Pareidolia is a noun that refers to the tendency to interrupt something vague as meaningful.

The Greek word eidolon (Ay ee DOE lee on) means ‘image’ or ‘shape.’ When a person sees significance in random images, they are engaging in pareidolia.

For years, I looked at those odd spray painted images on our school wall and wondered if those who put it there were communicating in some strange language or if I was just having an episode of pareidolia.

Ultracrepidarian is an adjective that means expressing opinions outside of one's knowledge. It can also be used as a noun that refers to a person who expresses opinion outside of ones knowledge.

Our word of the day takes its origin from a Latin phrase that means ‘the cobbler should not judge beyond his shoe.’ Crepidam (CRAY pee dam) means ‘shoe.’ With ultracrpepidarian, the addition of the prefix U-L-T-R-A, meaning ‘beyond’ gets us ‘beyond one’s shoe’ or ‘beyond one’s area of expertise.’

The word may be used as an adjective to describe the act of seeing beyond one’s knowledge or it can be a noun that describes a person with the habit of doing so, for example: I don’t want to be an ultracrepidarian, but I feel there is no reason NASA shouldn’t send a man to mars. I may not be an expert on space, but I’ve seen enough space movies to know that this kind of thing would be perfectly safe.

Acculturate is a verb that means to assimilate to a different culture.

The Latin word culture (cool TOUR ay) refers to growing or cultivating. It’s loosely related to the term agriculture, with refers to growing or cultivating fruits and vegetables. When a person acculturates, they allow themselves to be cultivated in ways that differ from the way they were initially raised.

For example: After moving to Japan when I was seventeen, I was acculturated in many ways that were unusual to me. But in the end I greatly enjoyed experiencing a different culture.

issement is a noun that refers to an enlightening explanation.

The French term eclaircir (ee CLAIR seer) means ‘to clear up’ or ‘enlighten.’ An eclaircissement is an act of clearing something up or enlightening them.

Robin’s eclaircissement of Mr. Harrington’s behavior helped me understand things much more clearly. I can now see exactly why he yelled at me every time I offered him scrambled eggs.

Insensate is an adjective that means unfeeling.

Our word of the day comes from the Latin word sensus (SEN soos) which means ‘sense,’ a term that can mean many things depending on its context. Similarly, the word insensate, which means ‘lacking sense or feeling,’ can refer to someone lacking ‘common sense,’ lacking consciousness or lacking compassion, such as: I found Nina’s behavior after my accident to be insensate. The compassionate thing to do would have been to offer me a seat so I could rest the toe I stubbed.’

Redact is a verb that means to edit for public consumption.

Our word of the day comes from the Latin word redactus (ray DACT oos), which means ‘reduced.’ When we redact information, we reduce the amount of it. For example: The senator felt compelled to redact the names of those involved in the scandal. But later, voters were outraged to learn that those names had been edited out of the report.

Promontory is a noun that refers to a cliff that extends into a large body of water.

Our word of the day is derived from the Latin word prominēre (pro min AIR ay) which means ‘jut forward.’ Promontory is related to the word prominent as in a prominent nose. In the same sense that a prominent nose juts out, a promontory is a point of land that juts out into a body of water.

Unstinted is an adjective that means given without restraint.

Stint, the root word of our word of the day, is of Old English origin and means ‘to shorten or restrict,’ so when something is unstinted, it is unrestricted, as in: The unstinted access we had to the studio was very helpful. There should never be restrictions placed on an artist’s creativity.

Outre is an adjective that means unusual or unconventional.

The French word outre (OOH tray) is a verb that means to go beyond. Our word of the day is used to describe things that go beyond conventional behavior. For example: Monique’s unusual attire was very inventive, but it was a little too outre for those at the church picnic. Such eccentric clothing is probably best reserved for a different crowd.

Hebdomadal is an adjective that means occurring every week.

The Greek word Hepta (HEPT ah) means seven. So when our word of the day drifted into English, it came to refer to a period of seven days that we call a week. A hebdomadal activity is something that takes place weekly. For example: Our hebdomadal meetings are a very helpful way to get things in order. That’s why I recommended weekly meetings in the first place.