Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 2, 2017 is: dithyramb \DITH-ih-ram\ noun

1 : a usually short poem in an inspired wild irregular [strain](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strain)

2 : a statement or writing in an exalted or enthusiastic vein

Examples:

She is working on a scholarly analysis of early Greek dithyrambs.

"His books are immensely entertaining …, but they also are serious examinations of the underside of American society, a large, dangerous and important world that goes entirely unnoticed in the frail dithyrambs emitted by the university creative-writing departments." — Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post, 4 Dec. 2005

Did you know?

In ancient Greece, the wine god Dionysus (or Bacchus) was feted several times throughout the year. Processions, feasts, dances, and dramatic performances, accompanied by poems recited or sung in the god's honor, were all part of the revelry. Not too surprisingly, the poems tended to be wild, irregular, and dissonant. We know that the Greeks used dithyrambos as the word for a poem in honor of Dionysus, but beyond that the origin of the word is unknown. The ancient Greeks also had an adjective, dithyrambikos, which gave us our adjective dithyrambic, meaning "pertaining to or resembling a dithyramb."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 1, 2017 is: sericeous \suh-RISH-us\ adjective

: covered with fine silky hair

Examples:

The plant was small and delicate, with narrow sericeous leaves.

The major characters distinguishing this [taxon](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/taxon) from other members of the genus within its range are the combination of a short [habit](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/habit), sericeous leaves, and relatively large [involucres](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/involucre).... — Field Guide to Washington's Rare Plants, 1999

Did you know?

In the writings of the ancient Greeks, there is mention of the Sēres, an eastern Asian people who made what the Greeks called sērikos fabrics. Historians now believe that the Sēres were the Chinese, from whom the ancient Greeks first obtained silk. The ancient Romans wove the Sēres' name into their language, creating sericum, the Latin word for silk. The English word silk is also assumed to be spun—with some significant alterations from Old English to Middle English—from the same Greek fiber. Both [silk](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/silk) and [silken](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/silken) have been in the English language for many, many centuries, but scientists wanted a new term to describe the silky hairs on some leaves and bodies, and so they adapted the Late Latin word sericeus ("silken") to create sericeous, a word that appears almost exclusively in technical contexts.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 30, 2017 is: fidelity \fuh-DELL-uh-tee\ noun

1 : the quality or state of being [faithful](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faithful)

2 : accuracy in details : [exactness](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exactness#h2)

3 : the degree to which an electronic device (such as a record player, radio, or television) accurately reproduces its effect (such as sound or picture)

Examples:

"Fidelity to promises is a civic virtue at least dating back to ancient Greek and Roman ethics, and probably to the origins of society.… The idea that promises ought to be kept is one of our most intuitive and widely shared moral beliefs." — Khristy Wilkinson, The Chattanooga (Tennessee) Times Free Press, 29 Apr. 2017

"Perhaps some of you will recall that I didn't like Riverdale's pilot episode. Sometimes it's good to be proven wrong…. Perhaps fully suspending any sense of fidelity to the original comics allowed my opinion on the show to change." — Deborah Krieger, Pop Matters, 15 May 2017

Did you know?

You can have faith in fidelity, which has existed in English since the 15th century; its etymological path winds back through Middle English and Middle French, eventually arriving at the Latin verb fidere, meaning "to trust." Fidere is also an ancestor of other English words associated with trust or faith, such as [fiduciary](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fiduciary#h2) (which means "of, relating to, or involving a confidence or trust" and is often used in the context of a monetary trust) and [confide](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confide) (meaning "to trust" or "to show trust by imparting secrets"). Nowadays fidelity is often used in reference to recording and broadcast devices, conveying the idea that a broadcast or recording is "faithful" to the live sound or picture that it reproduces.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 29, 2017 is: culminate \KUL-muh-nayt\ verb

1 : (of a celestial body) to reach its highest altitude; *also* : to be directly overhead

2 : to rise to or form a [summit](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/summit)

3 : to reach the highest or a climactic or decisive point

Examples:

"My son and I are very interested in science and discovery. We were privileged to hear a distinguished physicist describe his research in magnetic wave phenomenon…. His complex findings present all matter as series of circular waves culminating in one large magnetic center which connects the universe." — Louise Bostic, The Daily Star (Hammond, Louisiana), 21 Apr. 2016

"Unfortunately, segments of its plot lacked creativity and purpose, ultimately culminating in a mediocre final product." — Nick Gavio, The Georgetown Voice (Georgetown University), 5 June 2017

Did you know?

