hidebound (adjective|HYDE-bound)
Someone or something described as hidebound is inflexible and unwilling to accept new or different ideas.
// Although somewhat stuffy and strict, the professor did not so completely adhere to hidebound academic tradition that he wouldn’t teach class outside on an especially lovely day.
Did You Know?
Hidebound has its origins in agriculture. The adjective, which appeared in English in the early 17th century, originally described cattle whose skin, due to illness or poor feeding, clung to the skeleton and could not be pinched, loosened, or worked with the fingers (the adjective followed an earlier noun form referring to this condition). Hidebound was applied to humans too, to describe people afflicted with tight skin. Figurative use quickly followed, first with a meaning of “stingy” or “miserly.” That sense has since fallen out of use, but a second figurative usage, describing people who are rigid or unyielding in their actions or beliefs, lives on in our language today.
stipulate (verb|STIP-yuh-layt)
To stipulate is to demand or require something as part of an agreement.
// The rules stipulate that players must wear uniforms.
Like many terms used in the legal profession, stipulate, an English word since the 17th century, has its roots in Latin. It comes from stipulatus, the past participle of stipulari, a verb meaning “to demand a guarantee (from a prospective debtor).” In Roman law, oral contracts were deemed valid only if they followed a proper question-and-answer format; stipulate was sometimes used specifically of this same process of contract making, though it also could be used more generally for any means of making a contract or agreement. The “to specify as a condition or requirement” meaning of stipulate also dates to the 17th century, and is the sense of the word most often encountered today.
In botany:
ramshackle (adjective|RAM-shak-ul)
Ramshackle describes things that are in a very bad condition and need to be repaired, or that are carelessly or loosely constructed.
// Toward the back of the property stood a ramshackle old shed.
// The book had a ramshackle plot that was confusing and unbelievable.
Ramshackle has nothing to do with rams, nor the act of being rammed, nor shackles. The word is an alteration of ransackled, an obsolete form of the verb ransack, meaning "to search through or plunder." (Ransack comes from Old Norse rannsaka, which combines rann, "house," and -saka, a relation of the Old English word sēcan, "to seek.") A home that has been ransacked has had its contents thrown into disarray, and that image may be what inspired people to start using ramshackle in the first half of the 19th century to describe something that is poorly constructed or in a state of near collapse. Ramshackle in modern use can also be figurative, as in "a ramshackle excuse for the error."
August 13, 2025
calculus (noun|KAL-kyuh-lus)
Calculus refers to an advanced branch of mathematics that deals mostly with rates of change and with finding lengths, areas, and volumes. The word can also be used more broadly for the act of calculating—that is, estimating something by using practical judgment, or solving or probing the meaning of something.
// By my calculus the more efficient air conditioner will have paid for itself within a span of five years.
Solving calculus equations on a chalkboard allows one to erase mistakes, and also hints at the word’s rocky, and possibly chalky, past. Calculus entered English in the 17th century from Latin, in which it referred to a pebble, often one used specifically for adding and subtracting on a counting board. The word thus became associated with computation; the phrase ponere calculos, literally, “to place pebbles,” meant “to carry out a computation.” The Latin calculus, in turn, is thought to perhaps come from the noun calx, meaning “lime” or “limestone,” which is also the ancestor of the English word chalk. Today, in addition to referring to an advanced branch of mathematics, calculus can also be used generally for the act of solving or figuring something out, and as a medical term for the tartar that forms on teeth, among other things. Whichever way it’s used, we think that calculus rocks.
immutable (adjective|ih-MYOO-tuh-bul)
Immutable is a formal adjective used to describe something that is unable to be changed.
// It is hardly an immutable fact that cats and dogs are sworn enemies; over the years our golden retriever has grown both fond and protective of her tabby housemate.
Immutable may describe something that is incapable of change, but the word itself—like all words—is mutable, both capable of and prone to alteration. To put a finer point on it, if language were fixed, we wouldn’t have immutable itself, which required a variety of mutations of the Latin verb mutare (“to change”) to reach our tongues (or pens, keyboards, or touchscreens—oh the many permutations of communication!). Other English words that can be traced back to mutare include mutate, transmute, and commute. Which reminds us—the mutability of language makes great food for thought during one’s commute.
meander (verb|mee-AN-der)
To meander is to follow a winding or intricate course—that is, one with a lot of turns and curves—or to walk slowly without a specific goal, purpose, or direction.
// We spent the afternoon meandering around the seaside town.
// The river meanders through the canyon.
Meander first meandered into the language in the late 16th century not as verb but as a noun referring to a turn or winding of a stream. The word came to English, by way of Latin, ultimately from Maiandros, the Greek name for a river known today as the Menderes River in what is now southwestern Turkey. The more popular verb use dates to the early 17th century and means both "to follow a winding or intricate course" and "to ramble." Despite its fluvial origins, these days meander is more commonly used to refer to a person's wandering course than a river's.
tempestuous (adjective|tem-PESS-chuh-wus)
Tempestuous is used to describe something that is related to or resembles a violent storm. In its literal (and often literary) use tempestuous is synonymous with turbulent and stormy. Figuratively, tempestuous describes something or someone full of strong emotions, such as anger or excitement.
