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David Theobald

The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… saturnine (adjective): 1: born under or influenced astrologically by the planet Saturn 2a: cold and steady in mood : slow to act or change b: of a gloomy or surly disposition c: having a sardonic aspect Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Saturnine is far—even astronomically far—

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… etiquette (noun): : the conduct or procedure required by good breeding or prescribed by authority to be observed in social or official life Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The French word étiquette means “ticket”; its direct French ancestor also referred to a label attached to something for

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… blandishment (noun): : something that tends to coax or cajole Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The word was formed from the verb blandish, meaning “to coax with flattery.” Blandish ultimately comes from the Latin adjective blandus, meaning “mild” or “flattering,” source too of our adjective bland, which

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… excoriate (verb): 1: to wear off the skin of : abrade 2: to censure scathingly Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Excoriate, which first appeared in English in the 15th century, comes from “excoriatus,” the past participle of the Late Latin verb excoriare, meaning “to strip off the

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… trenchant (adjective): 1: keen, sharp 2: vigorously effective and articulate 3a: sharply perceptive : penetrating b: clear-cut, distinct Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The word trenchant comes from the Anglo-French verb trencher, meaning “to cut.” Hence, a trenchant sword is one with a keen edge. Nowadays, trenchant

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… concatenate (adjective, verb): adjective : linked together verb : to link together in a series or chain Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Concatenate is a fancy word for a simple thing: it means “to link together in a series or chain.” It’s Latin in origin, formed from

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… catastrophe (noun): 1: a momentous tragic event ranging from extreme misfortune to utter overthrow or ruin 2: utter failure : fiasco 3a: a violent and sudden change in a feature of the earth b: a violent usually destructive natural event (such as a supernova) 4: the

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… gist (noun): 1: the ground of a legal action 2: the main point or part : essence Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology:The main point, overarching theme, essence—that’s gist in a nutshell. The gist of gist, if you will. The gist of a conversation, argument,

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… enthrall (verb): 1: to hold spellbound : charm 2: to hold in or reduce to slavery Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The history of enthrall appeals far less than the word as we use it today might suggest. In Middle English, enthrallen meant “to deprive of privileges;

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… nemesis (noun): 1 capitalized : the Greek goddess of retributive justice 2 plural nemeses a: one that inflicts retribution or vengeance b: a formidable and usually victorious rival or opponent 3 plural nemeses: an act or effect of retribution Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Nemesis was the

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… sacrosanct (adjective): 1: most sacred or holy : inviolable 2: treated as if holy : immune from criticism or violation Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Contrary to the beliefs of some, language is not sacrosanct; rather, it is subject to constant modification based on the needs, experiences, and

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… flavedo (noun): : the colored outer layer of the rind of a citrus fruit Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Flavedo comes from the New Latin word flavedo, meaning “yellow color,” the word’s etymology pointing to the shiny yellow rinds of the lemons you see in the

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… interpolate (verb): 1a: to alter or corrupt (something, such as a text) by inserting new or foreign matter b: to insert (words) into a text or into a conversation 2: to insert between other things or parts : intercalate 3: to estimate values of (data or

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… protocol (noun): 1: an original draft, minute, or record of a document or transaction 2a: a preliminary memorandum often formulated and signed by diplomatic negotiators as a basis for a final convention or treaty b: the records or minutes of a diplomatic conference or congress

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… disaster (noun): 1: a sudden calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, or destruction natural disasters 2: someone or something that is very bad a: someone or something that is extremely unsuccessful b: someone or something that has a very bad effect or result c: someone

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… sapient (adjective): : possessing or expressing great sagacity Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : We human beings certainly like to think we’re wise. It’s a fact reflected in the scientific name we’ve given our species, Homo sapiens, which comes in part from the Latin word

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