Podcasts about merriam webster

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 29, 2022 is: duress • dur-RESS • noun Duress, which is typically used with under, refers to force or threats meant to make someone do something. It is used especially of unlawful constraint. // The defense asserts that the defendant's confession was made under duress. See the entry > Examples: "The ordinance ... was passed under duress by council members who believed that it would never be implemented." — Gilbert Garcia, The San Antonio (Texas) Express-News Online, 20 May 2022 Did you know? Duress is most often paired with the word under to refer to force or threats meant to make someone do something. For example, someone forced to sign a document signs it “under duress,” and a person held “under duress” is not free to leave but is being constrained, usually unlawfully. (Do not confuse being “under duress” with being “under stress,” which is a much more common occurrence.) Duress is ultimately from Latin durus, meaning "hard," source too of durable and endure.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 28, 2022 is: fulsome • FULL-sum • adjective Fulsome can be a positive term, as when it's used to mean "abundant, copious," or "full and well developed," but it has negative meanings too, such as "overdone" and "excessively flattering." // The photographs celebrate the island's fulsome biodiversity. // While most of the speeches expressed sincere appreciation for the outgoing CEO's leadership, some were dense with fulsome and cringeworthy accolades. See the entry > Examples: "The county executive isn't opposed in principle to bonds for housing, but thinks county leaders need to have a more fulsome discussion about tradeoffs such debt would require." — Dan Brendel, The Washington (D.C.) Business Journal, 10 May 2022 Did you know? In the 19th century, fulsome was mostly a literary term used disapprovingly to describe excessive, insincere praise and flattery. This meaning is still current, but since the early 20th century fulsome has been increasingly used with far more positive meanings, among them “abundant, copious” and “full and well developed.” The result is some amount of confusion: a phrase like “fulsome praise” used today without clarifying context may rightly be understood to mean either “abundant praise” or “excessive and obsequious praise.” While some critics object to the pleasanter meanings of fulsome, they are in fact true to the word's origins: when it was first used in the 14th century fulsome meant “abundant, copious.”

The word affinity has a wide range of meanings. The core one is, a relationship by marriage. That's according to Merriam-Webster. But it can also mean a similarity based on a relationship or causal connection.  Which is to say the spectrum of the relationship can be strong. Or not so strong.  I have an affinity for bourbon. But I also have an affinity for Hanson's 1997 album Middle of Nowhere. I can live without one of those, so the affinity is different. And that is the underlying factor a good influence marketing strategist needs to keep in mind, about using affinity as a filter for influencer prioritization. If you're not familiar with affinity and how that applies to influencer marketing, get out your notebooks. Today on Winflunce, we'll take a quick look at affinity. What it means in the context of influence marketing and how you can use it to produce more successful influence marketing campaigns.  A lot of the inspiration and learning I've been doing about affinity that you'll hear in today's episode comes by way of my use of and relationship with Tagger. It is a complete influencer marketing software platform that allows you to find, engage, book, collaborate, pay and measure influencers. Tagger is also the presenting sponsor of this podcast and the platform I use in my day-to-day work at Cornett to manage the influence marketing efforts of our clients. In fact, Tagger has some proprietary affinity algorithms that do a lot of the discovery and connections for you in the tool. I'm going to talk about how they all happen today so you can know what to look for without it. But why wouldn't you explore doing all this work with a platform that can help, like Tagger.  I highly recommend you give Tagger a look-see. Go to jason.online/tagger and sign up for a free demo today. It might just be the influence marketing management solution you're looking for. And the influencers and brands I use as examples in this episode for visual reference are: Jackson Krecioch Caesaar Chukwuma, Esq. Manssion Gordon Glenister BourbonSipper USAA Craig Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 27, 2022 is: jingoism • JING-goh-iz-im • noun Jingoism is excessive patriotism or nationalism, especially when marked by a belligerent foreign policy. // When the war began many people were caught up in a wave of jingoism. See the entry > Examples: "War is bad for culture. Not least of all because it turns our cultural institutions into bastions of jingoism." — Annie Levin, The New York Observer, 7 Mar. 2022 Did you know? Jingoism originated during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, when many British citizens were hostile toward Russia and felt Britain should intervene in the conflict. Supporters of the cause expressed their sentiments in a music-hall ditty with this refrain: We don't want to fight, yet by jingo if we do, We've got the ships, we've got the men, We've got the money, too! Someone holding the attitude implied in the song became known as a jingo or jingoist, and the attitude itself was dubbed jingoism. The jingo in the tune is probably a euphemism for Jesus.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 26, 2022 is: culminate • KUL-muh-nayt • verb Culminate usually means “to reach the highest or a climactic or decisive point,” or "to reach the end or final result of something." // The festivities will culminate with a spectacular display of fireworks. // The partnership between the two songwriters culminated at last in a chart-topping single. See the entry > Examples: “The trail culminates at a mountaintop summit with handcrafted log benches as well as views of Lake Tahoe in one direction, Granite Chief Wilderness in the other.” – The Mountain Democrat (Placerville, California), 28 July 2021 Did you know? When a star or other heavenly body culminates, it reaches its highest point above the horizon from the vantage point of an observer on the ground. Culminate was drawn from Medieval Latin culminare, meaning "to crown," specifically for this astronomical application. Its ultimate root is Latin culmen, meaning "top." Today, the word's typical context is less lofty: it can mean “to reach a climactic point,” as in “a long career culminating in a prestigious award,” but it can also simply mean "to reach the end of something,” as in “a sentence culminating in a period.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 25, 2022 is: noisome • NOY-sum • adjective The word noisome describes what is very unpleasant or disgusting, and is used especially of disgusting smells. // A noisome stench came from the narrow alley. See the entry > Examples: "In 1905, a 'garbage committee' led by a Mrs. J.G. McLean demanded a more subtle and sanitary L.A. trash management than the noisy and noisome practice of trash cans collected and then dropped with a clang on public sidewalks where, as The Times wrote appetizingly, they lay 'with reminiscences of the day before yesterday's dinner clinging to the sides, there to fester and fry in the fierce rays of the sun.'" — Patt Morrison, The Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2022 Did you know? Noisome looks and sounds like a close relation of noisy, but it's not. While noisy describes what is excessively loud, noisome typically describes what is excessively stinky. (It is also used to describe things offensive to the senses generally, as well as things that are highly obnoxious, objectionable, or simply harmful.) Noisome comes from the synonymous Middle English noysome, which combined the suffix -some, meaning “characterized by a specified thing,” and the noun noy, meaning “annoyance.” Noisy, incidentally, comes ultimately from Latin nausea, meaning “nausea.