A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Aug 3 12:06:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--crotchet X-Bonus: What a child doesn't receive he can seldom later give. -P.D. James (Phyllis Dorothy James), novelist (3 Aug 1920-2014) Some words arrive with soap already in their mouths. Say them aloud and eyebrows rise, but look them up and the obscenity charges collapse. This week we'll meet five lexical false alarms. Their syllables may loiter near the gutter, but their meanings have clean records. All of them are actually completely safe for work. crotchet (KRAH-chit) noun 1. An eccentric opinion, preference, or habit. 2. In music, a quarter note. 3. A small hook or hooklike device or structure. [From Anglo-French crochet (small hook), diminutive of croc (hook), from Old Norse krókr (hook). Earliest documented use: c. 1427.] NOTES: Despite appearances, crotchet is not an instruction. It began as a small hook and is an etymological twin of crochet. Even crotch belongs to the same hook-and-fork family. Crotchety originally described someone given to crotchets, or eccentric notions. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/crotchet https://wordsmith.org/words/images/crotchet_large.jpg Photo: peasap https://www.flickr.com/photos/peasap/2088444066/ "All book collectors develop distinctive crotchets." Michael Dirda; How to Shop in Used Bookstores; The Washington Post; Apr 7, 2024. "Sixteen swallows do the crotchet and quaver thing on telephone wires, while three others zip through a hopeful sky." Paul Evans; An Island of Wild Life Among the Empty Pastures; The Guardian (London, UK); Sep 28, 2023. -------- Date: Tue Aug 4 12:06:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bumbaze X-Bonus: America has changed over the years. But these values my grandparents taught me -- they haven't gone anywhere. They're as strong as ever; still cherished by people of every party, every race, every faith. They live on in each of us. What makes us American, what makes us patriots, is what's in here. That's what matters. And that's why we can take the food and music and holidays and styles of other countries, and blend it into something uniquely our own. That's why we can attract strivers and entrepreneurs from around the globe to build new factories and create new industries here. That's why our military can look the way it does -- every shade of humanity, forged into common service. That's why anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadists or homegrown demagogues, will always fail in the end. -Barack Obama, US President (b. 4 Aug 1961) This week's theme: Words that sound dirty, but aren't bumbaze (buhm-BAYZ) verb tr. To bewilder or stupefy. [Of uncertain origin, perhaps an alteration of Scots baze (to dismay). Earliest documented use: 1587.] NOTES: Despite the first impressions or the first syllable, no backside is involved. To be bumbazed is to have your thoughts sent into a maze without a map. "The Perplexed Player", c. 1923 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bumbaze_large.jpg Art: Francis Coates Jones https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/430 "I hate to observe devoted and intelligent men bumbazed by a bolt from the blue." Edwin Morgan; A.D.: A Trilogy on the Life of Jesus; Carcanet; 2000. -------- Date: Wed Aug 5 12:06:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cumbrous X-Bonus: Every government has as much of a duty to avoid war as a ship's captain has to avoid a shipwreck. -Guy de Maupassant, short story writer and novelist (5 Aug 1850-1893) This week's theme: Words that sound dirty, but aren't cumbrous (KUHM-bruhs) adjective Difficult to carry, use, or manage, especially because of size, weight, or complexity. [From Old French encombrer (to hinder), from combre (dam). Earliest documented use: before 1400.] "Sisyphus", 1548-1549 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cumbrous_large.jpg https://wordsmith.org/words/sisyphean.html Art: Titian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus_(Titian) NOTES: The suggestive opening syllable is innocent: cumbrous is cumber + -ous, with the e squeezed out. Put cumbrous to work when unwieldy can't handle the load. A cumberworld https://wordsmith.org/words/cumberworld.html is a useless person, literally someone who encumbers the world. