Word of the Day6h ago

#WordOfTheDay #MerriamWebster 1 April 2026

shenanigans

https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/shenanigans-2026-04-01

Word of the Day: Shenanigans

Fool us once, shame on you; fool us twice, shame on us. Either way, we call it shenanigans, employing a word whose history is as slippery as the monkey business it names. We know that the word likely

Word of the Day1d ago

#WordOfTheDay #MerriamWebster 31 March 2026

genteel

https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/genteel-2026-03-31

Word of the Day: Genteel

In A History of the Novel (1975), David Freedman wrote of Theodore Dreiser, “Certainly there was nothing genteel about Dreiser, either as a man or novelist.” Indeed, few of the many uses of the

Word of the Day2d ago

#WordOfTheDay #MerriamWebster 30 March 2026

oblivion

https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/oblivion-2026-03-30

Word of the Day: Oblivion

Oblivion asks forgetfulness of us in both its meaning and etymology. The word’s Latin source, oblīvīscī, means “to forget, to put out of mind,” and since its 14th century adoption into English,

Word of the Day3d ago

#WordOfTheDay #MerriamWebster 29 March 2026

cadge

https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/cadge-2026-03-29

Word of the Day: Cadge

Long ago, peddlers traveled the British countryside, each with a packhorse or a horse and cart—first carrying produce from rural farms to town markets, then returning with small wares to sell to

Word of the Day4d ago

#WordOfTheDay #MerriamWebster 28 March 2026

fiscal

https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/fiscal-2026-03-28

Word of the Day: Fiscal

Fiscal comes from the Latin noun fiscus, meaning “basket” or “treasury.” In ancient Rome, fiscus was the term for the treasury controlled by the emperor, where the money was literally stored in

Word of the Day5d ago

#WordOfTheDay #MerriamWebster 27 March 2026

dross

https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/dross-2026-03-27

Word of the Day: Dross

Dross has been a part of the English language since Anglo-Saxon times. It comes from the Old English word drōs, meaning 'dregs,' those solid materials that fall to the bottom of a container full of a

Word of the Day6d ago

#WordOfTheDay #MerriamWebster 26 March 2026

zany

https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/zany-2026-03-26

Word of the Day: Zany

The oddballs among us are likely familiar with zany as an adjective, meaning “eccentric.” But did you know the word originated as a noun—one that has withstood the test of time? Zanies have been

That Word ChatMar 24
Stamper’s deep dive into color definitions began with proofreading #MerriamWebster’s Third New International Dictionary online. #ThatWordChat
Word of the DayMar 24

#WordOfTheDay #MerriamWebster 24 March 2026

cadence

https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/cadence-2026-03-24

Word of the Day: Cadence

A cadence is a rhythm, or a flow of words or music, in a sequence that is regular (or steady as it were). But lest we be mistaken, cadence also lends its meaning to the sounds of Mother Nature (such

Word of the DayMar 23

#WordOfTheDay #MerriamWebster 23 March 2026

frenetic

https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/frenetic-2026-03-23

Word of the Day: Frenetic

In modern use, frenetic can describe a focused and intense effort to meet a deadline, or dancing among a hyped-up crowd, but the word’s Middle English predecessor, frenetik, had a narrower use: it was