Dr Dictionary Words Of The Day

Front 1

fiat

Back 1

1. An arbitrary or authoritative command or order.
2. Formal or official authorization or sanction.

Hint 1

derives from Latin, "let it be done," from fieri, "to be done."

Front 2

salubrious

Back 2

Favorable to health; promoting health; healthful.

Hint 2

from Latin, "healthful," from salus,
"health."

Front 3

paean

Back 3

1. A joyous song of praise, triumph, or thanksgiving.
2. An expression of praise or joy.

Hint 3

comes from Latin, "a hymn of thanksgiving, often addressed to god Apollo," from Greek, from Paia, a title
of Apollo.

Front 4

mulct

Back 4

fine or penalty.

1. To punish for an offense or misdemeanor by imposing a fine or demanding a forfeiture.
2. To obtain by fraud or deception.
3. To defraud; to swindle.

Hint 4

comes from Latin multa, "a fine."

Front 5

blackguard

Back 5

1. A rude or unscrupulous person; a scoundrel.
2. A person who uses foul or abusive language.

Hint 5

The term originally referred
to the lowest kitchen servants of a court or of a nobleman's household. They had charge of pots and pans and kitchen other utensils, and rode in wagons conveying these during journeys
from one residence to another. Being dirtied by this task, they were jocularly called the ???

Front 6

eschew

Back 6

To shun; to avoid (as something wrong or distasteful).

Hint 6

comes from Old French eschiver, ultimately of Germanic origin.

Front 7

mellifluous

Back 7

Flowing as with honey; flowing sweetly or smoothly; as, a ??? voice.

Hint 7

comes from Latin, from mel, "honey" + fluus, "flowing," from fluere, "to flow."

Front 8

faineant

Back 8

Doing nothing or given to doing nothing; idle; lazy.
A do-nothing; an idle fellow; a sluggard.

Hint 8

from French, from Middle French fait, "does" +
néant, "nothing."

Front 9

perforce

Back 9

By necessity; by force of circumstance.

Hint 9

from French par force, "by force."

Front 10

cavalcade

Back 10

1. A procession of riders or horse-drawn carriages.
2. Any procession.
3. A sequence; a series.

Hint 10

from Old Italian, from cavalcare, "to go on horseback," from Late Latin caballicare, from Latin
caballus, "horse."

Front 11

gelid

Back 11

Extremely cold; icy.

Hint 11

from Latin, from gelu, "frost, cold."

Front 12

legerdemain

Back 12

1. Sleight of hand.
2. A display of skill, trickery, or artful deception.

Hint 12

from Old French, literally "light of hand": leger, "light" + de, "of" + main, "hand."

Front 13

perspicacity

Back 13

Clearness of understanding or insight; penetration, discernment.

Hint 13

from Latin, "sharp-sighted," from perspicere, "to look through," from per,
"through" + specere, "to look."

Front 14

fiduciary

Back 14

Relating to the holding of something in trust for another.

Hint 14

from Latin, "trust,"
and is related to faith and fidelity.

Front 15

polymath

Back 15

A person of great or varied learning; one acquainted with various subjects of study.

Hint 15

from Greek, "having learned much," from poly-, "much" + manthanein, "to learn."

Front 16

diffident

Back 16

1. Lacking self-confidence; distrustful of one's own powers; timid; bashful.
2. Characterized by modest reserve; unassertive.

Hint 16

from Latin, "to mistrust, to have no confidence," from dis- + fidere, "to trust." Synonyms: shy, timid, modest, coy, demure.

Front 17

inamorata

Back 17

A woman whom one is in love with; a mistress.

Hint 17

from Italian, "to
inspire with love," from in- (from Latin) + amore, "love" (from Latin amor, from amare, "to love").

Front 18

agitprop

Back 18

Propaganda, especially pro-communist political propaganda disseminated through literature, drama, music, or art.

Hint 18

from Russian, "agitation" +
propaganda.