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/cumbrous "The cumbrous title transcribes a certain number of days into years and months ..." Ursula K. Le Guin; Two Years, Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie Review: A Modern Arabian Nights; The Guardian (London, UK); Sep 4, 2015. -------- Date: Thu Aug 6 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pismire X-Bonus: There are none so sour as those who are sweet to order. -Luc de Clapiers, Marquis de Vauvenargues, essayist (6 Aug 1715-1747) This week's theme: Words that sound dirty, but aren't pismire (PIS/PIZ-myr) noun 1. An ant. 2. An insignificant person. [From Middle English pissemire, from pisse (urine) + mire (ant). Earliest documented use: 1395.] "Microscopic view of an ant or pismire", 1665 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pismire_large.jpg Engraving from "Micrographia : or, Some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses. With observations and inquiries thereupon" by Robert Hooke https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/000001120 NOTES: Mire of pismire already meant ant. The first part refers to the pungent smell of certain ants and anthills, once likened to urine. Some ant species use formic-acid-rich sprays for defense and nest hygiene. As if pismire weren't explicit enough, a Scots and northern variant is pismore, the ant that goes the extra squirt. Mire is related to Latin formica (ant), the source of formicate https://wordsmith.org/words/formicate.html (to crawl like ants), and Greek myrmex (ant). Myrmidon https://wordsmith.org/words/myrmidon.html (an unquestioning follower) has long been associated with myrmex, though the exact connection is uncertain. "I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars, And the pismire is equally perfect ..." Walt Whitman; "Song of Myself"; Leaves of Grass; David McKay; 1891-1892. "'The first time I ever went, I went down the sand pit. I was just a little pismire,' Hendrickson says." John Holyoke; 92-Year-Old Skier Still Heeds the Need for Speed; Bangor Daily News (Maine); Jan 17, 2013. -------- Date: Fri Aug 7 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dowfart X-Bonus: Those who believe without reason cannot be convinced by reason. -James Randi, magician and scientific skeptic (7 Aug 1928-2020) This week's theme: Words that sound dirty, but aren't dowfart (DAU-fuhrt) noun: 1. A dimwit. 2. A coward. adjective: 1. Dim or dull. 2. Cowardly. [From Scots dowf (dull, dim) + -art, a variant of the usually pejorative suffix -ard. Earliest documented use: 1719. Also spelled duffart.] NOTES: The apparent fart is a false alarm. The word divides as dowf + -art, not dow + fart. Dowf is a Scots word meaning dull or stupid. The ending -art is a variant of -ard, found as -ard in drunkard and dullard, and as -art in braggart. It ultimately goes back to a Germanic element meaning hardy or bold. The word duffer may be an alteration of dowfart, after the word quietly let out a few letters. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/dowfart_large.jpg Illustration: W.W. Denslow in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum https://mikenine.com/oz/06.html "'The priest thinks I am a duffart,' she said. 'A dullard.'" Jean Thesman; Singer; Penguin; 2005. -------- Date: Mon Aug 10 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--assart X-Bonus: I like the pluralism of modernity; it doesn't threaten me or my faith. And if one's faith is dependent on being reinforced in every aspect of other people's lives, then it is a rather insecure faith, don't you think? -Andrew Sullivan, author and editor (b. 10 Aug 1963) Love is often said to be not a noun but a verb. Grammar is less romantic and more accommodating: love is both. You can love love. This week's words enjoy the same grammatical freedom. Put "a" or "an" before one and it clocks in as a noun. Put "to" before it and it reports for duty as a verb. One even works a third shift. Linguists call this kind of job switch "conversion" or "zero derivation": a word moves from one part of speech to another without changing its form. We call it lexical moonlighting. assart (uh-SART) noun: 1. A tract of woodland cleared for cultivation. 2. The act of clearing such land. verb tr., intr.: To clear woodland for cultivation. [From French essart (cleared land) and essarter (to clear), ultimately from Latin exsarire (to weed out), from ex- (out) + sarire (to hoe or weed). Earliest documented use: before 1450 for the noun and 1523 for the verb.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/assart_large.jpg Illustration from the Codex Granatensis, c. 1400 https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2022/07/rueti-and-schwand-indicate-historical-clear-felling-of-forests/ "This forest is unique because, despite encroachments within the statutory forest boundary and assarts that go back almost 1,000 years, the community has never acquired rights within it." Alan Robertson; Letter: Forest Sell-Off Has No Debate or Mandate;   The Guardian (London, UK); Jan 25, 2011. "It is well known that woodland in the Chilterns was assarted before and during the thirteenth century." R.B. Peberdy; From Goring Towards Henley; Oxoniensia; 2012. -------- Date: Tue Aug 11 12:01:03 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rapture X-Bonus: The true civilization is where every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself. -Robert Green Ingersoll, lawyer and orator (11 Aug 1833-1899) This week's theme: Is it a noun or a verb? Both! rapture (RAP-chuhr) noun: 1. A state or expression of ecstasy. 2. (often Rapture) In some Christian theologies, the supernatural taking up of believers from earth during the end times. verb tr.: 1. To fill with joy; enrapture. 