Vexillology is a noun that refers to the study of flags. 

Dating back to the 1950s, the latin word vexillum (vecks ee LOOM) means ‘flag.’ By adding the suffix L-O-G-Y, which means ‘study of,’ we get our word of the day. 

As a kid, I was always a fan of cars, but as I’ve gotten older, I’d say I’ve leaned more toward vexillology as a hobby, if only because flags are a lot less expensive to collect than cars. 

Ebullition is a noun that refers to the action of bubbling or boiling. 

The Latin word ebullire (ee boo LEAR ay) means ‘to boil up.’ Our word of the day may be used in the literal sense of referring to water boiling, or it may be used figuratively, to refer to someone’s temper boiling over and exploding. Example:

When I told Sandy that she’d parked in the wrong space, I wasn’t expecting an ebullition of rage. I knew she’d be a little unhappy, but I had no idea she had such a violent temper regarding her car. 

Mumpish is an adjective that means Sullen or sulky. 

The origin of our word of the day isn’t clear, but we know the word mump has been with us since the 16th century, with the adjective mumpish emerging in the 17th century. Here’s an example of it use:

Carl’s mumpish demeanour probably harmed his political career. After all, who wants to vote for somebody who seems moody and sullen all the time. 

Macrosmatic is an adjective that means having a highly developed sense of smell. 

Our word of the day comes from a combination of the Greek prefix M-A-C-R-O meaning ‘large,’ and osme (OSS me) meaning ‘smell.’ Originally used to describe animals like bears or dogs, that have a highly developed sense of smell, it has, more recently been used to describe people whose ability to smell is greater than normal. Here’s an example:

Me and my trusty bulldog Scout have a lot in common apart from our macrosmatic skills. Not only can we smell a chicken from a long distance away, we both enjoy eating them — although I prefer them cooked. 

Sciamachy is a noun that refers to the act of fighting an imaginary foe. 

Coming from Greek, this word fought its way into the English language in the early 17th century. It gets its prefix from the word skia (SKI uh) meaning ‘shadow’ and the rest from makhia (MOCK ee uh) which means ‘fighting.’ 

Our word of the day may refer to someone taking swings at an imaginary opponent, but it’s most commonly used to describe something called ‘shadow boxing,’ something a boxer does when training alone. Example:

All that sciamachy may have kept me in pretty good shape, but it didn’t prepare me very well for an actual bout. It turns out it’s a lot harder to battle a person than a shadow

Echolalia is a noun that refers to the meaningless repetition of another person’s spoken words. 

Coming from the late 19th century, our word of the day takes its prefix from the Greek word echo (EK oh) a word used to describe a repetition, and combines that with the Latin word lalia (LA lee uh) meaning ‘speech.’ 

Originally used to describe a medical condition, echolalia may describe any kind of meaningless repetition of someone else’s words. Here’s an example:

The arguments between my kids can get pretty tedious. It’s basically just fifteen minutes of echolalia followed by doors slamming loudly. 

Pantisocracy is a noun that refers to a utopian society in which all are equal. 

Coined by an 18th century English poet named Samuel Taylor Coleridge, our word of the day begins with the Greek prefix P-A-N, which means ‘all,’ and ends with I-S-O-C-R-A-C-Y, meaning ‘equal rule.’ Example:

Our bowling team was very much a pantisocracy, which annoyed me. You’d think that as the team’s highest scorer, I’d have more voting power than the others when it came to selecting pizza. 

Pogonotomy is a noun that refers to the cutting of a beard. 

The Greek word pogon (POE gon) means ‘beard.’ That addition of tome (TOE me) meaning knife, gives us our word of the day, which basically means shaving off a beard. Although often used in a medical context, pogonotomy may be used in an everyday context as well. Example:

After years of having a long beard, pogonotomy made me look kind of odd. Maybe shaving off a beard isn’t such a good idea if you have a funny looking face. 

Interpunction is a noun that refers to the insertion of a punctuation mark. 

Emerging in the mid 18th century, our word of the day comes from the Latin word punctum (POONK toom) meaning ‘point,’ the same word that gave us ‘punctuate.’ Unlike the verb punctuate, interpunction is a noun that refers to the act of adding punctuation. Here’s an example:

I’ve learned that in office memos, it is best to be careful with interpunction. Adding an explanation mark to a sentence can make you sound more angry than you intend to. 

Emolument is a noun that refers to a salary or fee from employment. 

Our word of the day comes from a Latin word that referred to payment given to a miller for grinding corn. That explains why the origin of emolument is the Latin word molere (mo LARE ay) which means ‘to grind.’ Here’s an example of emolument in use:

After three weeks of putting together a terrific presentation, I was hoping my emoluments would be pretty impressive. But sadly the pay was pretty meager.