Word of the Day Challenge

[Chasing Dreams]

She could only shake her head and laugh because he had just told her he couldn't find the remote. She didn't understand how he didn't see it when it was egregiously in beside him. The remote wasn't under anything and if he only looked down, he'd see it. She ended up walking over to the couch and picked the remote up and handed it to him.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

brogue
noun | BROHG

Definition

1: a stout coarse shoe worn formerly in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands

2: a heavy shoe often with a hobnailed sole

3: a stout oxford shoe with perforations and usually a wing tip

Weekly Theme

Sci-Fi


Did You Know?

Did you expect brogue to be defined as "an Irish accent"? You're probably not alone; however, brogue has two homographs (words that are spelled—and, in this case, pronounced—the same but have different origins or parts of speech). Today we're featuring brogue, the shoe, which comes from the Irish word bróg and probably derives from an Old Norse term meaning "leg covering." Brogue, the accent, comes from a different Irish word, barróg, which means "accent" or "speech impediment."

[Wandering Mind]

His clothing were egregious by most standards.  What most considered formal wear was what he wore on a daily basis.  Elijah had assumed that it would have been appropriate for the setting.  He could hear the congregation, even before the doors opened.  The noise multiplied as the front doors were opened.  His eyes adjusted to the lighting as they entered the church, taking in the sights and sounds.  It was more lively than what the gentleman had expected.  It had been years since he had attended a worship service but there was a vibrant energy with this particular assembly.  It was a bit of a culture shock.

[Chasing Dreams]

She should have seen it coming because the witness had been scared and unsure that they testifying was the right move. She knew there was a small chance of it happening, but to hear the witness suborn themselves on the stand left her numb inside because she had thought that this time, she’d finally be able to take down a monster that had haunted her dreams. The man was a monster and someone that she had vowed to take down one day, but it was apparent she’d have to work harder and watch her back until she got another chance to make a run at him.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

fulminate
verb | FULL-muh-nayt

Definition

1: to utter or send out with denunciation

2: : to send forth censures or invectives


Weekly Theme

Sci-Fi


Did You Know?

Lightning strikes more than once in the history of fulminate. That word comes from the Latin fulminare, meaning "to strike," a verb usually used to refer to lightning strikes—it is struck from fulmen, Latin for "lightning." When fulminate was taken up by English speakers in the 15th century, it lost much of its ancestral thunder and was used largely as a technical term for the issuing of formal denunciations by ecclesiastical authorities. In time, its original lightning spark returned, describing intense strikes of a tirade.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

sedentary
adjective | SED-un-tair-ee

Definition

1: not migratory : SETTLED

2a: doing or requiring much sitting

b: not physically active

3: permanently attached

Weekly Theme

Sci-Fi


Did You Know?

Sedentary comes from Latin sedēre, meaning "to sit." Other descendants of sedēre include dissident, insidious, preside, reside, and subsidy. Sedēre is also the base of the rare sedens, a noun meaning "a person who remains a resident of the place or region of his or her birth."

[Wandering Mind]

When a person has a significant physical disability, manual labor jobs like being a construction worker or loading and unloading trucks isn't recommended.  They could look for sedentary jobs.  Something to know is that sedentary jobs typically require basic computer skills.  You don't need a computer degree or anything like that.  Just the ability to learn computer tasks at a job and a decent typing speed.  If a physical disability slows down the typing then accommodations may be available through the employer or through vocational rehabilitation agencies.

[Chasing Dreams]

When she started her job, she didn’t realize how sedentary it was while she was at her desk. She wasn’t into doing strenuous workouts, but she wasn’t one to simply sit around and do nothing, so she spoke with her boss about different options to be able to do more than sit around all day long at work. She ended up getting one of the backless balance ball chairs and that seemed to help. She was able to get one of the standing desks that would adjust so she could stand or sit as a way to fight some just sitting all day.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

adversary
noun | AD-ver-sair-ee

Definition

: one that contends with, opposes, or resists : an enemy or opponent


Weekly Theme

Historical


Did You Know?

Adversary comes from Latin advertere, meaning "to turn toward." The vertere of advertere means "to turn" and is the source of a number of English words. Along with obvious derivatives like inadvertent and adverse are some surprises, including anniversary, vertebra, and prose (this last coming by way of a Latin contraction of a form of the verb provertere, meaning "to turn forward").

