Examples of VAUNTED
“After much initial hype, the much vaunted new production partnership fizzled out after just two seasons, leaving the franchise scrambling for a new direction and without a lead actor in its signature role.” — Lacy Baugher, Den of Geek, 22 Jan. 2026
Did You Know?
The verb vaunt has been used since the 15th century with the meaning “to make a vain display of one’s own worth or attainments”—in other words, “to brag or boast.” Over time, vaunt developed the meaning “to boast of (a particular thing),” as in “the promotional flier vaunts the natural beauty of the area,” and that use gave rise to the adjectival form vaunted. The history of vaunt and vaunted leads back to the Latin word vānus, with the meanings “lacking content, empty, illusory, marked by foolish or empty pride.” The word vain itself is also a descendant of vānus.
March 7, 2026
libertine (noun|LIB-er-teen)
A libertine is in broad terms a person who is unrestrained by convention or morality. More narrowly, the word describes someone who leads an immoral life.
// The legend of Don Juan depicts him as a playboy and libertine.
Examples of LIBERTINE
"As horrifying as some of the sins of Victorian scholarship may have been, it would have been anathema to these students of classical philosophy to simply throw out Plato. But that's what some of their modern inheritors have tried to do. … It's worth noting that we might not have Plato's work at all, were it not carefully studied and preserved by the Islamic scholars (hardly libertines themselves) of the medieval period." — R. Bruce Anderson, The Ledger (Lakeland, Florida), 1 Feb. 2026
"I only ask to be free," says Mr. Skimpole in Charles Dickens' Bleak House. His words would undoubtedly have appealed to the world's first libertines. The word libertine comes from the Latin lībertīnus, a word used in early writings of Roman antiquity to describe a formerly enslaved person who had been set free (the Roman term for an emancipated person was the Latin lībertus). Middle English speakers used libertine to refer to a freedman, but by the late 1500s its meaning was extended to freethinkers, both religious and secular, and it later came to imply that an individual was a little too unrestrained, especially in moral affairs. The likely Latin root of libertine is līber, the ultimate source of our word liberty.
crepuscular (adjective|krih-PUHSS-kyuh-ler)
Crepuscular means “of, relating to, or resembling twilight.” It is used in zoological contexts to describe creatures that are active during twilight, or the activities of such creatures.
// As evening came on, fireflies began to appear in the crepuscular gloaming.
Examples of CREPUSCULAR
“To gaze upon a platypus is to witness a jumble of contradictions. … Even when you see one with your own eyes—say, paddling underwater, absorbed in her crepuscular rooting—the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) remains hard to believe.” — Kathleen Yale, Orion, Winter 2025/2026
The early Romans had two words for the twilight. Crepusculum was favored by Roman writers for the half-light of evening, just after the sun sets; diluculum was reserved for morning twilight, just before the sun rises—it is related to lūcidus, meaning “bright.” (Crepusculum was likely modeled on diluculum, from the assumed root krepos-, meaning “twilight.”) English speakers didn’t embrace either of these Latin nouns as substitutes for the word twilight, but they did form the adjective crepuscular in the 17th century. The word’s zoological sense, relating to animals that are most active at twilight, developed in the 19th century.
@Adragayle How apropos! I was just at a wolf tour tonight and the guide was speaking about how wolves are mistakenly thought to howl at the full moon. Instead, she mentioned that they are crepuscular, typically howling at sunset and sunrise because that's when they're most active.
https://a-z-animals.com/animals/wolf/do-wolves-really-howl-at-the-moon/
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@diegosensible too funny! That's an interesting fact about wolves. Sounds like a fun and educational tour.