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 bright ring, caused by diffraction of light rays, that appears around the shadow cast by a person’s head on wet grass.
Heiligenschein (plural Heiligenscheine) is from German, in which it means “halo” or, literally, “saint’s shine.” Heiligen- is a form of Heiliger, “saint,” which is related to English hallow and Halloween. Schein means the same thing as its English relative shine. Heiligenschein was first recorded in English in the early 1910s. EXAMPLE OF HEILIGENSCHEIN USED IN A SENTENCE The skydivers saw Heiligenscheine around their shadows as they landed in the dewy field.
inciting, animating, or inspiring.
Proceleusmatic comes from Ancient Greek prokeleusmatikós, the name of a unit of rhythm. The keleusma- part means “summons,” comes from keleúein, “to rouse to action, command,” and is the source of Spanish saloma, a rhythmic work song. Proceleusmatic was first recorded in English at the turn of the 18th century. EXAMPLE OF PROCELEUSMATIC USED IN A SENTENCE The proceleusmatic song motivated the rowers to push hard and in unison during their long practice.
a person who is eager to know the latest news and gossip.
In Latin, quidnunc means “what now?” English wh- often corresponds to Latin qu-, which is how English what, who, and when are related to their Latin translations quid, quis, and quandō. Nunc is one of two Latin words for “now.” Quidnunc was first recorded in English at the turn of the 18th century. EXAMPLE OF QUIDNUNC USED IN A SENTENCE The quidnuncs spent hours on their phones each day as they checked all the media outlets for updates.
to confuse or mix up.
Ferhoodle is adapted from verhuddle, “to tangle, confuse,” in Pennsylvania Dutch, a dialect of German. This means that verhuddle is closely related to German verhudeln, “to bungle, make a mess of,” in which the ver- element is related to the for- in English forgive and forget. Ferhoodle was first recorded in English in the mid-1950s. EXAMPLE OF FERHOODLE USED IN A SENTENCE The alternating days of searing heat and chilling cold ferhoodled everyone's gardening plans.
a lover of words.
Logophile is a compound of logo-, meaning “word, speech,” and -phile, meaning “lover of.” Logo- comes from Ancient Greek lógos, which has a variety of senses, including “word, saying,” “speech, discourse,” and “proportion, ratio.” The form -phile can also be found in the Words of the Day ailurophile and bibliophile. Logophile was first recorded in English in the late 1950s. EXAMPLE OF LOGOPHILE USED IN A SENTENCE While most students were dreading the standardized test, a few plucky logophiles were excited to learn the words that would likely appear in the reading section.
