Maffick is a verb that means to celebrate extravagantly. 

Mafeking is the capital city of the North-West Province of South Africa. It was the sight of the siege of  Mafeking during the Second Boer War. British troops had taken the city under siege. And when their reign had ended in May of 1900, the city engaged in extravagant public celebration. Our word of the day is used to describe that sort of celebration. 

The city officials should have expected the citizens to maffick after their team had won the cup. That sort of celebration is not unusual after a big victory.

Notional is an adjective that means existing only in theory. 

The Latin word notio (NO tee oh) means notion, which simply means ‘an idea.’ Something that is notional exists only as an idea — not in real life. Craig’s notional thoughts about what we could do with the park swimming pool sounded great. Too bad they were so unrealistic.

Veristic is an adjective that means extremely naturalistic.

Our word of the day is one of many words derived from the Latin word verum (VAIR oom) meaning truth. There’s also veracity, verily and previous word of the day verisimilitude. Veristic is frequently used to describe artwork that is naturalistic in nature. 

I enjoy the veristic quality of my daughter’s paintings. Those lush landscapes seem so real.

Bemuse is a verb that means to puzzle or confuse. 

Bemuse comes from the Old French word muser (MOO zay) means to be absorbed in thought. To bemuse someone means to entrance them usually with something odd or confusing. 

Kate’s actions often bemused be. I found myself endlessly puzzled by her odd behavior.

Vestiture is a noun that means clothing. 

The Latin word vestire (ve STEER ay) has given birth to many words, included a few related to clothing, like vest and vestment. Our word of the day is simply a synonym of clothing, but is probably best used in a more formal context. 

Terry’s vestiture suggested he was on his way to a job interview. I hadn’t seen him that dressed up in years.

Holophrase is a noun that means a single word that expresses a sentence. 

Our word of the day combines the Greek prefix ‘holo’ meaning whole and the Latin phrasis (pee ROCK sees) meaning ‘expression.’ Together they mean a single word that conveys an entire sentence. Howdy, a single word that means ‘how do you do.’ Is an example of a holophrase. 

At first I was confused when Corey raced into the room and shouted, ‘pizza!’ But after knowing him for a while, I’ve realized this was just a holophrase for ‘I must have some pizza now.’ By the way, a holophrase is sometimes known as a holophrasis.

Languor is a noun that means a state of dreaminess or exhaustion.

The Latin word Languere (land GWARE ay) means ‘illness’ or ‘distress,’ but our word of the day is pretty versatile, and it may refer to any state that leaves you drained, for example: Ever since running that marathon yesterday, I’ve had no energy. I hope this languor goes away before reporting to work tomorrow. 

Atavistic is an adjective that means related to something ancient. 

The Latin word atavus (AH tah voos) means forefather and atavus could be considered the forefather of our word of the day. When we describe something as atavistic, we’re usually not referring to a specific forefather or ancestor, but more generally, to something ancient. 

As an archeologist, I love finding ancient civilizations. It’s such a joy to be surrounded by atavistic artifacts. 

Acclivity is a noun that means an upward slope.

The Latin word for ‘slope’ clivus (KLEE voos) is the origin of our word of the day. Its antonym is declivity, meaning downward slope.

Jogging up that street was a real challenge. By the time I’d get through running up that acclivity, I’d be winded.

Tendentious is an adjective than means intending to advance a particular cause or point of view.

Tendentious is a word that comes from the German tendenzios (ten den SYOOS) that means in a biased or partisan way. 

I was fired from my job as a college professor for not teaching history in an objective way. They simply felt my interpretations of the facts were tendentious.