The word for today is… accouchement (noun) – A confinement during childbirth; a lying-in. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “Parturition, delivery in childbed,” 1803, from French accouchement, noun of action from accoucher “go to childbed”. The verb accouche (1867) is a back-formation, or else from French accoucher. If you enjoyed this
The word for today is… pertinacious (adj) – 1. Holding tenaciously or stubbornly to a purpose, opinion, or course of action. 2. Extremely persistent or unyielding. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Remove the first syllable of pertinacious and say what remains out loud: you’ll hear something that sounds a lot
The word for today is… pecuniary (adj) – 1. Of or relating to money. 2. Requiring payment of money. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Pecuniary first appeared in English in the early 16th century and comes from the Latin word pecunia, which means “money.” Both this root and Latin peculium, which
The word for today is… pachyderm (noun) – Any of various large, thick-skinned, hoofed mammals such as the elephant, rhinoceros, or hippopotamus. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Pachydermos in Greek means literally “having thick skin” (figuratively, it means “dull” or “stupid”). It’s from pachys, meaning “thick,” and derma, meaning “skin.
The word for today is… operose (adj) – 1. Involving great labour; laborious. 2. Industrious; diligent. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Operose comes from the Latin operosus, which has the meaning of “diligent,” “painstaking” or “laborious.” That word combines opera, meaning “activity,” “effort,” or “work,” with -osus—the Latin equivalent of
The word for today is… nepotism (noun) – Favoritism shown or patronage granted to relatives, as in business. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : During his papacy from 1471–1484, Sixtus IV granted many special favors to members of his family, in particular his nephews. This practice of papal favoritism was carried
The word for today is… mythomania (noun) – A compulsion to embroider the truth, engage in exaggeration, or tell lies. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : We wouldn’t lie to you about the history of mythomania. It comes, via the French mythomanie, from two ancient roots: the Greek m?thos (meaning
The word for today is… meliorism (noun) – 1. The belief that the human condition can be improved through concerted effort. 2. The belief that there is an inherent tendency toward progress or improvement in the human condition. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : n 1877, British novelist George Eliot believed she
The word for today is… limpid (adj) – 2. Free from clouds or haze. 3. Easily intelligible; clear. 4. Easily or pleasantly heard; distinct. 5. Flowing or moving gracefully. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Since around 1600, limpid has been used in English to describe things that have the soft clearness
The word for today is… leitmotif (noun) – 1. A melodic passage or phrase, especially in Wagnerian opera, associated with a specific character, situation, or element. 2. A dominant and recurring theme, as in a novel. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : The English word leitmotif (or leitmotiv, as it is also
The word for today is… juncture (noun) – 1. (a) The act of joining or the condition of being joined. (b) A place where two things are joined; a junction or joint. 2. A point in time, especially one requiring a decision to be made. 3. The transition or mode of
The word for today is… inordinate (adj) – 1. Exceeding reasonable limits; immoderate. 2. (Archaic) Not regulated; disorderly. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : At one time, if something was “inordinate,” it did not conform to the expected or desired order of things. That sense, synonymous with disorderly or unregulated, is now
The word for today is… gauntlet (noun) – 1. A protective glove, usually extending over some of the forearm, worn as part of medieval armour. 2. Any of various protective gloves, usually with an extended or flared cuff, as used in certain sports such as fencing and motorcycle riding, in cooking
The word for today is… futile (adj) – Ineffectual; useless; incapable of producing any result; not successful. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Futile broke into 16th-century English as a Latinate borrowing from Middle French. The Latin derivative, f?tilis, was used to describe things that are brittle or fragile and, by
The word for today is… fountainhead (noun) – 1. A spring that is the source or head of a stream. 2. A chief and copious source; an originator. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : When it first entered English in the late 16th century, fountainhead was used only in a literal sense—
The word for today is… forebear (noun) – Ancestor; forefather; progenitor. Not to be confused with: forbear – refrain or abstain from; to forgo. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Forebear (also spelled, less commonly, as forbear) was first used by our ancestors in the days of Middle English. Fore- means “coming before,
