Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 21, 2012 is: abide \uh-BYDE\ verb 1 : to endure, tolerate, or accept 2 : to remain stable or fixed in a state 3 : to continue in a place Examples: Susan has been a vegetarian for years and can no longer abide even the smell of cooked meat. "Linen suits have a lot going for them, but if you can't abide all that wrinkling, a linen-wool-blend suit ... looks crisp and still offers linen's cooling properties." — From an article in Esquire, May 1, 2012 Did you know? "Abide" may sound rather old-fashioned these days. The word has been around since before the 12th century, but it is a bit rare now, except in certain specialized uses. Even more archaic to our modern ear is "abidden," the original past participle of "abide." Today, both the past and the past participle of "abide" are served by either "abode" or "abided," with "abided" being the more frequent choice. "Abide" turns up often in the phrase "can't (or couldn't) abide." The expression "abide by," which means "to conform to" or "to acquiesce in," is also common. Related terms include the participial adjective "abiding" (which means "enduring" or "continuing," as in "an abiding interest in nature"), the noun "abidance" ("continuance" or "compliance"), and the noun "abode" ("residence").

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 20, 2012 is: uncanny \un-KAN-ee\ adjective 1 : eerie, mysterious 2 : being beyond what is normal or expected Examples: Our waiter had an uncanny resemblance to the creepy villain in the film we had just seen. "When Sherlock Holmes walks into a crime scene, he displays the uncanny ability to deduce how the crime unfolded: where the criminal entered, how the victim was murdered, what weapons were used, and so on." — From an article by Jimmy Stamp on Smithsonian.com's Design Decoded blog, August 14, 2012 Did you know? "Weird" and "eerie" are synonyms of "uncanny," but there are subtle differences in the meanings of the three words. "Weird" may be used to describe something that is generally strange or out of the ordinary. "Eerie" suggests an uneasy or fearful consciousness that some kind of mysterious and malign powers are at work, while "uncanny," which debuted in the 18th century, implies disquieting strangeness or mysteriousness. English also has a word "canny," but "canny" and "uncanny" should not be interpreted as opposites. "Canny," which first appeared in English in the 16th century, means "clever," "shrewd" or "prudent," as in "a canny lawyer" or "a canny investment."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 19, 2012 is: hew \HYOO\ verb 1 : to cut or fell with blows (as of an ax) 2 : to give shape to with or as if with an ax 3 : to conform or to adhere Examples: Josh was never one to hew to policies with which he disagreed. "Typically at this point on the political calendar, a sitting vice president scrupulously downplays his interest in ascending to the top job.... Vice presidents as varied as Walter Mondale, George H.W. Bush, and Al Gore all gamely hewed to this script." — From an article by Noam Scheiber in The New Republic, August 24, 2012 Did you know? "Hew" is a strong, simple word of Anglo-Saxon descent. It can suggest actual ax-wielding, or it can be figurative: "If ... our ambition hews and shapes [our] new relations, their virtue escapes, as strawberries lose their flavor in garden-beds" (Ralph Waldo Emerson). It's easy to see how the figurative "shape" sense of "hew" developed from the literal hacking sense, but what does chopping have to do with adhering and conforming? That sense first appeared in the late 1800s in the phrase "hew to the line." The "hew line" is a line marked along the length of a log indicating where to chop in order to shape a beam. "Hewing to the line," literally, is cutting along the mark—adhering to it—until the side of the log is squared.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 18, 2012 is: worldly-wise \WERLD-lee-wyze\ adjective : possessing a practical and often shrewd understanding of human affairs Examples: The interns' supervisor addressed the group, saying "We don't expect our interns to be worldly-wise—we expect them to be conscientious, hardworking, and committed to learning how work in a small non-profit is done." "His supposed ruthlessness is the perfect antidote to that greatest of sins for the worldly-wise—naïveté." — From Miles J. Unger's 2011 book Machiavelli: A Biography Did you know? "Worldly-wise" is one of a handful of compound adjectives formed from the word "wise" ("having wisdom or knowledge"). "Penny-wise" (from the phrase "penny-wise and pound-foolish") is a good word for describing someone who is good with only small sums or matters. "Weather-wise" can describe a competent meteorologist or someone who is competent in a different kind of forecasting: that of changes in opinion or feeling. These adjectives aren't especially common, but they do see occasional use. Even less common is "air-wise," which can be applied to people skilled in aviation. And if you master these words and feel the wiser for it, you may consider yourself "self-wise"—that is, wise in your own estimation.