Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 17, 2010 is:

glower • \GLOW-er (the OW is as in "cow")\  • verb
: to look or stare with sullen annoyance or anger

Example sentence:
I could sense Katherine glowering at me after I took her usual parking spot.

Did you know?
Do words of uncertain origin make you scowl? If so, "glower" may put a frown on your face, because only part of its history can be validated. The well-established part of its story leads us to Scotland, where "glower" (or "glowren," to use the older Scottish form of the word) has been used since the late Middle Ages. Originally, the word meant simply "to look intently" or "to stare in amazement," but by the late 1700s, glowering stares were being associated with anger instead of astonishment. Beyond that, however, the history of the word is murky. The most we can say is that "glower" is a distant relative of Middle Low German "glūren," which means "to be overcast," and of Middle Dutch "gloeren," meaning "to leer."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 16, 2010 is:

archetype • \AHR-kih-type\  • noun
: the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies : prototype; also : a perfect example

Example sentence:
"A redeveloped Tonsley Park will be an archetype of the new economy … an economy that is knowledge-based, environmentally sustainable and responsive to climate change." (Brian Cunningham, The [Australia] Advertiser, February 9, 2010)

Did you know?
"Archetype" derives via Latin from the Greek adjective "archetypos" ("archetypal"), formed from the verb "archein" ("to begin" or "to rule") and the noun "typos" ("type"). ("Archein" also gave us the prefix "arch-," meaning "principal" or "extreme" and used to form such words as "archenemy," "archduke," and "archconservative.") "Archetype" has specific uses in the fields of philosophy and psychology. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato, for example, believed that all things have ideal forms (aka archetypes) of which real things are merely shadows or copies. And in the psychology of C. G. Jung, "archetype" refers to an inherited idea or mode of thought that is present in the unconscious of the individual. In everyday prose, however, "archetype" is most commonly used to mean "a perfect example of something."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 15, 2010 is:

haywire • \HAY-wyre\  • adverb or adjective
*1 : being out of order or having gone wrong 2 : emotionally or mentally upset or out of control : crazy

Example sentence:
The company's e-mailing system went haywire and sent out multiple copies of the advertisement to its subscribers.

Did you know?
The wire used in baling hay -- haywire -- is often used in makeshift repairs. This hurried and temporary use of haywire gave rise to the adjective "haywire." When the adjective was first used in the early 20th century, it was primarily found in the phrase "haywire outfit," which originally denoted a poorly equipped group of loggers and then anything that was flimsy or patched together. This led to a "hastily patched-up" sense, which, in turn, gave us the more commonly used meaning, "being out of order or having gone wrong." The "crazy" sense of "haywire" may have been suggested by the difficulty of handling the springy wire, its tendency to get tangled around legs, or the disorderly appearance of the temporary repair jobs for which it was used.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 14, 2010 is:

postulate • \PAHSS-chuh-layt\  • verb
1 : demand, claim 2 a : to assume or claim as true, existent, or necessary* b : to assume as an established truth (as in logic or mathematics)

Example sentence:
"If we postulate that the doors were all securely guarded," said the detective, "then the perpetrator must have been somebody who was already in the building."

Did you know?
In 1703, the dedication of the City and County Purchaser and Builders Dictionary included the following words: "These your extraordinary Favours … seem to Postulate from me … a Publick Recognition." That's also how the verb "postulate" was used when English speakers first began using it back in the late 1500s, as a synonym of "require" or "demand." (The word's Latin grandparent, "postulare," has the same meaning.) "Postulate" was also used as a noun in the late 1500s, with the meaning "demand" or "stipulation." That sense is now considered archaic, but we still use the noun "postulate." Today, it usually means "a hypothesis advanced as an essential presupposition, condition, or premise of a train of reasoning."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 13, 2010 is:

acronym • \AK-ruh-nim\  • noun
: a word formed from the beginning letter or letters of each or most of the parts of a compound term; also : an abbreviation formed from initial letters

Example sentence:
The new committee spent a fair amount of time choosing a name that would lend itself to an appealing acronym.

Did you know?
"Acronym" was created by combining "acr-" ("beginning") with "-onym," ("name" or "word"). You may recognize "-onym" in other familiar English words such as "pseudonym" and "synonym." English speakers borrowed "-onym" directly from the Greek (it derives from "onyma," the Greek word for "name"). "Acr-" is also from Greek, but it made a side trip through Middle French on its way to English. When "acronym" first entered English, some usage commentators decreed that it should refer to combinations of initial letters that were pronounced as if they were whole words (such as "radar" or "scuba"), differentiated from an "initialism," which is spoken by pronouncing the component letters (as "FBI" and "CEO"). These days, however, that distinction is largely lost, and "acronym" is a common label for both types of abbreviation.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 12, 2010 is:

sub rosa • \sub-ROH-zuh\  • adverb
: in confidence : secretly

Example sentence:
The private investigator met sub rosa with his client to show her photos of her husband rendezvousing at various local establishments with another woman.

