Demode is an adjective that means out of fashion.

Our word of the day comes directly from the French verb demoder (dee mu DER) which means ‘go out of fashion.’

I had no idea my clothes were so out of fashion until I heard my kids laughing at the dinner table. At first I thought my jokes had finally amused them, but then I realized they were actually laughing at my demode jean jacket.

Sacrosanct is an adjective that means regarded as too important or valuable to be interfered with.

Our word of the day is derived from the Latin phrase sacro sanctus (SOCK row SONG toos) which means ‘hallowed by a sacred rite.’ Sacrosanct is often thought of as a synonym of sacred, but it is more likely to be used in reference to things that have nothing to do with religion, for example: Our team’s playbook was sacrosanct as far as our coach was concerned. He’d lose his mind if he found one laying around on the locker room floor or, worse yet, in the trash can.

Excogitate is a verb that means to think out or plan.

The Latin word cogitare (coe gee TAR ay) meaning ‘to think,’ has given birth to a number of English words such as cognition, recognize and cognitive. Our word of the day is a less commonly used synonym of devise. Here’s an example of it use:

Our coach was great at preparing us for our games every week, but as we all learned, it wasn’t enough to get a team ready for the game. You often have to excogitate a way out of challenges created by the other team, and planning things out just wasn’t something he was great at.

inspirit is a verb that means ‘to encourage’ or ‘enliven someone.’

The Latin word spiritus (SPEAR ee toos) means ‘breath or spirit.’ To inspirit someone is to breathe life or spirit into them.

It’s always a big challenge to inspirit my co-workers at the office with a big pep talk on  a slow Monday. But let’s face it, enlivening people when they have little energy isn’t an easy task.

Ternary is an adjective that means ‘composed of three parts.’

Our word of the day comes from the Latin word ternarius (tear NAR ee oos) which means ‘three at once.’ From the very beginning, the company’s focus was ternary, with one part dedicated to marketing, and the other two related to manufacturing and delivery.

Imperturbable is an adjective that means unable to be upset or excited.

The Latin word pertubare (per too BAR ay) means to disturb, and it was later  the origin of ‘perturb.’  Our word of the day may refer to someone who cannot be disturbed or upset. For example, Eric had such an imperturbable demeanor that even the sight of his favorite team losing in overtime didn’t seem to bother him. I, on the other hand, was deeply traumatized by the game’s result.

Sympatric is an adjective that means occurring in the same place.

Our word of the day combines the Greek word patra (PAT ra) for ‘father’ and the prefix SYM which means ‘with together.’ Here’s an example of sympatric in use:

The sympatric grouping of our pets seemed like a good idea at the time. But after a while we realized having two dogs and three cats all in our small home wasn’t exactly a recipe for a peaceful environment.

Felix culpa is a noun that refers to an error that brings fortunate consequences.

Our word of the day combines two Latin words. Felix, which means ‘happy,’ and ‘culpa,’ which means ‘fault.’ A Felix culpa could be thought of as a happy accident.

My trip getting cancelled ten years ago could have been seen as a Felix culpa. After all, because I missed my trip, I was able to meet the wonderful woman I’ve been happily married to for seventeen years.

Immanent is an adjective that means existing within or inherent.

The Latin word manere (mah NAIR ay) means remain. By adding the prefix I-N (which means ‘in’) we get a word that means ‘remaining in.’ Here’s an example:

Bad jokes are an immanent part of my line of work. If you hire a lawyer, you’re really hiring a failed stand-up comedian.

Sinology is a noun that refers to the study of Chinese language, history and politics.

In Arabic, the word sin (SIN) means ‘China.’ Our word of the day is usually used in an academic sense, but can be used more casually as in this example:

I’ve always been fascinated with China’s culture. Even as a kid, I was obsessed with sinology.