Word Of The Day

• froward
• 
• \FROH-erd\

• DEFINITION

adjective

: habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition

• EXAMPLES

The nanny informed the parents that she would seek employment elsewhere if the froward child could not be compelled to be more obedient.

"I first saw [the great-tailed grackles] during that amazing week in Texas three years ago and looked forward to renewing our acquaintance. By the end of the trip I was happy to be rid of them—pushy, froward little party-crashing beasts that make rude, high-pitched squeals and constantly invite themselves to dinner, filching from unattended plates." — From an article in theLewiston Morning Tribune (Idaho), September 30, 2010

• DID YOU KNOW?

Once upon a time, in the days of Middle English, "froward" and "toward" were opposites. "Froward" meant "moving or facing away from something or someone"; "toward" meant "moving or facing in the direction of something or someone." (The suffix "-ward" is from Old English "-weard," meaning "moving, tending, facing.") "Froward" also meant "difficult to deal with, perverse"; "toward" meant "willing, compliant, obliging." Each went its own way in the end: "froward" lost its "away from" sense as long ago as the 16th century and the "willing" sense of "toward" disappeared in the 18th century. A third relative, "untoward," developed in the 15th century as a synonym for "froward" in its "unruly or intractable” sense, and later developed other meanings, including "improper or indecorous."

Word Of The Day

• soothsayer
• 
• \SOOTH-say-er\

• DEFINITION

noun

: a person who predicts the future by magical, intuitive, or more rational means : prognosticator

• EXAMPLES

The host of the radio show jokingly introduced the pundit as "asoothsayer of the old-fashioned sort, possessed of a mystical ability to predict the winner of any election."

"New York Fashion Week kicks off Thursday, which means hundreds of women will trot about the city in weather-inappropriate shoes, and fashion soothsayers will scrutinize every stitch on the catwalks to make their trend predictions." — From an article by Christopher Muther in The Boston Globe, February 6, 2014

• DID YOU KNOW?

The origins of today's word are straightforward: a "soothsayer" is someone who says sooth. You may, however, find that less than enlightening! "Sooth" is an archaic word meaning "truth" or "reality" that dates from Old English and was used until about the first half of the 17th century. (It is believed to share an ancestor with words suggesting truthfulness and reality in Old Norse, Greek, Old High German, Sanskrit, Latin, and Gothic languages.) "Soothsayer" itself has been documented in print as far back as the 14th century. Today, it is also a moniker of the insect the mantis, whose name means "prophet" in Greek.

Word Of The Day

• disinterested
• 
• \diss-IN-truss-tud\

• DEFINITION

adjective

1

a : not having the mind or feelings engaged : not interestedb : no longer interested

2

: free from selfish motive or interest : unbiased

• EXAMPLES

To avoid any conflicts of interest, the company hired disinterestedconsultants to determine how to reorganize the company most efficiently.

"It received only four sparsely attended performances in Handel's lifetime because Protestant Londoners weredisinterested in a heroine who was a Roman Catholic saint and they missed the uplifting choruses and jubilant interludes featured in earlier oratorios like 'Messiah.'" — From a music review by Vivien Schweitzer in The New York Times, February 4, 2014

• DID YOU KNOW?

"Disinterested" and "uninterested" have a tangled history. "Uninterested" originally meant "impartial," but this sense fell into disuse during the 18th century. About the same time, the sense of "disinterested" describing someone not having the mind or feelings engaged also disappeared, only to have "uninterested" take its place. The original sense of "uninterested" is still out of use, but the original ("not interested") sense of "disinterested" revived in the early 20th century. The revival has come under frequent attack as an illiteracy and a blurring or loss of a useful distinction. However, actual usage shows that writers and speakers use these words with intention. For instance, a writer may choose "disinterested" in preference to "uninterested" for emphasis, as in "a supremely disinterested child." Further, "disinterested" has developed a sense meaning "no longer interested," which is clearly distinguishable from "uninterested."

Word Of The Day

• magnum opus
• 
• \MAG-num-OH-pus\

• DEFINITION

noun

: a great work; especially : the greatest achievement of an artist or writer

• EXAMPLES

Moby-Dick is widely regarded as Herman Melville's magnum opus.

