Inestimable is an adjective that means too valuable to be measured or calculated.

The root word of the our word of the day is estimate. It comes from the Latin word aestimare (eye ess team ARE ay) which means ‘to appraise’ or ‘determine.’ When we say something is inestimable, we say its value is too great to be determined.

For example: Amy’s contribution to the firm has been inestimable. We can’t begin to determine how much value her expertise and hard work have brought to us.

Snooker is a verb that means to entrap or hoodwink.

The origin of our word of the day is unknown, but it is generally used as a synonym of ‘hoodwink’ or ‘bamboozle.’

Chuck tried to snooker me into buying some Florida swamp land a few years ago, but I didn’t fall victim to that scam. By that time, I’d been hoodwinked into so many bogus opportunities that I could smell a swindle a mile away.

Raze is a verb that means to completely destroy.

The latin word radere (RAH dare ay) means ‘shave’ or ‘scrape.’ When something is shaven or scraped away, it is demolished or destroyed. The word is often used to describe property that is being demolished. For example: there was something sad about watching them bulldoze my old school. It was devastating to watch them raze the building where I spent so much of my childhood.

Accoutrement is a noun that refers to an additional item of dress.

Our word of the day comes directly from French, where it means ‘clothing.’ But its English counterpart refers more specifically to ‘additional clothing.’ For example: The difficult thing about being a boy scout is remembering to bring all those accoutrements to every meeting. I forgot to bring my bandana once and that people didn’t like that.

Dither is a verb that means to behave indecisively.

Coming from Middle English, our word of the day once meant to ‘tremble’ or ‘shake.’ Today, we use the word to describe a different kind of going back and forth.

It was funny to watch my dad dither on the team he wanted to cheer for. He went back and forth between the Cubs — because he’d always been a Cubs fan — and the Twins — because his nephew was now their starting catcher.

Retrofit is a verb that means to adapt to a new purpose.

The prefix retro, from the Latin word meaning ‘back,’ is used to indicate something that takes us back in some sense. In the case of retrofit, we are describing going back and altering an item to meet needs that have changed.

When I needed a backpack for the hiking trip, I had to retrofit my banjo case to carry food in it. It was surprisingly easy to adapt the case for his new purpose.

Wheedle is a verb that means to coax through flattery.

The German word wedeln (VEE den) means ‘wag the tail’ which is often a euphemism of ‘flatter.’ After entering English in the 17th century, our word of the day has come tom means ‘to persuade or coax with flattery.’

It was easy to wheedle other members of the board into scheduling more parties. All I had to do was convince them how much I would enjoy the company of such effervescent personalities on a regular basis. You’d be surprised how far you can get with a little flattery.

Jawbone is a verb that means to speak forcefully and persuasively to.

Our word of the day comes from the part of the body used for talking — the jawbone. When we jawbone someone into something, we try to aggressively talk them into it.

My son’s ability to jawbone may come in handy for a career in politics someday. Just last Saturday, he was able to jawbone me into giving him a second cupcake with dinner.

Tranche is a noun that refers to a portion of money.

Our word of the day comes from Old French where it is translated as ‘slice’ or ‘cut.’ When we refer to a tranche of something, we mean a portion that has been divided or cut away. Tranche is typically used to refer to money.

For example: Amanda’s Tranche of the profit came to seventy-five dollars. She was disappointed as she assumed her portion would be enough to pay this month’s rent.

Athwart is an adverb that means in opposition to or across from.

The word thwart, which is from Middle English descent, is a verb that means ‘to prevent someone from doing something.’ By adding the prefix A, we get a preposition or adverb that describes the position of someone or something.

For example: After softball practice we were all starving. Luckily there was a pizza place athwart the softball field.