Tag: etymology
Word of the Day: Instruction
Today’s word of the day, courtesy of The Dictionary Project’s daily email, is instruction. This noun, pronounced / ɪnˈstrʌk ʃən /, means “the act or practice of instructing or teaching; […]
Word of the Day: Rhapsodize
Today’s word of the day, courtesy of the Words Coach (https://www.wordscoach.com/dictionary), is rhapsodize. Pronounced / ˈræp səˌdaɪz /, this intransitive verb means “to talk with extravagant enthusiasm” or “to speak […]
Word of the Day: Debonair
Today’s word of the day, courtesy of The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/learning/word-of-the-day-debonair.html), is debonair. Pronounced / ˌdɛb əˈnɛər /, with a secondary stress on the first syllable and the primary […]
Word of the Day: Persiflage
Today’s word of the day, courtesy of the Words Coach (https://www.wordscoach.com/dictionary) is persiflage. Pronounced / ˈpɜr səˌflɑʒ /, with a secondary stress on the third syllable, this noun means “light, […]
Word of the Day: Wizened
Today’s word of the day, courtesy of the Words Coach (https://www.wordscoach.com/dictionary) is wizened. Pronounced / ˈwɪz ənd / (notice that the vowel in the first syllable is what we used […]
Word of the Day: Charity
Today’s word of the day, courtesy of the Words Coach (https://www.wordscoach.com/dictionary), is charity. Pronounced / ˈtʃær ɪ ti /, it can mean “generous actions or donations to aid people who […]
Word of the Day: Pleonasm
Today’s word of the day, courtesy of the Words Coach (https://www.wordscoach.com/dictionary), is pleonasm. Pronounced / ˈpli əˌnæz əm /, this noun means “the use of more words than are necessary […]
Word of the Day: Anfractuous
Today’s word of the day, thanks to the Words Coach (https://www.wordscoach.com/dictionary) is anfractuous. Pronounced / ænˈfræk tʃu əs /, with the stress on the second syllable, this adjective means “characterized […]
Word of the Day: Sycophant
Today’s word of the day, courtesy of the Words Coach (https://www.wordscoach.com/dictionary) is sycophant. Pronounced / ˈsɪk ə ˌfænt / (there are variants, but I’m going with what I think is […]
Word of the Day: Pulchritude
Today’s word of the day, courtesy of the Words Coach (https://www.wordscoach.com/dictionary) is pulchritude, which Words Coach defines as “physical beauty (especially of a woman).” This noun is pronounced / ˈpʌlkrɪˌtjuːd […]
Word of the Day: Tenebrous
Today’s word of the day, thanks to the Words Coach (https://www.wordscoach.com/dictionary), is tenebrous. Pronounced / ˈtɛn ə brəs /, this adjective means “dark; gloomy; obscure” (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/tenebrous). The word first appears […]
Word of the Day: Embellish
Today’s word of the day, thanks to the Dictionary Project daily email, is embellish. It’s a verb pronounced / ɛmˈbɛl ɪʃ /, and it means “to beautify by or as […]