Word of the Day

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.

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.

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.

Paronomasia means “a play on words” in Ancient Greek and comes from the verb paronomázein, “to make a slight name-change.” The ónoma element means, “name,” and its common variant, ónyma, appears in English words such as homonym and synonym. Paronomasia was first recorded in English in the 1570s. EXAMPLE OF PARONOMASIA USED IN A SENTENCE The paronomasia in the line “I am too much in the sun” (also heard as “son”) implies Hamlet’s continued mourning of his father.

Cosher is of unclear origin. Some linguists connect it to the term cocker, “to pamper,” also of uncertain origin. Others, however, link cosher to Irish Gaelic cóisir, meaning “feast.” Either way, cosher is not related to kosher, from Hebrew kāshēr, “right, fit,” in the context of dietary laws. Cosher was first recorded in English in the early 1860s. EXAMPLE OF COSHER USED IN A SENTENCE They coshered and spoiled the cat, and he started acting like the king of the house.