The word for today is… vox populi (noun): : popular sentiment or opinion : the voice of the people Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In a letter to his wife in June of 1863, in the midst of the American Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman wrote about General Ulysses S. Grant’s
The word for today is… dissemble (verb): 1: to hide under a false appearance 2: to put on the appearance of : simulate Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Dissemble (from the Latin verb dissimulare, meaning “to disguise the identity of”) stresses the intent to deceive others, especially about facts, feelings, or intentions.
The word for today is… fruition (noun): 1: pleasurable use or possession : enjoyment 2a: the state of bearing fruit b: realization Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Fruition must come from the word fruit, right? Not exactly—the apple falls a little further from the tree than one might think. Fruition and
The word for today is… inchmeal (adverb): : little by little, gradually Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : I really enjoy inserting the occasional adverb into this series. “All the infections that the sun sucks up / From bogs, fens, flats, on Prosper fall, and make him / By inch-meal a disease!” So goes
The word for today is… redux (adjective): : brought back – used postpositively Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In English, redux describes things that have been brought back—metaphorically, that is. For example, if the relationship between two nations resembles that of the United States and the Soviet Union in the late 20th
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—
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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,
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;
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
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