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 24, 2022 is: confidant • KAHN-fuh-dahnt • noun A confidant is someone to whom secrets are entrusted, and especially a very close friend. // She told only her closest confidant where she had buried the money. // The longtime confidant of the disgraced mayor was also brought in for questioning. See the entry > Examples: “Lee Strasberg, the Actors Studio director who was, with his wife, Paula, a confidant and caretaker of Marilyn Monroe, felt that an actor must plumb the depths of her psyche to find the emotional truth of a performance.” –James Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 20 Jan. 2022 Did you know? If you're confident of the trustworthiness of your confidants, you're tuned into the origins of the word confidant. The word comes, via French, from the Italian confidente, meaning "trusting, having trust in," from Latin confīdere, meaning "to put one's trust in, have confidence in.” Other descendants of confīdere in English include confide, confidence, confident, and confidential, all of which ultimately have Latin fīdere, meaning "to trust (in), rely (on)," as their root. Confidant (and its variant confidante, used especially of a woman) and confident are often confused, a topic about which we have plenty to say.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 23, 2022 is: ingenuous • in-JEN-yuh-wus • adjective Ingenuous is most commonly used to describe someone who shows innocent or childlike simplicity and candidness. // The ingenuous enthusiasm shown by several of the older campers was contagious, and soon everyone was excited about the project. See the entry > Examples: “I remember too well being young yet adult, confident yet ingenuous. It's like marching off to war, armed with a bubble wand.” — Margo Bartlett, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, 20 Apr. 2022 Did you know? Ingenuous is most often used to describe someone who has a childlike innocence and openness. It should not be confused with ingenious, which typically describes someone who is unusually inventive or clever, or something made or done in an especially original or clever way. The words look very much alike, but sound different: remember that ingenuous sounds like its linguistic relation genuine, while ingenious sounds like genius—despite the fact that there is no etymological connection between those two. For more on this pair, read on.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 22, 2022 is: quibble • KWIB-ul • verb To quibble is to argue or complain about small, unimportant things. The word can also mean "to evade the point of an argument by making trivial or frivolous objections." // If I may quibble for a moment with your description of the uniforms: they are navy blue, not royal blue. // The siblings often quibbled over whose turn it was to sit in the front seat of the car. See the entry > Examples: “The Outfit is a smart movie—maybe a little too smart for its own good here and there, but let's not quibble.” – Mick LaSalle, The San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Mar. 2022 Did you know? Quibble is most familiar as a verb, but it can also function as a noun meaning "an evasion of or shift from the point" and "a minor objection or criticism." Both forms of quibble settled into English in the mid-17th century, presumably (though not definitively) as a diminutive of a now-obsolete noun quib, meaning “quibble.” Quib in turn may have come from a form of Latin qui, meaning “who,” a distant relation also of our word who.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 21, 2022 is: prescience • PRESH-ee-unss • noun Prescience is the ability to see or anticipate what will or might happen in the future. // Stacy had the prescience to know that the stock's value wasn't going to remain high forever, and she managed to sell it just before it started to decrease. See the entry > Examples: "As the author of some of the most searing indictments of the damage governments and people can do, George Orwell has become synonymous with the kind of prescience most artists only dream of." — Clarke Reader, The Elbert County News (Kiowa, Colorado), 16 Mar. 2022 Did you know? If you know the origin of science you already know half the story of prescience. Science comes from the Latin verb sciō, scīre, "to know," also source of such words as conscience, conscious, and omniscience. Prescience has as its ancestor a word that attached prae-, a predecessor of pre-, to this root to make praescire, meaning "to know beforehand."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 20, 2022 is: garrulous • GAIR-uh-lus • adjective Garrulous can mean "chatty" or "excessively talkative" when describing a person (or even a bird that calls or sings rapidly and constantly), or it can mean "wordy" when referring to a piece of language itself, such as a letter or speech. // Annie's garrulous and outgoing nature is a stark contrast to her brother's more retiring demeanor. // His garrulous, rapid-fire presentation hyping the new feature was exciting at first, but soon became repetitive and tiresome. See the entry > Examples: “Most college presidents I've met are outgoing, garrulous types who enjoy talking with students and faculty.” —John Boyle, The Asheville (North Carolina) Citizen Times, 15 May 2022 Did you know? Garrulous is a 17th century Latin borrowing that has its origin in garrīre, meaning "to chatter, talk rapidly." That Latin root is probably imitative in origin—that is, it was coined to imitate what it refers to. English has a number of words that are imitative in origin, among them several others that describe ways of talking, such as babble and chatter.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 19, 2022 is: emancipation • ih-man-suh-PAY-shun • noun Emancipation is the act of freeing someone from the restraint, control, or power of another. It is especially used for the act of freeing someone from slavery. // Jomo Kenyatta played a key role in the emancipation of Kenya from European rule in the 1960s and became the first president of the newly independent nation. See the entry > Examples: "Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day, is a nationwide celebration to commemorate the emancipation from slavery." — Jason Gonzalez, The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), 15 May 2022 Did you know? The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, ordered that enslaved people living in rebellious territories be released from the bonds of ownership and made free people—their own masters. Though the proclamation's initial impact was limited, the order was true to the etymology of emancipation, which comes from a Latin word combining the prefix e-, meaning "away," and mancipare, meaning "to transfer ownership of.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 18, 2022 is: redolent • RED-uh-lunt • adjective As a synonym of aromatic, the word redolent can describe something that has a noticeable smell without specifying the scent, but more often it is accompanied by of or with and means “full of a specified fragrance,” as in “redolent with smoke.” // No matter what time of year he visited, his grandmother's house was always redolent of cloves and other warm spices. See the entry > Examples: “The train's windows and colors were smudged with drought grime. Inside the coach cars, however, was a different atmosphere, one redolent with a new-something smell.” — Kevin Spear, The Orlando (Florida) Sentinel, 14 Oct. 2021 Did you know? Redolent traces back to the Latin verb olēre ("to smell") and is a relative of olfactory ("of, relating to, or connected with the sense of smell"). In its earliest English uses in the 15th century, redolent simply meant "having an aroma." Today, it usually applies to a place or thing permeated with odors. Scent and memory are famously linked, and an extended use of redolent to mean “evocative” or “suggestive” links them again, as in “lollipops redolent of childhood.