[Chasing Dreams]

He wasn’t at all surprised when he saw her walk into the conference room because the two of them had been adversaries since the first day that they both got hired on at the firm. While they were civil to each other, they were both extremely competitive and end up competing against each other all the time at work. He kept a running tally of who won each assignment and as much as it pained him to admit, she was in the lead 10 to 7. She looked over at him and smirked as she took a seat across from him.

“Game on, Tyler.” She said, as she knew that while it was a pain to have to go up against him for many of the assignments, it made her work day fun. She knew that while she competed against him all the time, he was also a great friend. When she started working there, she had just moved to the state and didn’t know anyone. She knew that outside of work, they were friends, but at work, they were always competing and ended up making each other better.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

inflammable
adjective | in-FLAM-uh-bul

Definition

1: FLAMMABLE

2: easily inflamed, excited, or angered : IRASCIBLE

Weekly Theme

Historical


Did You Know?

Combustible and incombustible are opposites but flammable and inflammable are synonyms. Why? The in- of incombustible is a common prefix meaning "not," but the in- of inflammable is a different prefix. Inflammable comes from Latin inflammare ("to inflame"), itself from in- (here meaning "in" or "into") plus flammare ("to flame"). Flammable also comes from flammare. In the early 20th century, firefighters worried that people might think inflammable meant "not able to catch fire," so they adopted flammable and nonflammable as official safety labels and encouraged their use to prevent confusion. In general use, flammable is now the preferred term for describing things that can catch fire, but inflammable is still occasionally used with that meaning as well.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

responsive
adjective | rih-SPAHN-siv

Definition

1: giving response : constituting a response : ANSWERING

2: quick to respond or react appropriately or sympathetically : SENSITIVE

3: using responses


Weekly Theme

Historical


Did You Know?

Responsive comes from the joining of Latin responsus with the suffix -ivus, which gave English -ive. That suffix changes verbs into adjectives, as in suggestive or corrosive. Responsus is a form of respondēre, which means "to answer" and is the source of English's respond. Responsive enters the language with the meaning "giving response" or "answering." Examples are "a responsive letter" or "a responsive glance." Nowadays, it variously describes people or things that immediately respond or react to something, such as "a responsive audience" or "a car with responsive steering."

[Chasing Dreams]

She was able to work remotely three to four days a week whenever she wanted as long as there wasn’t a staff meeting. Since she took full advantage of working from home, she often found herself having to email her manager and team lead a lot more than if she was in the office. The only point of contention she was running into was that only her manager was responsive to the emails that she sent, but her team lead was terrible at remembering to respond to the emails that he got. She ended up having to call him several times a day to bug him until he responded.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

tribulation
noun | trib-yuh-LAY-shun

Definition

: distress or suffering resulting from oppression or persecution


Weekly Theme

Historical


Did You Know?

The writer and Christian scholar Thomas More, in his 1534 work A dialoge of comforte against tribulation, defined the title word as "euery such thing as troubleth and greueth [grieveth] a man either in bodye or mynde." These days, however, the word tribulation is commonly used as a plural noun, paired with trials, and relates less to oppression and more to any kind of uphill struggle. Tribulation comes from a Latin noun meaning "threshing board."

[Chasing Dreams]

As the weather was getting cooler, she couldn’t wait to start using her fireplace again. She was relieved that she wouldn’t have to use logs or inflammable things like paper or cardboard boxes because her fireplace was an electric one. She had no need to use the heat function on her fireplace in the spring and summer months because she didn’t need the heat that it could produce.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

exonerate
verb | ig-ZAH-nuh-rayt

Definition

1: to relieve of a responsibility, obligation, or hardship

2: to clear from accusation or blame

Weekly Theme

Historical


Did You Know?

Exonerate comes from the Latin verb exonerare, meaning "to unburden." That verb combines the prefix ex- with onus, meaning "load" or "burden." In its earliest uses, exonerate was applied to physical burdens—a ship, for example, could be exonerated of its cargo when it was unloaded. Later it was used in reference to the freeing of any kind of burden, including blame or charges of wrongdoing.