"The 'visual album' came to us intimately, a surprise delivered in the night without PR apparatuses or label hype machines, with a magical, delectable set of videos to match. That it's already been hailed by almost every critical body as a magnum opus is no wonder, considering both the delightful unexpectedness of its delivery and its stunning, detailed lushness." — From a review by Devon Maloney in The Village Voice, January 15, 2014

• DID YOU KNOW?

You probably recognize "magnum" ("great") as a Latin word that shows up in altered forms in several English words, and perhaps you can also come up with a few that are related to "opus" ("work"). "Magnitude," "magnanimous," "opulent," and "operate" are some obvious relations of the two. "Magnum opus," which entered English in the late 18th century, retains the original Latin spelling and the literal meaning "great work." Although the term most often refers to literary productions, it has been used to describe many kinds of great works, including paintings, movies, construction projects, and even surgical techniques.

Word Of The Day

• decoct
• 
• \dih-KAHKT\

• DEFINITION

verb

1

: to extract the flavor of by boiling

2

: boil down, concentrate

• EXAMPLES

The author has tried to decoct the positions the players in this complex situation have taken into two camps: those who are for the changes and those who are against them.

"Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is far better known as a bottled astringent than a native shrub. Its medicinal uses date back to the Native Americans, who taught Europeans how to identify the plant and decoct its leaves and stems into the now-familiar tonic." — From an article by David Taft in the New York Times, December 1, 2013

• DID YOU KNOW?

"Decoct" boils down to a simple Latin origin: the word "decoquere," from "de-," meaning "down" or "away," and "coquere," meaning "to cook" or "to ripen." "Decoct" itself is quite rare. Its related noun "decoction," which refers to either an extract obtained by decocting or the act or process of decocting, is slightly more common but still much less recognizable than some other members of the "coquere" family, among them "biscuit," "biscotti," "cook," and "kitchen." Other "coquere" descendants include "concoct" ("to prepare by combining raw materials" or "to devise or fabricate"), "concoction" ("something concocted"), and "precocious" ("exceptionally early in development or occurrence" or "exhibiting mature qualities at an unusually early age").

Word Of The Day

• cerebral
• 
• \suh-REE-brul\

• DEFINITION

adjective

1

a : of or relating to the brain or the intellectb : of, relating to, affecting, or being the cerebrum

2

a : appealing to intellectual appreciationb : primarily intellectual in nature

• EXAMPLES

The movie is a cerebral thriller that rewards the viewer's careful attention with intricate plot turns.

"When Beadles was at Utah, he played left tackle. At Denver, he's moved inside as a guard. But he still plays with the samecerebral approach that has helped build a fine career with the Broncos." — From an article by Gordon Monson in the Salt Lake Tribune, January 25, 2014

• DID YOU KNOW?

English borrowed its word "cerebrum" directly from the Latin word for "brain," but the adjective "cerebral" took a slightly more circuitous route into our language, reaching English by way of French "cerebral." "Cerebrum" has been used in our language as a name for the brain since the early 1600s, though the more specific scientific sense, referring just to the large upper part of the brain, didn't develop until later. "Cerebral" has been appearing in print in English since at least 1816. Other brainy descendants of "cerebrum" in English include "cerebellum" (the part of the brain between the brain stem and the back of the cerebrum) and "cerebrate," which arrived in English in 1915 with the meaning "to use the mind" or "to think."

Word Of The Day

• plaintiff
• 
• \PLAYN-tif\

• DEFINITION

noun

: a person who brings a legal action

• EXAMPLES

In the end, the jury found for the plaintiff, and ordered the company to pay a significant amount in damages.

"Together, Prince's lawyers allege, these websites 'constitute an interconnected network of bootleg distribution which is able to broadly disseminate unauthorised copies of Prince's musical compositions and live performances.' The plaintiffs cited shared bootlegs such as Prince's 24 March 2011 performance in Charlotte, North Carolina…." — From an article by Sean Michaels at guardian.co.uk, January 27, 2014

• DID YOU KNOW?

We won't complain about the origins of "plaintiff," although "complain" and "plaintiff" are distantly related; both can be traced back to "plangere," a Latin word meaning "to strike, beat one's breast, or lament." "Plaintiff" comes most immediately from Middle English "plaintif," itself an Anglo-French borrowing tracing back to "plaint," meaning "lamentation." (The English word "plaintive" is also related.) Logically enough, "plaintiff" applies to the one who does the complaining in a legal case.