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 17, 2022 is: oblige • uh-BLYJE • verb Oblige is usually used to mean “to do a favor for someone,” or “to do something as a favor, or as though it is a favor.” In more technical use, it means “to force or require someone to do something.” // They needed help organizing the event, and I was happy to oblige. // The law obliges the government to make this information public. See the entry > Examples: "Fiduciaries are obliged to do what's in your best interest, even if it means they make less money." — Paul Katzeff, Investor's Business Daily, 13 May 2022 Did you know? If you are obliged by a rule or law you are metaphorically bound by it—that is, you are required to obey it. The idea of binding links the word to its Latin source, ligāre, meaning “to fasten, bind.” In the most common modern uses of oblige, though, the idea of binding is somewhat masked: it is applied when someone is bound by a debt for some favor or service, as in “We're much obliged to you for the help,” but in the phrase “happy to oblige” it simply expresses a willingness to do someone a favor, as in “They needed a ride and we were happy to oblige.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 16, 2022 is: adulation • aj-uh-LAY-shun • noun Adulation means extreme or excessive admiration or flattery. // The movie star basked in the adulation of her many fans as she walked down the red carpet. See the entry > Examples: “The history that emerges here is of a band yo-yoing between attempts to be taken seriously as artists, then coming back for more boyband fame and adulation.” – Cath Clarke, The Guardian (London), 18 May 2022 Did you know? If adulation makes you think of a dog panting after its beloved person, you're on the right etymological track; the word ultimately comes from the Latin verb adūlārī, meaning "to fawn on" (a sense used specifically of the affectionate behavior of dogs) or "to praise insincerely." Adulation has been in use in English since the 15th century. The verb adulate, noun adulator, and adjective adulatory later followed dutifully behind.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 15, 2022 is: credulous • KREJ-uh-lus • adjective A credulous person is ready to believe things based on slight or uncertain evidence. A credulous thing, such as a report or statement, likewise shows that same readiness to believe. // Margo smiled as she watched her credulous siblings listening with rapt attention to their aunt's tall tales. See the entry > Examples: "A pair of fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes raked in millions by duping credulous investors, Manhattan and Brooklyn federal prosecutors said Tuesday." — Noah Goldberg, The Daily News (New York), 9 Mar. 2022 Did you know? The cred in credulous is from Latin credere, meaning “to believe” or “to trust.” Credulous describes people who would be wise to be a bit more skeptical, or things that ought to be approached with some skepticism. The word has a useful opposite in the term incredulous, which often describes something that shows or suggests one's lack of belief (“listening with an incredulous smile”), or someone who cannot or will not believe something, as in “an outrageous statement that left them incredulous.” (You'll do well not to confuse incredulous with incredible.)

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 14, 2022 is: festoon • fess-TOON • verb Festoon means "to cover or decorate (something) with many small objects, pieces of paper, etc.," or "to hang decorative chains or strips on." // Tiny wildflowers festooned the meadow. // The students festooned the gymnasium with streamers and bunting for the dance. See the entry > Examples: “The budget-conscious will appreciate that the restaurant's heartier dishes, like the wood-fired pork chop festooned with sweet farmers' market nectarines and toasted hazelnuts, are all less than $30 apiece.” – Soleil Ho, The San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Apr. 2022 Did you know? The noun festoon first appeared in the 1600s when it was used, as it still is today, to refer to decorative chains or strips hung between two points. (It can also refer to a carved, molded, or painted ornament representing such a chain.) After a century's worth of festoon-adorning, the verb festoon made an entrance, and people began to festoon with their festoons—that is, they draped and adorned with them. The verb has since then acquired additional, more general senses related not only to decorating, but to something appearing on the surface of something, as in “a sweater festooned with purple unicorns.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, this celebratory-sounding and party-associated word traces back (by way of French and Italian) to Latin festa, the plural of festum, meaning “festival.”

The History of Dictionaries. Join us today as we learn all about the fascinating history of dictionaries. Sources https://www.britannica.com/facts/dictionary https://www.britannica.com/topic/Merriam-Webster-dictionary https://noahwebsterhouse.org/noahwebsterhistory/ Send us listener mail! Send an audio message: anchor.fm/inquisikids-daily/message Send an email: podcast@inquisikids.com

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 13, 2022 is: panacea • pan-uh-SEE-uh • noun A panacea is something that is regarded as a cure-all—that is, a remedy for all ills or difficulties. // The new program should help with the city's housing crisis, but it's no panacea. See the entry > Examples: "Eventually, EV may reduce global consumption of fossil fuels, but they are not a panacea that will replace fossil fuels." — Michael Mainelli, letter in The Providence (Rhode Island) Journal, 12 Apr. 2022 Did you know? English speakers took panacea from Latin, but as is the case with many Latin borrowings, the word ultimately traces its roots to Greek: panakēs, meaning "all-healing,” comes from pan-, meaning "all," and akos, meaning “remedy.” The Latin designation Panacea or Panaces was in past centuries awarded to various plants, among them the herb today known as Prunella vulgaris, whose common name is self-heal. In current use, panacea is most often used to decry a remedy that falls far short of what some claim it can do.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 12, 2022 is: burgle • BER-gul • verb The word burgle means “to break into and steal from (a home, business, etc.).” // The broken window alerted the security guard that the office may have been burgled. See the entry > Examples: “Dutch police were surprised to find a hidden cannabis grow inside an Arnhem home after receiving a tip that they believe was courtesy of the very suspect who sought to burgle the house, but reportedly left without any of the homeowner's possessions.” — Angela Stelmakowich, The Vancouver Sun, 4 Jan. 2022 Did you know? Burglary and burglar, which refer respectively to the act of breaking into a dwelling especially at night in order to commit theft or some other felony, and to someone who commits such an act, have been with us since the 16th century. Burgle and its synonym burglarize didn't break into the language until the 19th century. Burgle is a back-formation from burglar—that is, it was formed by removing that word's suffix. Burglarize comes from burglar too, but by a suffixal addition. Both verbs were once disparaged by grammarians—burgle (now the usual choice in British English) was considered "facetious" and burglarize (now preferred in the U.S.) was labeled "colloquial"—but they are both now generally accepted. Readers may also be curious to know the specificity English allows in referring to thieves of particular types.

