The word for today is… bildungsroman (noun): literature : a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Bildungsroman is the combination of two German nouns: Bildung, meaning “education,” and Roman, meaning “novel.” (Nouns in German are always capitalized.) Fittingly, a bildungsroman is a
The word for today is… lambent (adjective)): 1: playing lightly on or over a surface : flickering 2: softly bright or radiant 3: marked by lightness or brilliance especially of expression Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Fire is frequently associated with lapping or licking imagery: flames are often described as “tongues” that
The word for today is… disparate (adjective): 1: markedly distinct in quality or character 2: containing or made up of fundamentally different and often incongruous elements Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The word, which first appeared in English in the 16th century, comes from the Latin verb disparare, meaning “to divide,
The word for today is… cavalcade (noun): 1a: a procession b: a procession of vehicles or ships 2: a dramatic sequence or procession Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Cavalcade is a word with deep equestrian roots, though it comes (via French and possibly Italian) from a Latin word (caballus, meaning “work
The word for today is… sanctimonious (adjective): 1: hypocritically pious or devout 2 obsolete : possessing sanctity : holy Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : There’s nothing sacred about “sanctimonious”-at least not any more. But in the early 1600s, the English adjective was still sometimes used to describe someone truly holy or
he word for today is… zany (adjective, noun): adjective : very eccentric noun 1: a subordinate clown or acrobat in old comedies who mimics ludicrously the tricks of the principal 2archaic : a person who fawns over another person : a servile follower : toady 3: one who acts the buffoon to amuse others
The word for today is… symbiosis (noun): 1: the living together in more or less intimate association or close union of two dissimilar organisms (as in parasitism or commensalism) 2: a cooperative relationship (as between two persons or groups) Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Symbiosis was adopted by the scientific community
The word for today is… obdurate (adjective): 1a: stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing b: hardened in feelings 2: resistant to persuasion or softening influences Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : When trying to persuade someone who has an obdurate disposition, you may end up feeling rather dour about your ability to change their
The word for today is… fawn (verb, noun): verb 1: to court favor by a cringing or flattering manner 2: to show affection noun 1: a young deer 2: a light grayish brown Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Language lovers, rejoice! If you’re the sort of person who fawns over
The word for today is… kith (noun): : familiar friends, neighbors, or relatives Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : If you’d used the word kith a thousand years ago, you might have been referring to knowledge, or to a homeland, or possibly to your neighbours and acquaintances. While those first two meanings
The word for today is… tactile (adjective): 1: perceptible by touch : tangible 2: of, relating to, or being the sense of touch Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Tactile has many relatives in English, from the oft-synonymous tangible to familiar words like intact, tact, tangent, contingent, and even entire. All of
The word for today is… lacuna (noun): 1: a blank space or a missing part 2: a small cavity, pit, or discontinuity in an anatomical structure Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : If you find yourself drawing a blank when it comes to the definition of lacuna, it might help to imagine
The word for today is… gallivant (verb): 1 informal : to travel, roam, or move about for pleasure 2 dated, informal : to go about usually ostentatiously or indiscreetly with members of the opposite sex Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Back in the 14th century, gallant, a noun borrowed from the French word
The word for today is… divulge (verb): 1: to make known (something, such as a confidence or secret) 2 archaic : to make public : proclaim Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Information divulged is typically secret, or known only to insiders, and it isn’t usually shouted from the rooftops. But when divulge
The word for today is… eradicate (verb): 1: to do away with as completely as if by pulling up by the roots 2: to pull up by the roots Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Given that eradicate first meant “to pull up by the roots,” it’s not surprising that the
The word for today is… factotum (noun): 1: a person having many diverse activities or responsibilities 2: a general servant Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : “Do everything!” That’s a tall order, but it is exactly what a factotum is expected to do. It’s also a literal translation of the