Did you know?
"Sub rosa" literally means "under the rose" in New Latin. Since ancient times, the rose has often been associated with secrecy. In ancient mythology, Cupid gave a rose to Harpocrates, the god of silence, to keep him from telling about the indiscretions of Venus. Ceilings of dining rooms have been decorated with carvings of roses, reportedly to remind guests that what was said at the table should be kept confidential. Roses have also been placed over confessionals as a symbol of the confidentiality of confession. "Sub rosa" entered the English language in the 17th century, and even before then, people were using the English version, "under the rose." Earlier still, "unter der Rose" was apparently used in Germany, where the phrase is thought to have originated.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 11, 2010 is:

will-o'-the-wisp • \will-uh-thuh-WISP\  • noun
1 : a light that appears at night over marshy ground *2 : a misleading or elusive goal or hope

Example sentence:
Though her friends think she's chasing a will-o'-the-wisp, Alexis is determined to quit her job and follow her dream of becoming a pop music star.

Did you know?
The will-o'-the-wisp is a flame-like phosphorescence caused by gases from decaying plants in marshy areas. In olden days, it was personified as "Will with the wisp," a sprite who carried a fleeting "wisp" of light. Foolish travelers were said to try to follow the light and were then led astray into the marsh. (An 18th-century fairy tale described Will as one "who bears the wispy fire to trail the swains among the mire.") The light was first known, and still also is, as "Ignis Fatuus," which in Latin means "foolish fire." Eventually, the name "will-o'-the-wisp" was extended to any impractical or unattainable goal.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 10, 2010 is:

petard • \puh-TAHRD\  • noun
1 : a case containing an explosive to break down a door or gate or breach a wall *2 : a firework that explodes with a loud report

Example sentence:
"The blast occurred on Sunday afternoon in a farmer's house in the Anhui Province, destroying six rooms which stored materials for making petards and firecrackers." (RIA Novosti, January 11, 2010)

Did you know?
Aside from historical references to siege warfare, and occasional contemporary references to fireworks, "petard" is almost always encountered in variations of the phrase "hoist with one's own petard," meaning "victimized or hurt by one's own scheme." The phrase comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet: "For 'tis the sport to have the enginer / Hoist with his own petar." "Hoist" in this case is the past participle of the verb "hoise," meaning "to lift or raise," and "petar(d)" refers to an explosive device used in siege warfare. Hamlet uses the example of the engineer (the person who sets the explosive device) being blown into the air by his own device as a metaphor for those who schemed against Hamlet being undone by their own schemes. The phrase has endured, even if its literal meaning has largely been forgotten.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 09, 2010 is:

eclectic • \ih-KLEK-tik\  • adjective
1 : selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles *2 : composed of elements drawn from various sources; also : heterogeneous

Example sentence:
The new downtown restaurant offers an eclectic mix of appetizers and entrees at reasonable prices.

Did you know?
"Eclectic" comes from a Greek verb meaning "to select" and was originally applied to ancient philosophers who were not committed to any single system of philosophy; instead, these philosophers selected whichever doctrines pleased them from every school of thought. Later, the word's use broadened to cover other selective natures. "Hard by, the central slab is thick with books / Diverse, but which the true eclectic mind / Knows how to group, and gather out of each / Their frequent wisdoms...." In this 19th century example from a poem by Arthur Joseph Munby, for example, the word is applied to literature lovers who cull selective works from libraries.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 08, 2010 is:

lave • \LAYV\  • verb
1 a : wash, bathe* b : to flow along or against 2 : pour

Example sentence:
"There are few traces of man's hand to be seen. The water laves the shore as it did a thousand years ago." (Henry David Thoreau, Walden)

Did you know?
"Lave" is a simple, monosyllabic word that magically makes the mundane act of washing poetic. Shakespeare used it in The Taming of the Shrew, when Gremio assured the father of his beloved Bianca that she would have "basins and ewers to lave her dainty hands." And in Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop, Nell "laved her hands and face, and cooled her feet before setting forth to walk again." The poetry of "lave" is also heard when describing water washing against the shore, as in our example sentence, or even the pouring of water: "He … laved a few cool drops upon his brow" (John Lockhart, Reginald Dalton). Before washing our hands of "lave," we'll tell you its etymology: it, as well as "lavatory," comes from Latin "lavare," meaning "to wash."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 07, 2010 is:

exponent • \ik-SPOH-nunt\  • noun
1 : a symbol written above and to the right of a mathematical expression to indicate the operation of raising to a power 2 a : one that expounds or interprets* b : one that champions, practices, or exemplifies

Example sentence:
"Pianist [Chick] Corea has played plenty of straight-ahead jazz, but is probably best known as an exponent of '70s jazz-rock fusion." (Curtis Ross, The Tampa Tribune, February 19, 1999)

Did you know?
You probably won't be surprised to learn that "exponent" shares an ancestor with "proponent" -- and indeed, the Latin "ponere" ("to put") is at the root of both terms. "Exponent" descends from "exponere" ("to explain" or "to set forth"), which joins "ponere" with "ex-" ("out"). "Proponent" traces to "proponere" ("to display" or "to declare"), from "ponere" and "pro-" ("before"). "Proponent" can describe someone who offers a proposal (it's related to "propose," which also ultimately comes from "proponere"), but today it usually means "one who argues in favor of something." "Exponent" can also refer to someone who is an advocate, but it tends to refer especially to someone who stands out as a shining representative of something, and in addition it has retained its earlier meaning of "one who expounds."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.