Merriam-Webster : very despondent : DEPRESSED     Hope is the last thing we lose.     "It's been said that a person can live forty days without food, four days without water, four minutes without air, but only four seconds without hope."   Hope gives. Choose hope.     “Heads that are down can't scan the horizon for new openings. helplessness leads to hopelessness."   “Soon I will be done, with the troubles of this world…” -  Mahalia Jackson, Negro Spiritual    Psalm 39:7 English Standard Version (ESV) "And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.    Psalm 33:18 (ESV) Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,    Psalm 31:24 (ESV) Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!      Psalm 71:5 ESV For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.    Want to sponsor me to come to you?  Let's plan on it.       Thank you for listening, downloading and supporting the Speak Life Church and this podcast.      https://giv.li/p2nj61 Zelle  - pastor@SpeakLifeChurch.net https://www.patreon.com/speaklifechurchpodcast You can support the ministry by check or money order by sending it to Speak Life Church, PO BOX 2, upper Marlboro, MD 20772     Rev. Kenn Blanchard  Kenn.blanchard@gmail.com pastor@speaklifechurch.net  240-200-0713      

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 11, 2022 is: headlong • HED-LAWNG • adverb Headlong can be a synonym of headfirst, but it is most often used figuratively to describe something done either in a reckless manner or without pause or delay. // He's impulsive and often rushes headlong into new endeavors, giving little thought to long-term viability. See the entry > Examples: "Joseph Mallord William Turner … was less a British artist of the Romantic era than a fiery experimentalist whose audacious work blazed a path from serene Romanticism headlong into the turbulent realm of Modernist art." — The Boston Globe, 22 Apr. 2022 Did you know? Headlong was born out of the Middle English word hedling, a combination of hed ("head") and -ling, an adverb suffix meaning "in such a direction or manner." Thus, hedling meant "with the head first”; it was originally applied to descriptions of falling, or to downward movement. Likely due to the influence of the words along and long, -ling came to be understood as a variant of the adverb suffix -long, a development that carried headlong, as well as sidelong, along with it.

Scripture Reference Psalms 7:1 – “O Lord my God, in You I put my trust; Save me from all those who persecute me; And deliver me,” “God deserves your trust.” I read this line in the commentary of my Experiencing God Bible this week. And that is where I want to take us today. God does deserve our trust. Here are 3 of my personal reasons: 1. He alone is trustworthy and will never ever break your trust. 2. He will save you. 3. He will deliver you. TRUST – for such a small word, this word is powerful and can either make or break relationships. Merriam-Webster defines trust as assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; one in which confidence is placed. Self-Discovery Through Temperament Trust in God Doesn't Have to Be Hard – It Just Requires Time I. Laying the Foundation – 4 Essentials Needed 1. It is essential to know without a shadow of doubt that God loves you with an everlasting love. 2. It is essential to seek to do His will. 3. It is essential to not trust in yourself alone. 4. It is essential to not trust in just people alone. II. You Have a Foundation - Build Your Trust in God God is your refuge in difficult times. God is your guide in difficult times. God is faithful in difficult times. III. You Have a Foundation and Testimony's of Trust - The Finished Product of Trust 1. Your life will be blessed. Psalms 84:12 “O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!” 2. Your life will be filled with perfect peace. Isaiah 26:8 “Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for You; The desire of our soul is for Your name And for the remembrance of You.” Isaiah 26:12 “Lord, You will establish peace for us, For You have also done all our works in us.” Life Application Questions 1. Do you believe God deserves your trust? Why or why not? If not, what can you start doing to get to that place of trusting Him? Do you need to explore God's love for you? Do you need to study His character, His abilities, His strength? Do you need to seek His will for your life? 2. If you are in a difficult season, have you let go of how you think things should be and just trust God with the path you are and the outcome? 3. Is there anyone in your life that needs encouragement to completely trust the Lord? “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” - Corrie Ten Boom --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deanna-fullerton/message

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 10, 2022 is: lout • LOUT • noun A lout is a person who is both awkward and brutish. // To get away from the obnoxious louts they'd been seated near, Jared and Fiona asked the waiter if they could be moved to another table. See the entry > Examples: “This is a page-turner about a tough woman and her con-artist lout of a partner, and I will eat my laptop if it doesn't get optioned for TV or film the minute it hits bookshelves.” – Molly Young, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2021 Did you know? Lout belongs to a large group of words that we use to indicate a particular sort of offensive and insensitive person, that group also including such terms as boor, oaf, jerk, and churl. We've used lout in this way since the mid-1500s. As early as the 800s, however, lout functioned as a verb with the meaning "to bow in respect." No one is quite sure how—or even if—the verb sense developed into a noun meaning "a brutish person." The noun could have been coined independently, but if its source was the verb, perhaps the awkward posture of one bowing down led over the centuries to the idea that the bowing person was base and awkward as well.

Are people from Liverpool really called "Liverpudlians"? Where does the name "Tar Heel" come from? We have the answers to some of the most interesting questions about demonyms: the names for people from specific places. Also, has anyone ever criticized you for using the word "healthy" instead of "healthful"? We explain why that happens. And finally, we've solved the mystery of "sussies."Transcript:  https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/demonyms-why-people-from-north-carolina-are-called-tar-heels-healthy-versus-healthful-sussies-3| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.| Peeve Wars card game. | Grammar Girl books. | Nutrition Diva podcast.| HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.| Theme music by Catherine Rannus at beautifulmusic.co.uk.| Sources for the Demonyms Segment by Susan K. Herman:| Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias: https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/168427| CIA World Factbook/Country Profiles/Explore all Countries: https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/| East Liverpool, Ohio Mayor's Office: https://eastliverpool.com/city-department/mayors-office/| Everything2/Demonyms of the United States: https://everything2.com/title/Demonyms+of+the+United+States| Everything2/Denonyms of the World: https://everything2.com/title/Demonyms+of+the+World| Garner, B. "Denizen Labels." Garner's Modern English Usage, fourth edition. Oxford University Press. 2016. p.259-62.