Front 19

nefarious

Back 19

Wicked in the extreme; iniquitous.

Hint 19

from Latin, from nefas, "that which is contrary to divine command; a crime, transgression, sin," from ne-, "not" + fas, "divine command or law."

Front 20

celerity

Back 20

Rapidity of motion or action; quickness; swiftness.

Hint 20

Celerity is from Latin celer, "swift." It is related to accelerate.

Front 21

kvetch

Back 21

To complain habitually.

noun:
1. A complaint.
2. A habitual complainer.

Hint 21

from Yiddish, "to squeeze, to complain,"
from Middle High German quetzen, quetschen, "to squeeze."

Front 22

brio

Back 22

Enthusiastic vigor; vivacity; liveliness; spirit.

Hint 22

from the Italian, ultimately of Celtic origin.

Front 23

importunate

Back 23

Troublesomely urgent; overly persistent in request or demand; unreasonably solicitous.

Hint 23

from Latin, "unsuitable,
troublesome,(of character)assertive, insolent, inconsiderate."

Front 24

dishabille

Back 24

1. The state of being carelessly or partially dressed.
2. Casual or lounging attire.
3. An intentionally careless or casual manner.

Hint 24

from French, "to undress," from dés-, "dis-" + habiller, "to clothe, to dress."

Front 25

purblind

Back 25

1. Having greatly reduced vision.
2. Lacking in insight or discernment.

Hint 25

from Middle English pur blind, "wholly blind," from pur, "pure" + blind.

Front 26

asseverate

Back 26

To affirm or declare positively or earnestly.

Hint 26

from Latin, "to assert seriously or earnestly," from ad- + severus, "severe, serious."

Front 27

pukka, pucka

Back 27

1. Authentic; genuine.
2. Good of its kind; first-class.

Hint 27

Hindi pakka, "cooked, ripe," from Sanskrit pakva-, from pacati, "he cooks."

Front 28

discursive

Back 28

1. Passing from one topic to another; ranging over a wide field; digressive; rambling.
2. Utilizing, marked by, or based on analytical reasoning -- contrasted with intuitive.

Hint 28

from Latin, "to run in different directions, to run about, to run to and fro," from dis-, "apart, in different directions" + currere, "to run."

Front 29

ukase

Back 29

1. In imperial Russia, a published proclamation or order having the force of law.
2. Any order or decree issued by an authority; an edict.

Hint 29

from Russian, "decree," from Old Church Slavonic ukazu, "a showing, proof," from u-, "at, to" + kazati, "to point out, to show."

Front 30

circumambient

Back 30

Surrounding; being on all sides; encompassing.

Hint 30

from Latin circum, "around, round about, on all sides" + ambire, "to go around, to surround," from amb-, "on both sides, around" + ire, "to go."

Front 31

lachrymose

Back 31

1. Given to shedding tears; suffused with tears; tearful.
2. Causing or tending to cause tears.

Hint 31

from Latin, from lacrima, "tear."

Front 32

gourmand

Back 32

1. One who eats to excess.
2. A lover of good food.

Hint 32

from French, "greedy."

A gourmet is one who has discriminating taste in food and wine. A ??? is one who enjoys food of fine quality, and also one who enjoys food in great quantities.
Glutton signifies one who simply eats to excess, without
reference to the quality of the fare consumed.

Front 33

ambuscade

Back 33

An ambush.
transitive verb:
To attack by surprise from a concealed place; to ambush.

Hint 33

from Middle French, from Old Italian imboscata, from past participle of imboscare, "to ambush,"
from in, (from Latin) + bosco, "forest," of Germanic origin.

Front 34

fey

Back 34

1. Possessing or displaying a strange and otherworldly aspect or quality; magical or fairylike; elfin.
2. Having power to see into the future; visionary; clairvoyant.
3. Appearing slightly crazy, as if under a spell; touched.
4. (Scots.) Fated to die; doomed.
5. (Scots.) Marked by a sense of approaching death.