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 17, 2012 is: furlong \FER-lawng\ noun : a unit of distance equal to 220 yards (about 201 meters) Examples: "They tramped on again. But they had not gone more than a furlong when the storm returned with fresh fury." — From J.R.R. Tolkien's 1954 book The Fellowship of the Ring "Trained by Ben Perkins Jr. and ridden by Pablo Fragoso, the 3-year-old colt ran the six furlongs on a fast track in 1:11 and paid $13.20, $4.80 and $3.40." — From an article from The Associated Press, July 14, 2012 Did you know? "Furlong" is an English original and can be traced back to Old English "furlang," a combination of the noun "furh" ("furrow") and the adjective "lang" ("long"). Though now standardized as a length of 220 yards (or 1/8th of a mile), the furlong was originally defined less precisely as the length of a furrow in a cultivated field. This length was equal to the long side of an acre—an area originally defined as the amount of arable land that could be plowed by a yoke of oxen in a day, but later standardized as an area measuring 220 yards (one furlong) by 22 yards, and now defined as any area measuring 4,840 square yards. In contemporary usage, "furlong" is often encountered in references to horse racing.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 16, 2012 is: surfeit \SER-fut\ noun 1 : an overabundant supply : excess 2 : an intemperate or immoderate indulgence in something (as food or drink) 3 : disgust caused by excess Examples: "A surfeit of the sweetest things / The deepest loathing to the stomach brings...." — From William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1596 "Every day, we're bombarded by options; the surfeit of decisions we don't really need to make can be overwhelming." — From a restaurant review by Tania Ballantine in Time Out, June 14, 2012 Did you know? There is an abundance—you could almost say a surfeit—of English words that derive from the Latin "facere," meaning "to do." The connection to "facere" is fairly obvious for words spelled with "fic," "fac," or "fec," such as "sacrifice," "benefaction," and "infect." For words like "stupefy" (a modification of Latin "stupefacere") and "hacienda" (originally, in Old Spanish and Latin, "facienda") the "facere" factor is not so apparent. As for "surfeit," the "c" was dropped along the path that led from Latin through Anglo-French, where "facere" became "faire" and "sur-" was added to make "surfaire," meaning "to overdo." The Anglo-French noun "surfet" ("excess") entered Middle English and went through a number of spellings before settling on "surfeit." ----------------------------------------------- Anderson LIVE Audience Pick: adorkable In honor of National Dictionary Day (Oct. 16), Anderson LIVE selected "adorkable" as the top audience submission for "a new word you would love to see in the dictionary." adorkable (which is actually a word that Merriam-Webster has been tracking for several years) is defined as "attractive and charming in a nerdy or dorky way"

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 15, 2012 is: envisage \in-VIZ-ij\ verb 1 : to view or regard in a certain way 2 : to have a mental picture of especially in advance of realization Examples: In planning out their new patio, Betty and Sherman envisaged a place where they could grill food on the barbecue and invite friends over to relax. "A captivating new book envisages conversations between Twain and his European philosopher counterparts Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Nietzsche and Karl Marx. In their interdisciplinary study, 'The Jester and the Sages,' three scholars take an exciting approach to explaining the literary, philosophical and moral identity of arguably contemporary Americana’s father.” — From a review by Alexander Heffner in the Kansas City Star, December 8, 2011 Did you know? "Envisage" has been part of the English language since the 17th century. In the early 19th century, it was sometimes used with the now archaic sense of "to meet squarely" or "to confront." By 1837, the word had developed the sense "to have a mental picture of." In the 1920s, some usage commentators began deriding "envisage" for reasons not entirely clear, declaring it "undesirable." Today, time and usage have won out, and "envisage" is widely used and accepted, though it is slightly formal in tone. The same can be said of its near twin "envision" ("to picture to oneself"), which has been with us since the late 19th century and is interchangeable with "envisage" in many contexts.