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.
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.
adjective
feeding on blood, as a bat or insect.
Explanation
- Sanguivorous was first recorded in 1835–45.
- Sanguivorous is a combination of the Latin root sangui-, meaning "blood," and -vorous, meaning "eating or gaining sustenance from."
- Other similar adjectives include: omnivorous, carnivorous, herbivorous, piscivorous, and frugivorous.
- Vampire legends often depict mythical creatures that are both immortal and sanguivorous, requiring human blood to sustain themselves.
- The surgeon skillfully removed a leech from the patient's arm, a sanguivorous creature seeking a blood meal.
noun
a social blunder; faux pas.
Explanation
- Gaffe entered English around 1905–10.
- Gaffe comes from the same French word meaning "blunder."
- The French word gaffe probably was a special use of the word gaff, an iron hook used for handling large fish.
- Gaff comes from Provençal gaf, meaning “hook," and derived from the verb gafar “to seize.”
- The politician's gaffe during the press conference caused a media frenzy and became a topic of ridicule for weeks.
- She realized her gaffe shortly after she mispronounced her colleague's name during an important meeting with clients.
noun
an answer or solution for all problems or difficulties.
Explanation
- Panacea was first recorded in 1540–50.
- Panacea comes via Latin from the Greek word panákeia that includes the stem of panakḗs “all-healing.”
- Panakḗs can be separated into pan- “all” and akḗs “a cure.”
- Panacea can also mean a remedy for all disease or ills.
- The new software claims to be a panacea for productivity issues, but its effectiveness remains to be seen.
- There is no magic pill or panacea that can instantly cure a broken heart; healing takes time and self-care.
noun
a series of interconnected or interdependent things or events.
Explanation
- Concatenation was first recorded in 1595–1605.
- Concatenation comes from the Late Latin word concatēnātiōn, which means “linked together, connected.”
- The catēn(a) part means "chain," which is essentially a series of objects connected one after the other.
- Though not the sense featured here, concatenation can also refer to the act of physically linking things together in a chain.
- The movie director used a clever concatenation of suspenseful scenes to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
- The success of the team was a result of the perfect concatenation of talent, strategy, and hard work.
