The word for today is… malapropism (noun): : the usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase especially : the use of a word sounding somewhat like the one intended but ludicrously wrong in the context Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Mrs. Malaprop, a character in Richard Sheridan's
The word for today is… presage (noun, verb): noun 1: something that foreshadows or portends a future event : omen 2: an intuition or feeling of what is going to happen in the future 3 archaic : prognostication 4: warning or indication of the future verb 1: to give an omen or
The word for today is… somnolent (adjective): 1: of a kind likely to induce sleep 2: inclined to or heavy with sleep : drowsy Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Somnolent first appeared in the late 15th century in the redundant phrase "somnolent sleep." It came into English by way of
The word for today is… encroach (verb): 1: to enter by gradual steps or by stealth into the possessions or rights of another 2: to advance beyond the usual or proper limits Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Encroach comes from the Middle English verb encrochen, which means "to get or
The word for today is… audition (noun, verb): noun 1: the power or sense of hearing 2: the act of hearing 3: a trial performance to appraise an entertainer's merits transitive verb : to test or try out especially in an audition intransitive verb : to give a trial performance
The word for today is… facetious (adjective): 1: joking or jesting often inappropriately : waggish 2: meant to be humorous or funny : not serious Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Facetious is one of a small group of English words that not only use all five vowels once, but use them in alphabetical
The word for today is… sward (noun): 1: a portion of ground covered with grass 2: the grassy surface of land Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Sward sprouted from the Old English sweard or swearth, meaning “skin” or “rind.” It was originally used as a term for the skin of the
The word for today is… circuitous (adjective): 1: having a circular or winding course 2: not being forthright or direct in language or action Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, the titular hero Bilbo Baggins takes a circuitous route to the Lonely Mountain, which
The word for today is… nomenclature (noun): 1: name, designation 2: the act or process or an instance of naming 3a: a system or set of terms or symbols especially in a particular science, discipline, or art b: an international system of standardized New Latin names used in biology for
The word for today is… harfang (noun): : snowy owl Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Swedish harfång, literally, hare catcher, from hare (from Old Swedish hari) + fånga to catch, from Old Swedish fanga, from Middle Low German vangen; akin to Old English hara hare and to Old High German fāhan to catch
The word for today is… divers (adjective, pronoun): adjective : of an indefinite number greater than one pronoun : an indefinite number greater than one Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Divers is not a misspelling of diverse—it is a word in its own right. Both adjectives come from Latin diversus, meaning "
The word for today is… pugnacious (adjective): : having a quarrelsome or combative nature : truculent Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Pugnacious comes from the Latin verb pugnare (meaning "to fight"), which in turn comes from the Latin word for "fist," pugnus. Another Latin word related to pugnus is
The word for today is… bereft (adjective): 1a: deprived or robbed of the possession or use of something - usually used with of b: lacking something needed, wanted, or expected - used with of 2: suffering the death of a loved one : bereaved Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In Old English,
The word for today is… wanderlust (noun): : strong longing for or impulse toward wandering Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : "For my part," writes Robert Louis Stevenson in Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel'
The word for today is… gourmand (noun): 1: one who is excessively fond of eating and drinking 2: one who is heartily interested in good food and drink Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : When gourmand first appeared in English texts in the 15th century, it was no compliment: gourmand was a
The word for today is… inimitable (adjective): : not capable of being imitated : matchless Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Something that is inimitable is, literally, not able to be imitated. In actual usage the word describes things so uniquely extraordinary as to not be copied or equalled, which is why you often
