Rend is a verb that means to tear into into two or more pieces.

Our word of the day comes from Old English and is used with an object. Here’s an example:

I was tempted to rend the contract in half when I saw how little I was being paid. But then I realized that ripping the contract in half would do nothing to boost my salary.

Lapsus calami is a noun that refers to a slip of the pen.

Our word of the day comes directly from a Latin phrase that translates into “slip of the pen.’ It is used to describe any mistake made in writing.

In my movie debut I played a character named Jeb in an old west thriller. But thanks to a lapsus calami, my character’s name was listed in the credits as Jen. I hope I don’t have any more slips of the pen like that. It would be nice for my parents to fully understand who I was playing in a movie.

Ken is a noun that refers to one’s range of knowledge.

Our word of the day has its roots in the German word kennen (KEN en) which means ‘to know’ or ‘be acquainted with.’ The word was imported into English in the 16th century, carrying its same basic meaning. Here’s an example:

That World War Two movie we saw the other day was fun, but it didn’t seem realistic. Granted, history is a little out of my ken, but even someone whose area of expertise isn’t history knows they didn’t have cell phones at Pearl Harbor.

Pied is an adjective that means consisting of more than one color.

Our word of the day has its origin in Middle English and was initially used to describe things that were black and white, as in a ‘magpie.’ These days the terms can refer to any combination of colors.

I remember this pied mare from summer camp. She was half beige and half white and it was endless fun riding her across the prairie.

Ruritanian is an adjective that means filled with romantic adventure and intrigue.

The 1894 novel, the Prisoner of Zenda is set in the imaginary kingdom of Ruritania. It’s a novel of high adventure and romance. We use the word Ruritanian to describe any place that fits this description. Example:

My son talks about this Ruritanian place inside his closet that is filled with monsters and dragons and damsels in distress. He makes this imaginary world so vivid that I’m afraid to go inside the closet.

Dissilient is an adjective that means springing apart.

Our word of the day combines the Latin prefix D-I-S, for ‘apart’ with salire (suh LEER ay) which means ‘to leap.’ Here’s an example of dissilient in use:

We liked the old mattress at the garage sale, but soon realized why it was being sold for only twenty-five dollars. It was a mess. Not only was covered with dust, but it was dissilient, with seams snapping loose everywhere.

Inspissate is a verb that means to thicken or congeal.

The Latin word spissus (SPEE soos) means ‘think’ or ‘dense.’ Inspissate has been with English since the early 17th century and has maintained the same meaning. Here’s an example:

It was fun to make maple syrup, but I feel we needed to inspissate it a little. Personally, I’ve always liked my syrup as thick as possible.

Caducous is an adjective that means easily detached and shed.

The Latin word caducus (cah DOO coos) means ‘liable to fall.’ Our word of the day entered the English language in the late 17th century with a meaning related mostly to botany. Here’s an example:

It’s lovely to watch these plants bud at this time of year, especially to see the buds fall away. This kind of caducous act fascinates me as much as it does botanists.

Obtestation is a noun that refers to the act of protesting.

The word obtest is a synonym of protest. Our word of the day is the noun variation of this. Here’s an example of obtestation in use:

We didn’t understand Helen’s obtestation of playing classical music in the office. We had always thought of her as a fan of this genre and here she was protesting it.

Ravelment is a noun that means confusion or entanglement.

The word ravel is of middle English descent and it means to tangle something. When we ravel words we create ravelment — or confusion — in people’s heads.

Tommy’s complicated explanation created nothing but revalment. Instead of making sense of things, it only caused more bewilderment.