exculpate (verb | EK-skull-payt)
To exculpate someone is to prove that they are not guilty of doing something wrong.
// The editorial expresses confidence that the evidence will exculpate the accused.
Did You Know?
There’s no need to say “my bad” if you’re unfamiliar with exculpate; while the word is far from rare, it is most often encountered in formal writing in reference to the clearing of someone of alleged fault or guilt, as in “they were exculpated of any wrongdoing.” You may be more familiar with a pair of terms that, like exculpate, come from the Latin noun culpa, meaning “blame” or “guilt.” One is the adjective culpable, used to describe someone deserving of condemnation or blame. The other is the Latin phrase mea culpa, which translates directly as “through my fault” and refers to an acknowledgement of personal fault or error that is more formal than, well, “my bad.”
bumptious (adjective | BUMP-shus)
Bumptious describes people who are rudely and often noisily confident or over-assertive. It can also be applied to actions or behaviors that show this same attitude.
// Our host apologized for the bumptious party guest who caused a scene before being asked to leave.
While evidence dates bumptious to the beginning of the 19th century, the word was uncommon enough decades later that Edward Bulwer-Lytton included the following in his 1850 My Novel: "'She holds her head higher, I think,' said the landlord, smiling. 'She was always—not exactly proud like, but what I calls Bumptious.' 'I never heard that word before,' said the parson, laying down his knife and fork. 'Bumptious indeed, though I believe it is not in the dictionary, has crept into familiar parlance, especially amongst young folks at school and college.'" The word is, of course, now in "the dictionary"; ours notes that it comes from the noun bump and the suffix -tious, echoing other disapproving modifiers including captious ("fault-finding") and fractious ("troublemaking").
@Adragayle … have you been reading the forums again? 😇
@lovingspoonfull seemed appropriate, lol
modicum (noun | MAH-dih-kum)
Modicum is a formal word that means “a small amount.” It is almost always used with of.
// The band enjoyed a modicum of success in the early 2010s before becoming an international sensation.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the English language has more than a modicum of words referring to a small amount of something—it has oodles, from smidgen to soupçon. But while modicum can be applied to countable or physical things (like words or salt) it is almost always applied instead to abstract concepts like respect, success, control, hope, dignity, or privacy. Modicum traces back to the Latin noun modus, meaning “measure,” which just so happens to be the ancestor of more than a modicum of English words, from moderate and modify to mold and commode.
English word etymology is illuminating to me. This is an educational thread. Thank You.
gloss (verb | GLAHSS)
To gloss a word or phrase is to provide its meaning, or in other words, to explain or define it.
// Many unfamiliar terms are glossed in the book’s introduction.
If you’re the type of word nerd who finds poring over book glossaries to be the bee’s knees, we know you’ll get a buzz from this gloss of the verb gloss. To gloss something, such as a word or phrase, is to explain or define it. The noun gloss, it follows, refers to (among other things) a brief explanation of a word or expression. And a glossary of course is a collection of textual glosses, or of specialized terms, with their meanings. Both forms of gloss, as well as the word glossary, trace back to the Greek noun glôssa, meaning “tongue,” “language,” or “obscure word requiring explanation.” Another descendent of glôssa, the English noun glossa, refers not to a bee’s knees but to a bee’s tongue, or to the tongue of another insect.
My only use of gloss, or experience with it, has been in the context of “gloss over” or as in gloss as shine.
The meanings and uses you’ve shared are completely new to me. 😎
I can see "gloss over" as talking around something or redirecting conversation away from it rather than addressing it.
uncanny (adjective | un-KAN-ee)
Uncanny is typically used to describe something that is strange or unusual in a way that is surprising or difficult to understand. It can also describe something that seems to have a supernatural character or origin.
// The child has an uncanny ability to recognize streets and locations she's seen only once or twice before.
// The lights suddenly flickered, and we were both overcome with an eerie, uncanny feeling.
