Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 23, 2007 is:

argentiferous • \ar-jun-TIFF-uh-rus\  • adjective
: containing silver

Example sentence:
The mineral galena, which is common in the Mississippi River Valley, is often argentiferous and so is sometimes mined for silver as well as for lead.

Did you know?
If you learned basic chemistry, you might recall that the symbol for silver, "Ag," reflects the Latin name for the element, "argentum." That Latin term puts the luster in "argentiferous" and is also an ancestor of "argent," a word that was once used to refer to the metal silver and now means "the heraldic color silver or white." The country of Argentina owes its name to "argentum," as well.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 22, 2007 is:

denigrate • \DEN-ih-grayt\  • verb
1 : to attack the reputation of : defame *2 : to deny the importance or validity of : belittle

Example sentence:
Although some medical experts denigrate the new technology, others believe that the experimental results have been quite promising.

Did you know?
If you "denigrate" someone, you attempt to blacken their reputation. It makes sense, therefore, that "denigrate" can be traced back to the Latin verb "denigrare," meaning "to blacken." When "denigrate" was first used in English in the 16th century, it meant to cast aspersions on someone's character or reputation. Eventually, it developed a second sense of "to make black" ("factory smoke denigrated the sky"), but this sense is somewhat rare in modern usage. Nowadays, of course, "denigrate" can also mean to belittling the worth or importance of someone or something.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 21, 2007 is:

hat trick • \HAT-TRICK\  • noun
1 : the retiring of three batsmen with three consecutive balls by a bowler in cricket 2 : the scoring of three goals in one game (as of hockey or soccer) by a single player *3 : a series of three victories, successes, or related accomplishments

Example sentence:
The author scored a publishing hat trick, writing three best sellers in a row.

Did you know?
It may surprise some people to learn that the term "hat trick" as it relates to sports actually originated in British cricket. A bowler who retired three batsmen with three consecutive balls was entitled to a new hat at the expense of the club to commemorate this feat. Eventually, the phrase was applied to a single player scoring three goals in any goal sport and later to three victories or successes in sports as different as horse racing and golf. The phrase finally broadened to include a string of three important successes or achievements in any field.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 20, 2007 is:

nonchalant • \nahn-shuh-LAHNT\  • adjective
: having an air of easy unconcern or indifference

Example sentence:
Colette was amazed that Ryan could remain so nonchalant after being informed that he had won the scholarship.

Did you know?
Since "nonchalant" comes ultimately from Latin words meaning "not" and "be warm," it's no surprise that the word is all about keeping one's cool. The French word "nonchalant," which we borrowed around 1734, has essentially the same meaning as our English word and was derived in Old French from a verb, "nonchaloir," which meant "to disregard." "Nonchaloir" in turn combines the negative "non-" with "chaloir," which means "to concern" and comes from the Latin "calēre" ("to be warm"). "Unconcerned" is one synonym of "nonchalant," along with "casual," "complacent," and "insouciant."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 19, 2007 is:

pasquinade • \pass-kwuh-NAYD\  • noun
1 : a lampoon posted in a public place *2 : satirical writing : satire

Example sentence:
The article, a pasquinade mocking the proposed education reform, generated a lot of mail from readers.

Did you know?
In 1501, a marble statue from ancient times was unearthed in Rome and erected near that city's Piazza Navona. The statue depicted a male torso and was christened "Pasquino" by the Romans, perhaps after a local shopkeeper. It became a tradition to dress up the statue on St. Mark's Day, and in its honor, professors and students would write Latin verses that they would then post on it. Satires soon replaced these versus, and the Pasquino statue became a prime location for posting anonymous, bitingly critical lampoons. In the mid-17th century, these postings became known in English as "pasquinades" (from the Italian "pasquinata"). The term has since expanded in usage to refer to any kind of satirical writing.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 18, 2007 is:

aghast • \uh-GAST\  • adjective
: struck with terror, amazement, or horror : shocked

Example sentence:
In an effort to impress his date, Adam ordered the most expensive items on the menu, then was aghast when the bill arrived.