Hint 34

from Middle English, from Old English fæge, "fated to die."

Front 35

billet

Back 35

1. Lodging for soldiers.
2. An official order directing that a soldier be provided with lodging.
3. A position of employment; a job.

Hint 35

from Medieval French, from Old French bullette, diminutive of bulle, "a document," from Medieval
Latin bulla, "a document."

Front 36

perdurable

Back 36

Very durable; lasting; continuing long.

Hint 36

from Late Latin, from
Latin perdurare, to last a long time, to endure, from per-, throughout + durare, to last.

Front 37

extirpate

Back 37

1. To pull up by the stem or root.
2. To destroy completely.
3. To remove by surgery.

Hint 37

from Latin, "to tear up by the root, hence to root out," from ex-, "from" +
stirps, "the stalk or stem or a tree or other plant, with the roots."

Front 38

stasis

Back 38

1. A state of balance, equilibrium, or stagnation.
2. Stoppage of the normal flow of a bodily fluid or semifluid.

Hint 38

from Greek, "a standing still," from histasthai, "to stand."

Front 39

bete noire

Back 39

Something or someone particularly detested or avoided; a bugbear.

Hint 39

French for "black beast."

Front 40

moiety

Back 40

1. One of two equal parts; a half.
2. An indefinite part; a small portion or share.
3. One of two basic tribal subdivisions.

Hint 40

from Old French meitiet, from Late Latin medietas, from Latin medius, "middle."

Front 41

turpitude

Back 41

1. Inherent baseness or vileness of principle, words, or actions; depravity.
2. A base act.

Hint 41

from Latin, from turpis, "foul,base."

Front 42

coruscate

Back 42

1. To give off or reflect bright beams or flashes of light; to sparkle.
2. To exhibit brilliant, sparkling technique or style.

Hint 42

from Latin, "to move quickly, to tremble, to flutter, to twinkle or flash." Also the adjective, "glittering in flashes; flashing."

Front 43

seriatim

Back 43

In a series; one after another.

Hint 43

from the Latin, meaning "row, chain," and is formed on the same model as verbatim ("word for word")
and literatim ("letter for letter").

Front 44

evince

Back 44

To show in a clear manner; to manifest; to make evident; to bring to light.

Hint 44

from Latin, "to conquer entirely, to prevail over, to prove irresistibly," from e- (here used intensively) + vincere, "to conquer."

Front 45

forlorn

Back 45

1. Sad and lonely because deserted, abandoned, or lost.
2. Bereft; forsaken.
3. Wretched or pitiful in appearance or condition.
4. Almost hopeless; desperate.

Hint 45

from Old English forleosan, "to abandon," from for- + leosan, "to lose."

Front 46

omnipresent

Back 46

Present in all places at the same time; ubiquitous.

Hint 46

from Medieval Latin, from Latin omni-, "all" + praesens, present participle of praeesse, "to be before, to be present," from prae-, "before" + esse, "to be."

Front 47

perfunctory

Back 47

1. Done merely to carry out a duty; performed mechanically or routinely.
2. Lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; indifferent.

Hint 47

from Late Latin, from Latin
perfungi, "to perform fully, to get done with," from per-, "through" + fungi, "to perform."

Front 48

bibulous

Back 48

1. Of, pertaining to, marked by, or given to the consumption of alcoholic drink.
2. Readily absorbing fluids or moisture.

Hint 48

from Latin, from bibere, "to drink."

Front 49

voluble

Back 49

1. Characterized by a ready flow of speech.
2. Easily rolling or turning; rotating.
3. (Botany) Having the power or habit of turning or twining.

Hint 49

from Latin, "revolving, rolling, fluent," from volvere, "to roll."

Front 50

apogee

Back 50

1. The point in the orbit of the moon or of an artificial satellite that is at the greatest distance from the center of the earth.
2. The farthest or highest point; culmination.

Hint 50

from Greek apogaion, from apogaios, "situated (far) away from the earth," from apo-, "away from" + gaia, "earth."