Nuncupative (from Latin nuncupare, meaning 'to name') has been part of the English language since at least the 15th century, most typically appearing in legal contexts as a modifier of the noun will.

Word of the Day-15AUG18 - Editorial Words. Today's "Word of the Day" is mens rea and it is a noun meaning...

The roots of tergiversation are about an unwillingness to pick a course and stay on it. The Latin verb tergiversari means 'to show reluctance,' and it comes from the combining of tergum, meaning 'back

Coin of the realm gained currency in the English language during the 18th century as a term for the legal money of a country. Coin is ultimately from Latin cuneus, meaning 'wedge,' and entered English

In the late Middle Ages, the Anglo-French word pelfre, meaning 'booty' or 'stolen goods,' was borrowed into English as pelf with the added meaning of 'property.' (Pelfre is also an ancestor of the

Word of the Day-04SEP18 - Editorial Words.Today's "Word of the Day" is mala fide and it is an adjective meaning

Diffident and confident are etymologically related antonyms, perched at opposite ends of a scale of self-assurance. Both words trace back to the Latin verb fīdere, which means 'to trust.' Diffident

Oppugn was first recorded in English in the 15th century. It came to Middle English from the Latin verb oppugnare, which in turn derived from the combination of ob-, meaning 'against,' and pugnare,

You may recognize the word laud (meaning 'to praise or extol') in belaud. In fact, belaud was formed by combining the prefix be- and the verb laud. Since be- can denote both 'to a greater degree' and

Recuse is derived from the Middle French word recuser, which comes from the Latin recusare, meaning 'to refuse.' English speakers began using recuse with the meaning 'to refuse or reject' in the 14th

The history of tog is a true rags-to-riches tale that begins with the slang of vagabonds and thieves—specifically, with the noun togeman, an old (and now obsolete) slang word meaning 'cloak.' By the

Mirage comes from the French verb mirer ('to look at'), which is related to mirror. Mirer, itself, is from Latin mīrārī ('to wonder at'), the ancestor of the commonly seen admire, miracle, and marvel.

It's a classic case of glomming: Americans seized on glaum (a term from Scots dialect that basically means 'to grab') and appropriated it as their own, changing it to glom in the process. Glom first

Portend has been used in English in the context of signs of things to come since the 15th century. The word derives from the Latin verb portendere, which means 'to predict or foretell.' That verb, in

The first recorded evidence of vinaceous in English dates from 1678, shortly before the accession of Mary II. If ever the queen used vinaceous, she was probably in the confines of her landscaped

Have you ever heard a cat wailing and felt that you could relate? Apparently some hungover German speakers once did. Katzenjammer comes from German Katze (meaning 'cat') and Jammer (meaning 'distress'

Loss of the sound of 'r' after a vowel and before a consonant in the middle of a word is common in spoken English. This linguistic idiosyncrasy has given the language a few new words, including cuss

'The overweening conceit which the greater part of men have of their own abilities is an ancient evil remarked by the philosophers and moralists of all ages.' So wrote the Scottish philosopher Adam

According to an old custom in the British Isles, the first Monday of the New Year is Handsel Monday, a day to give a small gift or good luck charm to children or to those who have served you well. As

Today's "Word of the Day" is in letter and in spirit and it is a phrase meaning "obeying both literal interpretation of the words (the letter) of the law and the intent (spirit) of the law". This phrase is present in today's The Hindu front page article and click here to read it.

