Kith is a noun that refers to one’s friends and acquaintances. 

Our word of the day has its origin in an Old English word that means ‘one’s native land.’ 

The popular phrase ‘kith and kin’ initially referred to one’s country and relatives. More recently it has come to mean ‘one’s friends and family.’ 

Here’s an example of Kith in use - Don’t get me wrong. I love to see my family during the holidays. But after several days of nothing but kith and kin, I’m usually in the mood to find some strangers to hang out with.

Saturnalian is an adjective that means marked by unrestrained revelry. 

Our word of the day comes from Latin and means ‘related to Saturn.’ Saturn was the Roman god known as a source of renewal and liberation. The ancient Roman festival of Saturn was used as a period of merrymaking. Here’s an example of Saturnalian in use:

All the Saturnalian regalia outside my house made it difficult to sleep last night. Why can’t my neighbors be sensible and have chaotic fun early in the morning like everybody else?

Neurodiverse is an adjective that means displaying atypical neurological behavior. 

A recent addition to the English language, our word of the day has been around since earlier this century when scientists were developing a deeper understanding of what made some people think and act differently than others. The scientists involved in this area are called neuroscientists, a word that shares the Greek prefix N-E-U-R-O— meaning related to the brain or nervous system — with our word of the day. 

The second half of neurodiverse is the word diverse, which comes from Middle English meaning, ‘coming from different ways.’ A neurodiverse person has a brain that works in ways that differ from typical people. Here’s an example:

Mike has been called neurodiverse because of his idiosyncratic ways, but when it comes to arriving on time for dinner, he’s as typical as they come. 

Foundress is a noun that refers to a female founder. It is also a noun that refers to a female leader of a colony. 

The root word of foundress is founder, which is from Old English and refers to ‘the originator of something.’ The suffix R-E-S-S indicates that we’re talking about a woman. This is true in both definitions of the word. Here’s an example:

The foundress of our company would probably be ashamed to see the kinds of practices we’ve been up to lately. The company she originated a hundred years ago once stood for dignity, pride and excellence. Now it just stands for profit at any cost. 

Recuse is a verb that means to remove oneself from participation to avoid a conflict of interest. 

The Latin word recurare (ray coo SAR ay) means ‘to reject.’ Often used in a legal context, our word of the day has been with us since the early 19th century. Example:

A Juror was asked to recuse himself because it was felt that he couldn’t objectively serve on a jury in which his father was being tried. That kind of conflict of interest can make serving on jury duty awfully difficult.

Introrse is an adjective that means turned inward. 

Our word of the day takes its meaning and basic spelling from the Latin word inrorses (in TROR sus). Here’s an example:

The first step in getting our basketball team to play better was to have all the players introrse. It’s a lot easier to communicate when everybody can actually see each other. 

Extrorse is an adjective that means turned outward. 

The Latin adverb extrorus (ex TROR sus) means outwards. Our word of the day has turned itself toward the English language since the mid-19th century and holds the same basic meaning as its ancestor. Example:

With the lights extrose, our backyard looked pretty cool to those passing by. But to anybody wanting to see where they were going, it might have been a better idea to turn the lights inward. 

Intemperance is a noun that refers to a lack of moderation or restraint. 

The Latin word temperare (temp er ARE ay) means ‘to restrain.’ Our word of the day has been around since Middle English. By adding the prefix I-N, meaning ‘not,’ we get a word that means ‘not able to restrain.’ Here’s an example:

My intemperance with true crime shows has become a real problem lately. Because I can’t stop watching them all the time, I’m in danger of losing my job. I can’t get anything done at home with all that intrigue taking place on my TV Screen.

Clapperclaw is a verb that means to claw with fingernails. 

Our word of the day combines two words of Old English origin ‘clapper’ and ‘claw.’ Clapperclaw has been with us since the late 16th century. here’s an example of it in use:

I really enjoyed last night’s movie, but I have to say it wasn’t terribly realistic — especially the scene where the heroine was able to clapperclaw her way up the side of a steep mountainside. I don’t care how long her nails were, it just didn’t seem plausible to me at all. 

Bewray is a verb that means to betray. 

Our word of the day comes from an Old English word that means ‘to accuse.’ When someone is rightly accused of bewraying a friend, it means they’re guilty of treason. Example:

When I switched softball teams, there were some pretty bad feelings among my former teammates. I didn’t mean to bewray them, I just felt like it would be fun to win an occasional game. And if that meant betraying my team, so be it.