Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 05, 2012 is: gorgonize \GOR-guh-nyze\ verb : to have a paralyzing or mesmerizing effect on : stupefy, petrify Examples: Dave joked that his boss's angry glare could gorgonize an employee in mid-complaint. "Izzy asked Sol why he was willing to take us. She gave him a look that would gorgonize." — From W.S. Milner's 2001 book In Translation Did you know? In Greek mythology, the Gorgons (from the Greek adjective "gorgos," meaning "terrifying") were commonly depicted as three female monsters who had snakes for hair and the ability to turn anyone who looked at them into stone. The most notorious of the three was Medusa; when she was slain by the hero Perseus, her severed head retained the power of turning anyone who looked on it to stone. In modern parlance, to gorgonize someone is to make him or her feel (metaphorically) petrified, usually through an intimidating glance or gaze.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 04, 2012 is: maieutic \may-YOO-tik\ adjective : relating to or resembling the Socratic method of eliciting new ideas from another Examples: "I am grateful to him for his maieutic inquiry about my own views, which had not crystallized." — From an article by William F. Buckley, Jr., in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 27, 1973 "The international peacebuilding practitioner can adopt elements of a maieutic or Socratic approach to pedagogy, in which dialogue is at the core of a mutual learning process and there is no assumption that the person speaking is necessarily wiser than those who are being engaged." — From an article by Nathan C. Funk in International Journal, Spring 2012 Did you know? "Maieutic" comes from "maieutikos," the Greek word for "of midwifery." In one of Plato's "Dialogues," Socrates applies "maieutikos" to his method of bringing forth new ideas by reasoning and dialogue; he thought the technique analogous to those a midwife uses in delivering a baby (Socrates’ mother was a midwife). A teacher who uses maieutic methods can be thought of as an intellectual midwife who assists students in bringing forth ideas and conceptions previously latent in their minds.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 03, 2012 is: espresso \eh-SPRESS-oh\ noun 1 : strong coffee brewed by forcing steam through finely ground darkly roasted coffee beans 2 : a cup of espresso Examples: Joan couldn't begin her day without at least one cup of espresso to wake her up. "I actually have a little espresso sometimes right before working out." — Natalie Morales on The Today Show (NBC News), September 19, 2012 Did you know? "Espresso" is short for "caffè espresso," which is Italian for "pressed-out coffee"; the name quite accurately describes the process of making the beverage. The word first appeared in print in English in 1945 as part of the phrase "caffè espresso," and soon it was flying solo. You may be tempted to use "expresso" instead of "espresso." If so, you're not alone—by 1955 this variant was found in print too. One common misconception is that "caffè espresso" means "fast coffee," which makes "expresso" more logical to English-speakers (by analogy with "express"). It's also possible that "expresso" came about simply by transforming "espresso" to a word that looked more familiar. "Espresso" remains by far the more popular variant, although "expresso" continues to turn up.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 02, 2012 is: sequacious \sih-KWAY-shus\ adjective : intellectually servile Examples: Eager to prove that he was not merely a sequacious follower, Mario wrote a critical review of his former mentor's book. "Fund investors are not simply sequacious followers of yield, but are also responding to the federal government's actions to stabilize the macro-economic environment." — From an article by Matthew Sheahan in High Yield Report, January 12, 2009 Did you know? "Sequacious" is formed from the Latin "sequac-," or "sequax" (which means "inclined to follow" and comes from "sequi," "to follow") and the English "-ious." The original and now archaic meaning of "sequacious" was "inclined to follow" or "subservient." Although that meaning might as easily describe someone who willingly dropped into line behind a war leader, or who was unusually compliant or obedient in any sense, the concept gradually narrowed into the image of someone who blindly adopts ideas without much thought. Labeling a person "sequacious" is not very complimentary, and implies a slavish willingness to adopt a thought or opinion.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 01, 2012 is: agon \AH-gahn\ noun : conflict; especially : the dramatic conflict between the chief characters in a literary work Examples: As the U.S. presidential elections approach, anyone with an interest in politics is focused on the agon about to reach its quadrennial climax. "From the beginning of the agon, the play [The Merchant of Venice] provides an explanation for Shylock's behavior, well beyond the sheer antagonistic function that the skeletal plot would require and the sources provide." — From G. Beiner's 1993 book Shakepeare's Agonistic Comedy: Poetics, Analysis, Criticism Did you know? "Agon" comes from the Greek word "agōn," which is translated with a number of meanings, among them "contest," "competition at games," and "gathering." In ancient Greece, agons (also spelled "agones") were contests held during public festivals. The contests—among them the ancient Olympics that our modern Olympics is modeled on—involved everything from athletics to chariot and horse racing to music and literature. "Agon" in the realm of literature refers to the dramatic conflict between the main characters in a Greek play, or more broadly, between the chief characters in any literary work. The word is also occasionally used to refer to conflict generally, as in our first example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 31, 2012 is: phantasm \FAN-taz-um\ noun 1 a : a product of fantasy: as b : delusive appearance: illusion c : ghost, specter