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.
adjective
characterized by sickly sentimentality; weakly emotional; maudlin.
Explanation
- Mawkish was first recorded around 1660–70.
- Mawkish comes from the obsolete word mawk, meaning "maggot."
- Maggot, "a soft-bodied, legless larva of certain flies," comes from the Old Norse word for grub, mathkr.
- Maggot also has an obsolete sense, "an odd fancy; whim," as in "You have nonsense maggots in your head!"
- The overly sentimental speech at the wedding struck a mawkish chord with many attendees.
- The novel's ending was disappointingly mawkish, relying too heavily on clichéd romantic tropes.
adverb
in a series; one after another.
Explanation
- Seriatim was first recorded in 1670–80.
- Seriatim comes from the Medieval Latin word seriāt(us), “arranged in order.”
- The -im ending creates the adverb form.
- The related word, series, ultimately comes from the Latin verb serere, “to connect.”
- The professor listed the key points of his lecture seriatim, ensuring that each point was addressed in a systematic manner.
- The avid reader always tackled her new library book acquisitions seriatim, reading one novel after another without skipping a beat.
noun
a system of signaling, especially a system by which a special flag is held in each hand and various positions of the arms indicate specific letters, numbers, etc.
Explanation
- Semaphore was first recorded in 1810–20.
- Semaphore comes from the French word sémaphore, from the Greek word sêma, “sign,” and -phore, from the Greek form -phoros, “bearing."
- Other words ending in -phore include ionophore, "a substance capable of transmitting ions through cell membranes," and aerophore, "a portable device filled with compressed air."
- With a well-coordinated semaphore display, the scout effectively transmitted vital information to the rest of the team.
- Using semaphore, the sailor signaled the approaching ship by holding her arms in precise positions, forming letters and numbers.
adjective
fine; completely satisfactory; OK.
Explanation
- Copacetic is an Americanism that was first attested in Irving Bacheller’s 1919 book about Abraham Lincoln, A Man for the Ages.
- Copacetic is also spelled copasetic and is of obscure origin.
- Proposed languages of origin include Chinook, Italian, Louisiana French, and Hebrew, but none of the origin stories are particularly convincing.
- Copacetic further entered the public consciousness through the Prohibition-era song “At the New Jump Steady Ball,” whose lyrics include the line “Copasetic was the password for one and all, at the new jump steady ball.”
- The dinner party was a success, with delicious food, great company, and a copacetic atmosphere.
- Despite some initial concerns, the project's progress has been copacetic and is moving forward smoothly.
noun
an environmental cue, as the length of daylight or the degree of temperature, that helps to regulate the cycles of an organism's biological clock.
Explanation
- Zeitgeber was first recorded in English in 1970–75.
- Zeitgeber comes from German, in which it was coined by J. Aschoff in 1954.
- Zeitgeber means literally, “time-giver,” on the model of the German word Taktgeber, “electronic synchronization device, timer, metronome.”
- In the absence of external zeitgebers, such as clocks or natural light, some individuals may struggle to maintain regular sleep patterns.
- The sunrise served as a powerful zeitgeber for the birds, signaling the start of their daily singing rituals.
