Brummagem is an adjective that means cheap or counterfeit.

In the 17th century, Birmingham, England was notorious for a proliferation of counterfeit coins. Soon the phrase ‘Birmingham coin’ came to refer to such imitation currency. Our word of the day came about when the city’s name was filtered through a dialect and altered. It now refers to anything counterfeit — whether related to coins or not.

In the days before MP3s, we often got fooled by purchasing brummagem albums. You could tell they weren’t authentic because they lacked the sound quality of the originals.

Impalpable is an adjective that means not easily understood.

Our word of the day comes from the Latin word palpare (pal PAR ay) which means ‘to feel.’ When something is described as palpable, it is something that can be felt. But an impalpable object or idea cannot be felt or grasped cerebrally.

The movie struck me as impalpable. I suspect it was trying to make a meaningful statement regarding the moral corruptness of late capitalism in the mustache wax industry, but beyond that, I couldn’t understand it at all.

Gamesome is an adjective that means playful and happy.

Our word of the day combines the word ‘game’ a word of Old English origin with the suffix S-O-M-E, which usually means ‘characterized by being.’ So a tiresome person is characterized by being tired. Similarly, a gamesome person is characterized by being eager and willing.

For example: Charlotte didn’t seem like herself today. She is usually in a gamesome mood, but today she seems morose and moody.

Cannonade is a noun that refers to a continuous bombardment or effort.

Our word of the day is derived from the word cannon, a large, heavy piece of artillery. Cannon has its origin in Italian and once it evolved into cannonade, it came to refer to a period of continuous gunfire.

But cannonade can also be used metaphorically to refer to any kind of attack — even a verbal one. For example: After he was laid off, Andy delivered an angry cannonade to the company’s management. This stunned me. Before this, I’d never seen Andy make any such verbal attack on anyone.

Breviary is a noun that refers to a brief summary.

The Latin word brevis (BRE vis) means ‘short’ or ‘brief.’ Our word of the day was initially used by the Catholic Church to describe a book containing the service for each day. In time, it has come to refer to any brief summary.

I wasn’t able to attend the monthly meeting for our parking lot attendants, but based on the breviary I saw, I didn’t miss much. According to a brief summary, most of the conversation revolved around what color gloves were most popular in the profession.

Bildungsroman is a noun that refers to a coming of age novel.

Our word of the day comes from two German words. Bildung (BILL dung) means ‘education,’ and roman (ROE mahn) refers to ‘a novel.’ A Bildungrsoman is a term used to describe a novel that features a younger character who is educated about the ways of life.

My favorite bildungsroman is ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ Experiencing life through the eyes of a young girls as she comes of age in the South is a truly breathtaking experience.

Discommode is a verb that means to inconvenience.

The Latin word commodus (COMB oh deuce) means ‘suitable’ or ‘convenient.’ The word accommodate is also derived from commodus and is often used to mean ‘make someone or something more comfortable.’ Our word of the day can be used to describe making someone less comfortable.

For example: When I called Shelly up at three am, I was hoping I didn’t discommode her at all, but I was faced with an emergency at the plant. Ordinarily I would never inconvenience someone at home over work-related matters.

Benignity is a noun that refers to kindness or tolerance toward others.

The Latin word bene (BAY nay) means ‘good’ or ‘well’ and is the ancestor of such English words as benefactor, beneficial and benefit. Benignity first became a product of Middle English, where it referred to a single act of kindness. More recently, it refers to kindness or acceptance in general. For example:

My parents always stressed the importance of benignity. The need to treat others with basic human kindness becomes all the more important in a world that gets smaller and smaller.

Meliorism is a noun that refers to the belief that the world tends to improve.

Our word of the day is believed to have been been first coined by 19th century novelist George Elliot. It is derived from the Latin word melior (MAY lee or) which means ‘better,’ and is a distant relative to words like ‘ameliorate.’

Connie’s constant meliorism can become grating after a while. Don’t get me wrong, I tend to be an optimist and a believer in the human spirit, but her belief that the world tends to improve is just plain naive.

Asunder is an adjective that means divided or apart.

Coming from the Old English word ‘sunder,’ which means ‘to break apart,’ our word of the day is often, but not exclusively, used in literary contexts. For example: Our nation will soon be torn asunder if we cannot find the will to unite. None of us who want to live in a divided nation