Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

Word of the Day

Word of the day

bacciferous

[ bak-sif-er-uhs ]

adjective

Botany. bearing or producing berries.

learn about the english language

More about bacciferous

The English adjective bacciferous “bearing berries” comes from Latin bacca (also bāca) “fruit of a shrub or tree, nut,” a word of unknown origin. The Latin suffix -fer “carrying, bearing” is from a very widespread Proto-Indo-European root bher- “to carry,” source of Germanic (English) bear, Greek phérein “to carry, bear,” and Slavic (Polish) bierać “to carry.” Bacciferous entered English in the 17th century.

how is bacciferous used?

Bacciferous trees, are such as bear berries; as the juniper and yew-tree.

Charlotte Matilda Hunt, The Little World of Knowledge, 1826

The rays of the sun are essential to the proper development of all fruits, yet some, especially the bacciferous, demand a certain amount of shade in Summer and protection in Winter …

E. Daggy, "Douglas County Horticultural Society," Transactions of the Illinois State Horticultural Society, Volume II, 1869
quiz icon
WHAT'S YOUR WORD IQ?
Think you're a word wizard? Try our word quiz, and prove it!
TAKE THE QUIZ
arrows pointing up and down
SYNONYM OF THE DAY
Double your word knowledge with the Synonym of the Day!
SEE TODAY'S SYNONYM
Word of the Day Calendar

Word of the day

Disneyfy

[ diz-nee-fahy, -ni- ]

verb

to create or alter in a simplified, sentimentalized, or contrived form or manner: museums that have become Disneyfied to attract more visitors.

learn about the english language

More about Disneyfy

Disneyfy is an Americanism formed from the name of Walt Disney, the cartoonist and moviemaker (1901-66), and the familiar verb suffix -fy. Disneyfy entered English in the second half of the 20th century.

how is Disneyfy used?

In North America we tend to Disneyfy the past into this sugar-coated nostalgia product, all bonnets and merry sleigh rides …

Emma Donoghue, Landing, 2007

… Dad says you have to look at animals as they are, not Disney-fy them.

Rosamund Lupton, The Quality of Silence, 2015
Word of the Day Calendar

Word of the day

superluminal

[ soo-per-loo-muh-nl ]

adjective

Astronomy. appearing to travel faster than the speed of light.

learn about the english language

More about superluminal

One of the Latin sources for the English adjective superluminal “faster than the speed of light” is the very familiar prefix and preposition super- “above, beyond.” The second Latin source is the adjective lūminōsus “filled with light, dazzling, luminous” a derivative of the noun lūmen “light, radiance,” from an assumed leuksmen or louksmen, a derivative of the root noun lux (stem luc-) “light.” The same root, leuk- (and its variant louk-) lies behind the Latin noun lūna “moon,” from an assumed louksnā. Superluminal entered English in the 20th century.

how is superluminal used?

But what if the spaceship breaks the speed of light? Now, we are entering the purely theoretical realm of superluminal travel. The spaceship is outracing the light it emits, so when the spaceship takes off, it leaves its own light in the space-dust.

David Russell, "Can You Really Go Back in Time by Breaking the Speed of Light?" PBS, August 17, 2015

The Alderson Drive gave us access to the stars at superluminal speeds–but not instantaneous transportation.

Jerry Pournelle and S. M. Stirling, Go Tell the Spartans, 1991
Word of the Day Calendar
Word of the Day Calendar