Word of the Day
More about bloviate
Bloviate is strongly associated with President Warren G. Harding, who popularized the term but did not invent it. Bloviate is an alteration of blow in the sense “to boast,” as in blow-hard, perhaps on the pattern of abbreviate, deviate, or obviate. Bloviate was first recorded in English in the early 1850s.
EXAMPLE OF BLOVIATE USED IN A SENTENCE
When the poll revealed a high demand for shows relevant to modern audiences, the TV executive bloviated, insisting that the old ways were the best.
bahuvrihi
noun
a compound noun or adjective in which the first word describes the person or object denoted by the second.
More about bahuvrihi
Bahuvrihi is from a Sanskrit word that literally means “having much rice.” In this rather meta way, bahuvrihi is itself a bahuvrihi. Sanskrit vrīhi and English rice may not look much alike, but they are indeed distantly related. Bahuvrihi was first recorded in English in the 1840s.
EXAMPLE OF BAHUVRIHI USED IN A SENTENCE
It was challenging to decide which bahuvrihi best described the hotheaded, dimwitted loudmouth.
polyped
noun
a being or object having many legs.
Why the Museum of Science chose polyped
To find out, watch this video from science communicator Maynard Okereke, better known as the Hip Hop M.D.
Learn more at the Museum of Science.
More about polyped
Poly- comes from Ancient Greek polýs, meaning “many,” while -ped is from Latin pēs, “foot,” meaning that polyped is a blend of roots from two different languages. An all-Greek version would be “polypod,” while an all-Latin version would be “multipod” instead. Polyped was first recorded in English around 1820.
EXAMPLE OF POLYPED USED IN A SENTENCE
Centipedes, millipedes, and several other kinds of polypeds scurried across the forest floor.