Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

Word of the Day

Word of the day

parlous

[ pahr-luhs ]

adjective

perilous; dangerous.

learn about the english language

More about parlous

Parlous and its variant perlous, meaning “dangerous,” are contractions of perilous, which dates from the end of the 13th century. Perilous comes from Old French perillus, perilous, perilleus (with many more spelling variants) “dangerous, hazardous,” from Latin perīculōsus. Parlous and perlous both entered English at about the same time, toward the end of the 14th century.

how is parlous used?

High school lay before me, vast and parlous, as middle school receded in the rearview mirror.

Phuc Tran, Sigh, Gone, 2020

I gave him two one-dollar bills. As I handed them over I noticed that one of them had seen parlous times. Its upper right-hand corner was missing, and it had been torn through in the middle, but joined again.

O. Henry, A Municipal Report, Maclean's Magazine, May 1911

Listen to the podcast

parlous

Play Podcast Stop Podcast
00:00/00:00
quiz icon
WHAT'S YOUR WORD IQ?
Think you're a word wizard? Try our word quiz, and prove it!
TAKE THE QUIZ
arrows pointing up and down
SYNONYM OF THE DAY
Double your word knowledge with the Synonym of the Day!
SEE TODAY'S SYNONYM
Word of the Day Calendar

Word of the day

meritocracy

[ mer-i-tok-ruh-see ]

noun

a system in which a person's progress is based on ability and talent rather than class privilege and wealth.

learn about the english language

More about meritocracy

Meritocracy, “a system in which a person’s progress is based on ability and talent rather than class privilege and wealth,” is a relatively recent word, dating from the mid-1950s; it’s a transparent combination of the noun merit and the common suffix –cracy “rule, government.” The term was coined by the British sociologist Michael Young in his satirical work The Rise of the Meritocracy (1958), which took aim at the British educational system. Much to Young’s dismay, meritocracy was adopted into widespread use without a hint of irony. In 2001, Young wrote in The Guardian: “The book was a satire meant to be a warning (which needless to say has not been heeded) against what might happen to Britain between 1958 and the imagined final revolt against the meritocracy in 2033.” 

how is meritocracy used?

If the educational system is reproducing existing class and status hierarchies—if most of the benefits are going to students who are privileged already—then either meritocracy isn’t working properly or it wasn’t the right approach in the first place.

Louis Menand, "Is Meritocracy Making Everyone Miserable?" The New Yorker, September 23, 2019

Most Silicon Valley leaders still see their industry as a true meritocracy, where employees are generously compensated, can easily switch jobs and don’t need a union to advocate for them. But a growing number of activists both inside and outside the companies don’t agree.

Gerrit De Vynck, Nitasha Tiku, and Jay Greene, "Six things to know about the latest efforts to bring unions to Big Tech," Washington Post, January 26, 2021

Listen to the podcast

meritocracy

Play Podcast Stop Podcast
00:00/00:00
Word of the Day Calendar

Word of the day

badinage

[ bad-n-ahzh, bad-n-ij ]

noun

light, playful banter or raillery.

learn about the english language

More about badinage

Badinage “playful banter” is a French compound noun of badiner “to joke, trifle” and the noun suffix -age, naturalized in English. Badiner is a derivative of the noun badin “joker, banterer,” from the Provençal verb badar “to gape,” which in turn comes from unrecorded Vulgar Latin batāre “to yawn, gape.” Badinage entered English in the second half of the 17th century.

how is badinage used?

“The Importance of Being Earnest” … has delighted audiences for more than a century with its badinage, irreverence and frothy romance. The real stars of the play have always been the words, which tumble out in a scathing, literate, giddy gush.

Ann Hornaday, "Fussy 'Earnest' Is Wilde at Heart," Washington Post, May 24, 2002

So, with laughter and shouts and endless badinage and merriment, the guests take their places.

Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, 1906

Listen to the podcast

badinage

Play Podcast Stop Podcast
00:00/00:00
Word of the Day Calendar
Word of the Day Calendar