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.
the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.
Esperance comes by way of Middle French from Vulgar Latin spērantia, based on Latin spēs “hope.” Other derivatives of spērantia include modern French espérance, Italian speranza, Portuguese esperança, and Spanish esperanza, all meaning “hope.” Esperance was first recorded in English in the early 15th century. EXAMPLE OF ESPERANCE USED IN A SENTENCE The players were full of esperance about their new coach.
radiation emitted by a charged particle when accelerating.
Bremsstrahlung is a borrowing from German comprising Bremse, “brake,” and Strahlung, “radiation,” the latter from Strahl, “beam, ray of light” and originally “arrow.” Strahl is related to English streale, a dialectal word for “arrow” in southeastern England. Bremsstrahlung was first recorded in English in the early 1940s. EXAMPLE OF BREMSSTRAHLUNG USED IN A SENTENCE The electron hovered around the atomic nucleus, releasing bremsstrahlung as it lost some speed.
fun and entertainment, especially good conversation and company.
Craic comes from the English word crack. In Scottish English and in northern English dialect, crack has the sense “chat, gossip,” which may be the source of craic. Or craic may come from crack, a shortening of wisecrack. We know that craic is an Irish Gaelic spelling representing the English pronunciation, and in that form, entered English in the 20th century. EXAMPLE OF CRAIC USED IN A SENTENCE The recent graduates smiled sadly as they agreed that they would miss the craic.
the ringing or sound of bells.
Tintinnabulation is based on the Latin verb tintinnāre, meaning “to ring.” Tintinnāre was created by mimicking the sound of ringing, similar to English ding-dong. Tintinnabulation is often credited to Edgar Allan Poe, who featured the word in his poem The Bells in 1848, but Charles Dickens used tintinnabulation a year prior in his novel Dombey and Son. EXAMPLE OF TINTINNABULATION USED IN A SENTENCE A tintinnabulation resounded from the front desk as the guests tried to alert the hotel staff of their arrival.
freedom; independence.
Uhuru is a loanword from Swahili, a Bantu language with substantial influence from Arabic. The u- element is a native Swahili term roughly meaning “-ity, -ness,” while huru, “free,” comes from Arabic ḥurr. This Arabic term is also the source of Spanish ahorrar, “to save, avoid.” Uhuru was first recorded in English in the late 1950s. EXAMPLE OF UHURU USED IN A SENTENCE Decades of dedicated political action resulted in uhuru for the newly founded country.
