The word for today is… bildungsroman (noun) – A novel whose principal subject is the moral, psychological, and intellectual development of a usually youthful main character. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Bildungsroman is the combination of two German words: Bildung, meaning “education,” and Roman, meaning “novel.” Fittingly, a bildungsroman is a
The word for today is… addlepated (adj) – Confused or stupid; befuddled. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : In Middle English an adel eye was a putrid egg. The stench of such an egg apparently affected the minds of some witty thinkers, who hatched a comparison between the diminished, unsound quality of
The word for today is… speculate (verb) – 1. To engage in a course of reasoning often based on inconclusive evidence; conjecture or theorize. 2. To engage in the buying or selling of a commodity with an element of risk on the chance of profit. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Speculate
The word for today is… redaction (noun) – 1. The act or process of preparing a document for publication, especially by deleting private or sensitive information. 2. An edited work; a new edition or revision. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Here’s a quiz for all you etymology buffs. Can you
The word for today is… provender (noun) – 1. Dry food, such as hay, used as feed for livestock. 2. Food or provisions. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : When English speakers first chewed on the word provender around 1300, it referred to a stipend (also known as a prebend) that a
The BFD has been reporting on the steady slew of disturbing revelations, about Canadian transgender activist Jonathan “Jessica” Yaniv. If there was a poster-boy for public concerns about the seedy side of transgenderism, Yaniv would be it. Because the legacy media won’t, the Post-Millennial has been doing an excellent
The word for today is… hapless (adj) – Luckless; unfortunate. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Hapless literally means what you’d expect it to mean: “without hap”—hap being another word for fortune or luck. Hap derives from the Old Norse word for “good luck,” a word that is also the
“I didn’t get much sleep last night thinking about underwear” Lawrence Ferlinghetti Australians, along with Brazilians and Colombians, are apparently amongst the cleanliest folk in the world, showering at least daily on average. New Zealanders never seem to get polled on this delicate question, but I’ll generously assume
The word for today is… gnomic (adj) – Marked by aphorisms; aphoristic. An aphorism is an adage. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : A gnome is an aphorism—that is, an observation or sentiment reduced to the form of a saying. Gnomes are sometimes couched in metaphorical or figurative language, they are
The word for today is… desideratum (noun) – Something considered necessary or highly desirable. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : We’d like to introduce you to some close cousins of the common word desire. All trace their roots to the Latin s?der-, or s?dus, which has historically been understood
The word for today is… cogent (adj) – Appealing to the intellect or powers of reasoning; convincing. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “Trained, knowledgeable agents make cogent suggestions … that make sense to customers.” It makes sense for us to include that comment from the president of a direct marketing consulting company
The word for today is… proprioception (noun) – The unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself. (Why you don’t fall out of bed when asleep). An explanation of how this sense works: Our body knows how it is moving and where it is
The word for today is… torrid (adj) – 1. (a) Parched with the heat of the sun; intensely hot. (b) Scorching; burning. 2. Passionate; ardent. 3. Hurried; rapid. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Torrid derives from the Latin verb torr?re, which means “to burn” or “to parch” and is an
The word for today is… troglodyte (noun) – 1. (a) A member of a fabulous or prehistoric race of people that lived in caves, dens, or holes. (b) A person considered to be reclusive, reactionary, out of date, or brutish. 2. (a) A nonhuman ape. Not in scientific use. (b) An
The word for today is… outré (adj) – Highly unconventional; eccentric or bizarre Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “Exaggerated, extravagant, eccentric,” 1722, from French outré “exaggerated, excessive, extreme,” past participle of outrer “to carry to excess, overdo, overstrain, exaggerate,” from outre “beyond,” from Latin ultra “beyond” (from suffixed form of PIE
The word for today is… reticule (noun) – 1. A drawstring handbag or purse. 2. A reticle. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “A ladies’ small bag,” 1801, from French réticule (18th century) “a net for the hair, a reticule,” from Latin reticulum “a little net, network bag”