[Chasing Dreams]

She didn’t even know how she ended up having the responsibility of having to call and reschedule all the client meetings at work when it wasn’t even in her job description. When she attempted to inquire about it, her boss said that the two that were supposed to take care of it hadn’t shown up to work, so it all fell on her to do. She tried to get through her work before tackling anything else because she knew her tasks were important. Just as she was about to start making phone calls, another coworker walked into her office and took the list from her as well as the phone numbers while adding that she completed all of her work for the next few days and would be exonerating her of the assignment.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

precarious
adjective | prih-KAIR-ee-us

Definition

1: dependent on chance circumstances, unknown conditions, or uncertain developments

2: dependent on uncertain premises : DUBIOUS

3: archaic : depending on the will or pleasure of another

Weekly Theme

Historical


Did You Know?

"This little happiness is so very precarious, that it wholly depends on the will of others." Joseph Addison, in a 1711 issue of Spectator magazine, couldn't have described the oldest sense of precarious more precisely—the original meaning of the word was "depending on the will or pleasure of another." Precarious comes from a Latin word meaning "obtained by entreaty," which itself is from the word for prayer, prex.

[Chasing Dreams]

When she got to work, she had let her boss know that she needed to leave a little early due to an appointment in hopes that her boss would agree because she rarely ever asked to leave early or for a day off. Her boss had told her that her ability to leave early were precarious as there was a chance of afternoon meetings that she was going to needed in if they happened. Her boss told her that she wouldn’t know it she could leave early until around eleven-thirty that morning.

[Daeva]

Today's Word of the Day is....

vignette
noun | vin-YET

Definition

1 a : a picture (such as an engraving or photograph) that shades off gradually into the surrounding paper

b: the pictorial part of a postage stamp design as distinguished from the frame and lettering

2 a: a short descriptive literary sketch

b: a brief incident or scene (as in a play or movie)

3: a running ornament (as of vine leaves, tendrils, and grapes) put on or just before a title page or at the beginning or end of a chapter


Weekly Theme

Historical


Did You Know?

Vignette comes from the Middle French noun vigne, meaning "vine." In English, the word was first used in the early 17th century for a design or illustration that ran along the blank border of a page, or one that marked the beginning or end of a chapter. Such designs got their name because they often looked like little vines. It wasn't until the late 19th century that vignette began being used for a brief literary sketch or narrative.

[Chasing Dreams]

When she got to work that day, she knew that her coworkers had had enough of their manager’s behavior towards anything they tried to submit to their clients. The tribulations they were being put through with their manager trying to pass off their hard work as his own was finally becoming too much so they had decided to sabotage the project that he was presenting that day to prove they he was stealing their work. They created two versions and gave the manager the wrong version and held onto the correct one to show the higher ups once they proved once and for all that he was stealing their work.

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

lucid
adjective | LOO-sid

Definition

1a: suffused with light : LUMINOUS

b: TRANSLUCENT

snorkeling in the lucid sea

2: having full use of one's faculties : SANE

3: clear to the understanding : INTELLIGIBLE


Weekly Theme

Good vs. Evil


Did You Know?

Lucid comes from the Latin verb lucere, meaning "to shine," which is reflected in its meanings "filled with light" or "shining." It also describes someone whose mind is clear or something with a clear meaning.

[Wandering Mind]

"Adamantine weapons were especially good at damaging and breaking objects.  It is why it is sought after by adventurers.  It is rare and typically takes blacksmiths many days if not months to forge weapons made out of the material.  But even if someone had the gold to afford it, it didn't mean it could be found for purchase without effort.  It was prized by many as a precious metal and prized by others for its resilience.  It is said that items of adamantine could withstand anything outside of adamantine weapons, even the test of time.  Whether that was poetic embellishment or not, adamantine is one of the hardest metals available throughout the realms." The surely older man looked at you with a sigh and pointed to his vendor stall, "And as you can see, we do not sell weapons here... only cabbages.  Unless you are interested in a cabbage, please go away.  We do not have arms and armor for purchase."

[Chasing Dreams]

The medical procedure she was going to have required that she give consent while she was lucid enough to do so because the medication that they were going to give her would make her legally unable to make sound decisions. She had done her own research before that day and asked the questions she had before making an informed decision and before signing the consent form.

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

collude
verb | kuh-LOOD

Definition

: to work together secretly especially in order to do something illegal or dishonest : CONSPIRE, PLOT


Weekly Theme

Good vs. Evil


Did You Know?

The Latin prefix col-, meaning "together," and the verb ludere, "to play," come together to form collude. The related noun collusion has the specific meaning "secret agreement or cooperation." Despite their playful history, collude and collusion have always suggested deceit or trickery rather than good-natured fun.