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 14, 2012 is: garniture \GAHR-nih-cher\ noun 1 : embellishment, trimming 2 : a set of decorative objects (as vases, urns, or clocks) Examples: The room was authentically furnished right down to the 16th-century garniture decorating the mantel and the wardrobe. "The studio was prolific, producing lamps and clock cases with matching garniture." — From an article by Jay Moore in the Tampa Tribune (Florida), April 3, 2011 Did you know? In Middle French, the language from which today's word was borrowed, "garniture" meant "equipment." "Garniture" is an alteration of the Old French noun "garnesture," which is derived from the verb "garnir," which meant "to warn, equip, or garnish." In fact, an Anglo-French stem of "garner," "garniss-," is the source of the English verb "garnish," which in its senses of "decorate" and "embellish" shares a similar relationship to "garniture" that the verb "furnish" shares with "furniture." "Furnish" comes from the Anglo-French "furniss-," a stem of the verb "furnir" or "fournir," which also gave rise to the Middle French "fourniture," the source of the English "furniture."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 13, 2012 is: fecund \FEK-und\ adjective 1 : fruitful in offspring or vegetation : prolific 2 : intellectually productive or inventive to a marked degree Examples: As an artist she gets most of her inspiration from nature; her daily walks in the woods are a fecund source of ideas. "Sea slugs that mate more than the absolute minimum necessary to retain female fertility are more fecund than slugs that mate less often, according to the study detailed Wednesday in the open-access journal PLoS ONE." — From an article by Stephanie Pappas on NBCNews.com, August 22, 2012 Did you know? "Fecund" and its synonyms "fruitful" and "fertile" all mean producing or capable of producing offspring or fruit—literally or figuratively. "Fecund" applies to things that yield offspring, fruit, or results in abundance or with rapidity ("a fecund herd"; "a fecund imagination"). "Fruitful" emphasizes abundance, too, and often adds the implication that the results attained are desirable or useful ("fruitful plains"; "a fruitful discussion"). "Fertile" implies the power to reproduce ("a fertile woman") or the power to assist in reproduction, growth, or development ("fertile soil"; "a fertile climate for artists").

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 12, 2012 is: nuncupative \NUN-kyoo-pay-tiv\ adjective : spoken rather than written : oral Examples: On his deathbed Jacob made a nuncupative will for his son and daughter. "He left me a small Legacy in a nuncupative Will, as a Token of his Kindness for me." — From The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) Did you know? "Nuncupative" (from Latin "nuncupare," meaning "to name") has been part of the English language since at least the mid-16th century, most typically appearing in legal contexts as a modifier of the noun "will." The nuncupative will originated in Roman law, where it consisted of an oral declaration made in the presence of seven witnesses and later presented before a magistrate. Currently, nuncupative wills are allowed in some U.S. states in extreme circumstances, such as imminent peril of death from a terminal illness or from military or maritime service. Such wills are dictated orally but are usually required to be set down in writing within a statutorily specified time period, such as 30 days. Witnesses are required, though the number seven is no longer specified.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 11, 2012 is: rectitude \REK-tuh-tood\ noun 1 : the quality or state of being straight 2 : moral integrity : righteousness 3 : the quality or state of being correct in judgment or procedure Examples: The speaker exhorted audience members to lead lives of unimpeachable rectitude and integrity. "The finance ministry will pitch India's strength as a largely domestic economy, renew its commitment to fiscal rectitude and showcase recent measures to lift sentiment to try and convince global rating firms not to downgrade the country's sovereign rating." — From an article by Deepshikha Sikarwar in The Economic Times, September 7, 2012 Did you know? "Rectitude" has a righteous derivation. It comes straight from the Latin noun "rectus," which means both "right" and "straight." "Rectitude" itself can mean either "straightness" (an early use referred to literal straightness of lines, although this sense is now rare) or "rightness" of character. "Rectus" has a number of other descendants in English, including "rectangle" (a figure with four right angles), "rectify" ("to make right"), "rectilinear" ("moving in or forming a straight line"), and even "rectus" itself (a medical term for any one of several straight muscles in the body).

