Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Build your vocabulary with Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day! Each day a Merriam-Webster editor offers insight into a fascinating new word -- explaining its meaning, current use, and little-known details about its origin.

Episodes

  1. 17 HR. AGO

    brogue

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 10, 2024 is: brogue \BROHG\ noun A brogue is a low shoe, usually made of leather, that is decorated with small holes along the sides at the toe, and that usually features a [wing tip](https://bit.ly/3Az8Y2C). // Even though his brogues are scuffed and old, Dad prefers them to his new loafers. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brogue) Examples: "Paired with a cropped white T-shirt, midi-skirt, and brogues, Gigi [Hadid] was the yin to [Taylor] Swift’s yang." — Hannah Coates, Vogue, 21 June 2023 Did you know? Did you expect brogue to be defined as "an Irish accent"? We're sure you're not alone: [brogue](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brogue) has two homographs (words that are spelled—and, in this case, pronounced—the same but have different origins or parts of speech). The brogue that refers to the shoe comes from the Irish word bróg and Scottish Gaelic bròg, and likely traces back to an Old Norse term meaning "leg covering." (That ancestor is related to an ancestor of the English word [breech](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/breech).) Originating in Ireland, the brogue was designed to be a worker's shoe and was made from untanned hides. The "accent" brogue comes from a different Irish word, barróg, which can refer to an accent or speech impediment and translates literally as "tight grip."

    2 min

  2. 1 DAY AGO

    fulgent

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 9, 2024 is: fulgent \FULL-jint\ adjective Fulgent is a formal, often poetic word used to describe something that is dazzlingly bright. It is a synonym of [radiant](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/radiant). // After a long, drizzly morning, a fulgent sun finally peeked out from behind the clouds. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fulgent) Examples: "He [[Kendrick Lamar](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kendrick-Lamar)] starts rapping a verse with his back to the crowd. … On giant screens behind him, you can see the chrome embellishments along the outseam of his pants, and one of his handles, 'oklama,' emblazoned in bold white Old English letters across the back of his black vest, the yellow gradient of his sunglasses, the fulgent glint of his diamond earrings." — Mitchell S. Jackson, The New York Times, 1 Jan. 2023 Did you know? "The weary Sun betook himself to rest; — / Then issued [Vesper](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vesper) from the fulgent west." That's how the appearance of the evening star in the glowing western sky at sunset looked to 19th-century poet [William Wordsworth](https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Wordsworth). Fulgent was a particularly apt choice to describe the dazzling light of the sky at sunset. The word comes from the Latin verb fulgēre, meaning "to shine brightly." While not the most common of descriptors, English speakers have been using fulgent to depict radiant splendor since at least the 15th century.

    2 min

  3. 2 DAYS AGO

    galvanize

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 8, 2024 is: galvanize \GAL-vuh-nyze\ verb To galvanize people is to cause them to be so excited or concerned about something that they are driven to action. // The council’s proposal to close the library has galvanized the town’s residents. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/galvanize) Examples: “The original Earth Day was the product of a new environmental consciousness created by Rachel Carson’s 1962 book, Silent Spring, and of public horror in 1969 that the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was so polluted it caught fire. … On April 22, 1970, some 20 million people attended thousands of events across America, and this galvanizing public demand led in short order to the creation, during Richard Nixon’s presidency, of the Environmental Protection Agency (1970), the Clean Air Act (1970), the Clean Water Act (1972), and the Endangered Species Act (1973), and much more after that.” — Todd Stern, The Atlantic, 6 Oct. 2024 Did you know? [Luigi Galvani](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Luigi-Galvani) was an Italian physician and physicist who, in the 1770s, studied the electrical nature of nerve impulses by applying electrical stimulation to frogs’ leg muscles, causing them to contract. Although Galvani’s theory that animal tissue contained an innate electrical impulse was disproven, the French word galvanisme came to refer to a current of electricity especially when produced by chemical action, while the verb galvaniser was used for the action of applying such a current (both words were apparently coined by German naturalist [Alexander von Humboldt](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-von-Humboldt), who modeled them after the French equivalents of magnetism and magnetize). In English, these words came to life as [galvanism](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/galvanism) and galvanize, respectively. Today their primary senses are figurative: to galvanize a person or group is to spur them into action as if they’ve been jolted with electricity.

