The word for today is… sparge (verb) - 1: sprinkle, bespatter, especially : spray 2: to agitate (a liquid) by means of compressed air or gas entering through a pipe Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Etymologists think that "sparge" likely came to English by way of the Middle French word espargier,
The word for today is… longevity (noun) - 1a: a long duration of individual life b: length of life 2: long continuance : permanence, durability Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : As living conditions improve and the science of medicine advances, the longevity of the average Western European has increased greatly, from about 45
The word for today is… tergiversation (noun) - 1: evasion of straightforward action or clear-cut statement : equivocation 2: desertion of a cause, position, party, or faith Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The roots of tergiversation are about an unwillingness to pick a course and stay on it. The Latin verb tergiversari means
The word for today is… rhomboid (noun, adjective) - noun : a parallelogram with no right angles and with adjacent sides of unequal length adjective : shaped somewhat like a rhombus or rhomboid Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Rhomboids, like triangles, may take various different shapes, but they always look like a lopsided diamond
The word for today is… plaintive (adjective) - : expressive of suffering or woe : melancholy Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : “The people are drifting from door to door / Can’t find no heaven I don’t care where they go.” So sang Nehemiah Curtis “Skip” James on a Depression-era recording of his song
The word for today is… perdition (noun) - 1a: eternal damnation b: hell 2a archaic : utter destruction b obsolete : loss Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Not a word very suitable for the festive season, but them's the breaks. Perdition is a word that was borrowed into English in the 14th
The word for today is… nativity (noun) - 1: the process or circumstances of being born : birth, especially, Nativity : the birth of Jesus 2: a horoscope at or of the time of one's birth 3: the place of origin Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Happy Christmas to all. Nativity is
The word for today is… aperçu (noun) - 1: a brief survey or sketch : outline 2: an immediate impression Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : In French, aperçu is the past participle of the verb apercevoir ("to perceive" or "to comprehend"), which in turn comes from Latin percipere ("
The word for today is… carceral (adjective) - : of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Carceral is a member of a small but imposing family: like its close relations incarcerate (meaning "to imprison") and incarceration (meaning "confinement in a jail or prison&
The word for today is… volant (adjective) - 1: having the wings extended as if in flight — used of a heraldic bird 2: flying or capable of flying 3: quick, nimble Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : English picked up "volant" from Middle French. The term survives in Modern French as
The word for today is… numismatic (adjective) - 1: of or relating to numismatics 2: of or relating to currency : monetary Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The first metal coins are believed to have been used as currency by the Lydians, a people of Asia Minor, during the 7th century BC, and
The word for today is… nocebo (noun) - : a harmless substance or treatment that when taken by or administered to a patient is associated with harmful side effects or worsening of symptoms due to negative expectations or the psychological condition of the patient Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Nocent has been in
The word for today is… reciprocity (noun) - 1: the quality or state of being reciprocal : mutual dependence, action, or influence 2: a mutual exchange of privileges, specifically : a recognition by one of two countries, states, or institutions of the validity of licenses or privileges granted by the other Source
The word for today is… sobriquet (noun) - : a descriptive name or epithet : nickname Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : This synonym of nickname has the same meaning in modern French as it does in English. In Middle French, however, its earlier incarnation soubriquet referred to both a nickname and a tap under
The word for today is… heraldry (noun) - 1: the practice of devising, blazoning, and granting armorial insignia and of tracing and recording genealogies 2: an armorial ensign, broadly : insignia 3: pageantry Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The art and science of devising, displaying, and granting armorial insignia and of tracing and
The word for today is… metonymy (noun) - : a figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated (such as "crown" in "lands belonging to the crown&
