The word for today is… gustatory (adj) – Of or relating to the sense of taste. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Gustatory is a member of a finite set of words that describe the senses with which we encounter our world, the other members being visual, aural, olfactory, and tactile. Like
The word for today is… eradicate (verb) – 1. To tear up by the roots. 2. To get rid of; eliminate. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Given that eradicate first meant “to pull up by the roots,” it’s not surprising that the root of eradicate means, in fact, “root.” Eradicate,
The word for today is… bootless (adj) – Being without advantage or benefit; useless. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : This sense of bootless has nothing to do with footwear. The “boot” in this case is an obsolete noun that meant “use” or “avail.” That boot descended from Old English b?t
The word for today is… scumble (verb) – 1. To soften the colours or outlines of (a painting or drawing) by covering with a film of opaque or semiopaque colour or by rubbing. 2. To blur the outlines of. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : The history of scumble is blurry, but
The word for today is… prognosticate (verb) – 1. To predict according to present indications or signs; foretell. 2. To foreshadow; portend. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Prognosticate, which comes from the Greek progn?stikos (“foretelling”), first appears in English during the 15th century. Since that time, prognosticate has been connected
The word for today is… parvenu (noun) – A person who has suddenly risen to a higher social and economic class and has not yet gained social acceptance by others in that class. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : French has been generous in providing us with terms for obscure folks who
The word for today is… macabre (adj) – 1. Upsetting or horrifying by association with death or injury; gruesome. 2. Constituting or including a representation of death. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : We trace the origins of macabre to the name of the Book of Maccabees, which is included in the
The word for today is… lenticular (adj) – 1. Shaped like a biconvex lens. 2. Of or relating to a lens. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “Lentil-shaped”—that’s the meaning of Latin lenticularis, the parent of English’s lenticular. It’s an appropriate predecessor because a double-convex lens is one
The word for today is… lackluster (UK lacklustre) (adj) – Lacking brightness, luster, or vitality; dull. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : In its earliest uses, lackluster (also spelled lacklustre) usually described eyes that were dull or lacking in brightness, as in “a lackluster stare.” Later, it came to describe other things
The word for today is… infantilize (UK infantilise) (verb) – 1. To treat or condescend to as if still a young child. 2. To reduce to an infantile state or condition. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Infantilize is just a baby, relatively speaking. It first saw the light of day in
The word for today is… hierophant (noun) – 1. An ancient Greek priest who interpreted sacred mysteries, especially the priest of the Eleusinian mysteries. 2. An interpreter of sacred mysteries or arcane knowledge. 3. One who explains or makes a commentary. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Hierophant, hieroglyphics, and hierarch have
The word for today is… gist (noun) – 1. The central idea; the essence. 2. (Law) The grounds for action in a suit. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : The word gist often appears in such contexts as “the gist of the conversation was that…” to let us know that what follows
The word for today is… fissile (adj) – 1. Possible to split. 2. (Physics) Fissionable, especially by neutrons of all energies. 3. (Geology) Easily split along close parallel planes. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : When scientists first used fissile back in the 1600s, the notion of splitting the nucleus of an
The word for today is… expunge (verb) – 1. To erase, delete, or strike out. 2. To eliminate completely; wipe out. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : In medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, a series of dots was used to mark mistakes or to label material that should be deleted from a text,
The word for today is… diligent (adj) – Marked by persevering, painstaking effort. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : You’re more likely to be diligent about something if you love doing it. The etymology of diligent reflects the fact that affection can lead to energetic effort. The word, which entered English
The word for today is… debonair (adj) – 1. Sophisticated; urbane. 2. Gracious and charming in a cheerful, carefree way. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : In Anglo-French, someone who was genteel and well-brought-up was described as deboneire—literally “of good family or nature” (from the three-word phrase de bon aire). When
