Adorkable is an adjective that means fashionable or socially awkward in a way regarded as appealing or cute. 

Although it’s a very recent addition to the English language, it’s a combination of two words that have been around for a while. The Latin-derived ‘adorable’ has been with us since the early 17th century while ‘dork’ emerged in the 1960s.

Together they describe someone just goofy enough to be cute. Here’s an example of adorkable in use:

When Shelly described me as adorkable, I took it as a compliment. But maybe I shouldn’t have. Especially when she talked about how cute it was when I couldn’t walk and chew gum at the same time.

Brunt is a noun that refers to the worst part of a specified thing. 

Coming from middle English, our word of the day was once used to describe a violent blow. In more recent years, it is more likely to be used to figuratively refer to an emotional blow someone may receive through criticism or an insult. Example:

The brunt of Kevin’s rant was borne by Sheila. It was, after all, her bad decisions that he focused on during his angry harangue.

Filigree is a noun that refers to an ornamental wire made of gold or silver. 

The Latin word filum (FEE loom) means ‘thread.’ By the late 17th century, filum had evolved into our word of the day and had come to refer to a form of decoration. Here’s an example of filigree in use:

Stacy always had flamboyant tastes, but the way she decorated her dog’s house with gold filigree was a little excessive.

Plebiscite is a noun that refers to a direct vote of all the members of an electorate on an important issue. 

The Latin prefix P-L-E-B means ‘the common people,’ much like the word ‘plebeian,’ while scitum (SKI toom) also Latin, means ‘decree’ or ‘resolution.’ Here’s an example of plebiscite in use:

The local plebiscite was greeted with great enthusiasm and passed with overwhelming success. I guess that’s what happens when you ask the public to vote on whether or not they want a parade this summer.

Anamnesis is a noun that refers to the medical or psychiatric history of a patient. 

Our word of the day comes from Greek where it simply referred to ‘memory.’ Since the 17th century, the word has been adopted into English and used mainly in the medical field. Here’s an example:

The doctors didn’t see anything in Mrs Miller’s history that suggested she needed blood pressure medication, but it’s always a good idea to check a patient’s anamnesis just to make sure.

Obreptitous is an adjective that means done falsely or secretly. 

Coming from the Latin word obrepere (oh brep AIR ay) which means ‘to creep upon,’ our word of the day can be thought of as a synonym for ‘sneaky’ or ‘underhanded.’ Example:

I don’t know what happened to the last donut in the break room, but I have my suspicions that it was taken through obreptitious means. It’s the only way to explain how someone could have snatched something I was watching so closely.

Macaronism is a noun that refers to the excessive use of big, showy words in writing or speech. 

Originally coming from French, macaronism was used in the 17th century to refer to the excessive use of foreign words for the sake of sounding sophisticated and learned. In time it came to mean any showy or extravagant use of words. Here’s an example:

Daryl’s macaronism has really gotten out of hand. It’s reached the point where he can’t even say “good morning” in less than ten minutes. 

Epaulette is a noun that refers to an ornamental shoulder piece on an item of clothing. 

Our word of the day comes fairly directly from the French word for ‘shoulder.’ In more recent years it has come to be used to refer figuratively to any kind of honor given. Example:

After my performance in the play, I received the most flattering epaulette of my acting career. The critic said, and I quote, “This actor wasn’t exactly good, but he was considerably less awful than the rest of the cast.”

Centrifugal is an adjective that means moving or tending to move away from a centre. 

Dating back to the early 18th century, our word of the day comes from two Latin words, centrum (SCENT room) meaning ‘center,’ and fugus (FOO goose) meaning ‘fleeing.’ 

Centrifugal is often used to describe a particular act of physics in which a spinning object moving at a high speed will move from the center. Example:

It could watch the centrifugal forces of my son’s model all day. Watching the thing spin in a circle is as fascinating as any movie I’ve ever seen.

Cynology is a noun that refers to the study of dogs. 

The prefix of our word of the day C-Y-N comes from the Greek word kynos (KYE nos) which means ‘Dog.’ The suffix O-L-O-G-Y means ‘the study of’ as in ‘biology,’ ‘geography’ or ‘archaeology.’ Cynology is often used in a scientific context, for example:

My professor’s work in the field of cynology was interesting, but not exactly groundbreaking. For example, his work revealed that in ancient times, dogs liked to play fetch.