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.
capable of managing one's affairs or assuming legal responsibility.
Sui juris is from Latin suī jūris, meaning “of one’s own right.” Suī is the possessive adjective meaning “her,” “his,” “its,” “one’s,” or “their.” Jūris is the rhotacized form of jūs, “law, right,” and it is the source of conjure, jury, and justice. Sui juris was first recorded in English circa 1610. EXAMPLE OF SUI JURIS USED IN A SENTENCE Unless demonstrated otherwise, every adult is regarded as sui juris in the eyes of the law.
sullenly unsociable or shy.
Farouche comes from Old French. Prior to that, farouche may come from Late Latin forāsticus, “belonging outside,” from Latin forās or forīs, “outside, out of doors,” which is the source of foreign, forest, and forfeit. Farouche was first recorded in English in the 1760s. EXAMPLE OF FAROUCHE USED IN A SENTENCE On their first day of high school, the students who had recently moved to the district were farouche and kept to themselves.
a radiant emission from the upper atmosphere that occurs sporadically over the middle and high latitudes of both hemispheres in the form of luminous bands, streamers, or the like.
Aurora comes from Latin aurōra, “dawn,” which was also the name of the Roman goddess of sunrise. Aurōra has two distant and unexpected relatives in English: east and Easter, both of which originally referred to the direction of the sunrise. In the context of lights in the sky, aurora was first recorded in English in the early 18th century. EXAMPLE OF AURORA USED IN A SENTENCE Because of that year’s strong solar wind, numerous aurorae glowed and danced in the winter sky.
having four ways or roads meeting in a point.
In quadrivial, the quadri- element is a form of Latin quattuor, “four,” while -vial comes from Latin via, “way.” Quattuor is the source of French quatre, Italian quattro, Portuguese quatro, Romanian patru, and Spanish cuatro, all meaning “four.” Meanwhile, via is the source of trivial and viaduct as well as convey and voyage. Quadrivial was first recorded in English around the turn of the 15th century. EXAMPLE OF QUADRIVIAL USED IN A SENTENCE The complicated quadrivial intersection had caused so many traffic accidents that the city eventually closed it off to cars entirely.
a fee charged by a restaurant for serving a cake brought in from outside.
Cakeage is modeled on corkage, which is a fee charged when patrons bring their own wine or liquor to a restaurant. Cake ultimately comes from Old Norse kaka, which makes cakeage a distant relative of the Words of the Day krumkake and lebkuchen. Cakeage is one of the recent additions to Dictionary.com. EXAMPLE OF CAKEAGE USED IN A SENTENCE The server levied a $10 fee for cakeage when the dinner party host revealed their own platter of jelly rolls.
