Beleaguer is a verb that means to beset with difficulties.

Our word of the day derives from the Dutch word for ‘lay down’ or ‘camp.’ Over time, its meaning has shifted to mean ‘to lay siege to,’ as in: We hope the military isn’t hear to beleaguer the city. It would be horrible if they laid siege to our lovely town.

Gangly is an adjective that means tall and awkward.

Our word of the day comes from the word gang, which originated in Scottish and referred to motion, as in saying: ‘gang to bed.’ The way someone might say ‘go to bed.’

This word evolved into the adjective ‘gangly.’ A tall person of clumsy motions would be considered gangly, for example:

It surprised met hat Richard turned out to be such an amazing athlete. His gangly physique suggested the clumsy, uncoordinated motions of somebody you’d never want to pick for your basketball team.

Crux is a noun that refers to the central or most important part.

Our word of the day comes directly from the Latin word for ‘the cross.’ It’s not clear how it evolved into its present meaning, but it is now used to refer to the most important part of a particular matter.

Rex and Regina came from very different cultural background, but I wouldn’t say those differences were the crux of their disagreements. The main issue had to do with their political differences.

Cavil is a verb that means to make petty or unnecessary objections.

Our word of the day’s origin is from the Latin word cavilla (Ka VEEL ah) which means ‘mockery.’ Caviling something is not quite the same as mocking it. Instead it is making petty observations in objection to something.

Those who opposed the education bill caviled at the cost. This kind of petty objection has a way of stopping some important legislation.

Purport is a verb that means to claim.

Our word of the day comes from Middle English and means ‘to carry.’ The word’s meaning has shifted over the years and now means ‘to make a claim’ — often a false claim.’

I repeated heard Sally purport a knowledge of French culture. But it was later discovered that she doesn’t know a chocolate souffle from an Edgar Degas.

Cadre is a noun that refers to a small group of people in a particular field.

The latin word quadrus (KWAD roos) refers to a ‘square.’ The meaning of the word shifted over to time to mean ‘a small group of specialized people.’

If it weren’t for a cadre of skilled scientists, our country would have been doomed in the early 20th century. Sometimes all it takes a tiny group to save us all.

Panjandrum is a noun that refers to a person who claims to have great influence.

The strange origin or our word of the day begins with an 18th century playwright named Samuel Foote, who simply made up the word as a test of memory for an actor friend of his. Decades later the word came to refer to a person claiming to be a great importance.

Horace can come across as something of a panjandrum. He struts around as if he expects everyone to either serve him or get out of his way.

Indefatigable is an adjective that means incapable of being fatigued.

The root word of indefatigable is ‘fatigue’ a word that means ‘to feel tired or exhausted.’ Its origin is from the Latin word ‘fatigare,’ (fah tee GAR ay) which means ‘to weary’ or ‘tire out.’ Our word of the day simply describes a person that cannot be ‘tired out.’

Our indefatigable secretary Doris deserves a great deal of credit for the latest project’s success. She spent countless hours in the office to make sure everything got done.

Myriad is a noun that refers to an extremely great number.

Our word of the day is derived from the Greek word myrios (MEER ee ose) which refers to the number ten thousand. Over time this evolved into a reference to any extremely large number. Myriad can sometimes be used as an adjective that basically has the same meaning. As a noun we would say: Chuck had a myriad of options when he graduated from an Ivy League college.

As an adjective, we’d say: When Chuck graduated from an Ivy League college, his options were myriad.

Weal is a noun that refers to well-being.

Our word of the day’s similarity to the word ‘wealth’ is no coincidence. Both have the same Old English origin and their meaning is related to well-being. But weal is a broader term that refers to a person’s best interest, while wealth usually pertains specifically to financial status.

For example: I was concerned about Melissa’s weal when she mentioned not getting much sleep lately. I get the feeling she hasn’t been doing very well.