Dithyramb is a statement or writing in an enthusiastic vein.

We don’t know the precise origin of our word of the day except that it came from the Greeks to refer to a wild choral hymn. In more recent times, it is more likely to describe writing. Here’s an example:

The dithyramb used to describe the band’s new album suggested it was the greatest thing ever. I was disappointed. But I guess it’s inevitable that such hype would create unrealistic expectations.

Flapdoodle is a noun that refers to nonsense.

Our word of the day doesn’t appear to have an origin. It seems to have been an arbitrarily formed word that simply refers to nonsense or silliness. It’s pretty much always used in an informal context.

All that flapdoodle going on in our backyard distracted me from work. Although I have to admit, I’ve engaged in that kind of nonsense from time to time myself.

Compos mentis is an adjective that means having full control of one’s mind.

Our word of the day comes directly from a Latin phrase that translates to ‘having the mastery of one’s mind.’ It is frequently used in a legal context.

When Carl wrote his will, he began with the usual declaration of being compos mentis. But that strange shirt he was wearing would suggest he may have been sane, but he was a little weird.

Estuary is a noun that refers to the tidal mouth of a large river.

The Latin word aestus (ESS toose) means ‘tide.’ Our word of the day is derived from a variant of this that means ‘tidal part of the shore.’

There’s a lovely place in New York where the Hudson River meets the shore. This estuary is my favorite place in the Big Apple.

Tammany is an adjective that means related to political corruption.

Our word of the day got its name from Tammany Hall, headquarters of the Tammy Society, an organization in New York City. The word Tammany soon became a general term to describe any political corruption. It can be used as an adjective or a noun. Here’s an example of Tammany used as a noun:

With so much Tammany going on, it’s a wonder that anything gets done. All that political corruption has a way of eroding people’s trust.

Inveigh is a verb that means to write or speak against something with great hostility.

Our word of the day comes from the latin word vehere (vay HAIR ay) which means ‘to carry.’ In time, the word came to mean ‘attack.’ When we inveigh against something or someone we attack — usually with words. Here’s an example:

Myra tried to inveigh against habit of using unauthorized parking spaces at work, but then in the middle of her attack, someone reminded her were she parked that morning.

Treen is an adjective that means made of wood.

It’s not a coincidence that the first three letters of our word of the day come to ‘tree.’ Tree is a word of Old English origin and by adding the suffix E-N, which means ‘made of,’ we get something made of the same substance as trees. Here’s an example:

The treen chest of drawers is just what I needed for this room. It seemed to me that something made of wood was a good addition with so many objects of steel around.

Omnium gatherum is a noun that refers to a collection of miscellaneous people or things.

Our word of the day comes directly from Latin. From Latin, it takes omnium, which means ‘of all,’ and from Old English it takes gather, a word that was later brought into English with the same meaning it currently has.

The meeting was an omnium gatherum of people from all professions. I spotted lawyers, janitors and teachers, all sharing the details of their lives.

Mulct is a verb that means to cheat or defraud.

The Latin word mulcta (MOOLK tah) refers to ‘a fine.’ Our word of the day may refer to the act of extracting money from someone by fine or it may mean extracting money from someone through fraud.

I felt the health inspector was trying to mulct me with that fine. It just didn’t make sense that having too many fire extinguishers could be considered a fire hazard.

Lyceum is a noun that refers to a literary institution.

Our word of the day comes directly from the Greek word for a temple for gods. More recently, it refers to any institution or teaching place.

If you ask me, this town could really use a lyceum. As of right now, it has seventeen bars, but no public libraries.