We love inviting all of our kith [ˈkɪθ] and kin to family cookouts on holidays.kith
noun [ˈkɪθ]
Kith is an old-fashioned term that refers to familiar friends, neighbors, or relatives. It is often used in the phrase “kith and kin,” which means “friends and relatives.”
the word endures with a meaning very close to that “neighbors and acquaintances” one. Today kith appears almost exclusively in the phrase kith and kin, meaning “friends and relatives.” English Mar 20, 2023, 8:15 AM cowpoke
The students admired the professor's oracular [oˈɹækjəlɚ] wisdom.oracular
adj [oˈɹækjəlɚ]
Oracular can describe something that is used to forecast or divine, or that resembles or relates to something used for such purposes. Oracular can also describe a person who resembles an oracle—a person (such as a priestess of ancient Greece) through whom a deity is believed to speak.
When the ancient Greeks had questions or problems, they would turn to the gods for answers by consulting an oracle, a person through whom the gods communicated. English Apr 11, 2023, 7:55 AM cowpoke
The absence of hemlock pollen from one stretch of the fossil record is a notable lacuna [ləˈkunə] that suggests the tree may have once suffered from some type of blight that nearly wiped out the species.lacuna
noun [[ləˈkunə]]
Lacuna is a formal word that refers to a gap or blank space in something—in other words, a missing part. When used with respect to biology, lacuna also refers to a small cavity, pit, or discontinuity in an anatomical structure.
Lacuna, lake and lagoon all come ultimately from lacus, the Latin word for “lake.” Latin speakers modified lacus into lacuna to form a word meaning “pit,” “gap,” or “pool.” English Mar 18, 2023, 9:57 AM cowpoke
I truly understand the benefits of in-person collaboration; however, the super majority of my close collaborators are based outside the United States. A 3-day in-person collaboration mandate might unintentionally hinder productivity. In light of these diverse working situations, I respectfully request that my designation be reconsidered as a remote employee. NegotiationEnglish May 1, 2023, 5:36 PM cowpoke
The columnist’s heterodox [ˈhɛtɚɹəˌdɑks] opinions on everything from dietary trends to the tax code made her a frequent lightning rod for criticism by the newspaper’s more old-fashioned readership.heterodox
adj [ˈhɛtɚɹəˌdɑks]
A synonym of both unorthodox and unconventional, heterodox describes something, such an idea or belief, that is contrary to or different from an acknowledged standard, a traditional form, or an established religion. Heterodox can also describe a person or group that holds unorthodox opinions or doctrines.
Both orthodox and heterodox developed from the same Greek doxa, meaning “opinion.” Heterodox combines doxa with heter-, a combining form meaning “other” English Mar 16, 2023, 8:30 AM cowpoke
She used her inheritance to establish and fund several eleemosynary [ˌɛlɪˈmɑsəˌnɛri] institutions.eleemosynary
adj [ˌɛlɪˈmɑsəˌnɛri]
Eleemosynary means "of, relating to, or supported by charity."
The good people of early England had mercy on themselves when it came to spelling and shortened the root of eleemosynary, the Latin eleemosyna, to ælmes, which they used to mean "charity." The original Latin root, however, was resurrected in the early 17th century to give us our modern conundrum of a spelling. English Feb 1, 2023, 9:50 AM cowpoke
In the Oscar-nominated film ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ a Chinese-American couple (played by Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan) with a failing laundromat face a tax audit, meeting a scrupulous [ˈskɹupjələs] agent (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) at an IRS office to review stacks of business receipts.scrupulous
adj [ˈskɹupjələs]
Scrupulous means “very careful about doing something correctly.” It can also mean “careful about doing what is honest and morally right.”
Scrupulous and its close relative scruple (“a feeling that prevents you from doing something that you think is wrong”) both come from the Latin noun scrupulus, “a small sharp stone,” the diminutive of scrupus, “a sharp stone.”
Scrupus has a metaphorical meaning too: “a source of anxiety or uneasiness.” English Mar 11, 2023, 9:32 AM cowpoke
We all admire his obdurate [ˈɑbdɚɹət] refusal to give up on his goal despite the many challenges he faced.obdurate
adj [ˈɑbdɚɹət]
Obdurate is a formal word that means “resistant to persuasion.” It is usually used to describe someone who is stubborn or not willing to change their opinion or the way they do something.
the words obdurate, dour, endure, and durable are etymological kissing cousins. All trace back to the Latin adjective durus, which means “hard.” English Mar 22, 2023, 7:44 AM cowpoke
The season finale of Andor does a brilliant job of tying together all the disparate [ˈdɪspɚɹət] plot threads, but there is still more story left to tell.disparate
adj [ˈdɪspɚɹət]
Disparate things are noticeably distinct in quality or character. Disparate can also describe something that contains or is made up of fundamentally different and often incongruous elements.
Latin verb disparāre, meaning "to divide, separate off, make different." Disparāre, in turn, comes from parāre, a verb meaning "to supply, provide, make ready or prepare." English Mar 27, 2023, 8:18 AM cowpoke
Only once the novel's protagonist reaches her nadir [ˈneɪˌdɪr] does she arouse the reader's empathy, and we root for her to climb back to respectability.nadir
noun [ˈneɪˌdɪr]
Nadir refers to the lowest or worst point of something. When used in astronomy, nadir describes the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the zenith and vertically downward from the observer.
From Arabic. The source of nadir is naḍhīr, meaning "opposite"—the opposite, that is, of the zenith, the highest point of the celestial sphere which is positioned vertically above the observer. (The word zenith itself is a modification of another Arab... English Mar 15, 2023, 7:37 AM cowpoke
