Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 26, 2013 is:

tontine • \TAHN-teen\  • noun
: a joint financial arrangement whereby the participants usually contribute equally to a prize that is awarded entirely to the participant who survives all the others

Examples:
In the author's latest suspense novel, the participants in a secret tontine begin to show up dead—one by one.

"He had become interested in an insurance scheme called a tontine, in which people pool their money and the last survivor gets the whole pot. But tontines were now illegal." —From Alice Schroeder's 2008 book The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

Did you know?
Tontines were named after their creator, a Neapolitan banker named Lorenzo Tonti. In 1653, Tonti convinced investors to buy shares in a fund he had created. Each year, the investors earned dividends, and when one of them died, his or her share of the profits was redistributed among the survivors. When the last investor died, the capital reverted to the state. Louis XIV of France used tontines to save his ailing treasury and to fund municipal projects, and private tontines (where the last surviving investor—and subsequently his or her heirs—got the cash instead of the state) became popular throughout Europe and the U.S. Eventually, though, tontines were banned; there was just too much temptation for unscrupulous investors to bump off their fellow subscribers.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 25, 2013 is:

pertain • \per-TAYN\  • verb
1 a : to belong as a part, quality, or function b : to be appropriate to something 2 : to have reference

Examples:
Maria keeps a journal of news articles that pertain to her interests.

"When filing, candidates received copies of the charter and the portion of the code that pertains to elections, said City Clerk Tina Flowers." — From an article by Eileen P. Duggan in South County Times, April 12, 2013

Did you know?
"Pertain" comes to us via Anglo-French from the Latin verb "pertinēre," meaning "to reach to" or "to belong." "Pertinēre," in turn, was formed by combining the prefix "per-" (meaning "through") and "tenēre" ("to hold"). "Tenēre" is a popular root in English words and often manifests with the "-tain" spelling that can be seen in "pertain." Other descendants include "abstain," "contain," "detain," "obtain," "maintain," "retain," and "sustain," to name a few of the more common ones. Not every "-tain" word has "tenēre" in its ancestry, though. "Ascertain," "attain," and "certain" are among the exceptions. And a few "tenēre" words don't follow the usual pattern: "tenacious" and "tenure" are two.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 24, 2013 is:

goldbrick • \GOHLD-brik\  • noun
1 a : a worthless brick that looks like gold b : something that appears valuable but is actually worthless 2 : a person who shirks assigned work

Examples:
Jake is a goldbrick who spends too much time trying to cozy up to the boss instead of finishing his assignments.

"History is full of stories of inspirations that come in idle moments and dreams. It almost makes you wonder whether loafers, goldbricks and no-accounts aren't responsible for more of the world's great ideas, inventions and masterpieces than the hardworking." — From an article by Tim Kreider in The New York Times, July 1, 2012

Did you know?
"The gold brick swindle is an old one but it crops up constantly," states an 1881 National Police Gazette article referring to the con artist's practice of passing off bricks made of base metal as gold. By the time World War I was under way, the word "goldbrick" was associated with another sort of trickery. The sense of the word meaning "shirker" originated in the slang of the United States Army, where it referred to a soldier who feigned illness or injury in order to get out of work or service. That sense has since expanded in usage to refer to any person who avoids or tries to get out of his or her assignment.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 23, 2013 is:

amalgamate • \uh-MAL-guh-mayt\  • verb
: to unite in or as if in a mixture of elements; especially : to merge into a single body

Examples:
On her latest album, the artist has amalgamated several different styles of music.

"Sure enough, in 1999, Congress dutifully went along with Weill's push for repeal, and Wall Street promptly rushed to amalgamate more Citigroups, thus creating the 'too-big-to-fail' system that—only eight years later—did indeed fail." — From an article by Jim Hightower in the Illinois Times (Springfield, Illinois), August 9, 2012

Did you know?
The noun "amalgam" derives by way of Middle French from Medieval Latin "amalgama." It was first used in the 15th century with the meaning "a mixture of mercury and another metal." (Today, you are likely to encounter this sense in the field of dentistry; amalgams can be used for filling holes in teeth.) Over time, use of "amalgam" broadened to include any mixture of elements.and by the 18th century the word was also being applied figuratively, as in "an amalgam of citizens." The verb "amalgamate" has been in use since at least 1617. It too can be used either technically, implying the creation of an alloy of mercury, or more generally for the formation of any compound or combined entity.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 22, 2013 is:

canker • \KANK-er\  • verb
1 : to become infested with erosive or spreading sores 2 : to corrupt the spirit of 3 : to become corrupted

Examples:
"I have never seen any children, only debased imitations of men and women, cankeredA Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains, 2005

"If you have dead or cankered branches on your trees, disinfect pruning tools between cuts to prevent chances of spreading fire blight bacteria from infected trees." — From an article in the Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), March 13, 2013

Did you know?
"Canker" is commonly known as the name for a type of spreading sore that eats into the tissue—a use that obviously furnished the verb with both its medical and figurative senses. The word ultimately traces back to Latin "cancer," which can refer to a crab or a malignant tumor. The Greeks have a similar word, "karkinos," and according to the Ancient Greek physician Galen the tumor got its name from the way the swollen veins surrounding the affected part resembled a crab's limbs. "Cancer" was adopted into Old English, becoming "canker" in Middle English and eventually shifting in meaning to become a general term for ulcerations. "Cancer" itself was reintroduced to English later, first as a zodiacal word and then as a medical term.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 21, 2013 is:

filial • \FIL-ee-ul\  • adjective
1 : of, relating to, or befitting a son or daughter 2 : having or assuming the relation of a child or offspring

Examples:
Margaret's sense of filial responsibility is only part of her motivation for carrying on her parents' business; she also loves the work.