Did you know?
If you are aghast, you might look like you've just seen a ghost, or something similarly shocking. "Aghast" traces back to a Middle English verb, "gasten," meaning "to frighten." "Gasten" (which also gave us "ghastly," meaning "terrible or frightening") comes from "gast," a Middle English spelling of the word "ghost." "Gast" also came to be used in English as a verb meaning "to scare." That verb is now obsolete, but its spirit lives on in words spoken by the character Edmund in Shakespeare's King Lear: "gasted by the noise I made, full suddenly he fled."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 17, 2007 is:

enmity • \EN-muh-tee\  • noun
: positive, active, and typically mutual hatred or ill will

Example sentence:
Having to work on the project together only increased the enmity between Ralph and Debra, who had never gotten along.

Did you know?
"Enmity" and its synonyms "hostility," "animosity," and "animus" all indicate deep-seated dislike or ill will. "Enmity" (which derives from an Anglo-French word meaning "enemy") suggests true hatred, either overt or concealed. "Hostility" implies strong, open enmity that shows itself in attacks or aggression. "Animosity" carries the sense of anger, vindictiveness, and sometimes the desire to destroy what one hates. "Animus" is generally less violent than "animosity," but definitely conveys active prejudice or ill will.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 16, 2007 is:

fervid • \FER-vid\  • adjective
1 : very hot : burning *2 : marked by often extreme intensity of feeling

Example sentence:
Jennie was such a fervid supporter of the proposed law that she drove all the way to Washington to demonstrate in favor of its passage.

Did you know?
The Latin verb "fervēre" can mean "to boil" or "to glow," as well as, by extension, "to seethe" or "to be roused." In English, this root gives us three words that can mean "impassioned" by varying degrees: "fervid," "fervent," and "perfervid." "Fervid" and "fervent" are practically synonymous, but while "fervid" usually suggests warm emotion that is expressed in a spontaneous or feverish manner (as in "fervid basketball fans"), "fervent" is reserved for a kind of emotional warmth that is steady and sincere (as in "a fervent belief in human kindness"). "Perfervid" combines "fervid" with the Latin prefix "per-" ("thoroughly") to create a word meaning "marked by overwrought or exaggerated emotion," as in "a perfervid display of patriotism."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 15, 2007 is:

erne • \ERN\  • noun
: eagle; especially : a long-winged sea eagle (Haliäetus albicilla) with a short white wedge-shaped tail

Example sentence:
"The two men in question were in the vicinity of an erne's nest on Mull in March last year. . .." (Sinclair Dunnett, The Scotsman, February 5, 2000)

Did you know?
What do ernes, crows, finches, wrens, owls, and sparrows have in common (besides feathers and beaks and other avian traits)? Wing your way through one thousand years of ornithological and etymological history, and you will alight on an Old English lexicon wherein these birds had basically the same names as they have now. Their names were spelled a little differently back then: "earn," "crāwe," "finc," "wrenna," "ūle," and "spearwa." All those avian names are also birds of a feather in that their ancestors are akin to Old High German words: "arn," "krāwa," "fincho," "rentilo," "uwila," and "sparo," respectively.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 14, 2007 is:

malign • \muh-LYNE\  • verb
: to utter injuriously misleading or false reports about : speak evil of

Example sentence:
Critics have relentlessly maligned the mayor since rumors of bribery surfaced, even though she has successfully revitalized the downtown shopping district.

Did you know?
When a word's got "mal-" in it, it's no good. That prefix traces to the Latin word "malus" (which means "bad"), and it puts the negative vibes in "malign" and a host of other English words. You can see it in "malpractice" (bad medical practice) and "malady" (a bad condition, such as a disease or illness, of the body or mind). A "malefactor" is someone guilty of bad deeds, and "malice" is a desire to cause injury, pain, or distress to another person. Other "mal-" formed words include "malaise," "malcontent," "maladroit," "malodorous," and "malnourished."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 13, 2007 is:

paradox • \PAIR-uh-dahks\  • noun
1 a : a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps trueb : a self-contradictory statement that at first seems true *2 : one (as a person, situation, or action) having seemingly contradictory qualities or phases

Example sentence:
They had to face the paradox that their family, which was the source of so much love and affection, could also be the source of great hurt and pain.

Did you know?
The ancient Greeks were well aware that a paradox can take us outside our usual way of thinking. They combined the prefix "para-" ("beyond" or "outside of") with the verb "dokein" ("to think"), forming "paradoxos," an adjective meaning "contrary to expectation." Latin speakers picked up the word and used it to create their noun "paradoxum," which English speakers borrowed during the 1500s to create "paradox."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.