The word for today is… reprehensible (adjective): : worthy of or deserving reprehension : culpable Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : It may be easy to grasp that reprehensible is all about blame, but the word’s origins tell a grabbier story. The word comes from the Latin reprehendere (literally “to hold back”), a
The word for today is… gravamen (noun): : the material or significant part of a grievance or complaint Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Gravamen is not a word you hear every day (even rarer is gravamina, the less expected of its two plural forms; gravamens is the other), but it does show
The word for today is… beguile (verb): 1: hoodwink 2: to engage the interest of by or as if by guile 3: to lead by deception 4: to while away especially by some agreeable occupation Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : A number of English words have traveled a rather curious path
The word for today is… wistful (adjective): 1: full of yearning or desire tinged with melancholy 2: musingly sad : pensive Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The etymology of wistful, while intriguing, is not entirely clear. It’s thought that the word is a combination of wistly, a now-obsolete word meaning “intently”
The word for today is… fortitude (noun): 1: strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage 2 obsolete : strength Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Fortitude comes from the Latin word fortis, meaning “strong,” and in English it has always been used primarily
The word for today is… undergird (verb): 1 archaic : to make secure underneath 2: to form the basis or foundation of : strengthen, support Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : When undergird was a new word in the 16th century, it was ships that were undergirded—that is, made secure below—and the
The word for today is… dolorous (adjective): : causing, marked by, or expressing misery or grief Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : If you’ve ever studied a Romance language, you’ve likely run into words related to Latin dolor, meaning “pain” or “grief.” Indeed, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian all refer
The word for today is… hackle (noun, verb): noun 1a: one of the long narrow feathers on the neck or saddle of a bird b: the neck plumage of the domestic fowl 2: a comb or board with long metal teeth for dressing flax, hemp, or jute 3: hackles plural
The word for today is… pacify (verb): 1a: to allay the anger or agitation of : soothe b: appease, propitiate 2a: to restore to a tranquil state : settle b: to reduce to a submissive state : subdue Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Pacify is the oldest of a set of soothing words that
The word for today is… lackadaisical (adjective): : lacking life, spirit, or zest : languid Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Lackadaisical is rooted in the sort of sorrow that can put a damper on one’s passion for things. When people living from the late 17th to the late 19th century had one
The word for today is… vicinity (noun): Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Vicinity is a word with neighbourly origins that was welcomed into English as a French import in the 16th century from Middle French vicinité. It comes ultimately from Latin vicus, meaning “row of houses” or “village,” by way of
The word for today is… oracular (adjective): 1: resembling an oracle (as in solemnity of delivery) 2: of, relating to, or being an oracle Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : When the ancient Greeks had questions or problems, they would turn to the gods for answers by consulting an oracle, a person
The word for today is… foible (noun): 1: the part of a sword or foil blade between the middle and point 2: a minor flaw or shortcoming in character or behavior Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Borrowed from French in the 1600s, the word originally referred to the weakest part of
The word for today is… auspicious (adjective): 1: showing or suggesting that future success is likely 2: attended by good auspices Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Auspicious comes from Latin auspex, which literally means “bird seer” (from the words avis, meaning “bird,” and specere, meaning “to look at”). In ancient Rome,
The word for today is… circumscribe (verb): 1a: to constrict the range or activity of definitely and clearly b: to define or mark off carefully 2a: to draw a line around b: to surround by or as if by a boundary 3: to construct or be constructed around (a geometrical
The word for today is… shenanigan (noun): 1: a devious trick used especially for an underhand purpose 2a: tricky or questionable practices or conduct—usually used in plural b: high-spirited or mischievous activity—usually used in plural Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The history of shenanigan is as tricky and mischievous
