Word of the Day

Sprezzatura is a kind of grace where skill and style appear to come easily. But don't be fooled; looking effortlessly stylish might actually take a lot of work! The idea was popularized in Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier, which stressed that sprezzatura is essential at a royal court. Curtsy or bow when you've mastered this word!

If something is erinaceous, it has spiky, hedgehog-like qualities — or it might just be a hedgehog, plain and simple. The word might look a bit odd, but the Latin word for "hedgehog" is erinaceus, so erinaceous isn't so mysterious after all. Keep it handy for prickly subjects!

To exhort is to urge someone toward a specific course of action, often by appealing to their better nature. The word shows up in speeches, sermons, and heartfelt appeals where simply suggesting something isn't enough. If you want to really inspire action, you can take it to the next level by exhorting.

A sodality is a group formed around a shared purpose or common bond. The word is suggestive of a higher calling that creates a stronger sense of unity than a "club" or "association." There's power in a sodality where members come together for the same cause.

A pother is a burst of noisy commotion, often over something small. The word dates back to Shakespearean times. And while pother doesn't appear in Much Ado About Nothing, it's a title that, fittingly, could almost describe a pother itself. Do you think we should work ourselves into a pother over that missed opportunity?