The word for today is… betwixt (adverb or preposition): : between Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Today's word merits a WOTD spot not because of its meaning but because it is neither a noun, adjective or verb (by far the most common varieties of candidates - obviously). Even better, it can
The word for today is… appreciable (adjective): : capable of being perceived or measured Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Appreciable, like the verb appreciate, comes from the Late Latin verb appretiare ("to appraise" or "to put a price on"). It is one of several English adjectives that can
The word for today is… eldritch (adjective): : strange or unnatural especially in a way that inspires fear : weird, eerie Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Curse, cobweb, witch, ghost - potentially spooky words all have roots in Old English. Eldritch, although less common, is another, hailing from a time when otherworldly beings were
The word for today is… immense (adjective): 1: marked by greatness especially in size or degree, especially transcending ordinary means of measurement 2: supremely good Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Just how big is something if it is immense? Huge? Colossal? Humongous? Ginormous? Or merely enormous? Immense is often used as
The word for today is… motif (noun): 1: a usually recurring salient thematic element (as in the arts), especially a dominant idea or central theme 2: a single or repeated design or color 3 biochemistry : a distinctive, usually recurrent, molecular sequence (as of amino acids or base pairs) or structural
The word for today is… fugacious (adjective): : lasting a short time : evanescent Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Fugacious is often used to describe immaterial things like emotions, but not always. Botanists, for example, use it to describe plant parts that wither or fall off before the usual time. Things that are
The word for today is… taciturn (adjective): : temperamentally disinclined to talk Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Taciturn shows up in English in the first half of the 18th century. James Miller, a British clergyman educated at Oxford, gives an early example of its use in his 1734 satiric drama, wherein a
The word for today is… ideate (verb): : to form an idea Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Like idea and ideal, ideate comes from the Greek verb idein, which means "to see." The sight-thought connection came courtesy of Plato, the Greek philosopher who based his theory of the ideal
The word for today is… verbatim (adverb, adjective): adverb : in the exact words : word for word adjective : being in or following the exact words : word-for-word Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Always good to see an adverb crop up in this series. English is rich with Latin descendants. While most
The word for today is… scapegoat (noun, verb): noun 1: a goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony for Yom Kippur 2a: one that bears the blame for others b: one that is
The word for today is… numinous (adjective): 1: supernatural, mysterious 2: filled with a sense of the presence of divinity : holy 3: appealing to the higher emotions or to the aesthetic sense : spiritual Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : When people of the 1600s were ruminating on an adjective to reflect their
The word for today is… coruscate (verb): 1: to give off or reflect light in bright beams or flashes : sparkle 2: to be brilliant or showy in technique or style Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : This formal-sounding synonym of sparkle comes from the Latin verb coruscare, meaning "to flash.
The word for today is… welkin (noun): 1a: the vault of the sky : firmament b: the celestial abode of God or the gods : heaven 2: the upper atmosphere Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : When it comes to welkin, the sky's the limit. This heavenly word has been used in
The word for today is… partisan (noun, adjective, noun): noun 1: a firm adherent to a party, faction, cause, or person - especially one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance 2a: a member of a body of detached light troops making forays and harassing an enemy b: a member of a
The word for today is… lèse majesté (noun): 1a: a crime (such as treason) committed against a sovereign power b: an offense violating the dignity of a ruler as the representative of a sovereign power 2: a detraction from or affront to dignity or importance Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Lèse-
The word for today is… potentate (noun): : ruler, sovereign Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Potentate has been wielding its power in English since the 15th century. It comes from the Late Latin potentatus, which in turn was formed from the Latin potent-, meaning "powerful." Other descendants of potent- in
