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
The word for today is… exhort (verb): : to incite by argument or advice : urge strongly Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Exhort is a 15th-century coinage. It derives from the Latin verb hortari, meaning “to incite,” and it often implies the ardent urging or admonishing of an orator or preacher. English
The word for today is… evince (verb): 1: to constitute outward evidence of 2: to display clearly : reveal Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : To evince something is to show it clearly; the thing evinced is typically an intangible, such as an attitude or intent. Before the current use of evince was
The word for today is… corollary (noun): 1: a proposition inferred immediately from a proved proposition with little or no additional proof 2a: something that naturally follows : result b: something that incidentally or naturally accompanies or parallels Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The history of corollary is related to flowers. Indeed,
The word for today is… castigate (verb): : to subject to severe punishment, reproof, or criticism Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Castigate has a synonym in chastise. Both verbs mean to punish or to censure someone. Fittingly, both words derive from the same root: the Latin castigare, formed from the words for
The word for today is… illustrious (adjective): 1: notably or brilliantly outstanding because of dignity or achievements or actions : eminent 2 archaic a: shining brightly with light b: clearly evident Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Today’s spotlight is on illustrious, from the Latin adjective illustris, meaning “shining brightly with light.
The word for today is… legacy (noun, adjective): noun 1: a gift by will especially of money or other personal property : bequest 2: something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past 3: a candidate for membership in an organization (such as a school or
The word for today is… tyro (noun): : a beginner in learning : novice Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The word tyro is hardly a newcomer to Western language. It comes from the Latin tiro, which means “young soldier,” “new recruit,” or more generally, “novice.” The word was sometimes spelled tyro as early
The word for today is… homily (noun): 1: a usually short sermon 2: a lecture or discourse on or of a moral theme 3: an inspirational catchphrase Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The origin of homily starts with the ancient Greek word homilos, meaning “crowd” or “assembly,” and travels through related
The word for today is… dauntless (adjective): : incapable of being intimidated or subdued Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology:Human history teems with dauntless people, doughty folks who refused to be cowed or subdued, even if armed with nothing but the courage of their convictions. The existence of dauntless raises this question:
The word for today is… antonym (noun): : a word of opposite meaning Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The English language (and, presumably, many other languages) has both antonyms and synonyms. There are many more words with synonyms than there are words with antonyms, since many things exist which do not have
The word for today is… cogent (adjective): 1a: appealing forcibly to the mind or reason : convincing b: pertinent, relevant 2: having power to compel or constrain Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : A cogent argument is one that really drives its point home because it is clear, coherent, and readily understandable, and
