Word of the Day
wyvern
noun
a two-legged winged dragon having the hinder part of a serpent with a barbed tail.
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Why Dictionary.com chose wyvern
More about wyvern
- First recorded in 1600–10.
- An alteration of earlier wyver, which comes from Old French guivre.
- Guivre comes from Latin vīpera, “viper.”
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EXAMPLES OF WYVERN
- The tapestry depicted a heroic figure riding into battle atop a majestic wyvern, ready to face any foe.
- The fearsome wyvern soared through the sky, its wings beating with a powerful grace.
discombobulate
verb
to confuse or disconcert; confound; bewilder.
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Why Dictionary.com chose discombobulate
More about discombobulate
- An Americanism first recorded in 1825–35.
- An earlier form, discomboberate, was recorded in the early 1800s.
- Apparently originated as a humorous imitation of fancy Latin words and is an alteration of discompose or discomfort.
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EXAMPLES OF DISCOMBOBULATE
- The sudden change in schedule discombobulated the students, throwing off their rhythm for the day.
- The loud noise and flashing lights discombobulated the performers, causing them to stumble through their routine.
carte blanche
noun
unconditional authority; full discretionary power.
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Why Dictionary.com chose carte blanche
More about carte blanche
- First recorded in 1655–65 as blank, blanck, or blanche (without carte) in the card game sense.
- First recorded in 1700–10 in the sense “blank, signed document,” and in 1760–70 in the more general sense highlighted here, “discretionary power.”
- Comes from French and translates literally as “blank document.”
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EXAMPLES OF CARTE BLANCHE
- The director gave the lead actor carte blanche to improvise during certain key scenes.
- As the team captain, she had carte blanche to choose the starting lineup for each game.
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