d : a figment of the imagination 2 : a mental representation of a real object Examples: The old mansion, which according to local legend is inhabited by the phantasm of an 18th-century resident, is the perfect location for a Halloween haunted house. "Like the railroads, the cattle industry was a creature of finance, a phantasm of numbers and calculations so enticing and so disconnected from any underlying reality that numbers ceased to be representations and became their own world." — From Richard White's 2011 book Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America Did you know? The root "phan" comes from Greek verbs that mean "to appear or seem" or "to present to the mind." Does "phan" bring to your mind any other English words, in addition to "phantasm"? Indeed, this root appears in several English words that have to do with the way things seem or appear rather than the way they really are. "Phantasmagoria" and "diaphanous" are examples. Also from this root are words such as "fanciful" and "fantasy," in which the imagination plays an important part.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 30, 2012 is: mawkish \MAW-kish\ adjective 1 : having a weak often unpleasant taste 2 : marked by sickly sentimentality : sad or romantic in a foolish or exaggerated way Examples: Tessa preferred to give out humorous greeting cards to her friends as opposed to the mawkish ones that were supposed to make them cry. "Although [the Bee Gees] harmonized beautifully, they had none of the Fab Four's cheekiness or verbal cleverness. In contrast to the Beatles, their ballad-heavy music was often mawkish." — From Alice Echols' 2011 book Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture Did you know? The etymology of "mawkish" really opens up a can of worms—or, more properly, maggots. The "mawk" of "mawkish" derives from Middle English "mawke," which means "maggot." "Mawke," in its turn, developed from the Old Norse word "mathkr," which had the same meaning as its descendant. Although "mawkish" literally means "maggoty," since at least the 17th century English speakers have eschewed its decaying carcass implications and used it figuratively instead. As one language writer put it, "Time has treated 'mawkish' gently: the wormy stench and corruption of its primal state were forgotten and 'mawkish' became sickly in a weak sort of way instead of repulsive and revolting."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 29, 2012 is: dissociate \dih-SOH-shee-ayt\ verb : disconnect, disunite Examples: Although both politicians are members of the same party, the Senator is trying to dissociate herself from the unpopular governor. "It's not easy to go back to the place where you became an adult. You can't dissociate yourself from the angst, the mistakes, the naïveté." — From an article by Danielle Pergament in The New York Times, September 30, 2012 Did you know? "Dissociate" and its synonym "disassociate" can both mean "to separate from association or union with another." "Associate" is from Latin "ad-," meaning "to," and "sociare," meaning "to join." "Dis-" means "do the opposite of." So both "dissociate" and "disassociate" indicate severing that which is united, but some commentators argue that "disassociate" is illogical because it indicates separating and uniting simultaneously. "Dissociate" is slightly older, dating from 1582; "disassociate" dates from 1603. "Dissociate" is recommended by a number of commentators on the ground that it is shorter, which it is by a grand total of two letters—not the firmest ground for an endorsement. Both words are in current good use, but "disassociate" is used more often in the U.S.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 28, 2012 is: ad hominem \ad-HAH-muh-nem\ adjective 1 : appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect 2 : marked by or being an attack on an opponent's character rather than by an answer to the contentions made Examples: The governor's only response to the criticism of his new policy was to launch an ad hominem attack against those doing the criticizing. "This democratization of the online media comment world results in both a lot of angry, nasty and downright insulting ad hominem attacks, followed quickly by ad hominem attacks by email commentators on each other that make for salty and entertaining, if not particularly edifying, reading." — From an editorial by Richard Hermann in the Daily Messenger (Canandaigua, New York), August 30, 2012 Did you know? "Ad hominem" literally means "to the person" in New Latin (Latin as first used in post-medieval texts). In centuries past, this adjective usually modified "argument." An "argument ad hominem" (or "argumentum ad hominem," to use the full New Latin phrase) was a valid method of persuasion by which a person took advantage of his or her opponent's interests or feelings in a debate, instead of just sticking to general principles. The newer sense of "ad hominem," which suggests an attack on an opponent's character instead of his or her argument, appeared only in the last century, but it is the sense more often heard today. The word still refers to putting personal issues above other matters, but perhaps because of its old association with "argument," "ad hominem" has become, in effect, "against the person."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 27, 2012 is: malison \MAL-uh-sun\ noun : curse, malediction Examples: "When I see him again he shall have the rough side of my tongue and my malison besides." — From Henry Gilbert's 1912 book Robin Hood and the Men of the Greenwood "To add insult to injury he preferred to launch a malison of hatred and execration...." —From a letter by Raymond Ellis to the Belfast Telegraph, August 24, 2001 Did you know? "Malison" is still hanging on after being around for eight centuries, but it appears to have suffered the curse of time. Though "malison" still sees occasional use, it is no longer as common as it was in days of yore. Rather, it has been largely supplanted by its younger cousin "malediction." "Malison" and "malediction" are both descendants of the Late Latin word "maledictio," itself from "maledicere," meaning "to curse." "Maledicere" in turn traces back to Latin "male," meaning "badly," and "dicere," meaning "to speak or say."