today is… preen (verb): 1 of a bird : to groom with the bill especially by rearranging the barbs and barbules of the feathers and by distributing oil from the uropygial gland 2: to dress or smooth (oneself) up : primp 3: to pride or congratulate (oneself) on an
The word for today is… malaise (noun): 1: an indefinite feeling of debility or lack of health often indicative of or accompanying the onset of an illness 2: a vague sense of mental or moral ill-being Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Malaise, whose Old French ancestor was formed from the combination
The word for today is… desolate (adjective, verb): adjective 1: devoid of inhabitants and visitors : deserted 2: joyless, disconsolate, and sorrowful through or as if through separation from a loved one 3a: showing the effects of abandonment and neglect : dilapidated b: barren, lifeless c: devoid of warmth, comfort, or hope
The word for today is… debonair (adjective): 1a: suave, urbane b: lighthearted, nonchalant 2archaic : gentle, courteous Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : French has a certain cachet, a fanciness and prestige owing in part to its deep etymological, historical, and political connections with English. This extends to many French words that English
The word for today is… gumption (noun): 1: enterprise, initiative 2 chiefly dialectal : common sense, horse sense Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : English speakers have had gumption (the word, that is) since the early 1700s. The term’s source isn’t known, but early examples of it are found in Scottish
The word for today is… incarcerate (verb): 1: to put in prison 2: to subject to confinement Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Just as English is full of nouns referring to places where prisoners are confined, from the familiar (jail and prison) to the obscure (calaboose and bridewell), so we have
The word for today is… quirk (noun, verb): noun 1a: an abrupt twist or curve b: a peculiar trait : idiosyncrasy c: accident, vagary 2: a groove separating a bead or other molding from adjoining members verb : curve, twist Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Did you expect quirk to be a noun
The word for today is… ancillary (adjective): 1: subordinate, subsidiary 2: auxiliary, supplementary Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Ancillary comes from the Latin word ancilla, meaning “a female servant,” which also gave us the rarer English word ancilla, meaning “an aid to achieving or mastering something difficult.” While the English ancilla
The word for today is… pilfer (verb): : steal, especially to steal stealthily in small amounts and often again and again Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Pilfer is a synonym of steal, but it typically implies a particular kind of stealing. What is pilfered is usually stolen stealthily—furtively, so that no
The word for today is… hoi polloi (plural noun): 1: the general populace : masses 2: people of distinction or wealth or elevated social status : elite Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Since hoi polloi is a transliteration of the Greek for “the many,” some critics have asserted that the phrase should not
The word for today is… flimflam (noun, verb): noun 1: deceptive nonsense 2: deception, fraud verb : to subject to a flimflam Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : English is full of words concerned with trickery and deception, ranging from the colorful “flimflam,” “bamboozle,” and “hornswoggle” to the more mundane “deceive,” “mislead,” and
The word for today is… stoic (noun, adjective): noun 1 capitalized : a member of a school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium about 300 b.c. holding that the wise man should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submissive to natural law 2: one apparently