| Government Printing Office Style Manual, Ch. 17, Useful Tables: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2016/pdf/GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2016-19.pdf| Merriam-Webster/demonym: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demonym| TimeOut: https://www.timeout.com/newyork/blog/stupid-things-other-cities-and-states-call-their-residents-122215| Voice of America News: https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/making-sense-of-demonyms-nationality-nouns/5921426.html| Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/13/hoosier-is-now-the-official-name-for-indiana-folk-but-what-does-it-even-mean/| Wikipedia/Demonym: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonym| Wikipedia/List of demonyms for U.S. states and territories: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_demonyms_for_US_states_and_territories| Wikipedia/List of regional nicknames: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regional_nicknames| Wise Men of Gotham: https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Wise-Men-of-Gotham/| Word Sense: https://www.wordsense.eu/Liverpudlian/| Grammar Girl Social Media Links:https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcastshttps://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirlhttp://twitter.com/grammargirlhttp://facebook.com/grammargirlhttp://instagram.com/thegrammargirlhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 9, 2022 is: evanescent • ev-uh-NESS-unt • adjective Something that is evanescent vanishes quickly like a vapor. // The joy of winning the last game was evanescent, as the team quickly turned its focus to the upcoming championships. See the entry > Examples: "In both cases Viladrich makes you feel just how extraordinary it is to capture something as evanescent as a personality in a painting." — Will Heinrich, The New York Times, 25 Mar. 2022 Did you know? The fragile, airy quality of evanescent things reflects the etymology of the word evanescent itself. It's from a form of the Latin verb evanescere, which means "to evaporate" or "to vanish.” (Evanescere is also the ultimate source of vanish.) Given the similarity in spelling between the two words, you might expect evaporate to be from this family as well, but its source is another steamy Latin root, evaporare.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 8, 2022 is: arrogate • AIR-uh-gayt • verb Arrogate is a formal word that usually means "to take or claim (something, such as a right or a privilege) in a way that is not fair or legal." // The city council has accused the mayor of arrogating to himself decision-making authority that rightly belongs with the council. See the entry > Examples: "Teenage girls rule in the tart but sweet new Broadway musical Mean Girls. But their system of high-school government is far from a democracy: It's a reign of terror, angst and mall fashions, where popularity is arrogated and then ruthlessly enforced." — Adam Feldman, TimeOut New York, 8 Apr. 2018 Did you know? The resemblance between arrogate and arrogant is more than coincidence: they both have the Latin verb arrogare, meaning “to appropriate to one's self,” at their root. This idea of claiming or seizing something as one's right is immediately apparent in the English word arrogate: the word is used primarily to talk about taking or claiming a right or a privilege in a way that is not fair or legal. In arrogant the idea of appropriation is slightly veiled: by showing an offensive attitude of superiority, an arrogant person claims—that is, arrogates—more consideration than they are due.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 7, 2022 is: vocation • voh-KAY-shun • noun Vocation can refer simply to an occupation, or it can refer to a strong desire to pursue a particular kind of work or course of action. // Since he was a teenager, he knew that he would find his vocation in religious work. // She is headed to medical school to pursue her vocation as a doctor. See the entry > Examples: "The play, adapted by Eric Coble from a young adult novel by Lois Lowry, is set in the unnamed 'community' over which the committee presides. The leaders choose mandatory vocations for every citizen, come up with draconian rules, diligently enforce them (sometimes with capital punishment) and control natural human emotions with drugs." — Betsie Freeman, The Omaha (Nebraska) World-Herald, 27 Apr. 2022 Did you know? When vocation was first used in English in the 15th century it referred specifically to a summons from God to perform a particular task or function in life, especially a religious one. This meaning is no surprise given the word's source: it comes from Latin vocation-, vocacio, meaning "summons," which in turn comes from vocāre, meaning "to call." Vocation also has a secular position in the English language as a word for the strong desire to do a certain kind of work, or as a word for the work itself, making vocation a synonym of the words calling and occupation.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 6, 2022 is: sumptuous • SUMP-shuh-wus • adjective Sumptuous is used to describe things that are extremely costly, rich, luxurious, or magnificent. // The hotel's most sumptuous suite overlooks the lush gardens and includes a palatial marble bathroom with a spa and a commodious, intricately tiled walk-in shower. See the entry > Examples: "Simple but sumptuous, this sheet-pan cod primavera with blender hollandaise is a spring sensation...." — headline, The Alaska Dispatch News, 20 Apr. 2022 Did you know? The word sumptuous typically describes things that can only be had at some significant expense, a fact that keeps the modern English word tied to its Latin source: sumptus, meaning "expense." Another English adjective, sumptuary, has the same Latin source, but today is found mostly in the context of sumptuary laws, largely historical regulations limiting extravagant expenditures and habits, especially on moral or religious grounds.

The pronunciation of Trulicity® (dulaglutide) is the focus of this episode.  In my pronunciation episodes, I say a drug name, break it down into syllables, explain which syllable or syllable(s) have the emphasis, reveal the source(s) of the information, and put the written pronunciation in the show notes so that you see it and and use it right away. Having a colleague pick the drug name worked so well last month with Dr. Jennifer Marquez (May 2022) that I asked Allana Alexander, PharmD to pick the drug name for June 2022.  If you're interested in recommending the drug name for a future pronunciation episode on The Pharmacist's Voice Podcast, contact me through my website www.thepharmacistsvoice.com.  Just click on the “Contact” tab, and either fill out the form or leave me a voicemail message.  Thank you for listening to The Pharmacist's Voice ® Podcast Episode 155! Subscribe or follow for all future episodes!   Trulicity® = TRU - li - si - tee TRU is the syllable with the emphasis. Source:  Medication guide for Trulicity®   Dulaglutide = DOO la GLOO tide GLOO gets the primary emphasis.   DOO gets the secondary emphasis.   Source:  USP Dictionary Online (subscription-based resource) Mentioned in this episode Allana Alexander, PharmD on LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/doctorlany  A² Pharmacy Solutions (Greater Birmingham, Alabama area) http://a2pharmacysolutions.com  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/a2pharmacysolutions/  TikTok a2pharmacysolutions The Pharmacist's Voice Podcast Episode 148/Pronunciation Episode 4 (featuring Jennifer Marquez, PharmD) The Pharmacist's Voice Podcast Episode 142/Pronunciation Episode 3 The Pharmacist's Voice Podcast Episode 138/Pronunciation Episode 2 The Pharmacist's Voice Podcast Episode 134/Pronunciation Episode 1 Website for Trulicity® https://www.trulicity.com   Trulicity® Healthcare Provider Video https://www.trulicity.com/hcp  USP Dictionary Online sales page Merriam-Webster's online dictionary https://www.merriam-webster.com  Medication guide for Trulicity:  FDA's website or drug's website (2 different ways to get the same info)

