Numinous is an awesome word. I'm going to have to use that one soon.
The Word of the Day: Flounder
Definition:
1. to struggle to move or obtain footing : thrash about wildly
2 : to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
Examples:
1. "The four Royal Air Force pilots ditched their broken bomber and dropped into the North Sea, near Britain. It was February 23, 1942…. Floundering in the frigid water, the pilots released their last hope: a tiny, bedraggled carrier pigeon named Winkie." — Sarah Kaplan, The Washington Post, 9 June 2016
2. "But She-Ra's sales floundered from the start. Roger Sweet, a Mattel toy creator and the author of Mastering the Universe, estimated her total sales at $60 million, an anemic number compared with He-Man ($2 billion) or Barbie ($350 million)." — Maria Teresa Hart, The Atlantic, 16 June 2016
The Word of the Day: Littoral
Definition:
1. of, relating to, or situated or growing on or near a shore especially of the sea
Examples:
1. The report shows dramatic improvement in the condition of the state's littoral waters since the cleanup effort began.
"But this project will permanently add new sand to the beach and dune system of Dauphin Island's East End, and the new sand will stay in the littoral system for centuries." — Scott Douglass, The Mobile (Alabama) Register, 6 Mar. 2016
The Word of the Day:: Homily
Definition:
1 : a usually short sermon
2 : a lecture or discourse on a moral theme
3 : an inspirational catchphrase
Examples:
1. The calendar features serene photographs captioned by inspirational proverbs and homilies.
2. "Deacons are ordained ministers in the Catholic Church but do not have the rank of priest. They can give homilies and preside at weddings, funerals and baptisms, but they cannot celebrate Mass." — Tom Kington, The Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2016
The Word of the Day: Kerfuffle
Definition:
1. (chiefly British) disturbance, fuss
Examples:
1. I didn't mean to start such a kerfuffle when I suggested that we hold the company picnic at a different location this year.
2. "… there was quite a kerfuffle (in visual-arts circles, anyway) this fall when the Jeff Wall show that was supposed to open the museum was suddenly cancelled by the artist. The works had become unavailable." — Marsha Lederman, The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ontario), 4 Dec. 2015
The Word of the Day: Fletcherize
Definition:
1. to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
Examples:
1. ... don't choke down your food. Eat slowly. Fletcherize--chew your food, you know. I know you're nearly famished, but you must gradually accustom yourself to a proper diet.
- L. Frank Baum, Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West, 1914
2. Maybe you don't know about Fletcherizing, and you ought to be thankful you don't, but you can't Fletcherize a gizzard, not if you chew all night, and if there's breast enough everybody, I think he'd better have that.
- Kate Langley Bosher, The Man in Lonely Land, 1913
Word of the Day: Vinculum
Pronunciation: ving-kyuh-luh m
Definition:
1. a bond signifying union or unity; tie.
2. Mathematics. a stroke or bracedrawn over a quantity consisting of several members or terms, as /(a+b), in order to show that they are to be considered together.
Examples:
1. Mr. Bowditch, too, refuses us; so fascinatingis the vinculum of the dulce natale solum. -Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson: Thomas Jefferson
2.The notion of the vinculum juris, so far as myknowledge extends, is exclusively Roman. -Ancient Law: Sir Henry James Sumner Maine
Word of the Day: Panoptic
Definition:
1. Being or presenting a comprehensive or panoramic view
Examples:
1. The new security cameras installed in the jewelry store capture panoptic views of the entrance and display cases.
2. "Interweaving the narratives of an aristocratic uptown family, an underground punk band, a Long Island adolescent, a black gay aspiring writer, and a journalist determined to uncover the obscure connections between them all, the more-than-900-page novel … casts a panoptic lens on 1970s New York City…." — Lauren Christensen, Vanity Fair, October 2015
Really? I've always pronounced it with the "R", but then again I never really use it in daily life so it's just one of those things I guess.
Word of the Day: Hypocorism
Definition:
1. A pet name
2. The use of pet names
Examples:
1. People began to refer to the elusive and mysterious Loch Ness monster by the hypocorism "Nessie" in the 1940s.
2. "… the use of hypocorisms … is on the decline (only my Aunt Dorothy is still called Toots), and terms of endearment have come under suspicion ('Call me Dollboat or Sweetie-Pie one more time, Mr. Snodgrass, and you've got a harassment suit on your hands')." — William Safire, The New York Times, 27 Sept. 1992
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