2. To cause a believer to be taken up supernaturally from earth during the end times. [From rapt + -ure, ultimately from Latin rapere (to seize). Earliest documented use: 1594 for the noun and 1636 for the verb.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/rapture "The Rapture of St Paul", 1649-1650 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/rapture_large.jpg Art: Nicolas Poussin https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark%3A/53355/cl010062554 "For players and fans, even whole countries, winning the World Cup is a secular rapture." Who Should Win the World Cup?; The Economist (London, UK); Jun 13, 2026. "[Plastic bags] blow into tree branches, clog sewer drains, wrinkle jellyfish-like in our oceans, and tumble across our roads. Because they're so light, they defy proper waste management, floating off trash cans and sanitation trucks like they're being raptured by a garbage god." Jessica Roy; Here's Why California's Plastic Bag Ban Is Failing; Los Angeles Times; Sep 10, 2023. -------- Date: Wed Aug 12 12:01:03 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--skirr X-Bonus: The power of good is shown not by triumphantly conquering evil, but by continuing to resist evil while facing certain defeat. -Edith Hamilton, educator and writer (12 Aug 1867-1963) This week's theme: Is it a noun or a verb? Both! skirr (skuhr) verb intr.: To move rapidly, especially away. verb tr.: To range rapidly over an area, especially in search of something. noun: A whirring or grating sound. [Perhaps a variant of scour (to move rapidly or search), itself perhaps from Old Norse skur (shower). Earliest documented use: 1548 for the verb and c. 1870 for the noun.] "Two Geese in Flight and Full Moon", 1900s https://wordsmith.org/words/images/skirr_large.jpg Art: Ohara Koson https://asia-archive.si.edu/object/S2003.8.1975/ "The gamine Griffiths skirrs around her set, fuelled by four cups of coffee and the energy of being not even 30 years old." Lauren Martin; Death and the Maiden; The Sydney Morning Herald; Mar 18, 1998. "The name [Rumi] is an expedient wrapped in an approximation. It spares the American votary the trouble of negotiating the throaty skirr of 'Jelaluddin' or 'Jalal al-Din', not to mention bushwhacking through all that thorny spelling." David Barber; Rumi Nation; Parnassus: Poetry in Review (New York); 2001. -------- Date: Thu Aug 13 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--corbel X-Bonus: Drama is life with the dull bits cut out. -Alfred Hitchcock, film-maker (13 Aug 1899-1980) This week's theme: Is it a noun or a verb? Both! corbel (KOR-buhl) noun: An architectural support projecting from a wall to bear weight. verb tr.: 1. To arrange (bricks, stones, etc.) in stepped courses to form a corbel. 2. To support by means of a corbel or corbels. [From Old French corbel (little raven), a diminutive of corp or corb (raven), from Latin corvus (raven), apparently alluding to the corbel's beaklike shape. Earliest documented use: c. 1400 for the noun and 1859 for the verb.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/corbel Corbel with Five Interlaced Hair-Pulling Acrobats, c. 1150-1200 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/corbel_large.jpg Photo from Notre-Dame-de-la-Grande-Sauve, France https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/471137 "I stepped behind him into a flickering chamber hung with silks and lit by many candles resting on corbels on the walls." Steven Millhauser; The King in the Tree; Alfred A. Knopf; 2003. "In older houses the brickwork of the chimney is corbelled inwards to form the throat to the flue." David Snell; Bricks & Mortar; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Jul 8, 2006. -------- Date: Fri Aug 14 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mordant X-Bonus: The beginnings and endings of all human undertakings are untidy. -John Galsworthy, author, Nobel laureate (14 Aug 1867-1933) This week's theme: Is it a noun or a verb? Both! mordant (MOR-duhnt) adjective: Biting, caustic, or sarcastic. noun: 1. A substance used to fix a dye in or on a material. 2. A corrosive substance used in etching. verb tr.: To treat with a mordant. [From Old French mordant (biting), present participle of mordre (to bite), from Latin mordere (to bite). Earliest documented use: 1791 for the noun, 1474 for the adjective, and 1839 for the verb.