Boreal Access

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 31, 2010 is:

sirenian • \sye-REE-nee-un\  • noun
: any of an order (Sirenia) of aquatic herbivorous mammals (as a manatee, dugong, or Steller's sea cow) that have large forelimbs resembling paddles, no hind limbs, and a flattened tail resembling a fin

Example sentence:
"Looking humanlike in certain aspects, sirenians are thought to be the basis of the myth of mermaids." (Michael McCarthy, The Independent [London], February 28, 2009)

Did you know?
"Sirenian" traces back via Latin to Greek "seirēn," which is equivalent to our word for the sirens of Greek mythology. And what is the connection between sirens and sirenians? Modern sirenians do not resemble the half bird, half woman creatures who lured sailors to their doom with their sweet singing. But as our example sentence states, sirenians are considered by some to underlie the ancient legends about mermaids. In European folklore mermaids were sometimes called "sirens," and apparently this confusion resulted in the granting of sirenians the name they bear today.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 30, 2010 is:

inchoate • \in-KOH-ut\  • adjective
: being only partly in existence or operation; especially : imperfectly formed or formulated

Example sentence:
Kate had an inchoate suspicion that things were about to go wrong, but she was unable to think of any concrete reason for her concern.

Did you know?
"Inchoate" derives from "inchoare," which means "to begin" in Latin but translates literally as "to hitch up." "Inchoare" was formed from the prefix "in-" and the noun "cohum," which refers to the strap that secures a plow beam to a pulling animal's yoke. The concept of implementing this initial step toward the larger task of plowing a field can help provide a clearer understanding of "inchoate," an adjective used to describe the imperfect form of something (as a plan or idea) in its early stages of development. Perhaps because it looks a little like the word "chaos" (although the two aren't closely related), "inchoate" now not only implies the formlessness that often marks beginnings, but also the confusion caused by chaos.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 29, 2010 is:

adjure • \uh-JOOR\  • verb
1 : to command solemnly under or as if under oath or penalty of a curse *2 : to urge or advise earnestly

Example sentence:
"Byron fled the country, adjuring Annabella to 'be kind' to his beloved sister." (Merle Rubin, Los Angeles Times, September 16, 2002)

Did you know?
"Adjure" and its synonyms "entreat," "importune," and "implore" all mean "to ask earnestly." "Entreat" implies an effort to persuade or overcome resistance. "Importune" goes further, adding a sense of annoying persistence in trying to break down resistance to a request. "Implore," on the other hand, suggests a great urgency or anguished appeal on the part of the speaker. "Adjure" implies advising as well as pleading, and is sometimes accompanied by the invocation of something sacred. Be careful not to confuse "adjure" with "abjure," meaning "to renounce solemnly" or "to abstain from." Both words are rooted in Latin "jurare," meaning "to swear," but "adjure" includes the prefix "ad-," meaning "to" or "toward," whereas "abjure" draws on "ab-," meaning "from" or "away."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 28, 2010 is:

friable • \FRYE-uh-bul\  • adjective
: easily crumbled or pulverized

Example sentence:
These plants will grow best in a soft, friable soil.

Did you know?
"Friable" entered into English in the mid-1500s, and was borrowed either from Middle French or directly from Latin "friabilis." This Latin adjective comes from the verb "friare," which means "to crumble." "Fiare" in turn is related to the verb "fricare" ("to rub"), the source of the English noun "friction." "Friable" is used to describe something that can be easily reduced to a powdered form. In contemporary usage, it is often found in the discussion of asbestos. Health concerns about asbestos primarily center around friable asbestos -- that is, asbestos that is easily pulverized into tiny fibers which may remain suspended in the air and become a potential health risk to those who inhale them.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 27, 2010 is:

Hobson's choice • \HAHB-sunz-choyss\  • noun
*1 : an apparently free choice when there is no real alternative 2 : the necessity of accepting one of two or more equally objectionable alternatives

Example sentence:
Reportedly, Model T manufacturer Henry Ford once gave this Hobson's choice: "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black."