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 5, 2022 is: fidelity • fuh-DELL-uh-tee • noun Fidelity refers to the quality or state of being faithful to someone, such as a spouse, or something, such as one's country. Fidelity can also refer to accuracy in details. When applied to electronic devices, fidelity is the degree to which those devices accurately reproduce something, such as sound or images. // The movie takes full advantage of the film medium while maintaining fidelity to the book. See the entry > Examples: "Too many of us have allowed the political parties to convince us that fidelity to them equates with allegiance to the republic." — John Figliozzi, The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, New York), 24 Apr. 2022 Did you know? Fidelity came to English by way of French in the 15th century, and can ultimately be traced back to the Latin fidēlis, meaning "faithful, loyal, trustworthy." While fidelity was originally exclusively about loyalty, it has for centuries also been used to refer to accuracy, as in “questions about the fidelity of the translation.” Nowadays fidelity is often used in reference to recording and broadcast devices, conveying the idea that a broadcast or recording is "faithful" to the live sound or picture that it reproduces.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 4, 2022 is: decry • dih-KRY • verb Decry is a formal word that means "to express strong disapproval of." // The editorial decried the shuttering of the movie theater, which has been a local landmark for many years. See the entry > Examples: "While some celebrated [Kim] Kardashian for her nod to the icon [Marilyn Monroe], others worried about the implications of her wearing the real gown. Costume historians and conservationists decried the unfortunate precedent it would set and the potential damage it could cause." — Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly (ew.com), 16 May 2022 Did you know? Decry has several synonyms in English, among them disparage and belittle. Decry connotes an open condemnation that makes it the best choice for cases in which criticism is not at all veiled. The forthrightness expressed by the word is an echo from its ancestry: decry was borrowed in the 17th century from the French décrier, meaning "to discredit, depreciate," and the crier in that word is also the source of our word cry, the oldest meaning of which is “to utter loudly; shout.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 3, 2022 is: perfunctory • per-FUNK-tuh-ree • adjective Perfunctory is used to describe something that is done without energy or enthusiasm, as a duty or out of habit. // Clearly exhausted after a long day on her feet, our server gave us only a perfunctory greeting before taking our drink orders. See the entry > Examples: "In those days we offered a pick-up and delivery service for bike repairs. Usually the transaction was perfunctory, but not with Lou. He used to open the door to his house and invite us to come inside for a coffee or soda." — Bill Durham, The Islander News (Key Biscayne, Florida), 21 Apr. 2022 Did you know? A perfunctory explanation of the origins of perfunctory would be this: it comes from Latin. Borrowed in the late 16th century, the word is specifically from the Late Latin perfunctorius, meaning "done in a careless or superficial manner." Perfunctorius ultimately comes from two Latin sources, per-, meaning "through," and fungi, meaning "to perform." Fungi is also a source to such words as function, defunct, and fungible, but not to fungus; that word is also from Latin, but it is most likely a modification of the Greek word spongos, meaning "sponge."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 2, 2022 is: meld • MELD • verb Meld means "to blend or mix together." //The sauce cooks slowly, allowing the flavors to meld together. See the entry > Examples: "The community art event, which came at the tail-end of National Poetry Month, melded games and art together to present poetry as an inclusive and demographically accessible expressive art, according to the event's organizer, Rachel Cyrene Blackman." — Emily Thurlow, The Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, Massachusetts), 1 May 2022 Did you know? As a verb used when things are blending or being blended together, meld dates only to the first half of the 20th century. In its early days, the word attracted some unfavorable attention. Those who didn't like it tended to perceive it as a misuse of an older meld meaning "to declare or announce (a card or cards) for a score in a card game" (such as pinochle or gin rummy). But the more recent meld, a blend of melt and weld, was an entirely new coinage suggesting a smooth and thorough blending of two or more things into a single, homogeneous whole. The word is no longer controversial.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 1, 2022 is: behest • bih-HEST • noun A behest is an authoritative order or an urgent prompting. // The committee met again at the behest of the senator. See the entry > Examples: "Earmarks were banned on Capitol Hill 11 years ago at the behest of House Republicans and then-President Obama in response to scandals surrounding how lawmakers were using them." — Jennifer Haberkorn, The Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2022 Did you know? Behest is an ancient word: it is almost a thousand years old. It was formed from the prefix be- and the verb hātan ("to command" or "to promise"), and its Old English ancestor was used exclusively in the sense of "promise," a now-obsolete meaning that continued on in Middle English especially in the phrase "the land of behest." The "command" meaning of behest is also ancient but it's still in good use, typically referring to an authoritative order. Behest is now also used with a less weighty meaning; it can refer to an urgent prompting, as in "a repeat performance at the behest of the troupe's fans."

Episode Notes Hi everyone!  Welcome to this week's episode of Orange Juice Optional!  As promised, Suzanne jumps right into her recent unsettling experience, which then launches the ladies into a conversation about Phobias. Based on the definition found in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Suzanne insists that she doesn't have any phobias. Michelle disagrees with her assessment, and then confirms several of her own phobias.  To close out the episode, Michelle then shares a quiz on different kinds of phobias.  So…take just a moment to grab your favorite champagne cocktail, and then let's get down to sharing this week's phobia inspired episode.  For more information on orange juice optional, please check out the following websites and social media platforms: Orangejuiceoptional.com Whyhellomodernhome.com Goodnight Sweet Bear (@ Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com) Orange juice optional on facebook Orangejuiceoptional on Instagram  Special thank to brainfall.com for the quiz “Phobia Quiz: Can you name these common phobias?”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 31, 2022 is: ephemeral • ih-FEM-uh-rul • adjective Ephemeral means "lasting a very short time." // The performance was not recorded, a fact that made its ephemeral nature all the more poignant. See the entry > Examples: "The varieties available at the plant sale include spring ephemeral wildflowers, which bloom a short period of time in the spring…." — Cris Belle, WJW Fox 8 News (Cleveland, Ohio), 2 May 2022 Did you know? In its aquatic immature stages, the mayfly (order Ephemeroptera) has all the time in the world—or not quite: among the approximately 2,500 species of mayflies, some have as much as two years, but a year is more common. But in its adult phase, the typical mayfly hatches, takes wing for the first time, mates, and dies within the span of a few short hours. This briefest of heydays makes the insect a potent symbol of life's ephemeral nature. When ephemeral (from the Greek word ephēmeros, meaning "lasting a day") first appeared in print in English in the late 16th century, it was a scientific term applied to short-term fevers, and later, to organisms (such as insects and flowers) with very short life spans. Soon after that, it acquired an extended sense referring to anything fleeting and short-lived, as in "ephemeral pleasures."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 30, 2022 is: commemorate • kuh-MEM-uh-rayt • verb To commemorate something is to call it to remembrance or mark it by some ceremony or observation. Plaques and monuments can commemorate a person or event by serving as memorials. // A plaque commemorates the ceremony that took place here 50 years ago. See the entry > Examples: "Set to be unveiled this fall in the West End's Laurel Park, the bronze statue and plaza will commemorate the life and legacy of Cincinnati's world heavyweight boxing champion, Ezzard Charles." — Sharon Coolidge, The Cincinnati Enquirer, 20 Apr. 2022 Did you know? When you remember something, you are mindful of it. It's appropriate, therefore, that commemorate and other related memory-associated words (including memorable, memorial, remember, and memory itself) come from the Latin root memor, meaning "mindful." English speakers have been marking the memory of important events with commemorate since the late 16th century.