Higgler is a noun that refers to a person who travels around selling items or ‘a peddler.’

Our word of the day has been around since the 17th century as a way to describe a traveler who engages in the act of higgling. It is believed that this word was a variation on the word ‘haggle,’ as in, ‘haggling over a price.’ Here’s an example of higgler in use:

When people saw me traveling around with my bags across my shoulder, they assumed I was some kind of higgler. But no, I wasn’t peddling those items I was carrying with me. I was just too cheap to rent a moving van.

Intermontane is an adjective that means ‘situated between mountains.’ 

The Latin prefix I-N-T-E-R means ‘between,’ while montanus (mon TAHN oose) means 'mountains.’ Our word of the day’s first known use came in 1807. Here’s an example:

Our intermontane location of the army base made them difficult to find by enemy forces. Unfortunately being located among the mountains also made it difficult to have access to electricity. So we spent a cold six months until the war was over.

Impuberal is an adjective that means ‘having not reached puberty’ or ‘immature.’ 

The Latin word pubertas (poo BURR toss) means ‘the age of maturity or adulthood.’ Its young English descendant, puberty means the same. The addition of the prefix I-M, meaning ‘not,’ gives us a word that means ‘not yet mature.’ Example:

All those impuberal jokes at our workplace get to be a bit annoying after a while. There are only so many whoopie cushions a person can endure from his co-workers before reaching the breaking point.

Glossolalia is a noun that refers to the practice of speaking in an unknown language. 

Our word of the day comes from two Greek words: glossa (GLOSS uh) for ‘language’ and ‘lalia’(la lee AH) which means ‘speech.’ It’s been part of the English language since the late 19th century and is sometimes used in a religious context to describe the practice of ‘speaking in tongues.’ Here’s an example of glossolalia in use:

Ted was so upset, he couldn’t string together a coherent sentence. All that mumbling and bumbling seemed to resemble some strange form of glossolalia. 

Amaranthine is an adjective that means never fading or undying. 

Our word of the day comes from a plant called an amaranth that is known for never fading. Its name comes from the Greek word amarantos (ah mar RAHN tose) which means ‘not fading.’ Amaranthine is an adjective that can be used to describe any object that doesn’t fade. Example:

Most of my clothes tend to lose their lustre after a few years, but not my amaranthine Grateful Dead t-shirt. It remains as bright and vibrant as I bought it twenty-two years ago. 

Interjacent is an adjective that means lying among or between other things. 

The Latin prefix I-N-T-E-R means ‘between.’ The Latin word jacere (juh SARE ay) means ‘to be situated,’ Since the late 16th century, our word of the day has been used to describe things situated between things. Example: The mountains were a gorgeous view, but as a fan of hamburgers, I was a little distracted by all the interjacent fast food restaurants. How do they expect you to hike through any mountains with all those tasty burger places between them?

Intempestive is an adjective that means untimely or out of season.

The Latin word tempestivus (tem PESS teev oose) means timely. With the addition of the prefix I-N, meaning ‘not,’ we get a word that means ‘untimely.’ Here’s an example of intempestive in use:

I normally enjoy a good Christmas parade, but last week’s was a little intempestive. Maybe having it take place in early June wasn’t such a good idea.

Yips is a noun that refers to nervousness affecting an athlete before a big play or game. 

Nobody knows the origin of our word of the day, but we know it’s been used in the sports world since the 1930s. Here’s an example of yips in use:

Those missed free throws I made at the end of the game were clearly an example of the yips. With the game on the line and two seconds left on the clock, I simply panicked. But the other ten free throws I missed for the rest of the game, that was just poor effort.

Altisonant is an adjective that means lofty or pompous. 

The Latin prefix A-L-T-I comes from ‘altus’ (AWL toose) meaning high, as in ‘altitude’ or ‘alto.’ Sonant (SEW nant) means ‘sound.’ Since the 16th century, altisonant has been used by English speakers to describe someone who sounds ‘high and mighty.’ Here’s an example:

Rex can get a little big for his britches from time to time. Most of the time, he’s a fairly down-to-earth fellow, but when he starts referring to himself in the third person, you know he’s about to get altisonant. 

Afterclap is a noun that refers to unexpected damage after a supposedly closed event.

Our word of the day is a portmanteau, meaning it combines two words.

Afterclap combines the Old English ‘after’ with the Middle English ‘clap’ and the result is a perfect way to describe unforeseen consequences. Here’s an example:

The afterclap of our cleaning up of our yard is that all the neighbors want to come and visit — which makes the yard dirty again. I guess you never know the consequences of your actions until you do them.