Did you know?
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Thomas Hobson worked as a licensed carrier of passengers, letters, and parcels between Cambridge and London, England. He kept horses for this purpose and rented them to university students when he wasn't using them. Of course, the students always wanted their favorite mounts, and consequently a few of Hobson's horses became overworked. To correct the situation, Hobson began a strict rotation system, giving each customer the choice of taking the horse nearest the stable door or none at all. This rule became known as "Hobson's choice," and soon people were using that term to mean "no choice at all" in all kinds of situations.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 26, 2010 is:

parlay • \PAHR-lay\  • verb
1 : to bet in a parlay 2 a : to exploit successfully* b : to increase or otherwise transform into something of much greater value

Example sentence:
The young actor parlayed his popularity as a teen heartthrob into a successful film career.

Did you know?
If you're the gambling type, you may already know that "parlay" can also be used as a noun describing a series of bets in which a person places a bet, then puts the original stake of money and all of its winnings on new wagers. But you might not know that "parlay" represents a modified spelling of the French name for such bets: "paroli." You might also be unaware that the original French word is still occasionally used in English with the same meaning as the noun "parlay."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 25, 2010 is:

poetaster • \POH-uh-tass-ter\  • noun
: an inferior poet

Example sentence:
"Germaine Greer, Chair Of Judges For The National Poetry Competition 2000, Invites Entries From Readers, But Be Warned: Poetasters Need Not Apply" (Headline, The [London] Independent, May 7, 2000)

Did you know?
In Latin, the suffix "-aster" indicates partial resemblance. In both Latin and English, that often translates to "second-rate," or maybe even "third-rate." Not surprisingly, "poetaster" often goes hand in hand with "doggerel," meaning "verse marked by triviality or inferiority." "Most of the people who send me thick sheaves of handwritten or word-processed doggerel," Ms. Greer tells us in the Independent article we quote above, "appear never to have read any poetry, good or bad.... Every week poetasters, like literary flashers seeking to amaze and appal hapless passers-by with the sight of their grey flaccidities, send their effusions to people like me." Are there are other kinds of "-asters" out there? Yes indeed -- we have criticasters, philosophasters, and politicasters, among others.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 24, 2010 is:

tactile • \TAK-tul\  • adjective
1 : perceptible by touch *2 : of, relating to, or being the sense of touch

Example sentence:
"Nothing prepared me for the tactile reality of the original volumes, leaf after carefully written leaf over which his hand had travelled...." (Edmund Morris, The New Yorker, January 16, 1995)

Did you know?
"Tangible" is related to "tactile," and so are "intact," "tact," "contingent," "tangent," and even "entire." There's also the uncommon noun "taction," meaning "the act of touching." Like "tactile," all of these words can be traced back to the Latin verb "tangere," meaning "to touch." "Tactile" made its way to our language by way of French, touching ground in English in the early 17th century.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 23, 2010 is:

garner • \GAHR-ner\  • verb
1 a : to gather into storage b : to deposit as if in a granary 2 *a : to acquire by effort : earn b : accumulate, collect

Example sentence:
Through hard work and a determination to see her students succeed, Ms. Taylor has garnered considerable respect from parents and her fellow teachers.

Did you know?
What do you call a building in which grain is stored? These days, English speakers are most likely to call it a "granary," but there was a time when the noun "garner" was also a likely candidate. That noun, which can also mean "something that is collected," dates from the 12th century. The verb "garner" joined the language two centuries later. The verb was once commonly used with the meaning "to gather into a granary," but today it usually means "to earn" or "to accumulate." The noun "garner" is uncommon in contemporary use; it is now found mainly in older literary contexts, such as these lines of verse from Sir Walter Scott's "The Bride of Lammermoor": "Or, from the garner-door, on ether borne, / The chaff flies devious from the winnow'd corn."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 22, 2010 is:

inenarrable • \in-ih-NAIR-uh-bul\  • adjective
: incapable of being narrated : indescribable

