Armipotent is an adjective that means strong in battle.

Our word of the day comes from the Latin words ‘arma’ (ARM uh) which means ‘arms’ and potent (POE tent) which means ‘powerful.’ Here’s an example of armipotent in use:

The king’s armipotent forces insured that the land would be protected for years to come. Without such a powerful army, the land would have been laid to waste very quickly.

Naif is a noun that refers to a naive person.

Our word of the day comes directly from the French word for ‘naive.’ The word conjures up images of a young, inexperienced person lost in a world too sophisticated for them to understand.

When it came to the political world, I was something of a naif for the first few years. I had no idea what kind of indecorous behavior went on in the corridors of power.

Ressentiment is a noun that refers to a psychological state arising from suppressed feelings of envy and hatred.

Our word of the day was first coined by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The term is typically used in a philosophical or psychological context, but here’s an example of it being used in casual speech:

The feeling of resentment inside me made it difficult to express my feelings, but I’m sure it had something to do with my career frustrations. It’s not such a good idea to suppress those feelings instead of addressing them.

Querulous is an adjective that means complaining in a petulant or whining manner.

The Latin word queri (KWERE ee) means complain, and it serves as the origin of our word of the day. Querulous has been with the English language since the late 15th century. Here’s an example of it in use:

I’m not a fan of my kids acting in a querulous manner to get what they want. But I have to admit that after several minutes of whimpering and whining, the approach usually gets the results they want.

In medias res is an adjective that means ‘in the midst.’

Our word of the day comes directly from the Latin phrase ‘in the middle of things.’ Here’s an example of it:

The day was already chaotic enough, but then in medas res, a fire alarm went off, causing things to get more insane.

Prospero is a noun that refers to a person who is capable of influencing others’ behavior or perceptions.

Our word of the day gets its origin from the William Shakespeare play The Tempest. It features a character named Prospero who is a deposed Duke and magician. Named for this highly influential character, prospero may be used to describe anyone of great influence. Here’s an example:

My agent initially came across as some kind of prospero, but it soon became clear that he didn’t have nearly the influence he pretended to have.

Repristinate is a verb that means to restore to original state or condition.

The root word of repristinate is pristine, an adjective of Latin origin that means ‘spotless.’

When we repristinate an object, we return it to its original spotless condition. Here’s an example:

I like to repristinate old colonial furniture, but it sure is hard work. It takes a lot of scrubbing and sanding down to get those artifacts back to their original condition.

Cosh is a noun that refers to a thick heavy stick or bar used as a weapon. It’s also a verb that means to hit someone over the head with a cosh.

Our word of the day’s origin is unknown, but we know it’s been around since the 19th century. Here’s an example of cosh in use:

When walking in the woods, I usually carry a large, wooden cosh with me just in case I run into Bigfoot or something like that. I know it’s an unlikely thing to happen, but if it does I’ll be ready to strike that behemoth on the head in my defence.

Chaebol is a noun that refers to a large family-owned business conglomerate.

Coming from the Korean words chae (CHAY) which means ‘money,’ and bol (BALL) which means ‘faction,’ our word of the day has been with us since the 1970s. Here’s an example of it in use:

I had no idea the local comedy club scene was a chaebol. It didn’t take long to learn that seven of the ten clubs were owned by one man, and the other three were owned by his brothers.

Waggle is a verb that means to get by devious means.

Our word of the day comes from the Old English word wag. Before it referred to something a dog did to its tail, the word meant ‘to sway.’ When someone engages in excessive swaying to achieve their goals, they are waggling. Here’s an example:

I tried to waggle my way to the top at the movie theatre through a combination of flattery, hard work and grovelling. But in the end, I just didn’t have the sinister mind needed to rise beyond ticket usher.