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.
Check out the Word of the Yeara person whose wedding day is very soon to occur.
Nearlywed is a compound of nearly and wed, on the pattern of newlywed. Near comes from Old English nÄar, meaning âcloser.â Wed comes from Old English weddian, âto pledge.â Nearlywed was first recorded in English in the late 1950s. Nearlywed is one of the recent additions to Dictionary.com. EXAMPLE OF NEARLYWED USED IN A SENTENCE The nearlyweds registered for many gifts, only to return them months later as newlyweds.
toward the mountains; inland.
Mauka is from Hawaiian, comprising ma-, indicating direction, and uka, meaning âinland, upland.â The opposite direction of mauka is Word of the Day makai. Both mauka and makai show the influence of natural geographic features on the Hawaiian language. Mauka was first recorded in English in the mid-1870s. EXAMPLE OF MAUKA USED IN A SENTENCE The ancient trail ran mauka, gradually climbing the many slopes of the Mauna Loa volcano.
the ornamentation of a melody, often improvised by the performer, as in Italian opera during the 18th century.
Fioritura is a borrowing from Italian that literally means âflowerinessâ and ultimately comes from Latin flĹs, flĹr-, âflower.â L in Latin often becomes Italian i, which we see in the Italian borrowings piano (from Latin plÄnus, âplainâ) and piazza (from Latin plÄtea, âcourtyardâ). Fioritura was first recorded in English around 1840. EXAMPLE OF FIORITURA USED IN A SENTENCE In an attempt to wow the audience, the opera singer added several fioriture to each verse she sang.
resounding or reverberating loudly.
Reboant comes from Latin re-, âback, again,â and boÄre, âto cry aloud.â BoÄre is either related to or derived from Ancient Greek boân, of the same meaning, and these words may be of onomatopoeic origin, imitating the sounds of a cry. Though not related to reboant, English boohoo was formed in roughly the same way. Reboant was first recorded in English in the 1820s. EXAMPLE OF REBOANT USED IN A SENTENCE Her reboant calls of âEcho!â created a cacophony in the cave.
a Creole dish consisting of rice cooked with ham, sausage, chicken, or shellfish, plus herbs, spices, and vegetables.
Jambalaya is a borrowing from the dialect of French spoken in Louisiana. Before French, jambalaya appears to have come from Occitan, a language from southern France. The explanation that jambalaya contains the name Jean or French jambon, âham,â plus balayer, âto sweep,â is false. Jambalaya was first recorded in English in the 1740s. EXAMPLE OF JAMBALAYA USED IN A SENTENCE A savory, simmering jambalaya was the centerpiece of the New Orleans-themed buffet.
