The word for today is… menorah (noun): a candelabra with seven or nine lights that is used in Jewish worship Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : English speakers originally used the Hebrew borrowing menorah for the seven-branched candelabra used in Jewish worship since ancient times. The nine-branched Hanukkah candelabra is called hanukkiah
The word for today is… commensurate (adjective): 1 : corresponding in size, extent, amount, or degree : proportionate 2 : equal in measure or extent Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Commensurate is a word that really measures up. And no wonder – it’s a descendant of the Latin noun mensura, meaning “measure,” from “mensus,
Today marks my first birthday as collator of the BFD’s Word of the Day. As a birthday present to myself I am going to re-post my favourite word from the last year. This was first posted on 2nd February 2021 and was the first word I chose after I
The word for today is… malice (noun): 1 : desire to cause pain, injury, or distress to another 2 : intent to commit an unlawful act or cause harm without legal justification or excuse Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Malicious and malevolent are close in meaning, since both refer to ill will that
The word for today is… jovial (adjective): : characterized by good-humored cheerfulness and conviviality Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Jupiter, also called Jove, was the chief Roman god and was considered a majestic, authoritative type—just the kind of god to name a massive planet like Jupiter for. Our word jovial comes
The word for today is… feign (verb): 1a : to give a false appearance of b : to assert as if true 2 archaic a : invent, imagine b : to give fictional representation to 3 obsolete : disguise, conceal Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Feign is all about faking it, but that hasn’t always
The word for today is… enclave (noun): : a distinct territorial, cultural, or social unit enclosed within or as if within foreign territory Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Looking for the keys to the etymology of enclave? You’ll find them in French and Latin. English speakers borrowed “enclave” from French in
The word for today is… garbage (noun): 1a : food waste b : discarded or useless material 2a : trash b : inaccurate or useless data Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Middle English, “poultry organs and body parts used for food, poultry refuse,” borrowed from Anglo-French. Garbage (implied in sergant garbagere – “kitchen servant tasked with
The word for today is… univocal (adjective): 1 : having one meaning only 2 : unambiguous Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Earliest known print evidence of univocal, in the sense of “having one meaning only,” dates the word to the mid-1500s, somewhat earlier than its more familiar antonym equivocal (meaning “often misleadingly subject
The word for today is… trepidation (noun): 1: a nervous or fearful feeling of uncertain agitation 2: archaic : a tremulous motion, tremor Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : If you’ve ever trembled with fright, you know something of both the sensation and etymology of trepidation. The word comes from the Latin
The word for today is… exonerate (verb): 1 : to relieve of a responsibility, obligation, or hardship 2 : to clear from accusation or blame Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : We won’t blame you if you don’t know the origins of today’s word. Exonerate derives via Middle English from the
The word for today is… amity (noun): : friendship – especially friendly relations between nations Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Amity has been used in English to describe friendship or friendliness for well over 500 years. It is derived from the Latin word for “friend,” amicus, and has come to be used especially
The word for today is… negotiate (verb): 1 : to discuss something formally in order to make an agreement 2 : to agree on (something) by formally discussing it 3 : to get over, through, or around (something) successfully Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : For the first 250 years of its life, negotiate had
The word for today is… wormhole (noun): 1 : a hole or passage burrowed by a worm 2 : a hypothetical structure of space-time envisioned as a tunnel connecting points that are separated in space and time Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology: If you associate “wormhole” with quantum physics and sci-fi, you’ll
The word for today is… grisly (adjective): 1 : inspiring horror or intense fear 2 : inspiring disgust or distaste Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : An angry grizzly bear could certainly inspire fear, so “grizzly” must be a variant of “grisly,” right? Yes and no. The adjective “grisly” is indeed sometimes spelled “grizzly,
The word for today is… qualm (noun): 1 : a feeling of uneasiness about a point especially of conscience or propriety 2 : a sudden feeling of usually disturbing emotion (such as doubt or fear) 3 : a sudden attack of illness, faintness, or nausea Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Etymologists aren’t sure
