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
of, relating to, or resembling twilight; dim; indistinct.
Explanation
- Crepuscular was first recorded in 1660–70.
- Crepuscular comes from the noun crepuscule, "twilight; dusk."
- Crepuscule was first recorded around 1350–1400 from the Latin word crepuscul(um), which is similar to creper, "obscure."
- During the crepuscular times of day, the sky takes on a mesmerizing blend of colors.
- The early morning mist added to the crepuscular atmosphere as we hiked through the craggy landscape.
adjective
homey; cozy and unpretentious.
Explanation
- Haimish was first recorded in 1925–30.
- Haimish comes from the Yiddish word heymish, which comes from the Old High German word heimisc, “pertaining to the home.”
- The word home comes from before the 900s from the Old English word hām, which is also related to the German word for home, Heim.
- The small café down the street had a haimish atmosphere that made me feel instantly at ease as soon as I walked through the door.
- With its quaint decorations and homemade dishes, the charming restaurant created a haimish dining experience that reminded me of my grandmother's cooking.
verb
to mark or become marked with spots.
Explanation
- Dapple, the verb, was first recorded in 1545–55.
- Dapple was probably formed from the adjective dappled, "having spots of a different shade from the background."
- Dappled first appeared around 1350–1400 and comes from Middle English.
- Dappled probably has Scandinavian roots and is similar to Old Norse depill, meaning "spot."
- The artist used a hairbrush to dapple paint onto the canvas, creating an abstract masterpiece.
- The sunlight dappled the leaves, casting beautiful patterns on the forest floor.
adjective
not able to be proven false, and therefore not scientific.
Explanation
- Unfalsifiable was first recorded in 1835–45.
- Unfalsifiable is formed from the prefix un, which means "not," and the word falsifiable.
- Falsifiable was first recorded in the early 17th century and ultimately comes from the Late Latin verb falsificāre, "to make false."
- The existence of parallel universes remains an intriguing but ultimately unfalsifiable theory within the domain of theoretical physics.
- Pseudoscience often relies on claims that are vague and unfalsifiable, making it difficult to subject them to rigorous empirical scrutiny.
noun
a mixture of haze and smoke.
Explanation
- Smaze was first recorded around 1950–55.
- Smaze is a portmanteau, a combination, of the words smoke and haze.
- Smoke was first recorded before 1000 and is from an Old English word, smoca.
- Haze was first recorded in 1700–10 and comes perhaps from a variant of the Old English word haswa, “ashen, dusky.”
- The dense smaze hanging over the city obscured the view of the skyline.
- The combination of a morning fog and chimney smoke created an eerie smaze in the countryside.
