The word for today is… fraught (adj) – 1. Filled with a specified element or elements; charged. 2. Marked by or causing distress; emotional. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “The drowmound was so hevy fraught / That unethe myght it saylen aught.” That verse, from the 14th-century poem Richard Coer de Lion,
The word for today is… fiduciary (adj) – 1. (a) Of or relating to a duty of acting in good faith with regard to the interests of another. (b) Of or being a trustee or trusteeship. (c) Held in trust. 2. Of or consisting of fiat money. 3. Of, relating to,
The word for today is… espouse (verb) – Adopt; champion, advocate. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : As you might guess, the words espouse and spouse are related, both deriving from the Latin verb spond?re, meaning “to promise” or “to betroth.” In fact, the two were once completely interchangeable, with each
The word for today is… dilapidated (adj) – Having fallen into a state of disrepair or deterioration, as through neglect; broken-down and shabby. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Something that is dilapidated may not have been literally pummeled with stones, but it might look that way. Dilapidated derives (via the English
The word for today is… didactic (adj) – 1. Intended to instruct. 2. Morally instructive. 3. Inclined to teach or moralise excessively. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “fitted or intended for instruction; pertaining to instruction,” 1650s, from French didactique, from Latinised form of Greek didaktikos “apt at teaching,” from didaktos “taught,
The word for today is… coruscate (verb) – 1. To give forth flashes of light; sparkle and glitter. 2. To exhibit sparkling virtuosity: Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : To help you gain a flash of recognition next time you see coruscate (or to prompt you when you need a brilliant synonym
The word for today is… chilblain (noun) – An inflammation followed by itchy irritation on the hands, feet, or ears, resulting from exposure to moist cold. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Given that chilblains are caused by exposure to cold conditions, it may not surprise you to know that the first
The word for today is… bruit (verb) – To spread news of; repeat. (noun) – 1. (also bro?o?? ) Medicine An abnormal sound heard in auscultation. 2. (Archaic) (a) A rumour. (b) A din; a clamour. Bonus Word auscultation (noun) – 1. The act of listening. 2. (Medicine) The act of listening for
The word for today is… armistice (noun) – A temporary cessation of fighting by mutual consent; a truce. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Armistice descends from Latin sistere, meaning “to come to a stand” or “to cause to stand or stop,” combined with arma, meaning “weapons.” An armistice, therefore, is literally
The word for today is… apocryphal (adj) – 1. Of questionable authorship or authenticity. 2. Erroneous; fictitious. 3. Apocryphal (Bible) Of or having to do with the Apocrypha. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : In Bible study, the term Apocrypha refers to sections of the Bible that are not sanctioned as belonging
The word for today is… aphorism (noun) – 1. A tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion; an adage. 2. A brief statement of a scientific principle. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Aphorism was originally used in the world of medicine. Credit Hippocrates, the Greek physician regarded as the father
The word for today is… aerie (noun) – The nest of a bird of prey, a house or fortress located high on a hill or mountain. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : English poet John Milton put a variant of aerie to good use in Paradise Lost (1667), writing, “… there the eagle
The word for today is… triskaidekaphobia (noun) – An abnormal fear of the number 13. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : It’s impossible to say just how or when the number thirteen got its bad reputation. There are a number of theories, of course. Some say it comes from the Last
The word for today is… scapegoat (noun) – 1. One that is made to bear the blame of others. 2. (Bible) A live goat over whose head Aaron confessed all the sins of the children of Israel on the Day of Atonement. The goat, symbolically bearing their sins, was then sent
The word for today is… redound (verb) – 1. To have an effect or consequence. 2. To return; recoil: Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Although it looks and sounds like a number of similar words (including rebound, resound, abound, and redundant), redound is a distinct term. It developed from Middle French
The word for today is… frippery (noun) – 1. Pretentious, showy finery. 2. Pretentious elegance; ostentation. 3. Something trivial or nonessential. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : 1560s, “old clothes, cast-off garments,” from Middle French friperie “old clothes, an old clothes shop,” from Old French freperie, feuperie “old rags, rubbish, old clothes”
