The word for today is… hobbyhorse (noun): 1a: a figure of a horse fastened about the waist in the morris dance b: a dancer wearing this figure 2obsolete : buffoon 3a: a stick having an imitation horse’s head at one end that a child pretends to ride b: rocking horse
The word for today is… adumbrate (verb): 1: to foreshadow vaguely : intimate 2: to suggest, disclose, or outline partially Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : This word’s shadow rarely falls across the pages of casual texts. It comes from the Latin word umbra, meaning “shadow,” and is usually used in academic
The word for today is… bower (noun, verb, noun): noun 1: an attractive dwelling or retreat 2: a lady’s private apartment in a medieval hall or castle 3: a shelter (as in a garden) made with tree boughs or vines twined together verb : embower, enclose noun nautical : an anchor
The word for today is… gamut (noun): 1: the whole series of recognized musical notes 2: an entire range or series Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : With the song “Do-Re-Mi,” the 1965 musical film The Sound of Music (adapted from the 1958 stage musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein) introduced millions of
The word for today is… telegenic (adjective): : well-suited to the medium of television Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Telegenic debuted in the 1930s, a melding of television with photogenic, “suitable for being photographed especially because of visual appeal.” The word photogenic had other, more technical meanings before it developed that one
The word for today is… paparazzo (noun): : a freelance photographer who aggressively pursues celebrities for the purpose of taking candid photographs Source : Online Etymology Dictionary Etymology : 1961, from Italian Paparazzo (plural paparazzi) surname of the freelance photographer in Federico Fellini’s 1959 film “La Dolce Vita.” The surname itself is
The word for today is… censure (noun, verb): noun 1: a judgment involving condemnation 2: the act of blaming or condemning sternly 3: an official reprimand 4 archaic : opinion, judgment verb 1a: to find fault with and criticize as blameworthy b: to formally reprimand (someone) : to express official censure of
The word for today is… zephyr (noun): 1a: a breeze from the west b: a gentle breeze 2: any of various lightweight fabrics and articles of clothing Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : To build on a classic lyric by Bob Dylan, you don’t need a weatherman to know which way
The word for today is… rarefied (adjective): 1: being less dense 2: of, relating to, or interesting to a select group : esoteric 3: very high Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In the upper reaches of Chomolungma, known more familiarly as Mount Everest, the air is so rarefied—so much less dense
The word for today is… maudlin (adjective): 1: drunk enough to be emotionally silly 2: weakly and effusively sentimental Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The history of maudlin is connected both to the Bible and the barroom. The biblical Mary Magdalene is often (though some say mistakenly) identified with the weeping
The word for today is… promulgate (verb) 1: to make (an idea, belief, etc.) known to many people by open declaration : proclaim 2a: to make known or public the terms of (a proposed law) b: to put (a law or rule) into action or force Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The
The word for today is… engender (verb): 1: beget, procreate 2: to cause to exist or to develop : produce Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Like its synonym generate, engender comes from the Latin verb generare, meaning “to generate” or “to beget,” and when the word was first used in the 14th
The word for today is… fluorescence (noun): : luminescence that is caused by the absorption of radiation at one wavelength followed by nearly immediate reradiation usually at a different wavelength and that ceases almost at once when the incident radiation stops Source : Online Etymology Dictionary Etymology : 1852, “property of glowing in
The word for today is… word florescence (noun): : a state or period of flourishing Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The flowering of botany as a science in the 18th century produced a garden of English words, mostly adapted from Latin. Florescence is a radiant example, picked from the Latin florescentia, meaning
The word for today is… cordial (adjective, noun): adjective 1a: showing or marked by warm and often hearty friendliness, favor, or approval b: sincerely or deeply felt 2: tending to revive, cheer, or invigorate 3 obsolete : of or relating to the heart noun 1: liqueur 2: a stimulating medicine or
The word for today is… aftermath (noun): 1: a second-growth crop (called also rowen) 2: consequence, result 3: the period immediately following a usually ruinous event Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : At first glance, one might calculate aftermath to be closely related to mathematics and its cropped form maths. But the
