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
noisy, clamorous, or boisterous.
Explanation
- Obstreperous was first recorded between 1590-1600.
- It comes from the Latin word obstreperus, “clamorous,” which is similar to the verb obstrepere, “to make a noise at.”
- Obstropolous is a rare and obsolete variant of obstreperous.
- A more recent British English variant is stroppy, "bad-tempered or hostile."
- The obstreperous crowd at the concert drowned out the performer's voice.
- The children's obstreperous laughter echoed through the house, leaving no doubt they were having a great time.
noun
a feeling of fear, apprehension, or nervousness.
Explanation
- Collywobbles was first recorded around 1815-25.
- Collywobbles is most likely a coinage based on the words colic and wobble.
- Wobble comes from Low German wabbeln, which is akin to Middle High German wabelen, "to waver."
- Colic comes from Middle French colique, from Latin colica (passiō), “(suffering) of the colon.”
- As the roller coaster climbed higher and higher, a wave of collywobbles washed over her, making her heart race with fear.
- Before going on stage for his first solo performance, the young dancer experienced a case of collywobbles, his stomach fluttering with nervous anticipation.
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.
