The word for today is… flummox (verb): : confuse Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : No one is completely sure where the word flummox comes from, but Charles Dickens was aware of it and used it in his 1837 novel The Pickwick Papers. It became quite common in both British and American English
The word for today is… minion (noun): 1 : a servile dependent, follower, or underling 2 : one highly favored 3 : a subordinate or petty official Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Minion comes from Middle French and is related to filet mignon. The two terms are connected by mignon, meaning “darling.” The earliest
The word for today is… hoary (adjective): 1 : gray or white with or as if with age 2 : extremely old Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Hoary is an Old English word that comes from hoar, which shares its meanings. Both words refer to anything that is old or that has the
The word for today is… deem (verb): : to come to think or judge : consider Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Originally, deem meant “to legally condemn.” The word is still frequently used in contexts pertaining to the law but with the general meaning “to judge” or “to decide after inquiry and deliberation,
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
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
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
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
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”
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