Example sentence:
"Their songs were sometimes frenzied like the dances in which they whirled to syncopated rhythms, but more often muffled and sad with the inenarrable misery of their bondage." (Ross Lockridge, Jr., Raintree County)

Did you know?
"Ineffable," "inenarrable," "indescribable" -- English has quite a few words for expressing that which can't be expressed. The prefix "in-," meaning "not," teamed up with Latin "enarrare" ("to explain in detail") to give us "inenarrable," and the same prefix joined with Latin "effabilis" ("capable of being expressed") to create "ineffable." English speakers have used "ineffable" since the 14th century, and "inenarrable" made its way into the language from French in the 15th century. "Indescribable" was a late arrival, relatively speaking -- it has only been with us since the 18th century.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 21, 2010 is:

declivity • \di-KLIV-uh-tee\  • noun
1 : downward inclination *2 : a descending slope

Example sentence:
The hikers cautiously made their way down the somewhat steep and rocky declivity that led to the river.

Did you know?
Three different English words descend from "clivus," the Latin word for "slope" or "hill" -- with the help of three Latin prefixes. "Declivity" combines "clivus" with the prefix "de-," meaning "down" or "away." "Acclivity" uses "ad-" (which may change its second letter depending on the root word), meaning "to" or "toward." Hence, an acclivity is an upward slope. The third word has a figurative meaning in English: "proclivity" makes use of the prefix "pro-," meaning "forward," and this word refers to a personal inclination, predisposition, or "leaning."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 20, 2010 is:

conn • \KAHN\  • verb
: to conduct or direct the steering of (as a ship)

Example sentence:
The captain successfully conned his ship through the ice-packed waters.

Did you know?
In the 19th century, warships (and, later, submarines) began to be built with structures known as "conning towers." These structures were so called because it was from them that an officer could "conn" the vessel. The verb "conn" (also spelled "con") is first known to have appeared in English in the 1600s. It is an alteration of "cond," which is probably an alteration of Middle English "condien" or "conduen," meaning "to conduct." Since the 19th century, "conn" has also been used as a noun ("the control exercised by one who conducts or directs the steering of a ship"). This noun, though seldom encountered in general English, is likely familiar to fans of the various Star Trek series in which the directive "You have the conn" is sometimes given from the starship captain to another officer on the bridge.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 19, 2010 is:

Barmecidal • \bahr-muh-SYE-dul\  • adjective
: providing only the illusion of abundance

Example sentence:
The tax rebate is a Barmecidal windfall, coming as it does in the wake of new hidden taxes on consumer goods and services.

Did you know?
"Barmecide" is the name of a family of princes in a tale from The Thousand and One Nights (also known as The Arabian Nights' Entertainment). One prince in the family torments a beggar by inviting him to a fabulous feast, at which all the dishes are imaginary. The poor man plays along with his malicious host, pretending to get drunk on the imaginary wine; he then gets even by knocking down the patronizing royal.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 18, 2010 is:

agita • \AJ-uh-tuh\  • noun
: a feeling of agitation or anxiety

Example sentence:
"Bank nationalization would drive the stock market down and increase the agita of people with 401(k) plans." (Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker, April 6, 2009)

Did you know?
Judging by its spelling and meaning, you might think that "agita" is simply a shortened version of "agitation," but that's not the case. Both "agitation" and the verb "agitate" derive from Latin "agere" ("to drive"). "Agita," which first appeared in American English in the early 1980s, comes from a dialectical pronunciation of the Italian word "acido," meaning "heartburn" or "acid," from Latin "acidus." ("Agita" is also occasionally used in English with the meaning "heartburn.") For a while the word's usage was limited to New York City and surrounding regions, but the word became more widespread in the mid-90s.