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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Build your vocabulary with Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day! Each day a Merriam-Webster editor offers insight into a fascinating new word -- explaining its meaning, current use, and little-known details about its origin.

एपिसोड

  1. 17 घं॰ पहले

    hagiography

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 12, 2025 is: hagiography \hag-ee-AH-gruh-fee\ noun Hagiography is biography that idealizes or [idolizes](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idolize) a person and their life. // The book gives a good idea of his virtues without resorting to hagiography. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hagiography) Examples: "The sisters’ show can sometimes feel like hagiography; there is little discussion of Basquiat’s demons or the aspects of his home life that may have been difficult." — Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times, 9 Apr. 2022 Did you know? The second part of hagiography is familiar: the combining form [-graphy](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/-graphy), which comes from the Greek verb graphein, meaning "to write," is found in [biography](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biography) and [calligraphy](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calligrapy) (among many others) too. Hagio-, however, is more unusual; it comes from a Greek word that meant "holy, sacred" in Ancient Greek and more recently "saintly," by way of the term [Hagiographa](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hagiographa), another name for the [Ketuvim](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Ketuvim), the third part of the Jewish Scriptures. English's hagiography can refer to biography of actual saints, but it is more typically applied to biography that treats ordinary human subjects as if they were saints.

    2 मिनट

  2. 1 दिन पहले

    ruminate

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 11, 2025 is: ruminate \ROO-muh-nayt\ verb To ruminate is to think carefully and deeply about something. // We ruminated over the implications of our decision. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruminate) Examples: “Most of the songs bear the name of a store you’d see in every mall in the United States before they became sad ghost towns, air conditioning and smooth jazz blasting in the emptied, echoing caverns of capitalism. ... The trio uses nostalgia as a tool of examination, ruminating on the not-too-distant past in order to process the funny and sometimes heartbreaking process of getting older together.” — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 8 July 2024 Did you know? When you ruminate, you chew something over, either literally or figuratively. Literal rumination may seem a little gross to humans, but to cows, chewing your [cud](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cud) (partially digested food brought up from the stomach for another chew) is just a natural part of life. Figurative ruminating is much more palatable to humans; that kind of deep, meditative thought is often deemed quite a worthy activity. The verb ruminate has described metaphorical chewing over since the early 1500s and actual chewing since later that same century. Our English word comes from and shares the meanings of the Latin verb ruminari (“to chew the cud” or “muse upon”), which in turn comes from [rumen](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rumen), the Latin name for the first stomach compartment of [ruminant](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruminant) animals (that is, creatures like cows that chew their cud).

    2 मिनट

  3. 2 दिन पहले

    vestige

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 10, 2025 is: vestige \VESS-tij\ noun A vestige is a trace, mark, or visible sign left by something lost or vanished. // The ruins here are the last vestiges of the Roman occupation in this part of Britain. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vestige) Examples: "Filled with vestiges of yesteryear, the Butte [Montana] historic district is one of the largest in the country." — Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Janie Osborne, The New York Times, 29 Dec. 2024 Did you know? Though [English](https://www.britannica.com/topic/English-language) is categorized as a [Germanic](https://bit.ly/4gSLHbN) language, there’s no denying the enormousness of Latin’s [footprint](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/footprint) on its [lexicon](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lexicon). Among English’s plethora of Latin derivatives is vestige, a word that traces back to the Latin noun vestigium, meaning "footstep, footprint, or track." Like its forebear, vestige refers to a perceptible sign made by something that has passed, or to a tangible reminder, such as a fragment or remnant, of what is past and gone. Vestige also happens to be one of only a few vestiges of vestigium itself, along with the adjective [vestigial](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vestigial) ("remaining as the last part of something that existed before") and the familiar verb [investigate](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/investigate).

    2 मिनट

  4. 3 दिन पहले

    ecstatic

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 9, 2025 is: ecstatic \ek-STAT-ik\ adjective Someone described as ecstatic is very happy or excited; the person feels or shows [ecstasy](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ecstasy)—that is, rapturous delight. // Greta and Sam were ecstatic when their daughter called to tell them that they were soon going to be grandparents. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ecstatic) Examples: “... through reading, through reporting, I begin to comprehend a truth. That moment of comprehension is ecstatic. Writing and rewriting is the attempt to communicate not just a truth but the ecstasy of a truth. It is not enough for me to convince the reader of my argument; I want them to feel that same private joy that I feel alone.” — [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ta-Nehisi-Coates), The Message, 2024 Did you know? If you feel like “a hot air balloon that could go to space” or, perhaps, “like a room without a roof,” you might—with all due respect to [Pharrell Williams](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pharrell-Williams)—be not just happy but ecstatic. In other words: [euphoric](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/euphoric), over the moon, positively brimming with joy or excitement. Ecstatic has been used in English since the late 1500s, arriving (via Medieval Latin) from the Greek adjective ekstatikós meaning, among other things “out of one’s senses.” Ekstatikós, in turn, was formed in part from eksta-, the stem of such verbs as existánai, “to displace or confound,” and exístasthai “to be astonished or lose consciousness.” That seems an appropriate history for a word that can describe someone who is nearly out of their mind with intense emotion. Eksta-, it should be noted, also contributed to the Greek noun ékstasis, meaning “astonishment” or “trance,” which led to [ecstasy](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ecstasy) (the English word, of course, not the universal feeling).

    2 मिनट

  5. 4 दिन पहले

    finesse

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 8, 2025 is: finesse \fuh-NESS\ verb To finesse something is to bring it about, direct it, or manage it by skillful maneuvering. // We managed to finesse a favorable deal on some Beatles LPs at the flea market through subtle bargaining. [See the entry >](https://bit.ly/3PqeeJE) Examples: “Many times, the teams that can lead a company to a successful public listing are not the ones best equipped to finesse the delicate relationship with equity research analysts.” — Ilona Limonta-Volkova, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024 Did you know? The noun [finesse](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/finesse) originally referred to the “fineness” or delicacy of something’s texture, structure, or workmanship. It later came to be applied to the delicacy of someone’s skill in handling tricky situations before gaining a sense specific to taking [tricks](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trick) in cards. In games such as [bridge](https://www.britannica.com/topic/bridge-card-game) or [whist](https://www.britannica.com/topic/whist), finesse refers to a particular [stratagem](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stratagem) that involves the clever withholding of a winning card. Although the verb finesse is now most often used in situations where a person handles something in a skillful or clever way, its oldest sense emerged at the gaming tables—to finesse in bridge or whist is simply to make a finesse.

    2 मिनट

  6. 5 दिन पहले

    malapropism

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 7, 2025 is: malapropism \MAL-uh-prah-piz-um\ noun A malapropism is an amusing error that occurs when a person mistakenly uses a word that sounds like another word but that has a very different meaning. // "It's lovely to see all of you on this suspicious occasion," our host said. A flurry of snickers were heard in reply; the malapropism (she had of course meant to call it an "auspicious" occasion) was characteristic. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malapropism) Examples: "Words were precious playthings to [Roald Dahl](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Roald-Dahl). The Welsh-born writer was a master toymaker with his wildly imaginative prose, embracing [spoonerisms](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spoonerism) and malapropisms to invent scrumdiddlyumptious words that tickled the ear and fizzled on the tongue when spoken aloud." — i-news, 21 Dec. 2024 Did you know? Mrs. Malaprop, a character in Richard Sheridan's 1775 play The Rivals, was known for her verbal blunders. "He is the very [pine-apple](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pinnacle) of politeness," she exclaimed, complimenting a courteous young man. Thinking of the geography of contiguous countries, she spoke of the "geometry" of "contagious countries," and she hoped that her daughter might "[reprehend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comprehend)" the true meaning of what she was saying. She regretted that her "[affluence](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/influence)" over her niece was small. The word malapropism comes from this blundering character's name, which Sheridan took from the French term mal à propos, meaning "inappropriate."

    2 मिनट

  7. 6 दिन पहले

    ad-lib

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 6, 2025 is: ad-lib \AD-LIB\ verb To ad-lib something, such as a performance or part of a performance, is to improvise it—that is, to make up words or music instead of saying, singing, or playing something that has been planned. // The actor forgot his lines, so he ad-libbed. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ad-lib) Examples: “My real appreciation for [Céline] Dion grew in 2018, when I saw her perform in Vegas. I had agreed to attend with some friends, expecting a silly night of singing along to her hits like I was a kid again. It was the best live performance I had ever seen. Her singing was stunning, of course. She ad-libbed frequently, taking pleasure in showing off her range, and her voice was warm and supple.” — Caitlin Dickerson, The Atlantic, 18 July 2024 Did you know? Let’s play a word game—just fill in a word of your choosing within the brackets in the following sentence, according to the category in italics: The word ad-lib comes from [language] and was first [past-tense verb] as a [part of speech] in the [[ordinal](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ordinal) number] century. If you jotted down “Latin,” “used,” “adverb,” and “eighteenth” you would be correct; ad-lib comes from Latin and was first used as an adverb in the eighteenth century. However, as the word game allows players to fill in whatever words they choose in accordance with their wishes, there were no wrong answers, a fact which also points toward the meaning of the verb ad-lib, which is a shortening of the Latin phrase ad libitum, meaning “in accordance with one’s wishes.” To ad-lib is to improvise, to go off-script, to say (or sing, or play on an instrument) whatever comes into your head in lieu of, or in spite of, a script or score. While ad-libbing may seem like a risky venture, some of the most famous lines in movie history were ad-libbed, from “[Here’s looking at you, kid](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Casablanca-film-by-Curtiz)” to “[You’re gonna need a bigger boat](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jaws-film-by-Spielberg).” Isn’t that [adjective]?

    2 मिनट

  8. 5 फ़र॰

    canard

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 5, 2025 is: canard \kuh-NARD\ noun Canard refers to a false report or story, or to a belief or rumor that isn't true. It can also refer to a kind of airplane as well as to a kind of small [airfoil](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airfoil). // The book unfortunately repeats some of history's oldest canards. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canard) Examples: "It's such a canard to think young people don't care about great information. They do. ... [W]e have to start thinking, as media, of where they’re getting it." — Kara Swisher, quoted at The Atlantic, 29 Feb. 2024 Did you know? In 16th-century France, vendre des canards à moitié was a colorful way of saying "to fool" or "to cheat." The French phrase means, literally, "to half-sell ducks." No one now knows just what was meant by "to half-sell"; the saying was probably based on some story widely known at the time, but the details have not survived. Lost stories aside, the expression led to the use of canard, the French word for "duck," to refer to a hoax or fabrication. English speakers adopted this canard in the mid-1800s. The [aeronautical](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aeronautical) sense of canard, used from the early days of flying, comes from the stubby duck-like appearance of the aircraft.

    2 मिनट

  9. 4 फ़र॰

    zaftig

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 4, 2025 is: zaftig \ZAHF-tig\ adjective Someone described as zaftig has a full, rounded figure, or in other words is pleasingly plump. // Portraits of zaftig models are exhibited in the artist's collection. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zaftig) Examples: "... [Pablo Picasso](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pablo-Picasso) produced an estimated 13,500 paintings, in addition to astounding quantities of drawings, prints, sculptures and ceramics. ... He veered between opposite poles of abstraction and realism, between the gaunt, poetic figures of his Blue Period and the zaftig matrons of his Rose Period, between the paper-lightness of his wildly inventive collages and the bulbous tonnage of his sculpted bronze heads." — Deborah Solomon, The New York Times, 9 Apr. 2023 Did you know? Zaftig has been in use in English—mainly in the United States—since the 1920s; a couple of the earliest known uses are found in Variety magazine, in reviews of [burlesque](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burlesque) dancers. The word comes from the Yiddish zaftik, meaning "juicy" or "succulent," which in turn comes from zaft, meaning "juice" or "sap." If this word is new to you and you would like to take it out for a spin, please be advised that even though most dictionaries define it as implying attractiveness, people to whom it might apply may not appreciate its use.

    2 मिनट

  10. 3 फ़र॰

    sarcophagus

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 3, 2025 is: sarcophagus \sahr-KAH-fuh-gus\ noun Sarcophagus refers to a coffin, and specifically a stone coffin. // The crypt under the abbey church contains the sarcophagus of the monastery's founding [abbot](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abbot). [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sarcophagus) Examples: "Experts found as many as 1,035 artwork fragments, as well as one hundred graves increasing the cathedral's total record to more than five hundred burials. Many of the coffins, along with scattered bones, remain unidentified. A lead sarcophagus that may belong to the poet [Joachim du Bellay](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joachim-du-Bellay) is among one of the more notable burials." — Francesca Aton, ARTNews, 4 Dec. 2024 Did you know? Body-eating coffins might sound like something out of a horror film, but flesh-eating stone? The latter plays a role in the etymology of sarcophagus; it is the literal translation of líthos sarkóphagos, the Greek phrase that underlies the English term. The phrase traveled through Latin between Greek and English, taking on the form lapis sarcophagus before being shortened to sarcophagus. It's not clear whether the ancient Romans believed that a certain type of limestone from the region around Troy would dissolve flesh (and thus was desirable for making coffins); that assertion came from Roman scholar [Pliny the Elder](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pliny-the-Elder), but he also reported such phenomena as dog-headed people and elephants who wrote Greek. Regardless, there is no doubt that the ancient Greek word for the limestone traces back to a combination of sárx, meaning "flesh," and a derivative of phagein, a verb meaning "to eat."

    2 मिनट
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परिचय

Build your vocabulary with Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day! Each day a Merriam-Webster editor offers insight into a fascinating new word -- explaining its meaning, current use, and little-known details about its origin.

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    Merriam-Webster
  • सक्रिय वर्ष
    2006 - 2025
  • एपिसोड
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    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

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