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
the spirit of the time.
Explanation
- Zeitgeist was first recorded in English in 1840–50.
- Zeitgeist comes from the German word Zeitgeist.
- Zeit means “time, age, epoch” and Geist means “spirit, mind, intellect.”
- The music of that era perfectly embodied the zeitgeist, expressing the collective emotions and aspirations of a generation.
- The zeitgeist of excess and extravagance was reflected in the fashion trends of the 1980s.
noun
a decoy entry in a dictionary or encyclopedia, secretly planted among the genuine entries to catch other publishers in the act of copying content.
Explanation
- Mountweazel was first recorded in 1975–80.
- Mountweazel comes from a fictitious entry in the fourth edition of the New Columbia Encyclopedia for Lillian Virginia Mountweazel.
- Lillian Virginia Mountweazel, who supposedly died on assignment while covering an explosion for the fictitious Combustibles magazine, never existed.
- Readers of the new dictionary were stunned by the inclusion of the word "esquivalience," which was certainly a mountweazel.
- They spend many hours searching for mountweazels in Dictionary.com to no avail.
adjective
acceptable or legitimate.
Explanation
- Cromulent was first recorded in 1996 in an episode of the TV show The Simpsons.
- We added cromulent to Dictionary.com in March of 2021.
- Cromulent is a facetious formation that ends with a Latin adjective suffix.
- Cromulent was invented for the episode to describe the other neologism embiggen as acceptable.
- The committee considered various proposals and finally agreed on a cromulent solution that satisfied everyone.
- The idea of using recycled materials for packaging is cromulent in today's eco-conscious society.
verb
to change in appearance or form, especially strangely or grotesquely; transform.
Explanation
- Transmogrify entered English around 1650–60.
- Earlier, transmogrify was also written transmigrify or transmography.
- Transmogrify is apparently a pseudo-Latinism, which is a word formed from or imitative of Latin.
- The old, rusty car magically transmogrified into a sleek, futuristic vehicle at the touch of a button, leaving bystanders in awe.
- The caterpillar underwent a remarkable transformation as it transmogrified into a vibrant butterfly, spreading its colorful wings for the first time.
verb
to make or become jolly or merry.
Explanation
- Jollify was first recorded in 1815–25.
- Jollify comes from the word jolly, "in good spirits; lively; merry," which entered English in 1275–1325.
- Jolly comes from the Middle English word joli, probably originally from the Old Norse word jōl, from which we get Yule.
- Yule entered English before 900 and means “Christmas day” or “Christmastide” (a word for the period from Christmas Eve to related feast days in early January).
- The comedian's hilarious performance jollified the audience, filling the room with laughter and joy.
- The cheerful decorations and lively music jollify the atmosphere at the holiday party.
