Word of the Day
Learn a new word every day! The Dictionary.com team of language experts carefully selects each Word of the Day to add some panache to your vocabulary.
noun
a person who is especially competent to pass critical judgments in an art, particularly one of the fine arts, or in matters of taste.
Explanation
- First recorded in 1705–15.
- Comes from French, and ultimately from the Latin stem cognōscitōr-, “knower.”
- Also related is the word cognoscible, "capable of being known."
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- After many years of study and travel to tea estates around the world, she became a renowned tea connoisseur.
- A connoisseur of fine cheeses, he could tell an authentic Parmigiano Reggiano just by smell.
noun
a feeling of or the expression of joy or exultation.
Explanation
- First recorded around 1350–1400.
- Comes from the Middle English word jubilacioun, which comes from the Latin word jūbilātiōn-, "a shouting for joy."
- The verb jubilate, "to show or feel great joy," also comes from the same Latin stem.
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- It was wonderful to witness their jubilation as they crossed the finish line.
- There was an atmosphere of jubilation and excitement at the grand opening ceremony.
verb
to dress or adorn in a showy, gaudy, or tasteless manner.
Explanation
- First recorded in 1655–65.
- Formed from the verb dizen, "to deck with clothes or finery."
- Dizen was originally a weaving term that refers to a bunch of wool fiber on a distaff, a spinning wheel attachment.
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- The attendees had bedizened themselves for the midnight release of the new fantasy film.
- The children loved to use their parents' old costume jewelry to bedizen themselves.
noun
one of an Alaskan breed of large dogs having a dense, coarse coat, raised originally by the Inuit for drawing sleds.
Explanation
- First recorded in 1895–1900.
- Sometimes capitalized, malamute is from the Inupiaq word malimiut.
- Malimiut is a name for the local groups of Inupiaq peoples of the Kotzebue Sound region in what is now Western Alaska, who bred such dogs.
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- The dog was a beautiful mix of German Shepherd, Siberian Husky, and Alaskan Malamute.
- Bursting through the screen door, the malamute sprinted to greet us as we came up the walkway.
noun
an umbrella.
Explanation
- First recorded in 1895–1900.
- The stem, bumber-, is a facetious alteration of umbrella
- The -shoot element is a respelling of the -chute element in parachute.
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- The sudden rain shower caught her off guard, so she reached for her trusty bumbershoot.
- The old man chuckled as he twirled his colorful bumbershoot on a sunny day.
