Word of the Day
Presented by The Holdovers, Now Playing in Theaters Everywhere
entre nous
adverb
between ourselves; confidentially.
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Why Focus Features chose entre nous
Words can bring people together. In Alexander Payne’s new film The Holdovers, prep school teacher Mr. Hunham (Paul Giamatti) and his student, Angus (Dominic Sessa), form an unlikely bond built on the phrase entre nous. Don’t miss this “raucously funny" film—get your tickets now at TheHoldoversFilm.com!
More about entre nous
- Entre nous was borrowed into English from French around 1680–90.
- When two people want to keep their (mis)adventures confidential, they may use entre nous as a way of saying “let’s keep this between us.”
- Entre nous can be a signal of mutual concern or an affirmation of this shared knowledge.
EXAMPLES OF ENTRE NOUS
- After Mr. Hunham and Angus get into some shenanigans over the holiday break, they agree to keep it all entre nous.
- When Angus shares some personal information regarding his home life, Mr. Hunham assures him it will remain entre nous.
mawkish
adjective
characterized by sickly sentimentality; weakly emotional; maudlin.
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Why Dictionary.com chose mawkish
More about mawkish
- Mawkish was first recorded around 1660–70.
- Mawkish comes from the obsolete word mawk, meaning “maggot.”
- Maggot, “a soft-bodied, legless larva of certain flies,” comes from the Old Norse word for grub, mathkr.
- Maggot also has an obsolete sense, “an odd fancy; whim,” as in “You have nonsense maggots in your head!”
EXAMPLES OF MAWKISH
- The overly sentimental speech at the wedding struck a mawkish chord with many attendees.
- The novel’s ending was disappointingly mawkish, relying too heavily on clichéd romantic tropes.
seriatim
adverb
in a series; one after another.
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Why Dictionary.com chose seriatim
More about seriatim
- Seriatim was first recorded in 1670–80.
- Seriatim comes from the Medieval Latin word seriāt(us), “arranged in order.”
- The –im ending creates the adverb form.
- The related word, series, ultimately comes from the Latin verb serere, “to connect.”
EXAMPLES OF SERIATIM
- The professor listed the key points of his lecture seriatim, ensuring that each point was addressed in a systematic manner.
- The avid reader always tackled her new library book acquisitions seriatim, reading one novel after another without skipping a beat.
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