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 29, 2022 is: junket • JUNK-ut • noun Junket refers to a trip that is paid for by someone else, such as a promotional trip made at another's expense, or an official's trip made at public expense. // The cast of the widely-acclaimed movie is making press junkets to major cities. // The officials are being criticized for going on expensive, and unnecessary, junkets to foreign countries. See the entry > Examples: "'It was very unexpected,' [Sam Raimi] says, speaking during the 'Doctor Strange' press junket over the weekend. He attributes the success of the genre to the source material by artists such as Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and also to Marvel Studios, 'which has given great attention to the characters' detail,' he says." — Adam Graham, The Detroit News, 3 May 2022 Did you know? Junket has traveled a long road, and its journey began with a basket made of rushes—that is, marsh plants commonly used in weaving and basketwork. The Latin word for "rush" is juncus, which English borrowed and adapted into various forms until settling on junket. That word was used in English to name not just the plant and the baskets made from the plant, but also a type of cream cheese made in rush baskets. Since at least the 15th century, the word has named a variety of comestibles, ranging from curds and cream to sweet confections. (Junket even today also names a dessert.) By the 16th century, junket had come to mean "banquet" or "feast" as well. Apparently, traveling must have been involved to reach some junkets because eventually the term broadened to apply to pleasure outings or trips, whether or not food was the focus. Today, the word usually refers either to a trip made by a government official and paid for by the public, or to a free trip by a member of the press to a place where something, such as a new movie, is being promoted.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 28, 2022 is: propagate • PRAH-puh-gayt • verb Propagate is used in contexts relating to biology to mean "to produce offspring," and in general contexts to mean "to make (something, such as an idea or belief) known to or accepted by many people." // The tree is readily propagated by grafting. // The group's members increasingly rely on social media to propagate their ideas. See the entry > Examples: "The Michigan birds were allowed to propagate, and when flocks became large enough, some would be live-trapped and moved elsewhere in the state to propagate further, and more turkeys were obtained from other states, such as Iowa." — Tom Lounsbury, The Manistee (Michigan) News Advocate, 17 Apr. 2022 Did you know? The origins of propagate are firmly rooted in the field of horticulture. The word is a 16th century Latin borrowing, ultimately from the verb propagare, which means "to set (onto a plant) a small shoot or twig cut for planting or grafting." The word's meaning quickly extended from the realm of the farm and field to less material kinds of reproduction, such as the spreading of ideas and beliefs. The similarity between propagate and propaganda is not coincidental; that word also comes to us from propagare, although it took a more circuitous route.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 27, 2022 is: uncanny • un-KAN-ee • adjective Uncanny is typically used to describe something that is strange or unusual in a way that is surprising or difficult to understand. It can also describe something that seems to have a supernatural character or origin. // The child has an uncanny ability to recognize streets and locations she's seen only once or twice before. // The noise suddenly stopped, and an uncanny silence filled the room. See the entry > Examples: "Having reinvented contemporary circus as an aesthetically ambitious artform, the company here demonstrates ... what can be achieved when uncanny acrobatic prowess meets the poised spatial intelligence of contemporary dance and the intensities of physical theatre." — Andrew Fuhrmann, Cameron Woodhead, and Jessica Nicholas, The Age (Melbourne, Australia), 10 Apr. 2022 Did you know? Uncanny describes that which unsettles us, such as disquieting observations, or mysterious situations and circumstances. Strip the word of its common negating prefix, though, and you're left with canny, a word that shares semantic territory with clever and prudent. While canny and uncanny don't appear to be antonyms, they both come from an early Scottish word canny meaning “free from risk; wise, prudent, cautious.” And in Scottish, canny has for centuries had a secondary meaning that correlates better to its mysterious cousin: the Oxford English Dictionary reports that the word is used in negative constructions to describe what is not safe to be involved with, or more broadly, what is not in accordance with what is right or natural. Rather uncanny.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 26, 2022 is: fetter • FET-er • noun A fetter is a chain or shackle for the feet. Fetter is also used figuratively to refer to something that confines or restrains someone in some way. // John keeps his smartphone with him when he goes hiking, but Linda leaves hers at home, preferring to free herself temporarily of the fetters of technology. See the entry > Examples: "The Alaska Constitution was written by a months-long gathering of 55 elected men and women in Fairbanks during the winter of 1955-1956. … They wanted a legislature free of the fetters that hobbled the older state governments—restraints that had prompted a nationwide outcry for constitutional reform in the years prior to the Alaska Constitutional Convention." — Gordon Harrison, The Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, 24 Apr. 2022 Did you know? While now used as a more general term for something that confines or restrains, fetter was originally applied specifically to a chain or shackle for the feet. Not surprisingly, the word's Old English ancestor, feter, is etymologically shackled to fōt, the Old English ancestor of foot. Fetter is also used as a verb with meanings that correspond to the noun's meanings: a prisoner can be fettered literally, and a person can feel fettered by obligations or responsibilities.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 25, 2022 is: benevolent • buh-NEV-uh-lunt • adjective Benevolent means "kind and generous," or less commonly, "organized for the purpose of doing good." // The event's reception was courtesy of a benevolent anonymous donor. // They belong to several benevolent societies and charitable organizations. See the entry > Examples: "I want to thank the benevolent stranger who found my keys and reunited me with them after seven months." — Curt Vazquez, letter in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 16 May 2022 Did you know? One who is benevolent genuinely wishes other people well, a meaning reflected clearly in the word's Latin roots: benevolent comes from bene, meaning "good," and velle, meaning "to wish." Other descendants of velle in English include volition, which refers to the power to make one's own choices or decisions, and voluntary, as well as the rare velleity, meaning either "the lowest degree of volition" or "a slight wish or tendency." A more familiar velle descendant stands directly opposed to benevolent: malevolent describes someone or something having or showing a desire to cause harm to another person.