Picayune is an adjective that means petty or meaningless and a noun that refers to an insignificant person or thing.

Our word of the day comes directly from French, where it refers to a 19th century copper coin. Because this coin had a fairly small value, the word picayune came to refer to something or someone who didn’t mean much. For example: I thought I was the star of our band, but didn’t realize how much of a picayune I was until we got on stage. The lead singer became the focal point and and in their eyes, I was pretty meaningless.

Squee is a noun that means a delighted squeal and a verb that means to squeal.

The origin of squee is unclear, but, as a noun it refers to a cry of delight. Here’s an example of squee used as a verb where it means ‘to squeal.”

I was so happy when the Steelers won the Super bowl, people could hear me squee with joy from blocks away. That’s the kind of unfettered delight that comes from a true fan.

Erumpent is an adjective that means bursting forth.

Our word of the day comes from the Latin erumpen (air ROOM pen) which means ‘erupting.’ It’s mainly used to describe plants or some other form of vegetation that are growing from the ground. But it can also be used figuratively, for example: At that time in New York, it seemed a brand new culture was erumpent. And as this new style of music burst forth, it created a bold new scene.

Felicitate is a verb that means to congratulate.

The Latin word Felix (FAY licks) means ‘happy,’ and it gave birth to our word of the day which is mainly used as a synonym of the verb congratulate.

Peter and I may have had our differences over the years, but I nonetheless felt compelled to congratulate him at the black belt ceremony. I felt that the least I could for all his achievements was felicitate him.

Jejune is an adjective that means naive or simplistic.

Our word of the day comes from the Latin word jejunus (jay JOO noose) which means ‘without food.’ From this, the word later came to refer to opinions or thoughts that were ‘without intellectual nourishment.’ Here’s an example: Being a college junior with a love of philosophy can lend itself to lots of jejune opinions. But then again, most people at that age don’t have much intellectual depth to their ideas anyway.

Scunner is a noun that refers to a strong dislike.

The exact origin of scunner is unknown but we can trace it back to Late Middle English when it was first used to mean ‘shrink back with fear.’ More recently it refers an extreme aversion or dislike.

Chris’ scunner of Spaghetti, linguini and garlic bread made no sense to me. After all, why own and operate an Italian restaurant if you hate Italian food?

Flexuous is an adjective that means full of bends and curves.

Our word of the day comes from the Latin flexus (FLECK soos) which means ‘bended.’ Flexuous came to English around the early 17th century and holds the same basic meaning.

The flexuous road ahead made me a little uneasy. Lots of curves and twists can be dangerous when several thousands of feet up.

Adventitious is an adjective that means happening by chance not design.

The Latin word adventicius (odd VENT tee toose) means ‘coming to us from abroad.’ Our word of the day can maintain this definition or it means ‘coming from chance, not design.’ Here’s an example of the latter:

Our team’s victory was glorious, but in the end seemed adventitious. Luck was the only way to explain how we defeated last year’s champs.

Bunyip is a noun that refers to a counterfeit or imposter. It's also an adjective that means phony.

Our word of the day comes directly from an Australian aborigine language and refers to a mythical monster. By the mid-19th century, it had come to be used to describe things that are imposters or pretenders.

Here’s an example of bunyip in a sentence: I was delighted to see I’d gotten my hands on an authentic penny from 1890. But when I looked closer and realized the face on it belonged to Bill Clinton, I discovered it was a bunyip.

Clamant is an adjective that means forcing itself on the attention.

Our word of the day is derived from the Latin word clamare (kla MAR ay) which means ‘cry out or shout.’ Clamant is used to describe something that cries out for our attention. Example: when trapped in the wilderness, it’s always important to tend to your clamant needs first. So when the need for food cries out to you, it’s time to head to the tent for some trail mix.