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.
a stone heap or platform used by the Polynesians as a marker or memorial.
Ahu comes from one of the Eastern Polynesian languages, possibly Rapa Nui, the language of Easter Island. On Easter Island specifically, ahu are the stone platforms on which the moai (carved stone figures) stand. Ahu was first recorded in English in the late 1910s. EXAMPLE OF AHU USED IN A SENTENCE The ahu stood at the center of the stone-lined clearing overlooking the shoreline.
violating generally accepted standards of good taste or propriety; unseemly.
Indecorous comes from Latin indecōrus, a compound of in-, “not,” and decōrus, “seemly, becoming.” Decōrus comes from decus (stem decor-), meaning both “honor, splendor” and “ornament,” which is why decus is the source of both decorate and decorum. Indecorous was first recorded in English in the 1670s. EXAMPLE OF INDECOROUS USED IN A SENTENCE He was known far and wide for his indecorous behavior, which included off-color jokes and accusatory rants.
a digital icon or a sequence of keyboard symbols that serves to represent a facial expression, as :‐) for a smiling face.
Emoticon is a portmanteau of emotion and icon. Emotion comes from Latin ēmovēre, “to move out,” while icon comes from Ancient Greek eikṓn, meaning “figure, image, likeness.” The resemblance between emoticon and emoji is a coincidence, as emoji is of Japanese origin. Emoticon was first recorded in English in the late 1980s. EXAMPLE OF EMOTICON USED IN A SENTENCE The colon and left parenthesis momentarily formed a frowning emoticon before AutoCorrect replaced the symbol with a yellow face emoji.
in another direction; toward a different place or goal.
In elsewhither, else is a distant relative of numerous words for “other,” such as Greek állos (as in allograft) and Latin alius (as in alien). Whither, meaning “to where,” is the opposite of whence, “from where,” and is a counterpart of hither, “to here,” and thither, “to there.” Elsewhither was first recorded around the year 1000 as Old English elleshwider. EXAMPLE OF ELSEWHITHER USED IN A SENTENCE The road forked into two paths: one that led to town and another that led elsewhither.
of or relating to a river delta.
Deltoidal means “delta-shaped,” and river deltas are so named for their resemblance to the triangular Greek letter delta (Δ). Delta is adapted from a Phoenician letter, dalt or dālet, originally meaning “door,” related to Arabic dāl (د) and Hebrew dāleth (ד). Deltoidal was first recorded in English in the 1830s. EXAMPLE OF DELTOIDAL USED IN A SENTENCE The low tide revealed a deltoidal cluster of narrow channels at the river’s mouth.