Uncanny describes that which unsettles us, such as disquieting observations, or mysterious situations and circumstances. Strip the word of its prefix, though, and you're left with canny, a word that can be used as a synonym for clever and prudent. While canny and uncanny don't appear to be antonyms, they both come from an early Scots word canny meaning "free from risk; wise, prudent, cautious." And in Scots, canny has for centuries had a secondary meaning more similar to that of its mysterious cousin: the Oxford English Dictionary defines a sense of the word used chiefly in negative constructions (e.g., “not canny”) to describe what is not safe to be involved with, or more broadly, what is not in accordance with what is right or natural, as in "the idea is not canny." Rather uncanny.
darling (noun | DAHR-ling)
Darling can refer to a dearly loved person or to someone who is liked very much by a person or group. It can also mean “a kind and helpful person” as in, “Be a darling and carry this inside for me, would you?”
// Our baby grandchild is just the sweetest little darling.
// The actor has become a darling of the entertainment industry in both film and music.
The opening lines of the rock band Wilco’s song “My Darling,” sung from the perspective of a parent calming their sleepless child, demonstrate a very common use of the word darling: “Go back to sleep now, my darling / And I’ll keep all the bad dreams away.” Darling is an ancient word, traceable all the way back to the Old English noun dēorling, which was formed by attaching the suffix -ling to the adjective dēore, the ancestor of dear, which describes that which is regarded very affectionately or fondly, is highly valued or esteemed, or is beloved. Darling, as in “my darling,” is often used as a term of endearment, whether for a child or a sweetheart, but it can also be used as a synonym of the noun favorite, as in “the word darling has proven itself a darling of songwriters for many centuries.”
The most amusing use of the word "darling" that I've seen is as a brand of clementines.
David Bowie's 'Beauty and the Beast' is my favorite use of "Darling" in a song.
@Sideon David Bowie was pretty much my only celebrity crush growing up. Love it. (and Allan Rickman - pre Snape)
"hi"
@IronLemon looking that up, I was reminded of an old cartoon character called Huckleberry Hound who would sing " Oh My Darling Clementine", also discovered there is a clothing store called Darling Clementine and remembered an old friend whose last name is Darling. Thank you and @Sideon for your Darling comments leading me down memory lane
@Adragayle I remember Huckleberry Hound! Vaguely ... it was a long time ago. And of people named Darling, one can't forget Wendy Darling.
I immediately thought of Zsa Zsa Gabor… her “Dahhhlink” was a cultural meme before they were called memes. 😎
@lovingspoonfull I totally forgot about Zsa Zsa Gabor. It was indeed!
@IronLemon my 10 yo grand is going to be in a production of Perer Pan in the fall, you'd think I would have remembered Wendy Darling, lol.
Wonderful blasts from the past!!
fester (verb | FESS-ter)
Something that festers becomes worse as time passes. Fester can also mean, in the context of wounds, sores, etc., “to become painful and infected.”
// We should deal with these problems now instead of allowing them to fester.
Both noun and verb forms of the English word fester come from the Latin noun fistula, meaning “pipe” or, less pleasantly, “fistulous ulcer.” Accordingly, the noun fester refers to a sore that forms or discharges pus, while the oldest sense of the verb fester means “to generate pus.” A boil, for example, is a festering infection of a hair follicle. Over time, the verb—as many words do—picked up a figurative sense, and fester began to be used not only for the worsening of a wound but for a worsening state, situation, etc.
apotropaic (adjective | ap-uh-troh-PAY-ik)
Something described as apotropaic is designed or intended to avert evil.
// The etchings are believed to be associated with ancient apotropaic rituals.
Apotropaic is a charming word, and not just because of its cadence. You see, this term is a literal descriptor for things believed to protect against evil. Apotropaic motifs can be found throughout history, from carvings of Greek Gorgons to charms worn to repel the evil eye. The word apotropaic comes from the Greek verb apotrépein, meaning “to turn away from, avert,” combining apo- (“away”) with trépein (“to turn”). The magic of apo- doesn’t end there: its influence is evident in many English words, including apology, apostrophe, apostle, and apocalypse.
scuttlebutt (noun | SKUTT-ul-butt)
Scuttlebutt refers to rumor or gossip—in other words, talk or stories about someone or something that may not be true.
// According to the scuttlebutt in the financial markets, the company will be downsizing soon.