Volition is a noun that refers to the power of choosing or determining.

The Latin word volo (VOE low) means ‘I wish’ or ‘I want.’ It would be helpful to think of a person’s volition as the ability to act as they want. At first it seemed that Sarah was forced to leave school by the administration. But we later later learned she was leaving of her own volition.

Esemplastic is an adjective that means moulding into one or unifying.

There’s a good chance you recognize the word ‘plastic’ in our word of the day. Esemplastic emerged in the early 19th century by combining plastic — from the Greek plassein (PLASS ain) meaning ‘to mold’ with ‘es’ and ‘en’ meaning ‘into one.’

We needed somebody to unify our tech work with our philanthropic efforts. Fortunately we found someone with a very esemplastic mind who was able to fulfill that role.

Alameda is a noun that refers to a public walkway shaped with trees.

Our word of the day comes directly from Spanish, where it referred to a poplar grove. It entered English in the late 18th century with basically the same meaning. It’s also a common baby name as well as a name of a city in north central California.

The alameda looks lovely this time of year. It’s wonderful to stroll along those trees just as they beginning to bloom.

Stellate is an adjective that means star-shaped.

The Latin word Stella (STAY la) means star. Over the years it has evolved into a number of English words like stellar, interstellar, constellation and, our word of the day which refers to something shaped like a star.

Those stellate figures under water had me transfixed. It looked as if I was staring into the nighttime sky.

Seriatim is sometimes an adjective and sometimes an adverb that means point-by-point.

Related to the word series, our word of the day comes from the Latin phrase ‘one after another.’ The lawyer’s closing argument was perfect. He refuted every accusation made by the other side seriatim.

Burnish is a verb that means to polish or shine.

The French word brun (brahh) means brown. Our word of the day came about with the French word for brown was turned into a verb, meaning to ‘shine something until it became brown.’

Those old trophies in my dad’s closet look pretty worn out now, but after I burnish them, they’ll look as good as new.

Consanguinity is a noun that means close relationship or connection.

Our word of the day’s first three letters C-O-N is a prefix meaning ‘with’ or ‘together.’  sanguineus (san GWEEN ee oos) on the other hand is the Latin word for ‘blood.’ When combined, they mean ‘from the same blood’ or from a common ancestor.

After years of research, we discovered the consanguinity between the King and his highest ranking general. Keeping power in the family was very common in those days.

Piquant is an adjective that means having a pleasantly sharp or spicy taste.

Piquant is a direct loan from our French friends. The word piquer (PEE kay) means ‘stinging or prickling.’ When the word shifted into English, its meaning shifted along with it. Now piquant had come to mean ‘pleasantly stinging.’ For context, something like mustard might be described as piquant, but not, say cornbread.

I usually prefer foods with a sweet as opposed to a piquant taste. But I enjoyed the meal just the same.

Olfactory is an adjective that means related to the sense of smell.

The Latin word olfacere (ol fah CHAIR ay) meant ‘to smell.’ Coming direction from this origin is our word of the day which refers to anything related to the sense of smell.

When Kari told me she didn’t smell anything unusual in the stockroom, I began to wonder if her olfactory skills were okay. I could smell the strange smell in that room well before I walked inside.