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 26, 2012 is: immure \ih-MYOOR\ verb 1 a : to enclose within or as if within walls b : imprison 2 : to build into a wall; especially : to entomb in a wall Examples: Scientists at the remote research station were immured by the frozen wastelands that surrounded them. "Rather, what fairy tales obsessively conjure up is a world of mutability, in which things and people are not immured in their nature. The frog becomes a prince, the wolf becomes a grandmother, the little mermaid becomes a woman, the beast becomes a handsome man, the 12 brothers become a flock of ravens." — From a book review by Adam Kirsch in Prospect, August 23, 2012 Did you know? Like "mural," "immure" comes from "murus," a Latin noun that means "wall." "Immurare," a Medieval Latin verb, was formed from "murus" and the prefix "in-" (meaning "in" or "within"). "Immure," which first appeared in English in the late 16th century, literally means "to wall in" or "to enclose with a wall," but it has extended meanings as well. In addition to senses meaning "imprison" and "entomb," the word sometimes has broader applications, essentially meaning "to shut in" or "to confine." One might remark, for example, that a very studious acquaintance spends most of her time "immured in the library" or that a withdrawn teenager "immures himself in his bedroom every night."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 25, 2012 is: enigmatic \en-ig-MAT-ik\ adjective : of, relating to, or resembling an enigma : mysterious Examples: When Rolf asked her where she had been, Tianna just gave him an enigmatic smile and answered, "Oh, here and there." "Chris Marker, who died earlier this year at 91, was an enigmatic figure, reluctant to be photographed and prone to biographical embellishment." — From an article by A.O. Scott in the New York Times, September 26, 2012 Did you know? When it comes to things that aren't clearly understandable, you have a wide range of word choices, including "dark," "enigmatic," "cryptic," and "equivocal." Of these, "dark" is the most sinister, implying an imperfect or clouded revelation, often with ominous overtones. "Enigmatic" emphasizes a puzzling, mystifying quality, whereas "cryptic" implies a purposely concealed meaning. "Equivocal" is the best choice for language that is left open to differing interpretations with the intention of deceiving or evading.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 24, 2012 is: demiurge \DEM-ee-erj\ noun : one that is an autonomous creative force or decisive power Examples: The powerfully talented singer-songwriter-producer has been described by at least one music-industry insider as a "demiurge." "A noisy group of video-game critics and theoreticians laments the rise of story in games. Games, in one version of this view, are best exemplified as total play, wherein the player is an immaterial demiurge and the only 'narrative' is what is anecdotally generated during play." — From Tom Bissell's 2011 book Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter Did you know? In the Platonic school of philosophy, the Demiurge is a deity who fashions the physical world in the light of eternal ideas. In the Timaeus, Plato credits the Demiurge with taking preexisting materials of chaos and arranging them in accordance with the models of eternal forms. Nowadays the word "demiurge" can refer to the individual or group chiefly responsible for a creative idea, as in "the demiurge behind the new hit TV show." "Demiurge" derives via Late Latin from Greek "dēmiourgos," meaning "artisan" or "one with special skill." The "demi-" part of the word comes from the Greek noun "dēmos," meaning "people"; the second part comes from the word for worker, "ergon."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 23, 2012 is: smashmouth \SMASH-mouth\ adjective : characterized by brute force without finesse Examples: Monday night's game, between two teams known for their hard-hitting, aggressive styles, promises to be entertaining if you like smashmouth football. "The Tigers earned the win behind a smashmouth rushing attack and a passing game that was effective when it needed to be." — From an article by sportswriter Kyle Kendrick in The Ponca City News (Oklahoma), September 23, 2012 Did you know? "Smashmouth" crashed its way into the English language during the 1984 football season to describe the brutally hard-hitting play that is characteristic of the game. It has since been used to describe similar physicality in other contact sports, such as hockey and basketball, and has even forced its way out of the realm of sports into politics; we’ve been using it to describe hardball tactics in politics since the 1984 U.S. presidential election. However, this political application of "smashmouth" has yet to make it into the end zone. It occurs too rarely in English to merit its own sense in the dictionary.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 22, 2012 is: extemporize \ik-STEMP-puh-ryze\ verb 1 : improvise 2 : to get along in a makeshift manner Examples: Although she was caught off-guard by the award, Sue managed to extemporize a speech thanking her entire team for their hard work. Did you know? "Extemporize" means to say or do something on the spur of the moment, an appropriate meaning given the word's history. "Extemporize" was coined by adding the suffix "-ize" to Latin "ex tempore," meaning "instantaneously" or "on the spur of the moment." "Ex tempore," in turn, was formed by combining "ex" and a form of the noun "tempus," meaning "time." Incidentally, "ex tempore" was also borrowed wholesale into English (where it means "extemporaneously"). Other descendents of Latin "ex tempore" include the now rare "extemporal" and "extemporary" (both synonyms of "extemporaneous"), and, as you have no doubt guessed by now, "extemporaneous" itself.