Category: Word of the Day

WORD OF THE DAY

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CATERWAUL-

cat·er·waul
[ˈkadərˌwôl]

VERB
caterwauls (third person present) · caterwauled (past tense) · caterwauled (past participle) · caterwauling (present participle)
  1. make a shrill howling or wailing noise like that of a cat.
    “he seems to think that singing soulfully is to whine and caterwaul tunelessly” · “the caterwauling of a pair of bobcats” · “a caterwauling guitar”
    synonyms: howl · howling · wail · wailing · screech · screeching · shriek · shrieking · scream · screaming · bawl · bawling · cry · crying · yell · yelling · yelp · yelping · yowl · yowling · squall · squalling · whine · whining · ululating · miaowing · miaow · howl · wail · bawl · cry · yell · scream · screech · yelp · yowl · squall · whine · miaow · ululate
NOUN
caterwauls (plural noun)
  1. a shrill howling or wailing noise.
    “the song ended in a caterwaul of feedback”
    synonyms: yell · cry · call · roar · howl · bellow · bawl · clamor · bay · cheer · yawp · yelp · wail · squawk · shriek · scream · screech · squeal · squall · caterwaul · whoop · holler · vociferation
    antonyms: whisper
ORIGIN
late Middle English: from cat1 + imitative waul.

Word of the Day

plan·gent
[ˈplanjənt]

ADJECTIVE
literary
(of a sound) loud, reverberating, and often melancholy.
“the plangent sound of a harpsichord”
synonyms: melancholy · mournful · plaintive · sonorous · reverberant · reverberating · resonant · loud

ORIGIN
early 19th century: from Latin plangent- ‘lamenting’, from the verb plangere.

Word of The Day

glade

noun GLAYD

Definition

: an open space surrounded by woods

Did You Know?

We know that glade has been with us since at least the early 1500s, though the word’s origins remain a bit of a mystery. Glade, which originally was often used not just to indicate a clearing in the woods but one which was also filled with sunlight, may come from the adjective glad. In Middle English, glad also meant “shining,” a meaning that goes back to the word’s Old English ancestor, glæd. Glæd is akin to Old High German glat (“shining, smooth”) and Old Norse glathr (“sunny”). It may also be a relative of Old English geolu, the ancestor of the modern English word yellow.

Examples

“Whenever they got a glimpse of the sun in an open glade they seemed unaccountably to have veered eastwards.” — J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, 1954

“Park on the side of the road near the sign where possible, but try to avoid going too far off into the mud. Walk past the sign and across a glade before descending into the hollow.” — James Baughn, The Southeast Missourian, 5 Apr. 2018

Word of the Day

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o·rac·u·lar
[ôˈrakyələr]

ADJECTIVE
relating to an oracle.
“the oracular shrine”
synonyms: prophetic · prophetical · sibylline · predictive · prescient · prognostic · divinatory · augural · vatic · mantic · fatidical · fatidic · haruspical · pythonic
(of an utterance, advice, etc.) hard to interpret; enigmatic.
“an ambiguous, oracular remark”
synonyms: enigmatic · cryptic · abstruse · unclear · obscure · confusing · mystifying · puzzling · perplexing · baffling · mysterious · arcane · ambiguous · equivocal · two-edged · Delphic
holding or claiming the authority of an oracle.
“he holds forth in oracular fashion”

ORIGIN
mid 17th century: from Latin oraculum ( see oracle) + -ar1.

Word of the day

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ad·a·man·tine
[ˌadəˈmanˌtēn, ˌadəˈmanˌtīn]

ADJECTIVE
literary
unbreakable.
“adamantine chains” · “her adamantine will”
synonyms: unbreakable · shatterproof · nonbreakable · toughened · sturdy · stout · hardwearing · heavy-duty · resistant · durable · lasting · made to last · enduring · everlasting · perennial · deathless · undying · immortal · endless · inextinguishable · imperishable · ineradicable · long-lasting · adamantine · infrangible
antonyms: fragile · ephemeral

Word Of The Day

 

gorgonize

verb

gor·gon·ize | \ ˈgȯr-gə-ˌnīz

gorgonized; gorgonizing

Definition of gorgonize
transitive verb
: to have a paralyzing or mesmerizing effect on : stupefy, petrify

Did You Know?
In Greek mythology, the Gorgons (from the Greek adjective gorgos, meaning “terrifying”) were commonly depicted as three female monsters who had snakes for hair and the ability to turn anyone who looked at them into stone. The most notorious of the three was Medusa; when she was slain by the hero Perseus, her severed head retained the power of turning anyone who looked on it to stone. In modern parlance, to gorgonize someone is to make him or her feel (metaphorically) petrified, usually through an intimidating glance or gaze.
First Known Use of gorgonize
1609, in the meaning defined above

Word of the Day

se·nes·cence

[səˈnesəns]

NOUN
biology
  1. the condition or process of deterioration with age.
    synonyms: elderliness · old age · oldness · seniority · maturity · dotage · senility · one’s advancing/advanced years · one’s declining years · the winter/autumn of one’s life · senescence · eld · caducity
    antonyms: youth · childhood

Word of the Day

cul·tu·ra·ti

[ˌkəlCHəˈrädē]

NOUN
culturato (noun)
  1. well-educated people who appreciate the arts.
    “the yuppies and the culturati get fashionable shows that suck up to them”

    synonyms: intellectuals · intelligent people · academics · scholars · learned people · literati · culturati · men and women of letters · cognoscenti · illuminati · highbrows · bluestockings · thinkers · ·

    [more]

    · brains · the intelligent · eggheads · boffins

    antonyms: masses
ORIGIN
1980s: blend of culture and literati.

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