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 10, 2012 is: lenticular \len-TIK-yuh-ler\ adjective 1 : having the shape of a double-convex lens 2 : of or relating to a lens 3 : provided with or utilizing lenticules Examples: Amateur astronomers might be interested in what the observatory markets as the "largest lenticular telescope on Earth." "Recently installed in the tunnel was a lenticular motion mural consisting of 135 individual 8-inch tiles with ribbed lenses created by world renowned Boston artist Rufus Butler Seder." — From an article by N. Kirsch in the Belleville News-Democrat (Illinois), June 24, 2012 Did you know? "Lentil-shaped"—that's the meaning of "lenticularis," the Latin word that gave us today's word. It's an appropriate predecessor because a double-convex lens is one that is curved on both sides, giving it a shape similar to that of a lentil. English speakers borrowed the Latin term, adapting it to "lenticular," in the 15th century. "Lenticularis," in turn, derives from "lenticula," which is the source of the English word "lentil" and a diminutive of the Latin form "lent-, lens," meaning "lentil." You probably won't be too surprised to learn that "lent-, lens" also gave English the word "lens."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 09, 2012 is: viand \VYE-und\ noun 1 : an item of food; especially : a choice or tasty dish 2 : provisions, food Examples: "The family sat down to table, and a frugal meal of cold viands was deposited before them." — From Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles, 1891 "While living in the South's grand old Charleston, S.C., my Yankee roots still were evident but my appetite craved those rich and satisfying calorie-laden viands." — From an article by Doris Reynolds in Naples Daily News (Florida), February 16, 2011 Did you know? Are you someone who eats to live, or someone who lives to eat? Either way, you'll find that the etymology of "viand" reflects the close link between food and life. "Viand" entered English in the 15th century from Anglo-French ("viande" means "meat" even in modern French), and it derives ultimately from Latin "vivere," meaning "to live." "Vivere" is the ancestor of a number of other lively and life-giving words in English, including "victual," "revive," "survive," "convivial," and "vivacious."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 08, 2012 is: illustrious \ih-LUSS-tree-us\ adjective : notably or brilliantly outstanding because of dignity or achievements or actions : eminent Examples: During the ceremony, the illustrious star of stage and screen was presented with a lifetime achievement award. "Born in 1843 to a wealthy, intellectual Boston family, Marian (Clover) Hooper moved in the most illustrious circles of nineteenth-century America." — From a book review in the New Yorker, March 19, 2012. Did you know? Illustrious people seem to light up everything around them. The etymology of "illustrious" makes it clear that a shining glow (both literal and figurative) has long been associated with the word. "Illustrious" ultimately derives from the Latin verb "lustrare," which means "to purify" or "to make bright," and which is related to the noun that gave us "luster." At one time, "illustrious" was used in the literal sense of "shining brightly with light," but that meaning is now considered archaic. The word is now almost exclusively used in its figurative application to describe something that stands out brilliantly, much like a bright star stands out in the sky.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 07, 2012 is: memento \muh-MEN-toh\ noun : something that serves to warn or remind; also : souvenir Examples: The attic is filled with mementos of Julie's basketball career—awards, newspaper clippings, team photographs, her old uniform. "All season long Michel Hazanavicius and Bérénice Bejo, the husband-and-wife writer-director and star of 'The Artist,' have been recording their adventures on the awards circuit, whipping out their smartphone … at each ceremony and red carpet. It's a memento for their kids, to show what mom and dad have been up to for the last few months." —From an article by Melena Ryzik in the New York Times, February 23, 2012 Did you know? "Memento" comes from the imperative form of "meminisse," a Latin verb that literally means "to remember." (The term "memento mori," meaning "a reminder of mortality," translates as "remember that you must die.") The history of "memento" makes it clear where its spelling came from, but because a memento often helps one remember a particular moment, people occasionally spell the term "momento." That second version is usually considered a misspelling, but it appears often enough in edited prose to have been considered acceptable for entry in Webster's Third New International Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary.