An extremely stupid word (i.e. Hungs, Masturbathe, Emotionap, etc.), that is almost certainly made up on the spot, that UD randomly puts on the front page and emails to all of its subscribers for no good reason at all. These «definitions» usually tend to be a pun or play on words and really don’t make much sense.
Every goddamn Word Of The Day that has ever existed on this site since 2004 has been so mind-numbingly stupid that I feel that I’ve lost at least 40 IQ points.
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We’re pretty sure you know that a word is a unit of language. However, it has many other meanings, like a ‘short talk,’ ‘a reprimand,’ ‘a promise or pledge,’ or any expression or utterance. News or rumor can also be word, and so can a password and an order or command. Informally, it can be combined with the first letter of a taboo word in order to avoid saying the word itself. As a verb, it means ‘to express in words.’
Example sentences
- Could you come into my office? I’d like a word about the conference next week.
- The boss had to have a word with the new employee about his scruffy appearance.
- Anne won’t let us down; she gave us her word.
- Words won’t help us; we need action.
- Word of the king’s decree had reached even the furthest corners of the land.
- The boss’s word is law around here.
- The teacher suspended the student because he used the F word in class.
- Charlotte thought carefully about how to word the letter.
Words often used with word
have words: with words always in the plural, to have a disagreement or argument. Example: “Ben and Dan had words last week, because Dan was flirting with Ben’s girlfriend.”
be as good as your word: keep your promise. Example: “I didn’t really think Frances could organize the transport at such short notice, but she was as good as her word and managed to arrange everything in time.”
a man of his word, a woman of her word: someone who is trustworthy. Example: “Leo says he’ll get us to the airport in time and he’s a man of his word, so I’m sure he’ll do it.”
put in a word for someone, put in a good word for someone: speak favorably of someone, commend. Example: “You’re applying for a job at that firm? I know the boss; I’ll put in a word for you, if you like.”
my word!: an interjection expressing surprise. Example: “My word! I didn’t expect to see you here.”
take someone’s word for something: believe someone without any further evidence. Example: “I can’t prove it wasn’t me who broke the window; you’ll just have to take my word for it!”
In pop culture
To take the words out of someone’s mouth is a figurative expression meaning that you say something just as someone else was about to say it. You can listen to Meatloaf singing about just that here:
Did you know?
The word on the street is an expression meaning ‘a current rumor or piece of gossip.’ For example: “The word on the street is that all the best people are reading Word Reference’s Word of the Day.”
Related forms
wording (noun), wordplay (noun), wordsmith (noun), wordy (adjective), wordless (adjective)
Origin
Word dates back to before the year 900. Unlike many other terms that have changed pronunciation and spelling, word has remained just as we know it since Old English. It can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic wurdan, from the Proto-Indo-European root were– (to speak or say). It is related to the Old Saxon and Old Frisian word, the Dutch woord, the Old High German wort, the German Wort, the Old Norse orð (or orth), the Gothic waurd and the Latin verbum, all meaning ‘word,’ as well as the Lithuanian var̃das (name). It is also, if more distantly, related to the English word verb and many other modern terms derived from the Latin verbum. It has always kept its original meaning, ‘a unit of language,’ and the theological sense (the word of God), as well as ‘promise,’ also date back to before the year 900. Word-for-word, meaning an exact replica of what someone has said or written, dates back to the late 14th century, while the phrase to have words, usually in the plural, meaning ‘a verbal altercation,’ dates back to the mid-15th century. The expression word of mouth appeared in the mid-16th century. The verb comes from the noun and, meaning ‘to utter,’ dates back to around the year 1200. The sense ‘put into words’ appeared in the early 17th century.
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October 9, 2020
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Not to be confused with «climb», a clime is a region known for its weather. In the dead of winter, we dream about heading to sunny climes, where we can hang out in shorts.
The key to remembering clime is that it’s so similar to «climate,» with which it shares the Greek root klima, «zone.» So a clime is a zone that has a characteristic climate. Folks in colder climes think nothing of the kind of snowfall that we down here in the south get all panicked about. But then again, when they come here to our warmer clime, they forget to put on sunscreen; people from one clime can learn a lot from a visit to a different clime.
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What is the origin of quadrivial?
In quadrivial, the quadri- element is a form of Latin quattuor, “four,” while -vial comes from Latin via, “way.” Quattuor is the source of French quatre, Italian quattro, Portuguese quatro, Romanian patru, and Spanish cuatro, all meaning “four.” Meanwhile, via is the source of trivial and viaduct as well as convey and voyage. Quadrivial was first recorded in English around the turn of the 15th century.
EXAMPLE OF QUADRIVIAL USED IN A SENTENCE
The complicated quadrivial intersection had caused so many traffic accidents that the city eventually closed it off to cars entirely.