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 24, 2022 is: dander • DAN-der • noun Dander is a synonym of dandruff and is also used to refer to anger or temper, especially in the phrase "get someone's dander up." // Some people are allergic to pet dander. // The customer's disrespectful attitude got the waitstaff's dander up. See the entry > Examples: "Unlike traditional vacuum cleaners made to handle a wider range of different messes, these next-level vacuums for pet hair are engineered to sweep away all of the stubborn pet fur…, allowing you to quickly de-fuzz your stuff and keep dander under control." — Korin Miller, The Daily Beast, 8 Apr. 2022 Did you know? How did dander acquire its "temper" sense? There are several theories, though the evidence is inconclusive. It has been proposed that the meaning comes from the image of an angry person tearing out their hair by the fistful, scattering dandruff in the process. Some think it comes from a West Indian word dander, which refers to a kind of ferment and suggests "rising" anger (in English, ferment can mean "a state of unrest or excitement"). Others have suggested that the "anger" sense comes from the Dutch phrase op donderen, meaning "to burst into a sudden rage."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 24, 2022 is: dander • DAN-der • noun Dander is a synonym of dandruff and is also used to refer to anger or temper, especially in the phrase "get someone's dander up." // Some people are allergic to pet dander. // The customer's disrespectful attitude got the waitstaff's dander up. See the entry > Examples: "Unlike traditional vacuum cleaners made to handle a wider range of different messes, these next-level vacuums for pet hair are engineered to sweep away all of the stubborn pet fur…, allowing you to quickly de-fuzz your stuff and keep dander under control." — Korin Miller, The Daily Beast, 8 Apr. 2022 Did you know? How did dander acquire its "temper" sense? There are several theories, though the evidence is inconclusive. It has been proposed that the meaning comes from the image of an angry person tearing out their hair by the fistful, scattering dandruff in the process. Some think it comes from a West Indian word dander, which refers to a kind of ferment and suggests "rising" anger (in English, ferment can mean "a state of unrest or excitement"). Others have suggested that the "anger" sense comes from the Dutch phrase op donderen, meaning "to burst into a sudden rage."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 23, 2022 is: mercurial • mer-KYUR-ee-ul • adjective Mercurial means "changing often" or "characterized by rapid and unpredictable changeableness of mood." It can also mean "having qualities of eloquence, ingenuity, or thievishness attributed to the god Mercury or to the influence of the planet Mercury." // The boss has a mercurial temperament when at jobsites but she was relaxed and happy at the company picnic. // The iconic brand has somehow always managed to maintain its esteemed position in the mercurial fashion world. See the entry > Examples: "But Cabrera was the definition of mercurial. He might be yelling at the top of his lungs, playfully arguing with a teammate, then quickly turn sullen when approached by a reporter." — Carlos Monarrez, The Detroit Free Press, 26 Apr. 2022 Did you know? The Roman god Mercury was the messenger and herald of the gods and also the god of merchants and thieves (his counterpart in Greek mythology is Hermes). He was noted for his eloquence, swiftness, and cunning, and the Romans named what appeared to them to be the fastest-moving planet in his honor. Mercurial comes from the Latin adjective mercurialis, meaning "of or relating to Mercury."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 22, 2022 is: galumph • guh-LUMF • verb Galumph means "to move with a clumsy heavy tread." // After long days at his landscaping job, their teenage son galumphs into the house and flings himself onto the couch, sighing heavily. See the entry > Examples: "One moment he'd be pitter-pattering…; the next he'd be whirling and galumphing about the stage." — Jeffrey Gantz, The Boston Globe, 8 Feb. 2022 Did you know? Bump, thump, thud. There's no doubt about it—when someone or something galumphs onto the scene, ears take notice. Galumph first lumbered onto the English scene in 1872 when Lewis Carroll used the word to describe the actions of the vanquisher of the Jabberwock in Through the Looking Glass: "He left it dead, and with its head / He went galumphing back." Carroll likely constructed the word by splicing gallop and triumphant (galumph did in its earliest uses convey a sense of exultant bounding). Other 19th-century writers must have liked the sound of galumph, because they began plying it in their own prose, and it has been clumping around our language ever since.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 21, 2022 is: paradox • PAIR-uh-dahks • noun Paradox refers to a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true. It can also refer to something or someone having seemingly contradictory qualities or phases. // The statement "less is more" is a common paradox. // It is a paradox that computers need time-consuming updates so often since they are meant to save people time. See the entry > Examples: "Demand for semiconductors has never been higher…. Yet chip stocks are one of the worst-performing sectors in the U.S. market this year. That paradox reflects the cliff that investors see looming for the economy and the stock market...." — Subrat Patnaik and Jeran Wittenstein, Bloomberg, 12 Apr. 2022 Did you know? The ancient Greeks were well aware that a paradox can take us outside our usual way of thinking. They combined the prefix para- ("beyond" or "outside of") with the verb dokein ("to think"), forming paradoxos, an adjective meaning "contrary to expectation." Latin speakers used that word as the basis for a noun paradoxum, which English speakers borrowed during the 1500s to create paradox.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 20, 2022 is: ad hoc • AD-HOCK • adjective Ad hoc means "concerned with a particular end or purpose" or "formed or used for specific or immediate problems or needs." // An ad hoc committee was formed to investigate the matter. // There was an unexpected change of plans and ad hoc solutions had to be made. See the entry > Examples: "The council voted unanimously last fall to establish an ad hoc advisory strategic planning board tasked with writing a new long-range plan for the town." — Jodie Wagner, The Palm Beach (Florida) Daily News, 12 Apr. 2022 Did you know? In Latin ad hoc literally means "for this," and in English it describes anything that can be thought of as existing "for this purpose only." For example, an ad hoc committee is generally authorized to look into a single matter of limited scope, not to pursue any issue of interest. Ad hoc can also be used as an adverb meaning "for the particular end or case at hand without consideration of wider application," as in "decisions were made ad hoc."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 19, 2022 is: kibosh • KYE-bosh • noun Kibosh refers to something that serves as a check or stop. It is usually used in the phrase "put the kibosh on." // The rain put the kibosh on the Fourth of July fireworks display. See the entry > Examples: "The state Senate last week put the kibosh on up to $60 million more in aid for school districts." — Kevin Landrigan, The (Manchester) New Hampshire Sunday News, 24 Apr. 2022 Did you know? Evidence of kibosh dates the word to only a few years before Charles Dickens used it in an 1836 sketch, but despite kibosh being relatively young in English its source is elusive. Claims were once made that it was Yiddish, despite the absence of a plausible Yiddish source. Another hypothesis pointed to Irish caidhp bhais, literally, "coif (or cap) of death," explained as headgear a judge put on when pronouncing a death sentence, or as a covering pulled over the face of a corpse when a coffin was closed. But evidence for any metaphorical use of this phrase in Irish is lacking, and kibosh is not recorded in English as spoken in Ireland until decades after Dickens' use. More recent source theories include a heraldic term for an animal's head when born with only its face fully showing, and an Arabic word meaning “whip, lash,” but as the note at our etymology explains, no theory has sufficient evidence to back it.