    3 min

  4. 3 DAYS AGO

    misbegotten

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 7, 2024 is: misbegotten \miss-bih-GAH-tun\ adjective Misbegotten describes things that are badly planned or thought out. // They were sent on a misbegotten diplomatic mission that was sure to fail. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misbegotten) Examples: "After some misbegotten albums and a run of singles that barely scraped the lower reaches of the chart, [[Tony] Bennett](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tony-Bennett) split with the label in 1971." — Chris Morris, Variety, 21 July 2023 Did you know? In the beginning, there was begietan, and begietan begot beyeten; then in the days of Middle English beyeten begot begeten. All of the Old English and Middle English ancestors above basically meant the same thing as the modern [beget](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beget)—that is, "to father" or "to produce as an effect or outgrowth." That linguistic line, combined with the prefix [mis-](https://bit.ly/4ffLCy9) (meaning "wrongly" or "badly"), brought forth misbegotten. While the word has carried several meanings over the centuries, including "contemptible" (as in "a misbegotten scoundrel"), today it most often describes things—such as beliefs, projects, or adventures—that are poorly planned or thought out.

    2 min

  5. 4 DAYS AGO

    ambigram

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 6, 2024 is: ambigram \AM-buh-gram\ noun An ambigram is an image of a written word or phrase that is intended or able to be oriented in either of two ways for viewing or reading. // Angel started taking calligraphy classes to learn how to create ambigrams and other fun designs that can be read both upside down and right side up. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambigram) Examples: “... when spelled out in the sand, SOS is conveniently readable as an ambigram—readable both right-side-up and upside-down.” — Wendee Wendt, Parade Magazine, 8 June 2024 Did you know? There is little ambiguity about the origins of the word ambigram—it was introduced by cognitive scientist Douglas R. Hofstadter in his 1985 book Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern, in which he wrote of the “pleasing activity of doing ambigrams, where shapes must be concocted that are poised exactly at the midpoint between two interpretations.” Since then, ambigram has been used primarily to refer to an image of a written word or phrase that either forms the same word or a different word when reflected or turned upside down. For instance, when reflected, bud turns into dub, while [Malayalam](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Malayalam) reads the same both ways. And when turned upside down, swims reads the same, while wow turns into mom. Some ambigrams are natural (such as dollop), while others can be designed or created with [calligraphy](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calligraphy). Calligraphic ambigrams are quite popular and are often used as logos or tattoo designs.

    2 min

  6. 5 DAYS AGO

    drub

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 5, 2024 is: drub \DRUB\ verb To drub an individual or team, as in a game or contest, is to defeat them decisively. // Morale after the game was low: the hometown team had been drubbed by the worst team in the league. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drub) Examples: “Dallas looked like one of the best teams in the NFL through two weeks, drubbing the Giants 40-0 in Week 1 and beating the Jets 30-10 in Week 2.” — David Brandt, The Associated Press, 24 Sept. 2023 Did you know? Sportswriters often use the word drub when a team they are covering is drubbed—that is, [routed](https://bit.ly/3Yqmk9e)—but the term’s history reveals that it wasn’t always a sporting word. When drub was first used in English, it referred to a method of punishment that involved beating the soles of the accused’s feet with a stick or cudgel. The term was apparently brought to England in the 17th century by travelers who reported observing the punitive practice abroad. The ultimate origin of drub is uncertain, but the etymological culprit may be the Arabic word ḍaraba, meaning “to beat.” Over the centuries, drub developed the additional milder, and now more common, meanings of “to berate critically” and “to defeat decisively.”

    2 min

  7. 6 DAYS AGO

    hoity-toity

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 4, 2024 is: hoity-toity \hoy-tee-TOY-tee\ adjective Someone or something described as hoity-toity may also be called snooty or pretentious; hoity-toity people appear to think that they are better, smarter, or more important than other people, and hoity-toity places and things seem to be made for those same people. An informal word, hoity-toity is a synonym of [pompous](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pompous), [fancy](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fancy), and [highfalutin](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/highfalutin). // The guidance counselor emphasized that students do not need to go to a hoity-toity college to achieve success.    [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoity-toity) Examples: "Most Summer Olympics show beach volleyball on a beach. This year's spikers will play in front of the Eiffel Tower because they can. And just in case equestrian events aren't hoity-toity enough, the 2024 [dressage](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dressage) and jumping will unfold at the Palace of Versailles." — Jen Chaney, Vulture, 24 May 2024 Did you know? In modern use, hoity-toity is used almost exclusively to describe someone who's got their nose stuck up in the air, or something suited for such a person. But for over a hundred years, hoity-toity was used solely as a noun referring to thoughtless and silly behavior. The noun originated as a rhyming [reduplication](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reduplication) of the dialectical verb hoit, meaning "to play the fool." Accordingly, as an adjective hoity-toity was originally used to describe someone as thoughtless or silly—as when English writer [W. Somerset Maugham](https://www.britannica.com/biography/W-Somerset-Maugham) wrote in his 1944 novel [The Razor’s Edge](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Razors-Edge-novel-by-Maugham) "very hoity-toity of me not to know that royal personage"—but today it is more likely to describe the royal [personage](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/personage), or someone who [puts on airs](https://bit.ly/3CfNZlU) as if they were a royal personage.