Culminate was first used in English in the 17th century in the field of astronomy. When a star or other heavenly body culminates, it reaches the point at which it is highest above the horizon from the vantage point of an observer on the ground. The word derives from the past participle of the Medieval Latin verb culminare, meaning "to crown," and ultimately from the Latin noun culmen, meaning "top." As something culminates it rises toward a peak. These days the word is most familiar to English speakers in its figurative usage meaning "to reach a climactic or decisive point."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 28, 2017 is: tristful \TRIST-ful\ adjective

: [sad](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sad), [melancholy](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melancholy#h2)

Examples:

"Oberlus was at least an accomplished writer, and no mere [boor](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boor); and what is more, was capable of the most tristful eloquence." — Herman Melville, The Piazza Tales, 1856

"I've been dreading the moment I wake. Waking is a tristful business for the man who reflects." — Howard Jacobson, The Independent (London), 27 Nov. 2010

Did you know?

The Middle English word trist, from which tristful is derived, means "sad." Today, we spell this word [triste](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/triste) (echoing the spelling of its French ancestor, a descendant of the Latin tristis), whereas tristful has continued to be spelled without the e. Is there a connection between triste ("sad") and [tryst](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tryst) ("a secret rendezvous of lovers")? No. Tryst also traces back to a Middle English trist, but it is a different word, a noun that is a synonym of [trust](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trust). This other word trist eventually fell into disuse, but before doing so, it may have given rise to a word for a station used by hunters, which in turn led to tryst.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 27, 2017 is: scapegrace \SKAYP-grayss\ noun

: an [incorrigible](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incorrigible) rascal

Examples:

"He embarks on an arduous ocean voyage to America, where he faces swindlers and scapegraces, and nearly dies of malaria—and maintains his sunny demeanor throughout." — Scot Lehigh, The Boston Globe, 1 Jan. 2016

"Theodore Roosevelt styled himself an incorruptible politician untainted by scandal. But in his path to the White House lay a troubling obstacle: his scapegrace brother, Elliott." — The Daily Beast, 19 Nov. 2016

Did you know?

At first glance, you might think scapegrace has something in common with [scapegoat](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scapegoat), our word for a person who takes the blame for someone else's mistake or calamity. Indeed, the words do share a common source—the verb scape, a variant of escape that was once far more common than it is today. Scapegrace, which first appeared in English in the mid-18th century (over 200 years after scapegoat), arrived at its meaning through its literal interpretation as "one who has escaped the grace of God." (Two now-obsolete words based on a similar notion are scape-thrift, meaning "spendthrift," and want-grace, a synonym of scapegrace.) In [ornithological](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ornithology) circles, scapegrace can also refer to a loon with a red throat, but this sense is rare.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 26, 2017 is: perspicuous \per-SPIK-yuh-wus\ adjective

: plain to the understanding especially because of clarity and precision of presentation

Examples:

The author's perspicuous prose helps even the simple layman to follow his explanations of this complicated topic.

"The whole is less than the sum of its parts and does not add up to either a perspicuous account or a judicious analysis." — Steven Marcus, The New York Times Book Review, 31 Mar. 1996

Did you know?

