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David Theobald

The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… attrition (noun): 1: sorrow for one’s sins that arises from a motive other than that of the love of God 2 : the act of rubbing together : the act of wearing or grinding down by friction 3 : the act of weakening or exhausting by constant

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… laudable (adjective): : worthy of praise : commendable Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Both laudable and laudatory derive ultimately from Latin laud- or laus, meaning “praise.” Laudable and laudatory differ in meaning, however, and usage commentators warn against using them interchangeably. Laudable means “deserving praise” or “praiseworthy,” as

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… askance (adverb): 1 : with disapproval or distrust : scornfully 2 : with a side-glance : obliquely Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Askance, which etymologists believe may have been influenced by askew, comes from Middle English forms such as askaunce, a-skans, a-skaunces, meaning variously “in such a way that,” “as

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… juxtapose (verb): : to place (different things) side by side (as to compare them or contrast them or to create an interesting effect) Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : A back-formation is a word that has come about through the removal of a prefix or a suffix from

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… imprimatur (noun): 1a : sanction, approval b : a mark of approval or distinction 2a : a license to print or publish especially by Roman Catholic episcopal authority b : approval of a publication under circumstances of official censorship Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Imprimatur means “let it be printed”

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… instigate (verb): : to goad or urge forward, provoke Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Instigate is often used as a synonym of incite (as in “hoodlums instigating violence”), but the two words differ slightly in their overall usage. Incite usually stresses an act of stirring something up

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… apotheosis (noun): 1a : the perfect form or example of something b : the highest or best part of something, peak 2 : elevation to divine status : deification Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Among the ancient Greeks, it was sometimes thought fitting—or simply handy, say if you wanted

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… eschew (verb): : to avoid habitually especially on moral or practical ground Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Eschew derives from the Anglo-French verb eschiver and is akin to the Old High German verb sciuhen (“to frighten off”), an ancestor of our word shy. In his famous dictionary

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… hegemony (noun): 1 : preponderant influence or authority over others, domination 2 : the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Hegemony comes to English from the Greek hegemonia, a noun formed from the verb hegeisthai (“to lead”), which

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… maundy (noun, often attributive): 1 : a ceremony of washing the feet of the poor on Maundy Thursday 2 : alms distributed in connection with the maundy ceremony or on Maundy Thursday – Maundy Money given by the British Monarch to chosen poor. Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Middle

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… vanguard (noun): 1 : the forefront of an action or movement 2 : the troops moving at the head of an army Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Vanguard comes from Anglo-French avantgarde, from avant, meaning “before,” and garde, “guard.” In medieval times, avantgarde referred to the troops that

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… opportune (adjective): 1 : suitable or convenient for a particular occurrence 2 : occurring at an appropriate time Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Opportune comes from Latin opportunus, which can mean “favoring one’s needs,” “serviceable,” or “convenient.” The word is a combination of the prefix ob-, meaning

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… liaison (noun): 1 : a binding or thickening agent used in cooking 2a : a close bond or connection b : an illicit sexual relationship : affair 3a : communication for establishing and maintaining mutual understanding and cooperation (as between parts of an armed force) b : a person who establishes

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… historic (adjective): : historical – such as a : famous or important in history b : having great and lasting importance c : known or established in the past d : dating from or preserved from a past time or culture Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Historic and historical are both occasionally

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… mettlesome (adjective): full of mettle, spirited Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The 17th-century adjective mettlesome (popularly used of spirited horses) sometimes appeared as the variant metalsome. That’s not surprising. In the 16th century and for some time after, mettle was a variant spelling of metal—

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… nefarious (adjective): : flagrantly wicked or impious : evil Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Vicious and villainous are two wicked synonyms of nefarious, and, like nefarious, both mean “highly reprehensible or offensive in character, nature, or conduct.” But these synonyms are not used in exactly the same way

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