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Empirical is an adjective that describes a study or technique that relies upon observation and physical evidence as opposed to theory. It comes from Latin empiricus, “a physician guided by experience.” “Empirical evidence” is a source of knowledge resulting from observation or experimentation. The most common use of empirical in writing for the general reader … Read more
Raucous /ˈrɔkəs/ is an adjective used to describe the loud harsh sound of voices or the cry of birds or animals. It can also be applied to boisterous, noisy, rowdy, disorderly behavior. Raucous entered the language in the18th century from a Latin word meaning “hoarse, harsh, rough. In political writing, this adjective is added so … Read more
Hermetic is an adjective, and it is used to described something made airtight by fusion or sealing. It can also be used more broadly to indicate anything isolated from external factors. The adverb is hermetically. Inside the somewhat hermetic Basque community here, which mixes at its own social club and at a handful of small … Read more
Mishap is a misfortune; an accident. All such confrontations contain combustible mixes of the money, power and mishap that seem to bubble out of the ground whenever a huge supply of oil or gas is for sale. (The Economist) The professional wrestler known as The Undertaker got minor burns on his chest and a scare … Read more
Offhand can be used as an adverb, where it means unprepared or brusquely; and as an adjective, where it means casual. President Clinton made an offhand confession on Tuesday night that he had raised taxes “too much” in his first budget in 1993, and the remark drew mockery from Congressional Republicans today. (NY Times) While … Read more
Maim means to cripple someone. It can also be used generally, where it means to damage something, making it defective. Workers at drilling sites are surrounded by heavy machinery that can kill or maim in an instant. (USA Today) Automakers Say Cuts in Duties Would Maim Industry (NY Times)
Ludicrous is an adjective used to describe something so absurd that it provokes laughs and mockery. One synonym is ridiculous. A San Diego stock adviser who is accused of bribing an F.B.I. agent to give him confidential government information may have had prior knowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks, a federal prosecutor said yesterday. But … Read more
Subliminal is an adjective used to describe things or stimuli that work below the threshold of consciousness, thus influencing the individual without being perceived as clear thoughts or ideas. For example you can have subliminal advertising. There is, in fact, a subliminal seriousness: The quest for marketing buzz, the worldwide ambition to be more than … Read more
Ostracize means to exclude someone from society or from any group of people. It comes from the Greek ostrakízein, which was the practice of banishing citizens by popular vote. Yet there is still a woeful reluctance in Africa to chastise, ostracise or help to oust villainous leaders, such as Mr Mugabe or Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, … Read more
A gestalt is a configuration or system so unified that it cannot be described by the sum of its individual parts. In Germany, a country that is home to Mercedes-Benz and the autobahn, life in a car-reduced place like Vauban has its own unusual gestalt. (NY Times) Now comes a fresh, noble perspective from Leander … Read more
Tautology is the repetition of meaning in two consecutive words, or the needless repetition of an idea. A tautology is considered a fault of style. Examples include “free gift” and “extra bonus.” There are scary stories, and then there are scary stories, just as there is writing, and then there is writing. Evidence supporting that … Read more
Cesspool is a pit or cistern, built to collect the sewage or other sediments from a house. It is commonly used to describe any filthy or immoral place. The problem is most Americans agree with Bolton that the U.N. is a cesspool of its own crapulence, stealing American tax dollars intended for global do-goodery while … Read more
adjective
lak-uh-DAY-zih-kul
What It Means
Something or someone described as lackadaisical is lacking in life, spirit, or zest.
// His teachers did not approve of his lackadaisical approach to homework.
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lackadaisical in Context
«A song like the lackadaisical ‘Funny in Dreams’ could scan as too facile—who’d have thought that strange things happen in our dreams!—but she [folk singer, Nicole Rodriguez] deftly uses it as an opportunity for vivid introspection.» — Rachel Saywitz, Pitchfork, 10 Feb. 2023
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Did You Know?
We’re too enthusiastic about the lexicon to be lackadaisical about words, but lackadaisical itself is rooted in the sort of sorrow that can put a damper on one’s passion for vocabulary expansion. When folks living from the late 17th to the late 19th century had one of those days when nothing goes right, they could cry «Lackaday!» to express their sorrow and disappointment as a shortened form of the expression «alack the day.» (Alack is an interjection used to express sorrow or regret.) By the mid-1700s, the adjective lackadaisical had been formed to describe these miserable ones and their doings and sayings. Around the same time, the word lackadaisy was introduced to the language as an interjection similar to lackaday; it was never as prevalent as lackaday, but it may have influenced the development of lackadaisical.
Name That Antonym
Fill in the blanks to complete an antonym of lackadaisical: e _ t _ r _ r _ s _ n _.
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Merriam-Webster unabridged