Perspicuous is based on Latin perspicere, meaning "to see through," so that which is perspicuous is clear and understandable. Perspicuous has a close cousin, [perspicacious](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perspicacious), which is used of a person with astute insight. Both words come directly from Latin adjectives that mean the same thing they do: perspicuous from perspicuus, and perspicacious from perspicax. Needless to say, it's possible to confuse the two. One easy way to keep out of trouble is to think of perspicUous as the "U" word, and remember that it means "Understandable"—in contrast to the "A" word, perspicAcious, which means "Astute."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 25, 2017 is: argy-bargy \ahr-jee-BAHR-jee\ noun

: a lively discussion : [argument](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/argument), [dispute](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dispute#h2)

Examples:

The tenants got into a bit of an argy-bargy over their shared porch.

"I would object to the leaders' debates much less if they took place only on the radio. Then there wouldn't be all the argy-bargy about who stands where, wearing what." — Charles Moore, The Daily Telegraph (London), 24 Apr. 2017

Did you know?

Argy-bargy and its slightly older variant [argle-bargle](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/argle-bargle) have been a part of British English since the second half of the 19th century. Argy and argle evolved in certain English and Scottish dialects as variant forms of argue. As far as we can tell, bargy and bargle never existed as independent words; they only came to life with the compounds as singsong [reduplications](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reduplication) of argy and argle. Some other colorful words that can be used for a dispute in English are [squabble](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squabble), [contretemps](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contretemps), and [donnybrook](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/donnybrook).

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 24, 2017 is: volplane \VAHL-playn\ verb

: to [glide](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glide) in or as if in an airplane

Examples:

"With uncanny calm, Fauchard switched off his engine as if he were preparing to volplane to the ground in an unpowered landing." — Clive Cussler, Lost City, 2004

"[Roadrunners] can run at sustained speeds of up to 19 mph for considerable distances, and usually only make short flights in order to escape danger or [flush](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flush) prey. Very rarely one might be seen volplaning, or gliding downward with wings extended, from a ridgetop or other high perch." — Marcy Scott, The Las Cruces (New Mexico) Sun-News, 13 Nov. 2016

Did you know?

Vol plané (meaning "gliding flight") was a phrase used by 19th-century French [ornithologists](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ornithologist) to describe downward flight by birds; it contrasted with vol à voile ("soaring flight"). Around the time Orville and Wilbur Wright were promoting their latest "aeroplane" in France, the noun and the verb volplane soared to popularity in America as terms describing the daring dives by aviators. Fly Magazine reported in 1910, "The French flyers are noted for their thrilling spirals and vol planes from the sky." The avian-to-aviator generalization was fitting, since the Wright brothers had studied the flight of birds in designing their planes.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 23, 2017 is: threshold \THRESH-hohld\ noun

1 : the section of wood or stone that lies under a door : [sill](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sill)

2 a : the means or place of entry : [entrance](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entrance)

b : the place or point of beginning : [outset](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outset)

3 : the point or level at which a physical or mental effect begins to be produced

Examples:

"[This role] was very physical. At one point, … I'm trying to steal third, and they catch me. And I'm running back to second, running back to third, running back to second, running back to third…. We did that 50 times. A tear rolled down my cheek. I learned what my threshold for pain was, and I went beyond it." — Chadwick Boseman, quoted in Ebony, April 2013

"My dog Jude was sleeping on the rug, dreaming of running, his wrists flicking, when he let out a long, eerily muffled howl.… Jude startled awake and leapt to his feet barking loudly, as if he'd carried the dream across the threshold to full consciousness…." — Carl Safina, Natural History, July/August 2015

Did you know?

The earliest known use of threshold in the English language is from Alfred the Great's Old English translation of the Roman philosopher Boethius's De consolatione philosophiae. In this translation, which was written around 888, threshold appears as þeorscwold (that first letter is called a [thorn](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thorn) and it was used in Old English and Middle English to indicate the sounds produced by th in thin and this). The origins of this Old English word are not known, though it is believed to be related to Old English threscan, from which we get the words [thresh](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thresh), meaning "to separate seed from (a harvested plant) using a machine or tool" and [thrash](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thrash), meaning, among other things, "to beat soundly with or as if with a stick or whip."