Carolina Institute for Faith & Culture

Paul Schleifer If you were to ask my wife, she might tell you that gainsay is an apt word for me to write about because it means “1. to deny, […]

Paul Schleifer At www.dictionary.com, you’ll find the following definition for pejorative: “having a disparaging, derogatory, or belittling effect or force.” The example given, “the pejorative affix -ling in princeling,” is kind of fun. […]

Paul Schleifer When we inveigh against something, we protest against it strongly or rail against it or attack it vehemently using our words. According to the OED, this attack can […]

Paul Schleifer Tact means “skill and sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult issues,” according to the OED. Furthermore, the OED says that it enters the language in the […]

Paul Schleifer Regal is an adjective that means “of or related to a king; royal,” according to www.dictionary.com. Through the process of generalizing, it comes to mean “splendid” or “stately.” […]

Paul Schleifer My first observation about the word canon is that it is not cannon “a mounted gun for firing heavy projectiles.” Canon means “an ecclesiastical rule or law enacted […]

Paul Schleifer April 16 2018 Word of the Day: Ken Ken means “one’s range of knowledge or understanding,” according to the OED.  In the Scottish dialect, it can also mean […]

Paul Schleifer Mete means to dispense or distribute or give someone according to a specific measurement. It is often used with the particle out. It comes from the Old English […]

Paul Schleifer According to www.dictionary.com, pithy means “brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression.” According to the OED, it means “full of concentrated meaning; conveying meaning forcibly through brevity of expression,” […]

Paul Schleifer According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, recondite means “1: difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend; 2 : of, relating to, or dealing with […]

Paul Schleifer According to www.etymonline.com, mordant enters the English language in the “late 15c., ‘caustic’ (of words, speech), from Middle French mordant, literally ‘biting,’ present participle of mordre ‘to bite,’ from Latin mordere ‘to bite, bite […]

Paul Schleifer Yea, right! That’s a word? Does it mean a person whose expertise is catching eels? Or perhaps a person who makes eels out of something else? Or perhaps […]