"Confucianism, which emphasizes filial piety, has been the bedrock of Korean society for hundreds of years and, historically, older citizens would rely on their children to take care of them." — From an article by Audrey Yoo in Time, March 25, 2013

Did you know?
"Filial" is descended from Latin "filius," meaning "son," and "filia," meaning "daughter," and in English (where it has been used since at least the 14th century) it has always applied to both sexes. The word has long carried the dutiful sense "owed to a parent by a child," as found in such phrases as "filial respect" and "filial piety." These days it can also be used more generally for any emotion or behavior of a child to a parent. You might suspect that "filia" is also the source of the word "filly," meaning "a young female horse" or "a young girl," but it isn't. Rather, "filly" is from Old Norse "fylja."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 20, 2013 is:

muliebrity • \myoo-lee-EB-ruh-tee\  • noun
: femininity

Examples:
"She was one of those women who are wanting in—what is the word?—muliebrity." — From H. G. Wells' 1911 novel New Machiavelli

"She is a motherly figure, but altogether unlike his mother, motherly in a way that allows too for muliebrity." — From Michael Griffith's 2012 book Bibliophilia: A Novella and Stories

Did you know?
"Muliebrity" has been used in English to suggest the distinguishing character or qualities of a woman or of womankind since the 16th century. (Its masculine counterpart, "virility," entered the language at about the same time.) "Muliebrity" comes from Latin "mulier," meaning "woman," and probably is a cognate of Latin "mollis," meaning "soft." "Mollis" is also the source of the English verb "mollify"—a word that implies a "softening" of hurt feelings or anger.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 19, 2013 is:

atone • \uh-TOHN\  • verb
1 : to supply satisfaction for 2 : to make amends

Examples:
Jamie tried to atone for his teasing of his sister by offering her some of his candy.

"For all the redemption songs in recent weeks, Bank of America Corp. still hasn't fully atoned for its mortgage mishaps." — From an article by Adam O'Daniel in Charlotte Business Journal, March 1, 2013

Did you know?
"Atone" comes to us from the combination in Middle English of "at" and "on," the latter of which is an old variant of "one." Together they meant "in harmony." (In current English, we use "at one" with a similar suggestion of harmony in such phrases as "at one with nature.") When it first entered English, "atone" meant "to reconcile" and suggested the restoration of a peaceful and harmonious state between people or groups. These days the verb specifically implies addressing the damage (or disharmony) caused by one's own behavior.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 18, 2013 is:

alameda • \al-uh-MEE-duh\  • noun
: a public promenade bordered with trees

Examples:
"The evening was soft and warm and in the little alameda grackles were settling in the trees and calling to one another."— From Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel No Country for Old Men

"The use of street trees and public gardens in plans for new towns in the late eighteenth century and the creation of alamedas and paseos in most of the larger existing towns reflect the spread of Enlightenment ideas to the colonies from Europe." — From Henry W. Lawrence's 2008 book City Trees: A Historical Geography from the Renaissance Through the Nineteenth Century

Did you know?
Residents of the American Southwest may remember the "álamo" in "alameda." This "álamo" is not the 18th-century Franciscan mission that was the site of a key battle in the fight for Texas independence, however, but the Spanish name for the poplar tree (the mission, the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, was named for the trees that grew near it). Spanish speakers used "álamo" as the basis for their word "alameda," which can name either a grove of poplars or a tree-lined avenue. English speakers found "alameda" so appropriate for a shady public promenade that they borrowed it as a generic term in the 1700s. And yes, the Spanish "alameda" and nearby poplar trees also contributed to the naming of the city of Alameda, California.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 17, 2013 is:

litmus test • \LIT-mus-TEST\  • noun
: a test in which a single factor (as an attitude, event, or fact) is decisive

Examples:
For Curtis, the litmus test of good barbeque ribs is whether or not they have that moist fall-off-the-bone quality.

"The students who are following the discussion often look uncomfortable at this point, and the moment serves as a litmus test to see who really is paying attention." — From an article by Dolores T. Puterbaugh in USA Today, November 2012

Did you know?
It was in the 14th century that scientists discovered that litmus, a mixture of colored organic compounds obtained from lichen, turns red in acid solutions and blue in alkaline solutions and, thus, can be used as an acid-base indicator. Six centuries later, people began using "litmus test" figuratively. It can now refer to any single factor that establishes the true character of something or causes it to be assigned to one category or another. Often it refers to something (such as an opinion about a political or moral issue) that can be used to make a judgment about whether someone or something is acceptable or not.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 16, 2013 is:

caterwaul • \KAT-er-wawl\  • verb
1 : to make a harsh cry 2 : to protest or complain noisily

Examples:
The toddler caterwauled loudly when her toy was taken away.

"Stockton's leaders clearly calculated that at this point they have little to lose by shortchanging bondholders—its credit rating is already so low that it'd have a hard time financing a used Hyundai with $5,000 down—and that while creditors may sue, complain, and caterwaul, they do not get to vote." — From an article by Kevin D. Williamson in National Review, April 3, 2013

Did you know?
An angry (or amorous) cat can make a lot of noise. As long ago as the mid-1300s, English speakers were using "caterwaul" for the act of voicing feline passions. The "cater" part is, of course, connected to the cat, but scholars disagree about whether it traces to Middle Dutch "cāter," meaning "tomcat," or if it is really just "cat" with an "-er" added. The "waul" is probably imitative in origin; it represents the feline howl itself. English's first "caterwaul" was a verb focused on feline vocalizations, but by the 1600s it was also being used for noisy people or things. By the 1700s it had become a noun naming any sound as loud and grating as a tomcat's yowl.