The word for today is… delectation (noun) – 1. Delight. 2. Enjoyment; pleasure. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Pleasure, delight, and enjoyment are all synonyms and all signify the agreeable emotion accompanying the possession or expectation of what is good or greatly desired. Why, then, use delectation, that not-so-familiar synonym? Because,
The word for today is… clowder (Also Cludder, Clutter) (noun) – (Animals) A kendle or kindle of cats, 1801; a group of cats. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Early 19th century: from dialect cludder ‘clutter’, probably related to clot. If you enjoyed this BFD word of the day please consider sharing
The word for today is… tractable (adj) – 1. Easily managed or controlled; governable. 2. Easily handled or worked; malleable. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Docile, obedient, and amenable are synonyms of tractable, but those four words have slightly different shades of meaning. Tractable describes an individual whose character permits easy
The word for today is… impugn (verb) – To attack as untrue; censure; malign; to cast doubt upon. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : When you impugn, you hazard repugnant pugnacity. More simply put, you risk insulting someone so greatly that they may punch you in response. The belligerent implications of impugn
The word for today is… sodden (adj) – 1. Thoroughly soaked; saturated. 2. Soggy and heavy from improper cooking; doughy. 3. Expressionless, stupid, or dull, especially from drink. 4. Unimaginative; torpid. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Nowadays, seethed is the past tense and past participle form of the verb seethe (which
The word for today is… reiterate (verb) – To say or do again or repeatedly. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Can you guess the meaning of iterate, a less common relative of reiterate? It must mean simply “to state or do,” right? Nope. Actually, iterate also means “to state or do
The word for today is… vexillology (noun) – The study of flags. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history.” Woodrow Wilson was speaking of the U.S. flag when he made that statement in an address in June of 1915, but those
The word for today is… retinue (noun) – The retainers or attendants accompanying a high-ranking person. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Retinue derives via Middle English from the Anglo-French verb retenir, meaning “to retain.” Another word deriving from retenir is retainer, which means, among other things, “one who serves a person
The word for today is… sempiternal (adj) – Enduring forever; eternal. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Despite their similarities, sempiternal and eternal come from different roots. Sempiternal is derived from the Late Latin sempiternalis and ultimately from semper, Latin for “always.” (You may recognize semper as a key element in the
The word for today is… recondite (adj) – 1. Not easily understood; abstruse or obscure. 2. Concealed; hidden. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : While the adjective recondite may be used to describe something difficult to understand, there is nothing recondite about the word’s history. It dates to the early 1600s,
The word for today is… tarradiddle (noun) – 1. A petty falsehood; a fib. 2. Silly pretentious speech or writing; twaddle. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Late 18th century: perhaps related to diddle.
The word for today is… refectory (noun) – A room where meals are served, especially in a college or other institution. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “Dining hall,” especially one in a monastery, early 15th century, from Medieval Latin refectorium, from past participle stem of reficere “to remake, restore,” from re-
The word for today is… respite (noun) – 1. A usually short period of rest or relief. 2. (Law) (a) Temporary suspension of the execution of a sentence. (b) Forbearance or delay, as granted in the payment of a debt. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Respite is first known to have
The word for today is… undulate (verb) – 1. To move in waves or with a smooth, wavelike motion. 2. To have a wavelike appearance or form. 3. To increase and decrease in volume or pitch. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Undulate and inundate are word cousins that branch from unda,
The word for today is… pedagogical (adj) – 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of pedagogy. 2. Characterised by pedantic formality. pedagogy (noun) – 1. The art or profession of teaching. 2. Preparatory training or instruction. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Pedagogical, which has the somewhat less common variant form pedagogic, was
The word for today is… mutt (noun) – 1. A mongrel dog. 2. A stupid person; a dolt. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Mutt can now be used with either affection or disdain to refer to a dog that is not purebred, but in the word’s early history, in the
