Carolina Institute for Faith & Culture

Chutzpah (or chutzpa) [hƱt spǝ] means “unmitigated effrontery or impudence; gall” or “audacity, nerve.” According to etymonline.com, the word enters the language in 1892 “from Yiddish khutspe “impudence, gall,” from […]

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 […]

Word of the Day: Aphorism An aphorism is, according to Mirriam-Webster, “a concise statement of a principle; a terse formulation of a truth or sentiment” or “an ingeniously terse style […]

Measure: this is one of those interesting words in English that is both a noun and a verb. I am pretty sure that today we use it more often as […]

                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 […]