Falstaffian is an adjective that means having a love of food, drink and humor. 

Sir John Falstaff is a Shakespearean character who appears in many of the Bard’s plays. Known for being jolly and good-natured, his name provides the basis for our word of the day and may be used to describe anyone blessed with a similar temperament. Example:

It’s probably not a good idea to have too many falstaffian guys on your softball team. Sure, having fun-loving, wise-cracking players on the squad can make the game more fun. But after a while, you have to stop guzzling beer and cracking jokes long enough to actually get some practicing done. 

Anastrophe is a noun that refers to an inversion of the usual order of words.

Derived from the Greek words for ‘back’ and turning,’ our word of the day has been around since the mid-16th century. Here’s an example:

I’ve always been a fan of that lovable Star Wars character Yoda and his odd habit of inverting the normal order of words in a sentence. It takes a lot of charm to turn anastrophe into a unique personality trait.

Acescent is an adjective that means turning sour. 

Our word of the day comes from the Latin word acescere (ah che SHARE ay) which means ’to become sour.’ Its earliest use in English can be traced back to the mid-17th century. In addition to being implemented to describe food or beverage, acescent may also be used to describe a mood or atmosphere. Here’s an example:

I got the sense that people at the dinner party didn’t like my cooking. No one said this in so many words, but every time the subject of my fried turkey sandwiches came up, the mood in the room turned sour. That kind of acescent atmosphere is usually a red flag. 

MacGyver is a verb that means to make or repair an object in an improvised or inventive way. 

Our word of the day is derived from a popular television show of the 1980s whose titular star was skilled at creating weaponry or assorted items from everyday items. It’s recently become a verb. Here’s an example of it in use:

On our canoe trip, we found ourselves without a way to signal to the other campers that dinner was ready. So we had to MacGyver a dinner bell out of an old hub cap we found half buried in the dirt. If it weren’t for that ability to improvise, I get the feeling those guys would still be waiting for dinner. 

Motley is an adjective that means ‘of diverse composition.’ 

Our word of the day’s precise origin is unknown, but we know it’s from the Late Middle English period and can be thought of as a synonym of assorted or varied. Here’s an example of motley in use:

They sent a pretty motley group of employees to the conference. The group included guys with varying levels of competence, dependability and ability. They might have been better off making sure everyone at the conference was equally skilled. 

Materiel is a noun that refers to military equipment. 

Our word of the day is not to be confused with the word material, M-A-T-E-R-I-A-L, but both words are derived from the Latin word materia (mah TEAR ee uh) meaning ‘matter.’ Here’s an example of our word of the day in use:

It never made sense to me that in the army we would spend hours hauling materiel from one site to another, only to haul it back a few hours later. It didn’t seem to me that our commanding officers put much time into thinking about how to deal with army equipment. 

Hyperopia is a noun that refers to the condition of seeing distant things more clearly than those that are near. 

Our word of the day combines the Greek prefix H-Y-P-E-R, meaning ‘beyond,’ and the Greek word ops (OPS) meaning ‘eye.’ The condition of hyperopia is commonly known as farsightedness. 

Being farsighted can be pretty awkward in public, especially when trying to read a book. If my hyperopia gets any worse, I’ll have to stand ten feet away from the book in order to see the print. 

Immure is a verb that means to enclose within. 

The Latin word murus (MOO roos) refers to a ‘wall.’ To immure someone is to wall them in. Our word of the day has been with us since the late 16th century. Here’s an example of it in use:

Last night’s movie was one of the scariest I’ve ever seen. Especially the part where the villain tried to immure the hero inside a chamber of horrors.

Homiletic is an adjective that means related to preaching or writing a sermon. 

The Greek word homilia (ho MEAL ee uh) means ‘to converse with.’ In time, this word gave birth to the English word homily which referred to a sermon or a story with a religious meaning. Homiletic has been with us since the mid 17th century. Example:

I enjoyed the story my dad told me about his days as a young hunter. But it seemed to be the stories had no moral. They may have had a greater impact had they had more of a homiletic purpose. 

Hinterlands is a noun that refers to the land beyond the city. 

The German word hinter (HIN ter) means ‘behind,’ while land simply means ‘land.’ This word to describe the often uncharted lands behind the big cities was been a part of English since the late 19th century. Example:

Having grown up in the big city, I often feel a little out of my element in the hinterlands. Those small-town expressions and terms often float right over my head.