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In its native Swiss German, putsch originally meant 'knock' or 'thrust,' but these days both German and English speakers use it to refer to the kind of government overthrow also known as a coup d'état

Despite their similarities, sempiternal and eternal come from different roots. Sempiternal is derived from the Late Latin sempiternalis and ultimately from semper, Latin for 'always.' (You may

Filial comes from Latin filius, meaning 'son,' and filia, 'daughter'; in English, it applies to any gender. The word has long carried the dutiful sense 'owed to a parent by a child,' as found in such

Lorn and forlorn are synonyms that mean 'desolate' or 'forsaken.' The similarity in form and meaning of the two words is hardly a coincidence. Lorn comes down to us from loren, the Middle English past

The French phrase laissez faire literally means 'allow to do,' with the idea being 'let people do as they choose.' The origins of laissez-faire are associated with the Physiocrats, a group of 18th-

Colloquy may make you think of colloquial, and there is indeed a connection between the two words. As a matter of fact, colloquy is the parent word from which colloquial was coined in the mid-18th

Many usage commentators point out that the spelling of loath, the adjective, is distinct from loathe, the verb that means 'to dislike greatly.' Merriam-Webster dictionaries do record loathe (along

Kowtow originated as a noun referring to the act of kneeling and touching one's head to the ground as a salute or act of worship to a revered authority. In traditional China this ritual was performed

In longing, one can 'repine over' something ('repining over her lost past'), or one can 'pine for' something. The two words, used thus, mean close to the same thing, but not exactly. Pining refers to

Legally speaking, mayhem refers to the gruesome crime of deliberately causing an injury that permanently disfigures another. The name derives via Middle English from the Anglo-French verb maheimer ('

If you are conciliatory towards someone, you're trying to win that person over to your side. The verb conciliate was borrowed into English in the mid-16th century and descends from the Latin verb

When truckle was first used in English in the 15th century, it meant 'small wheel' or 'pulley.' Such small wheels were often attached to the underside of low beds to allow them to be easily moved

English isn't stingy when it comes to synonyms of parsimonious. Stingy, close, penurious, and miserly are a few terms that, like parsimonious, suggest an unwillingness to share with others. Stingy

Hierophant, hieroglyphics, and hierarch have a common root: hieros, a Greek word meaning 'sacred.' Hieroglyphics joins hieros with a derivative of glyphein, the Greek verb for 'to carve.' Hierarch, a

The word blandish has been a part of the English language since at least the 14th century with virtually no change in its meaning. It ultimately derives from blandus, a Latin word meaning 'mild' or '

If someone said you were swole, would you know how to respond? If you’re unfamiliar with the word, you might think your face is swollen or check yourself for signs of puffiness. If you know the word,

When English speakers first chewed on the word provender around 1300, it referred to a stipend (also known as a prebend that a clergyman received from his cathedral or collegiate church. Within a half

Vestige traces to Latin vestigium, meaning 'footstep, footprint, or track.' Like its parent, it is used to refer to a perceptible sign made by something that has passed or to a tangible reminder, such

The English word attitude was first used in the 17th century to refer to the way a sculptured or painted figure was positioned—that is, to its posture. The word was borrowed from French, which had

Arbor, the Latin word for 'tree,' has been a rich source of tree-related words in English, though a few are fairly rare. Some arbor descendants are generally synonymous with arboreal: arboraceous,

Scholars assume that the word assuage derives from assuaviare, a Vulgar Latin term that combines the prefix ad- ('to' or 'toward') and the Latin suavis, meaning 'sweet,' 'pleasant,' or 'agreeable.' (

When you're one of the herd, it's tough to avoid being social. The etymology of gregarious reflects the social nature of the flock; in fact, the word grew out of the Latin noun grex, meaning 'herd' or

Macerate is derived from the Latin verb macerare, which means 'to soften' or 'to steep,' and, in Late Latin, can also mean 'to mortify (the flesh).' Macerate first entered English in the mid-1500s to

Divagate hasn't wandered far in meaning from its Latin ancestors. It descends from the verb divagari, which comes from dis-, meaning 'apart,' and vagari, meaning 'to wander.' Vagari also gave us

Telegenic debuted in the 1930s, an offspring of television and photogenic, meaning 'suitable for being photographed especially because of visual appeal.' The word photogenic had other, more technical

Gargantua is the name of a giant king in François Rabelais's 16th-century satiric novel Gargantua, the second part of a five-volume series about the giant and his son Pantagruel. All of the details of