The word for today is… viand (noun) - 1: an item of food, especially : a choice or tasty dish 2 viands plural : provisions, food Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The etymology of viand reflects the close link between food and life. Viand was borrowed into English in the 15th century from the
The word for today is… portfolio (noun) - 1: a hinged cover or flexible case for carrying loose papers, pictures, or pamphlets 2 [from the use of such a case to carry documents of state] : the office and functions of a minister of state or member of a cabinet 3: the
The word for today is… abbreviation (noun) - 1: a shortened form of a written word or phrase used in place of the whole word or phrase 2: the act or result of abbreviating something : abridgment Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : An abbreviation is a shortened form of a written word or
The word for today is… contemn (verb) - : to view or treat with contempt : scorn Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Contemn is derived from the Latin verb contemnere, a word formed by combining con- and temnere ("to despise"). Surprisingly, our verb may have come within a hair's breadth
The word for today is… recluse (adjective, noun) - adjective : marked by withdrawal from society : solitary noun : a person who leads a secluded or solitary life Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Greta Garbo and Howard Hughes were two of the most famously reclusive celebrities of modern times. She had been a great
The word for today is… valedictory (adjective, noun) - adjective : of or relating to a valediction : expressing or containing a farewell noun : an address or statement of farewell or leave-taking Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Though it is not known where the first valedictory address was given, we do know that
The word for today is… asseverate (verb) - : to affirm or declare positively or earnestly Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : In a 2001 essay in The New York Times, novelist Elmore Leonard warned writers against using any verb other than "said" to carry dialogue, describing how an encounter with asseverated
The word for today is… erratic (adjective, noun) adjective 1: having no fixed course : wandering 2a: characterized by lack of consistency, regularity, or uniformity b: deviating from what is ordinary or standard : eccentric 3: transported from an original resting place especially by a glacier 4 archaic : nomadic noun : one that
The word for today is… inevitable (adjective) - : incapable of being avoided or evaded Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Inevitable can occasionally be found used as a noun (“the inevitable had come to pass”), but more frequently it is encountered as an adjective. Some, in fact, would classify this word not only
The word for today is… banal (adjective) - : lacking originality, freshness, or novelty : trite Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : There are several pronunciations of banal, but the three most common are \BAY-nul, \buh-NAHL, and \buh-NAL\ (which rhymes with canal). The earliest pronunciation given in our dictionaries is the now-
The word for today is… crux (noun) - 1: a puzzling or difficult problem : an unsolved question 2: an essential point requiring resolution or resolving an outcome 3: a main or central feature (as of an argument) Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Latin speakers used crux to refer literally to an instrument
The word for today is… permutation (noun) - 1: often major or fundamental change (as in character or condition) based primarily on rearrangement of existent elements, also : a form or variety resulting from such change 2a: the act or process of changing the lineal order of an ordered set of objects
The word for today is… contaminate (verb) - 1a: to soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association b: to make inferior or impure by admixture 2: to make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Contaminate, taint, pollute, and defile mean
The word for today is… bacchanalian (adjective, noun) - adjective : of, relating to, or suggesting the ancient Roman religious rites marked by orgiastic revelry and drunkenness that were held in honor of Bacchus, the god of wine noun : a bacchanalian reveler Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The Roman god of drama, wine,
The word for today is… candid (adjective, noun) - adjective 1a: expressing opinions, feelings, etc. in an open, honest, and sincere way, also : being or involving such expression b: disposed to criticize severely : blunt c: indicating or suggesting sincere honesty and absence of deception 2: relating to or being photography or
The word for today is… nexus (noun) - 1: connection, link, also : a causal link 2: a connected group or series 3: center, focus Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : When nexus came into English in the 17th century, it meant “connection” or “link.” Eventually, people began using it to refer to a