    2 min

  8. DEC 3

    eschew

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 3, 2024 is: eschew \ess-CHOO\ verb To eschew something is to avoid it, especially because you do not think it is right, proper, or practical. // Their teacher was known as a [Luddite](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Luddite) because he eschewed the use of smartphones and tablets in the classroom. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eschew) Examples: “Scheduled work shifts [at [Burning Man](https://www.britannica.com/art/Burning-Man)] were delayed and continually rearranged, causing confusion among campers as to how and when to contribute.... While some of us found ways to help, others took it as an opportunity to eschew their responsibilities. However, those of us who showed up united, and handled business, did so with [aplomb](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aplomb)...” — Morena Duwe, The Los Angeles Times, 9 Sept. 2024 Did you know? Something to chew on: there’s no etymological relationship between the verbs [chew](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chew) and eschew. While the former comes from the Old English word cēowan, eschew comes instead from the Anglo-French verb eschiver and shares roots with the Old High German verb sciuhen, meaning “to frighten off.” In his famous dictionary of 1755, [Samuel Johnson](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Johnson) characterized eschew as “almost obsolete.” History has proven that the great lexicographer was wrong on that call, however. Today, following a boom in the word’s usage during the 19th and 20th centuries, English speakers and writers use eschew when something is avoided less for temperamental reasons than for moral or practical ones, even if misguidedly so, as when [Barry Lopez](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barry-Lopez) wrote in his 2019 book Horizon of ill-fated Antarctic explorer [Robert Falcon Scott](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Falcon-Scott), “with an attitude of cultural superiority, eschewing sled dogs for Manchurian ponies....”

    2 min

  9. DEC 2

    complaisant

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 2, 2024 is: complaisant \kum-PLAY-sunt\ adjective Someone described as complaisant is willing or eager to please other people, or is easily convinced to do what other people want. // Derek was a complaisant boy, always happy to oblige whenever his mother or father asked him to run an errand. // She was too complaisant to say no to her sister's demands. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/complaisant) Examples: “Last month Ferrari lofted its banners over a resort near the southern port of Cagliari and invited journalists to test-drive the new Ferrari Roma Spider, taking advantage of the excellent tarmac, ideal weather and complaisant authorities.” — Dan Neil, The Wall Street Journal, 5 Oct. 2023 Did you know? Complaisant and [complacent](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/complacent) are often confused, and for good reason. Not only do the words look and sound alike, but they also both come from Latin verb complacēre, meaning “to please greatly.” (The placēre in complacēre is an ancestor of the English word please). Complacent is used disapprovingly to describe someone who is self-satisfied or unconcerned with whatever is going on, but it also shares with complaisant the sense of “inclined to please or oblige.” This sense of complacent is [an old one](https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/complacent-vs-complaisant), but that hasn’t kept language critics from labeling its use as an error—and on the whole, modern writers do prefer complaisant for this meaning. Whether you complaisantly oblige, well, that’s up to you.

    2 min

  10. DEC 1

    scintilla

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 1, 2024 is: scintilla \sin-TIL-uh\ noun A scintilla is a very small amount of something. Scintilla is usually used in negative statements, as in “not even/nary a scintilla.” // There wasn’t even a scintilla of evidence to support their story. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scintilla) Examples: “… there was one part of his Irish childhood that would follow [[Oscar] Wilde](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Oscar-Wilde) across the sea to England. A tiny part of his childhood, admittedly. The merest scintilla of his youth.” — Alexander Poots, The Strangers’ House: Writing Northern Ireland, 2023 Did you know? Wonder what scintillas (or scintillae) are? It may help spark your memory to look up above the world so high at the tiny (to our eyes) stars twinkling like diamonds in the sky. Scintilla comes directly from Latin, where it refers to a spark—that is, a bright flash such as you might see from a burning ember (the noun scintilla is related to the verb scintillare, which means “to sparkle” and is responsible for the English verb [scintillate](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scintillate) meaning “to sparkle or gleam”). In the 17th century, English carried over this “glittering particle” sense, which is still in use today, as when Scottish writer Rudi Zygadlo wrote of the Gulf of Mexico “fizzing with scintillas underneath the rising sun.” In the same century, people also began using scintilla figuratively for a hint or trace of something that barely suggests its presence. Today this sense is much more common, and especially found in negative statements, such as “We have not a scintilla of doubt that you are now humming ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’”

    2 min
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Build your vocabulary with Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day! Each day a Merriam-Webster editor offers insight into a fascinating new word -- explaining its meaning, current use, and little-known details about its origin.

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