Word of the Day!

ignavia /iɲˈɲa.vja/

noun

1. the sin of sloth or idleness or moral cowardice.

examples

1. Every honest man will admit that a violent effort is necessary to shake off ignavia critica critical laziness, that so widespread form of intellectual cowardice; that this effort must be constantly repeated, and that it is often accompanied by real suffering. ON BELIEVING WHAT WE’RE TOLD. 21 Dec 2004

2. The pity that proves so possible and plentiful without that basis, is mere ignavia and cowardly effeminacy; maudlin laxity of heart, grounded on blinkard dimness of head -- contemptible as a drunkard's tears. Latter-Day Pamphlets. Thomas Carlyle. 1838

origin
Latin


The Divine Comedy, Purgatorio, Canto 18: The multitude of the slothful - Illustration by Gustave Dore

saturnine [sat-er-nahyn]

adjective

1. sluggish in temperament; gloomy; taciturn.
2. having a sardonic aspect
3. suffering from lead poisoning, as a person.
4. due to absorption of lead, as bodily disorders.
5. born under or influenced astrologically by the planet Saturn

examples
1. But even in that calm gloom, my eyes slowly acclimated to the 14 grandly saturnine paintings, made by Mark Rothko in the late 1960s. New York Times. 21 Feb 2022. "At Mark Rothko's chapel, a composer is haunted by a hero."

2. For two years, she kept them dancing attendance on her--the fair-haired, athletic, good-looking Thord; the saturnine, intelligent, lion-hearted Olaf. "Pattern of Revenge" by John Bude.

origin
It comes ultimately from Sāturnus, name of the Roman god of agriculture, who was often depicted as a bent old man with a stern, sluggish, and sullen nature.

vetch [vech]

noun

1. any of several mostly climbing plants belonging to the genus Vicia, of the legume family, having pinnate leaves ending in tendrils and bearing pealike flowers, especially V. sativa spring vetch, cultivated for forage and soil improvement.

2. any of various allied plants, as Lathyrus sativus, of Europe, cultivated for their edible seeds and for forage.

3. the beanlike seed or fruit of any such plant.

examples

1. On the one hand, leguminous cover crops such as cowpeas and vetch add nitrogen to the soil, which microbes can transform into nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. "Can farmers fight climate change? New U.S. law gives them billions to try" 16 Aug 2022. Science Magazine.

2. The crown vetch and the curly dock / are almost eliminated as I survey the neatness / of my work. "The Burying Beetle" by Ada Limón

origin
Middle English fecche, veche, from Middle French dialect (Norman & Picard) veche, from Latin vicia; perhaps akin to Latin vincire to bind

rambutan [ram-boot-n]

noun

1. the bright-red oval fruit of a Malayan, sapindaceous tree, Nephelium lappaceum, covered with soft spines, or hairs, and having a subacid taste.

2. the tree itself.

examples
There was early success for the catchers on one street, with three of the macaques falling for the ruse and ending up trapped because they had fancied a taste of rambutan fruit. Seattle Times

The bargain buyers drifted out of a popular Little Saigon fruit shop with tote bags full of pale brown longan and hairy red rambutan, barely glancing at the dirt-smeared face of Duc Tran. Los Angeles Times

origin
1700–10; Malay, equivalent to rambut hair + -an nominalizing suffix

callithumpian [ka-lə-ˈthəm-pē-ən]

adjective

1. related to a noisy boisterous band or parade

example

1. And the callithumpian custom of flour-bashing, very visible in the New York riot of 1828 and also observed at Mardi Gras, received a resounding revival. Halloween: from pagan ritual to party night by Nicholas Rogers.

