Today’s word of the day is transmogrify, T-R-A-N-S-M-O-G-R-I-F-Y. Transmogrify is a verb that means to completely alter the form of.

The precise origin of transmogrify is unclear, but there seems to be a similarity with words like transmigrate and transform. The key is to understand that transmogrify doesn’t just mean ‘change.’ It should be used to describe something more complete than, say, changing your hair or your living room furniture. 

Scientists estimate that future generations will be able to transmogrify their bodily form with surgery. That sounds great to those who’d like to spend life as a turtle.

The spelling of transmogrify is T-R-A-N-S-M-O-G-R-I-F-Y.

Today’s word of the day is coxcomb. It’s spelled C-O-X-C-O-M-B. Coxcomb is a noun that means a foolish or conceited man.

This word of Middle English descent refers to the comb on top of a rooster’s head. And just as we often think of a rooster as strutting around arrogantly, a coxcomb is one — usually a male — who behaves in a conceited way. 

I like James, but he can be something of a coxcomb at times. Being in a large group usually triggers his sense of arrogance and stupidity.

Once again, coxcomb is spelled C-O-X-C-O-M-B. 

Today’s word of the day is commodious, C-O-M-M-O-D-I-O-U-S. Commodious is an adjective that means roomy and spacious. 

The Latin word Commodus (COM oh doos) means ‘useful’ and, true to its definition, it has been very useful at producing important English words. The word accommodating might be a helpful way to understand the best use of our word of the day. After years of living in tiny, cramped apartments, I love this spacious house we now reside in. It is so much more commodious than any place I’ve ever lived.

Once again, commodious is spelled C-O-M-M-O-D-I-O-U-S. 

Today’s word of the day is volitant. It’s spelled V-O-L-I-T-A-N-T. Volitant is an adjective that means having the power of flight.

Believe it or not, a word that describes a creature’s ability to fly is related to the word volatile. They both come from the Latin volito (VALL ee toe) meaning ‘to rush back and forth’ or ‘hurry.’

But a bird that is volitant is not necessarily in a bad mood. It simply has the ability to fly. 

Chasing down that chicken was a tough task. But it might have been even tougher had the bird been volitant.

Volitant is spelled V-O-L-I-T-A-N-T. 

Today’s word of the day is resplendent, R-E-S-P-L-E-N-D-E-N-T. Resplendent is an adjective that means shiny and colorful; pleasing to the eye.

The Latin splendere (splen DARE ay) means to shine. It’s related to many words like splendid, splendor and, of course, our word of the day, resplendent. It means pleasing to the eye, but more specifically it refers to something that pleases the eye because of its bright, brilliant colors. 

That bird’s multicolored plumage had me spellbound. I’d never anything more resplendent in my life.

Once again, resplendent is spelled R-E-S-P-L-E-N-D-E-N-T. 

Today’s word of the day is matutinal, M-A-T-U-T-I-N-A-L. Matutinal is an adjective that means related to or occurring in the early morning. 

Matuta (Ma TOO ta) is the Roman Goddess of Dawn. Her name derives from Latin and she gave birth to our word of the day. 

The scheduling was probably my least favorite thing about my life as a Marine. Being a night owl, I had a real problem with those matutinal duties.

Matutinal is spelled M-A-T-U-T-I-N-A-L. 

Today’s word of the day is autoschediasm. It’s spelled A-U-T-O-S-C-H-E-D-I-A-S-M. Autoschediasm is a noun that means anything done with little forethought or preparation.

The Greek word for something done off hand schediasm (ske DIE asm) is where our word of the day came from. The Latins came around later and added the ‘auto,’ but the basic meaning has remained the same. The word ‘improvisation’ is a synonym, but an autoschediasm is not necessarily done by an an actor or professional performer. For example: When her cat slipped from the mantle, Barb quickly reached down and caught him before he hit the ground. This autoschediasm illustrates how fast Barb’s actions are.

Once again, the spelling of autoschediasm is A-U-T-O-S-C-H-E-D-I-A-S-M. 

Today’s word of the day is aegis, A-E-G-I-S. Aegis is a noun that means protection.

Although aegis comes directly from Latin, its true origin is in Greek mythology. The word began life as a reference to the shield of Athena. From there, aegis came to refer to a form of protection from a respected mentor. 

Under the aegis of the coach, I was allowed to skip a few days of practice. Without the coach’s permission I might have gotten into serious trouble. 

Once again, aegis is spelled A-E-G-I-S. 

Today’s word of the day is degust. It’s spelled D-E-G-U-S-T. Degust is a verb that means to savor something fully.

The Latin word for taste is degusto (DAY goose toe). But how do we decide when degust is the word we want rather than ‘taste’? When we degust something we savor it completely. 

It took nearly forty-five minutes to eat my steak. It was so delicious I wanted to degust every bite.

Once again, degust is spelled D-E-G-U-S-T.