Calliopean is an adjective that means loud and piercing.

In Greek mythology, the muses were nine sisters who presided over various arts and sciences, with each muse having a different area of expertise. The Muse named Calliope presided over heroic poetry. In time, the word calliope came to be the name of a steam-powered musical instrument known for being extremely loud. The adjective calliopean may refer either specifically to the musical instrument or to anything piercingly loud.

Just when I thought I’d found a nice quiet time to take a nap, my son began to practice the drums, creating a calliopean noise and guaranteeing I wouldn’t get a wink of sleep.

Gordian is an adjective that means intricate or difficult to solve. It can also be used as a noun that refers to the Gordian knot of legend.

According to tales of yore, Gordios (GORE dee ose) the king of Gordium, tied an intricate knot and prophesied that whoever untied it would be the ruler of Asia. It was cut through by the sword of Alexander the Great.

Today, the word may still be used when retelling this legend, but it is more likely to be used as a synonym for words like complicated, intricate or convoluted. The health clinic gave great service, but they had a very gordian system. Even something as simple as getting prescribed an aspirin would demand navigating through an elaborate maze of paperwork.

Ersatz is an adjective that means a substitute or imitation.

Our word of the day comes directly from German, where it means ‘replacement.’ Ersatz is typically used in a context that implies the replacement is inferior to the real thing. Example: Terry’s ersatz bow tie may have looked convincing to most people, but it didn’t fool me. A real bow tie would have been a much more elegant addition to the evening.

Spartan may be used as an adjective that means marked by strict self-discipline. It may also be used as a noun that refers to a person of strict discipline.

Our word of the day’s first meaning was as a reference to any resident of the ancient Greek city-state Sparta. Sparta was known for having a highly disciplined way of life for all of its citizens — men and women — to keep them ready for war at any time.

In modern times, the word can be a noun that refers to a person with a strict sense of discipline. Here’s an example of the word used in adjective form: As much as I’d love to have a body that resembles Tony’s, his Spartan lifestyle intimidates me. I don’t think I have the discipline needed to engage in as much exercise as he does.

Inosculate is a verb that means to join or unite.

The Latin osculare (oh skoo LAHR ay) means ‘to provide with a mouth or outlet.’ Along with the prefix IN inosculate entered English in the late 17th century. It is a synonym of join and unite.

I will do my best to inosculate the bicycle’s parts. But I get the feeling that they were not meant to be put together.

Gest is a noun that refers to a tale or adventure.

Our word of the day is not to be confused with jest, JEST, but both words share a common ancestor. The Latin gestus (JEST oos) the past participle of the verb ‘to bear’ or ‘to carry’ has given birth to many words like ingest, suggest and ingest as well as jest with a J and gest with a G.

As much as I love Shakespeare’s warm romantic comedies, my favorites are the ones that feature brave men engaged in a gest. There’s something about a good old adventure tale that thrills me.

Ligneous is an adjective that means of or resembling wood.

Our word of the day began with the Latin word lignum (LEAN yoom) which simply means ‘wood.’ Its descendant ligneous may be used in a literal sense to refer to actual wood or something that looks like wood, and it may also be used to describe something that is ‘wooden’ in the figurative sense — as in a ‘wooden’ expression. For example: “The Judge’s ligneous expression was a bad sign. Whenever a judge shows no emotion, that means he has an unfavorable sentence to hand down.’

Misprision is a noun that means the neglect or wrong performance of official duty.

The Latin word prehendere (PREN dare ay) means ‘to seize’ or ‘to take.’ As the word drifted through Middle English, the prefix MIS was added and the word evolved into our word of the day. In addition to its most common meaning, Misprision may be used in a few legal contexts like: ‘concealment of treason or felony by one who is not a participant in the treason or felony’ or ‘seditious conduct against the government or courts.’

When that security guard followed that suspicious man to his car, he may have thought he was helping out, but really he was engaging in an act of misprision. His job was simply to report unusual behavior.

Machinate is a verb that means to plot or scheme.

Our word of the day is from the Latin Machina (MOCK ee nah) where it roughly translates to ‘machine’ — but its meaning is different than the way ‘machine’ is used in the contemporary sense. Instead it refers to ‘a contrivance’ or ‘something created.’ To machinate is to contrive or create a scheme. The word is often used in a pejorative sense. For example:

Keep an eye on Chuck and Joel during the meeting. I have a feeling that the two of them will machinate against the company.

Nestor is a noun that refers to one who is the leader in a field.

Nestor was a figure from Greek mythology who served as a wise leader in the Trojan war. Today a nestor may refer to anyone known for wisdom and leadership in a particular field.

After giving years of service to the theatre word, Harvey has more recently become something of a nestor in that community. He loves the idea of giving to others all the wisdom he’s gained in his forty years of work.