Idiolect is a noun that refers to the language or speech unique to a particular person.

Our word of the day combines the Greek prefix I-D-E-O, meaning ‘personalized’ with the suffix L-E-C-T, meaning ‘to speak.’ You could think of an idiolect as a personal dialect.

I used to make all my classmates crack up when doing impressions of our teachers. It was always a great challenge to try to mimic each teacher’s idiolect, capturing all of their personal speech habits and eccentricities.

Kickshaw is a noun that refers to a fancy dish or delicacy.

Our word of the day is from the French word quelque chose (KWEL a kay CHOSE ay) which means roughly ‘of what kind?” The word’s new meaning, ‘a fancy meal’ caught on soon after migrating to English.

Back in my tiny home town, we weren’t used to much fine eating, but here in Manhattan we seem to enjoy a brand new kickshaw every night.

Pixilated is an adjective that means eccentric or whimsical.

Our word of the day comes from the word pixie whose precise origin is unknown. But we do know that a pixie refers to a cheerful, mischievous sprite. A pixilated person is someone with a similar disposition.

Our neighbor Jenny was a sweet lady with a pixilated personality. She had a habit of surprising us every year with a brand new snow man in our yard — on top of that she managed to do this in July.

Primogenitor is a noun that refers to one's earliest ancestor.

Our word of the day is from Latin. It combines the word primo (PREE moe) which means ‘first’ with genitor (JEN ee tore) meaning ‘father.’ You could think of our word of the day as a synonym of forefather or ancestor, but unlike those words, primogenitor may be used to refer to the very first of one's ancestors.

After much searching, we’ve finally discovered our family’s primogenitor in this country. It gives me great pride to single out the first of my ancestors from Ireland.

Impassible is an adjective that means incapable of suffering or of experiencing pain.

The Latin word passio (POSS ee oh) translates roughly to ‘passion’ or ‘suffering.’ By adding the prefix I-M for ‘not,’ we get our word of the day which means ‘incapable of experiencing pain.’

Our English teacher Mr. Thorpe was so stoic and strong, he seemed impassible to us. But when he took a seat on a tack, we could immediately tell, by his pained outcry, that he was far from incapable of suffering.

Boondoggle is a noun that refers to a wasteful or impractical project.

The exact origin of our word of the day isn’t clear, but it was initially used by boy scouts to refer to a braided cord used as a neckerchief slide. It’s not known how the word came to have its other meaning, but it is also used to refer to a project that costs lots of money, but has little or no value.

I had a feeling the office recreation room would wind up being a boondoggle. Talk about wasteful! Five thousand dollars is a lot of money to pay for an outdated karaoke machine and a ping-pong table nobody uses.

Perorate is a verb that means to speak in a pompous way.

Our word of the day combines the Latin prefix P-E-R meaning ‘through’ with orare (oh RAHR ay) which means ‘to speak.’ Together, perorate means to speak at great length. Speaking at great length is often done by people who may be considered pompous or arrogant.

I was under the impression that Thomas must have had a medical degree, but I was wrong. What tricked me was the way he would perorate endlessly every time someone would mention they’d gotten a migraine or a bad back.

Estivate is a verb that means to spend the summer in one place.

The Latin word aestus (ESS toos) means ‘hot.’ After migrating into English and evolving into our word of the day, it came to refer to summer. You could think of ‘estivate’ as the summer equivalent of ‘hibernate.’

I tend to get a little lazy when the temperatures reach the upper eighties. If I didn’t have to make a living I’d love to estivate from June to September.

Quid pro quo is a noun that refers to something given or received for something else.

Our word of the day comes directly from the Latin words that mean ‘something for something.’ It is often used in a legal context to refer to bribery, but the word itself is morally neutral. It can imply a trade that is wrong or illegal — but not always. For example: I really wanted Ryan to build that treehouse for my daughter, but couldn’t afford to pay him, so we decided on a quid pro quo. He agreed to build the treehouse for Lydia and I agreed to do his taxes next year.

Epicurean is an adjective that means devoted to the pursuit of pleasure. It’s also a noun that refers to a person who is devoted to living an epicurean life.

Our word of the day is coined after an ancient Greek philosopher named Epicurus. He was known for stressing the importance of living a happy life. In time, his philosophy became simplified into a pursuit of pleasure — with an emphasis on the consumption of food.

I had never thought of Tony as an epicurean before our dinner last night. But when I saw him scarf down those pork chops and French fries, I knew this was a man devoted to pursuing life’s pleasures.