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/mordant Chouara Tannery in Fez, Morocco, in continuous operation since the 11th century https://wordsmith.org/words/images/mordant_large.jpg Photo: Fred Dunn https://flickr.com/photos/gratapictures/17386099655/ NOTES: Dyers and etchers love this word, but comedians really know how to give it some bite. Some other words from the same Latin mordere (to bite) are morsel and remorse. Morsel is a little bite, and remorse is the bite that comes back for seconds. "For [novelist Lorrie] Moore, 'the bardo of the hospice' is a mordant metaphor for human existence, a place where laughter isn't the best medicine, it's the only medicine: All we've got left is a collection of bedpans and deadpans." Ron Charles; Hitting the Road With His Semi-Dead Girlfriend; The Washington Post; Jun 18, 2023. "What, in Pantone numbers, was the shift in red between cochineal used neat and cochineal mordanted with tin?" Vera Rule; A Perfect Red By Amy Butler Greenfield; The Independent on Sunday (London, UK); Jun 19, 2005. -------- Date: Mon Aug 17 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--circumambient X-Bonus: The only thing people regret is that they didn't live boldly enough, that they didn't invest enough heart, didn't love enough. -Ted Hughes, poet (17 Aug 1930-1998) Last Sat, I ran my sixth marathon, in Bergen, Norway. It was my first on a looped course: eight trips around the same route. This week's words are models of restraint by comparison. They cover the same ground only twice. We're not talking about ATM machine or PIN number. Rather, words where the repetition is baked into the word itself, as in pathway, which amounts to saying "way way". Welcome to the Department of Redundancy Department! Each word featured this week contains two elements that mean the same or nearly the same thing. Sometimes the elements came from different languages. At other times an old meaning faded from view, hiding the repetition. And occasionally the doubling was a matter of emphasis. Whatever the reason, each word this week arrives with an echo. One part speaks, and the other says, "Same here!" circumambient (suhr-kuhm-AM-bee-uhnt) adjective Surrounding. [From Latin circum- (around) + ambire (to go around), from amb- (around) + ire (to go). Earliest documented use: 1633.] NOTES: Circumambient takes two laps around its meaning. One lap would have sufficed, but Latin bought the day pass. The wheels on the bus go round and round. Also, clock hands, records, star trails, rumors, and circular definitions. What else can be invited to this round and round party? Mozart's Rondo alla turca can provide the soundtrack. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/circumambient Star Trails at Mt Bromo, Indonesia https://wordsmith.org/words/images/circumambient_large.jpg Photo: Zexsen Xie https://www.flickr.com/photos/zexsenxiephotography/15406650541/ "[Heit] was strangely affected, not only by her looks but this circumambient atmosphere of suspicion." Theodore Dreiser; An American Tragedy; Boni & Liveright; 1925. -------- Date: Tue Aug 18 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hapchance X-Bonus: Someone needs to explain to me why wanting clean drinking water makes you an activist and why proposing to destroy water with chemical warfare doesn't make a corporation a terrorist. -Winona LaDuke, activist, environmentalist, economist, and writer (b. 18 Aug 1959) This week's theme: Words that say it twice hapchance (HAP-chans) noun: 1. Luck or fortune. 2. An occurrence, especially a lucky one. verb intr.: To happen. [From hap (chance or luck), from Old Norse happ (good luck) + chance, from Old French cheance (event, fortune, or the falling of dice), from Latin cadentia (a falling), from Latin cadere (to fall). Earliest documented use: 1866.] "A Gaming Table at Devonshire House", 1791 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/hapchance_large.jpg Art: Thomas Rowlandson https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/358676 NOTES: Hapchance is literally chance chance or luck luck. Apparently, one can't have too much good fortune. Apparently, English wasn't willing to leave this one to chance. Also see serendipity, which specifically involves a fortunate discovery made by chance. https://wordsmith.org/words/serendipity.html "Two horses meeting by hapchance was one thing, but a downright, bald-faced preplanned race was, so to speak, a horse of another color." Jessamyn West; Except for Me and Thee; Harcourt, Brace & World; 1969. -------- Date: Wed Aug 19 12:01:02 AM EDT 2026 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--concomitance X-Bonus: There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, and that is to have either a clear conscience or none at all. -Ogden Nash, poet (19 Aug 1902-1971) This week's theme: Words that say it twice concomitance (kuhn-KOM-i-tuhns) noun 1. Occurrence or existence together or in connection with another. 2. Something that occurs or exists in connection with another. [From Latin concomitari (to accompany), from con- (with) + comitari (to accompany), from Latin comes (companion), from com- (with) + ire (to go). Earliest documented use: before 1535.] NOTES: Etymologically, concomitance is with with. The word comes accompanied by its own companion. With with is better than without without, or even with without. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/concomitance Gadwall Hens https://wordsmith.org/words/images/concomitance_large.jpg Photo: Belen Bilgic Schneider https://flickr.com/photos/szazszorszapathy/26068076711/ "Sometimes, I almost think my husband and I have reached sublime concomitance. Two hearts that beat almost as one." Lila Cohen; Of Heartbeats and Heartthrobs; Hartford Courant (Connecticut); Feb 12, 2006.