2. He had been entertaining a regular callithumpian parade of Red Cross commissioners from America, and he probably felt that he had seen the worst and that this was just another cross. The Martial Adventures of Henry and Me by William Allen White, 1906

origin

Callithump and the related adjective "callithumpian" are Americanisms, but their roots stretch back to England. In the 19th century, the noun "callithumpian" was used in the U.S. of boisterous roisterers who had their own makeshift New Year's parade. Their band instruments consisted of crude noisemakers such as pots, tin horns, and cowbells. The antecedent of "callithumpians" is an 18th-century British dialect term for another noisy group, the "Gallithumpians," who made a rumpus on election days in southern England. Today, the words "callithump" and "callithumpian" see occasional use, especially in the names of specific bands and parades. The callithumpian bands and parades of today are more organized than those of the past, but they retain an association with noise and boisterous fun.

labret [ley-bret]

noun
an ornament worn in a pierced hole in the lip.

examples
1. Someone taps me on the shoulder then and I turn around and find myself staring at this unspeakably hot twenty-something girl with a labret piercing, flaming red hair, and boots up her calves. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

2. A “labret” of ivory or even of wood they valued at four or five dollars—or asked so much as that at first.Young Alaskans in the Far North by Emerson Hough

origins
1855–60; < Latin labr (um) lip + -et

Jungkook of Korean music group BTS revealed he removed his labret piercing recently

judder [juhd-er]

verb

1. to vibrate violently

examples
1. According to the report, the pilot tried to correct the deviation but was met with a "significant judder" from the nose gear. "Plane left runway due to bearing failure - report," BBC, 24 Oct 2024
2. 'It will be one hundred and four degrees today,' remarked Rangwalla as they juddered along the potholed access road leading out of the Air Force Colony within which Inspector Chopra lived. The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan.

origin
First recorded in 1925–30; origin uncertain; perhaps j(olt) or j(erk) + (sh)udder

velleity [vəˈlēədē, veˈlēədē]

noun

1. a wish or inclination not strong enough to lead to action

examples

1. We may well say: I would desire to be young; but we do not say: I desire to be young; seeing that this is not possible; and this motion is called a wishing, or as the Scholastics term it a velleity, which is nothing else but a commencement of willing, not followed out, because the will, by reason of impossibility or extreme difficulty, stops her motion, and ends it in this simple affection of a wish. Treatise on the Love of God, Saint Francis de Sales, 1567-1622
2. Ms. Marcus also errantly dismissed the Constitution’s separation of powers, which entrusts “all legislative powers” to Congress, as a mere velleity that should yield to executive legislation when Congress is divided. "The Separations of Powers is not a Suggestion." The Washington Post, Letters to the Editor, 14 Jan 2022.

origins

early 17th century: from medieval Latin velleitas, from Latin velle ‘to wish’.

daunder ['dȧn(d)ər or ˈdȯn-]

noun

1. a walk or amble

verb

1. to stroll; to meander.
2. to go on without reaching a conclusion (to daunder on)

examples

1. 'Man liked a nocturnal daunder, apparently.' Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin

2. If I was you, I would daunder about here for a bit, and no arrive at your hotel till after dark.
"Mr. Standfast" by John Buchan

origin

The word “daunder” originates from Scottish dialect, particularly Lowland Scots. The exact etymological roots are somewhat obscure, but it is believed to have connections to older Scots and Northern English words that describe walking or meandering.

prolix [proh-liks, proh-liks]

adjective
1. extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy.

2. (of a person) given to speaking or writing at great or tedious length.

examples

1. In 1949, a young American artist named Ray Johnson left Black Mountain College near Asheville, N.C., moved to New York City and began to explore his prolix talents, both visual and verbal. "The Unknown Ray Johnson Takes the Spotlight." The New York Times 30 May 2024

2. On one especially prolix ballad, “Blind,” she lets her lyrics fly fast and furious, only half-apologizing for being “raunchy like Bob Saget” before outlining how toxic romances erode self-worth. "On SOS Sza unpacks her emotions in so many words." The Washington Post 9 Dec 2022

origin

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin prōlixus “extended, long,” equivalent to prō- pro- -lixus, akin to līquī “to flow”; liquor