Carolina Institute for Faith & Culture

Mirriam-Webster’s Word of the Day today is gambit, which originally is a term in chess. Mirriam-Webster says, “In 1656, a chess handbook was published that was said to have almost […]

The adjective protean (pronounced pro-ti-ǝn) means “readily assuming different forms or characters; extremely variable,” or “changeable in shape or form, as an amoeba,” according to www.dictionary.com. It can also mean […]

The word today is potentate, which means “a person who possesses great power, as a sovereign, monarch, or ruler.” According to www.etymonline.com, it enters the language “c. 1400, from Old […]

                I’ve been away for a while now, but I’m back with a new word.                 A palimpsest is, according to Mirriam Webster, “writing material (such as a parchment or […]

Temerity is a noun which means boldness or rashness or audacity or excessive confidence. According to www.etymonline.com, the word comes into the language in the “late 14c., from Latin temeritatem (nominative temeritas) ‘blind […]

Impudent: “of, relating to, or characterized by impertinence or effrontery.” “Obsolete: shameless or brazenly immodest” (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/impudent).   I came across this word while reading “Lilies That Fester,” an essay by […]

Charisma means “compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in other,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Webster’s Dictionary takes it a step further: “a personal magic of leadership […]

Surveil is a regular verb, as one would expect given its oh-so-brief history. It is what linguists call a backformation. Here’s how it works. Often we derive a noun from […]

Benign is an adjective meaning “mild or favorable (result). Gentle, kind, good.” It is often used in relation to medical cases, like “The tumor was benign.” According to www.etymonline.com, the […]

Paul Schleifer According to www.dictionary.com, cacophony means “harsh discordance of sound; dissonance; a discordant and meaningless mixture of sounds.” The etymology, according to www.etymonline.com, is actually kind of fun: “1650s, […]

Paul Schleifer Enervate is one of those words that means the opposite of what you might think it means. It sounds something like energize, right? So you might think it […]

Paul Schleifer Swank, to English speakers in the US, means “fancy, elegant and showy.” In the UK, swank can also be a verb “to display one’s wealth, knowledge, or achievements […]