Word of the Day
mawkish
adjective
characterized by sickly sentimentality; weakly emotional; maudlin.
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Why Dictionary.com chose mawkish
More about mawkish
- Mawkish was first recorded around 1660–70.
- Mawkish comes from the obsolete word mawk, meaning “maggot.”
- Maggot, “a soft-bodied, legless larva of certain flies,” comes from the Old Norse word for grub, mathkr.
- Maggot also has an obsolete sense, “an odd fancy; whim,” as in “You have nonsense maggots in your head!”
EXAMPLES OF MAWKISH
- The overly sentimental speech at the wedding struck a mawkish chord with many attendees.
- The novel’s ending was disappointingly mawkish, relying too heavily on clichéd romantic tropes.
seriatim
adverb
in a series; one after another.
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Why Dictionary.com chose seriatim
More about seriatim
- Seriatim was first recorded in 1670–80.
- Seriatim comes from the Medieval Latin word seriāt(us), “arranged in order.”
- The –im ending creates the adverb form.
- The related word, series, ultimately comes from the Latin verb serere, “to connect.”
EXAMPLES OF SERIATIM
- The professor listed the key points of his lecture seriatim, ensuring that each point was addressed in a systematic manner.
- The avid reader always tackled her new library book acquisitions seriatim, reading one novel after another without skipping a beat.
semaphore
noun
a system of signaling, especially a system by which a special flag is held in each hand and various positions of the arms indicate specific letters, numbers, etc.
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Why Dictionary.com chose semaphore
More about semaphore
- Semaphore was first recorded in 1810–20.
- Semaphore comes from the French word sémaphore, from the Greek word sêma, “sign,” and –phore, from the Greek form –phoros, “bearing.”
- Other words ending in –phore include ionophore, “a substance capable of transmitting ions through cell membranes,” and aerophore, “a portable device filled with compressed air.”
EXAMPLES OF SEMAPHORE
- With a well-coordinated semaphore display, the scout effectively transmitted vital information to the rest of the team.
- Using semaphore, the sailor signaled the approaching ship by holding her arms in precise positions, forming letters and numbers.
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