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
third from the end.
Explanation
- Antepenultimate was first recorded in 1670-80.
- It comes from the Latin word antepaenultima, the second (syllable) from the last, or literally "before the penult."
- The penult is the next-to-last syllable in a word. It comes from a contraction of paene ultima, "almost the last."
- Taking it to the final step, the ultima is the last syllable in a word and comes from the Latin word ultimus, "farthest."
- The antepenultimate episode of the thrilling TV series kept viewers on the edge of their seats.
- As the show was winding down, the antepenultimate firework exploded into a dazzling display of colors in the night sky.
adjective
physically beautiful; comely.
Explanation
- Pulchritudinous comes from the Latin word pulchritūdō, meaning “beauty.”
- Pulchritūdō also gives us pulchritude, meaning “physical beauty,” which was first recorded in the 1400s.
- Pulchritudinous began to appear in the early 1700s and gained popularity in the 1800s with American authors who started using the word because it was humorously long and overly complicated.
- Washington Irving employed it in The Crayon Miscellany (1835) alongside other unnecessarily complex words to make fun of an advertisement for ginger ale.
- The sunset painted the sky with pulchritudinous hues of pink and gold.
- The ballerina's graceful movements were enhanced by her pulchritudinous form.
verb
to cause confusion or doubt in.
Explanation
- Bedevil, in the featured sense, was first recorded in 1760-70.
- It was formed from be- (an older prefix for forming verbs) and devil, which was first recorded before 900 and came from Late Latin diabolus.
- Diabolus itself came from Greek diábolos, "slanderer," which came from diabállein, "to assault someone's character," or literally "to throw across."
- The complex math problem bedeviled the students, leaving them puzzled and uncertain about the correct solution.
- The persistent technical glitches in the computer program bedeviled the developers, making it difficult for them to meet their deadline.
noun
excited public interest, discussion, or the like, as the clamor attending some sensational event.
Explanation
- Brouhaha was first recorded in English around 1885-90.
- It comes from the French phrase brou, ha, ha!, which was an exclamation used by characters representing the devil in 16th-century French drama.
- Brouhaha perhaps originally comes from a distortion of the Hebrew recited phrase bārūkh habbā (beshēm ădōnai), which means “blessed is he who comes (in the name of the Lord)” from Psalms 118:26.
- The brouhaha surrounding the controversial film reached its peak with protesters gathering outside the theater.
- Social media erupted in a brouhaha when a celebrity made an offhand comment, sparking a heated online argument.
verb
to leave hurriedly or quickly.
Explanation
- Vamoose comes from the Spanish word vamos, meaning “let's go.” It's the command form of the verb ir, “to go.”
- Vamoose was first recorded in English around 1830-40.
- Other, more common, words that we get from Spanish include alligator, tornado, and mosquito.
- The sound of thunder approaching made the campers quickly pack up their belongings and vamoose before the storm hit.
- As soon as the police arrived, the suspects had no choice but to vamoose from the scene of the crime.
