Word of the Day for Tuesday, August 14, 2012 aseptic \uh-SEP-tik\, adjective: 1.

Free from the living germs of disease, fermentation, or putrefaction. noun: 1. A product, as milk or fruit juice, that is marketed in an aseptic package or container. 2. Aseptics, (used with a singular verb) a system of packaging sterilized products in airtight containers so that freshness is preserved for several months. The development of aseptic packaging is so highly regarded in food industry circles that in 1983 members of the Institute of Food Technologists voted it the number-one food innovation in the last fifty years. -- Vince Staten, Can You Trust a Tomato in January? He was taken to an aseptic, white barracks on the opposite bank of the Moldau. -- Jorge Luis Borges, Labyrinths Aseptic was invented in the 1850s by chemists. It is based on the root septic meaning "infected."

Word of the Day for Friday, August 10, 2012

pillory \PIL-uh-ree\, verb: 1. To expose to public derision, ridicule, or abuse. 2. To set in the pillory. Nawal El Saadawi has been pilloried, censored, imprisoned and exiled for her refusal to accept the oppressions imposed on women by gender and class. -- Nawl Sadw, A Daughter of Isis Since Nixon, US Presidents had tended to be pilloried for misdemeanours. -- John Gubert, The Financial Terrorist Pillory comes from the Latin word pillar. It was first used as a verb in the 1600s.

Word of the Day for Tuesday, August 7, 2012

guff \guhff\, noun: 1. Empty or foolish talk; nonsense. 2. Insolent talk. So don't give me any of your guff, young fellow. And don't think I'm sore. But I get tired of guff I'll take it from a fool or from a book reviewer but I won't take it from a friend who knows a lot better. -- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Crack-Up

They'll probably keep me quite busy. What was all the guff about another woman? -- Ernest Hemingway, The Garden of Eden Guff is of unknown origin. It arose in the 1820s in the United States. It may be related to a Norwegian dialectic word gufs meaning "puff of wind."

Word of the Day for Monday, April 23, 2012

germinal \JUR-muh-nl\, adjective: 1. Being in the earliest stage of development. 2. Of or pertaining to a germ or germs. 3. Of the nature of a germ or germ cell. The germinal idea can be anything that gets your creative juices flowing. It can be a place, a person, an odd event. -- James N. Frey, The Key But there are also young forces which are connected with the germinal qualities the Earth holds within the cosmos. -- Rudolf Steiner, The Fifth Gospel Germinal is derived from the Latin word germen meaning "sprout, bud."

Word of the Day for Sunday, April 22, 2012

obtuse \uhb-TOOS\, adjective: 1. Not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect. 2. Not sharp, acute, or pointed; blunt in form. 3. (Of a leaf, petal, etc.) rounded at the extremity. 4. Indistinctly felt or perceived, as pain or sound. "Excuse me?" Rose says, giving me the look I deserve, given the obtuse nature of my invitation. -- David Sosnowski, Vamped That was always your failing. Too obtuse. Never able quite to get to the point. Or to make people realise when you have got there. -- Paul House, Dust Before the Wind He tried to collect his newspaper from under her while asking, Then why did you ask me that obtuse question? -- Shelly Hancock, Entertaining Jonathan Obtuse comes from the Latin word tundere which meant "to beat" and the prefix ob- meaning "against" because it referred to the process of beating metal until it was dull.

Word of the Day for Saturday, April 21, 2012

hsien \shyuhn\, noun: 1. One of a group of benevolent spirits promoting good in the world. 2. In China, a county or district. Taoists want to live forever, become Hsien. -- Louis Rogers, Ladder to the Sky The hsien was willing to depart, most willing if it could fulfill its mission and take her with it. By urging the spirit to depart as quickly as possible, Deng had inadvertently given it new strength. -- Jane Lindskold, Five Odd Honors Hsien stems from the Chinese word xin meaning "hermit, wizard." It came into English in the 1960s.