Doctrinaire is an adjective that means seeking to impose a doctrine in all circumstances without regard to practical considerations. It is also a noun that refers to a person with doctrinaire behavior.

In Latin, the word doctrina (doak TREE na) means ‘learning.’ This later evolved into the English word doctrine, referring to a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party or other group. You could think of doctrinaire as describing someone who is holding firmly to doctrine.

Maybe we shouldn’t be so doctrinaire when establishing the rules of our group. We want to be flexible, after all, and that often means drifting away from doctrine.

Vertex is a noun that refers to the highest point.

The Latin word vertere (VARE tear ay) means ‘to turn,’ but its meaning has evolved over time, so that it later was used in geometry to refer to a meeting point of two lines form an angle. The word still holds that meaning, but it can also be used more metaphorically to refer to the apex or the highest point. Here’s an example of vertex being used in such a way:

With the success that she’s had, it’s easy to think that Brenda has reached the vertex of her career in law. But who knows, given her abilities, she may have not yet reached her highest point yet.

Collimate is a verb that means to make parallel.

The Latin word collineare (co lynn ee ARE ay) means to ‘align.’ When we collimate things, we put them in line or make them parallel.

I tried to collimate all the items on my desk because I really like order. But all the chaos in the office makes it impossible for things to remain in a straight line.

Bunkum is a noun that refers to nonsense.

Our word of the day came to life after a mid-19th century speech that referred to a county in North Carolina called Buncombe. The speech was apparently made solely to please a politician’s constituents, so the word stuck and was later changed to its current form.

Example: We all got a feeling that the governor’s speech was bunkum when he started trotting out dubious numbers. But things got even more questionable when he made up names to support those bogus facts.

Imagineer is a noun that refers to a person skilled in bringing creative ideas into practical form.

A fairly recent addition to the English language, imagineer came to exist around the middle of the twentieth century. It takes its root from the word imagine and follows the pattern of ‘engineer.’ You could think of an imagineer as an engineer of the imagination.

As a child, all of my heroes were imagineers. I’d always admired people who could craft breathtaking ideas and bring them to life.

Mythomania is a noun that refers to the tendency to exaggerate.

We have the Greeks to thank for our word of the day. Its root word is ‘myth,’ coming from the Greek word mythos (MYTH ose) and its suffix is M-A-N-I-A, coming also from Greek and usually refers to a state of frenzy or enthusiasm. A person engaging in mythomania may be guilty of fabricating or simply stretching the truth.

Before understanding Peter’s mythomania, I thought I had met a true legend. But after learning of his tendency to exaggerate, I soon realized that I hadn’t met the inventor of the internet or the first man in space.

Redress is mainly used as a verb that means to remedy or set right. But it can also be used as a noun that refers to a remedy or compensation.

Sharing its Middle English origin with the word ‘address,’ redress simply adds the Latin prefix R-E. So when we redress something, as opposed to addressing it, we ‘address’ something that was missed the first time.

When my paycheck was short a few weeks, I contacted the supervisor to redress the situation. To remedy things, they paid me for a few extra weeks on my next check.

Swivet is a noun that refers to a nervous or flustered state.

The origin of our word of the day is unknown, but it is often used in casual conversation to refer to a state of tense, frayed nerves. My bad grades really got my parents in a swivet for a while. But they calmed down a great deal after I received that football scholarship. A ticket to success has a way of resolving tension.

Perihelion is a noun that refers to the highest point or the peak.

The Greek prefix P-E-R-I means ‘near,’ while the word helios (HE lee ose) — also from Greek — means ‘the sun.’ The word is often used in specifically scientific contexts, but can also, more figuratively, refer to the peak or highest point of something. For example:

I felt our band’s first show was our perihelion, but then again, as it was our only show, it makes sense that I would regard that as our peak of success.

Deontology is a noun that refers to the study of obligation.

Our word of the day’s origin comes mainly from Greek. The Greek prefix D-E-O-N-T means ‘being needed,’ while the suffix L-O-G-Y — also from the Greeks — denotes study. Here’s an example of deontology in use:

I wasn’t sure how to approach the situation, but after a careful look at the deontology of it, I understood my true obligation. Sometimes taking a good at things and weighing out your moral duty can be helpful.