The word for today is… vacuous (adjective) - 1: emptied of or lacking content 2: marked by lack of ideas or intelligence : stupid, inane 3: devoid of serious occupation : idle Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : As you might have guessed, "vacuous" shares the same root as "vacuum"-the
The word for today is… parabolic (adjective) - 1: expressed by or being a parable : allegorical 2: of, having the form of, or relating to a parabola Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The two distinct meanings of parabolic trace back to the development of Late Latin and New Latin. Late Latin is
The word for today is… animosity (noun) - : a strong feeling of dislike or hatred : ill will or resentment tending toward active hostility : an antagonistic attitude Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The important Latin word animus (very closely related to anima) could mean a great many things having to do with the
The word for today is… meme (noun) - 1: an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online especially through social media 2: an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture
The word for today is… timorous (adjective) - 1: of a timid disposition : fearful 2: expressing or suggesting timidity Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Timid and timorous don't just have similar spellings and meanings; they are etymologically related as well. Both words ultimately derive from the Latin verb timēre, meaning
The word for today is… syllepsis (noun) - 1: the use of a word to modify or govern syntactically two or more words with only one of which it formally agrees in gender, number, or case 2: the use of a word in the same grammatical relation to two adjacent
The word for today is… maritime (adjective) - 1: of, relating to, or bordering on the sea 2: of or relating to navigation or commerce on the sea 3: having the characteristics of a mariner Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The maritime countries of Portugal and England produced many seafaring explorers during
The word for today is… aphaeresis (noun) - : the loss of one or more sounds or letters at the beginning of a word (as in round for around) Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Borrowed from Late Latin, borrowed from Greek aphaíresis "taking away, removal, dropping of a letter or sound from
The word for today is… diaphanous (adjective) - 1: characterised by such fineness of texture as to permit seeing through 2: characterised by extreme delicacy of form : ethereal 3: insubstantial, vague Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : What do the words diaphanous, epiphany, fancy, phenomenon, sycophant, emphasis, and phase all have in common?
The word for today is… sinuous (adjective) - 1a: of a serpentine or wavy form : winding b: marked by strong lithe movements 2: intricate, complex Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Although it probably makes you think more of snakes than head colds, sinuous is etymologically more like sinus than serpent. Sinuous and
The word for today is… quintessential (adjective, noun) - adjective : perfectly typical or representative of a particular kind of person or thing noun : a quintessential element : something that is a typical part or pure example — usually plural Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The philosophers and scientists of the ancient world and the
The word for today is… fleer (noun) - archaic : a word or look of derision or mockery Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Fleer first appeared in English as a verb (fleryen in Middle English) meaning "to laugh, grin, or grimace in a coarse manner." The verb is of Scandinavian origin
The word for today is… repartee (noun) - 1a: a quick and witty reply b: a succession or interchange of clever retorts : amusing and usually light sparring with words 2: adroitness and cleverness in reply : skill in repartee Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Dorothy Parker was known for her repartee. Upon hearing
The word for today is… estuary (noun) - : a water passage where the tide meets a river current, especially : an arm of the sea at the lower end of a river Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : A partly enclosed coastal body of water in which river water is mixed with seawater is
The word for today is… cantor (noun) - 1: a choir leader : precentor 2: a synagogue official who sings or chants liturgical music and leads the congregation in prayer Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The cantor is, after the rabbi, the most important figure in a Jewish worship service. A cantor not
The word for today is… astrolabe (noun) - : a compact instrument used to observe and calculate the position of celestial bodies before the invention of the sextant Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : “Thyn Astrolabie hath a ring to putten on the thombe of thi right hond in taking the height of thinges.
