ntractable is an adjective that means not easily managed or controlled.

The Latin word tractabilis (tract uh BEEL us) roughly translates to ‘manageable.’ With the addition of the prefix I-N, meaning ‘not’  we get ‘that which can not be managed. Our word of the day has a wide range of uses and may refer to people, ideas or even policies: The intractable economic changes created by Senator Blair have thrown our society into chaos. We’d be far better off with policies that are easily managed.

Mercurial is an adjective that means characterized by rapid, unpredictable change.

Our word of the day shares its roots with a planet and a Roman god. Mercury was Rome’s equivalent to the Greek god Hermes, and was known for being eloquent and ingenious. When mercurial entered the English language in the 14th century, the word was used to describe someone possessing these qualities. In time its meaning shifted to ‘unpredictable’ and ‘changeable’ in reference to the chemical used in thermometers, known for its quick changes as it rises and falls to reflect the temperature.

I was hoping we could hire a basketball coach who was a little more predictable and stable than our previous one. Coach Derringer’s mercurial nature was a real detriment to the team.

Vacuous is an adjective that means empty or lacking content.

Coming from the Latin word vacuus (vah KOOS) meaning ‘empty’ our word of the day shares its roots with words like vacuum, evacuate and vacant. It often refers to ideas or thoughts that are empty in a metaphorical sense, meaning they have no intelligent content behind them.

I was disappointed by professor Harold’s lecture. It contained mostly vacuous catchphrases but very few actual ideas.

Bugbear is a noun that means an object of fear or dread.

Our word of the day entered English in the 16th century where it was used by writers of scary tales. It combined the word ‘bug,’ which referred a goblin and ‘bear’ to conjure up an imaginary creature designed to scare children.

These days it refers to anything that serves as an object that is feared or dreaded. Example: Trips to the dentists have always been Chad’s bugbear. He’s so afraid of them that he hasn’t seen one for years.

Solecism is a noun that means a blunder in speech.

The city of soloi was known for the bad grammar of its inhabitants known as solikos (SO loy kos). This gave birth to the word soloikismos (solo KIZZ moss) meaning, ‘an ungrammatical combination of words,’ which later became the basis for our word of the day. In more recent years, solecism has also come to refer to a social blunder as well as a verbal blunder.

Being the press secretary for a politician who commits many solecisms can be a thankless job. It usually means making lots of apologies for a wide range of blunders.

Yeasayer is a noun that means someone with a positive attitude.

You may have heard of the word naysayer, a noun referring to a person constantly denying or opposing things. Conversely, a yeasayer may refer to an upbeat, positive person known for saying ‘yes’ to things. Its less flattering meaning is a person always agreeing with or being submissive to other people, as in: It makes sense that Dennis would hire a yeasayer like Chuck as his assistant. There is nothing he loves more than having someone cater to all his wishes.

Niveous is an adjective that means related to or resembling snow.

The Latin word ‘nix’ (NEEKS uh) means snow. Niveous, a word that entered English in the early 17th century, may refer either to a large quantity of snow or something that resembles snow. The niveous look of dad’s graying beard gives him a Santa Claus look. If his beard were any whiter we might be tempted to shovel his face.

Aver is a verb that means to declare.

Our word of the day is a combination of the Latin words ‘ad,’ meaning ‘to’ and verus (VARE oos) meaning ‘real’ or ‘true.’ To aver something is to declare it to be true, for example: my client will aver that he is innocent of all charges. I’m confident that the jury will be moved by this declaration of his innocence.

Inexorable is an adjective that means not to be persuaded, moved or stopped.

The Latin word exorabilis (ex or uh BEE lees) means flexible or lenient. If we add the prefix I-N, for ‘not,’ we get a word that means ‘inflexible’ or ‘unyielding.’ The word is more frequently used to describe things than people, for example: The inexorable trend of bigger budgets in movies has made things difficult for a low budget producer. Much as Max would like the days of lower budgets to return, that seems an impossible dream.

Velutinous is an adjective that means soft and smooth like velvet.

The Latin word for velvet is velutum (vel LOOT oom), which also provides the origin for our word of the day, velutinous. Something described as velutinous isn’t necessarily connected to velvet though. It may simply be soft and smooth like velvet.

I always seem to fall asleep in those movie theater seats. Something about that velutinous cover on them just sends me to dreamland in a few minutes.