// On its return to port the unlucky schooner was beset by tempestuous weather and nearly capsized.
// Though sometimes a tempestuous relationship, their long marriage was a happy one.
A deluge of words in English do double duty in describing both the weather and the various emotions, relationships, and travails of humankind. You might be glad to know (or be) someone with a sunny disposition, for example, or find yourself bored to tears by a windy speech. Since its 15th century English debut, tempestuous has also blown in two directions, used in the context of literal storms (as in “tempestuous seas”) and for personalities, arguments, etc., that are figuratively “stormy,” being characterized by strong emotions. Like its older sibling in English, the noun tempest (“a violent storm,” “uproar”), tempestuous hails via Anglo-French from the Latin word tempestās, which has multiple meanings including “stretch of time,” “season,” and “stormy weather.”
Chromostereopsis
The visual illusion of a two-dimensional plane having three-dimensional depth via the use of certain colors.
chromo- from Greek, χρωμο- ‘color’. stereo- from English, ‘three-dimensional’. -opsis from Greek, ὄψις ‘sight’.
People experience chromostereopsis differently, or not at all. It's effect is caused by different light, usually red and blue, refracting differently as it passes through the eye's lens.
In the example below, some people may perceive the blue circle to be elevated above the red circle. Others people may experience the opposite. Yet others may perceive no difference in elevation.
More examples:
August 17, 2025
glitch (noun|GLITCH)
Glitch is an informal word referring to an unexpected and usually minor problem. It is used especially for a minor problem with a machine or device, such as a computer.
// The email went out to everyone in the company because of a technical glitch.
There’s a glitch in the etymology of glitch—it may come from the Yiddish glitsh, meaning “slippery place,” but that’s not certain. Print use of glitch referring to a brief unexpected surge of electrical current dates to the mid-20th century. Astronaut John Glenn, in his 1962 book Into Orbit, felt the need to explain the term to his readers: “Literally, a glitch is a spike or change in voltage in an electrical circuit which takes place when the circuit suddenly has a new load put on it.” Today, the word can be used of any minor malfunction or snag. If you’re a gamer you might even take advantage of a glitch that causes something unexpected, and sometimes beneficial, to happen in the game.
ostentatious (adjective|ah-stun-TAY-shus)
Ostentatious describes someone or something that displays wealth, knowledge, power, etc., in a way that is meant to attract attention, admiration, or envy. Things that are ostentatious tend to stand out as overly elaborate or conspicuous.
// The resort town is famous for its extravagantly expensive summer homes, which some tourists view as impressive and others merely ostentatious.
Both ostentatious and the related noun ostentation can be traced to the Latin verb ostentāre, meaning "to display," and the idea of display persists in the English word’s current use: people and things described as ostentatious seem to be practically begging to be looked at. Ostentatious is often applied to objects and buildings that can also be described as luxurious—flashy jewelry, mansions, edifices with marble columns. Someone with an ostentatious lifestyle spends money in a way that makes it obvious that they have a lot of it. When used in negative constructions—"the house is large but not ostentatious"—the implication is that display isn’t the point.
euphemism (noun|YOO-fuh-miz-um)
A euphemism is a mild or pleasant word or phrase that is used instead of one that is unpleasant or offensive.
// The HR department advises using the euphemism “let go” instead of saying that someone was fired.
There are times when circumstances call for a gentler or pleasanter word or phrase rather than the most direct one. Such words and phrases are known as euphemisms, with the word euphemism coming, fittingly, from the Greek word eúphēmos, meaning “sounding good.” Powder room, for example, is one of many euphemisms in the English language for a lavatory, aka the place where one goes when one requires the use of a toilet and sink. (Actually, we are hard pressed to find a non-euphemistic word for such a room; like powder room, the terms bathroom, restroom, and washroom all tiptoe around the often-primary reason one has for visiting it.) Similarly love handles is a euphemism for fatty bulges along the sides of one’s body at the waist, though as everyone who’s ever snuggled up to a loved one endowed with such bulges knows, love handles is a much better descriptor for what makes a person extra snuggly.
salient (adjective|SAIL-yunt)
Something described as salient is very important or noticeable.
// The assignment was to write down the most salient points made in the article.
// One salient feature of the band's music is the variety of different genres it incorporates into a singular sound.
When salient first hopped into English, it described things—animals especially—that move by jumping, springing, or leaping. Small wonder, then, that the word comes from the Latin verb salire, meaning "to leap." (Polyglots may also recognize the influence of salire on the Spanish verb salir, meaning "to leave," and the French verb saillir, meaning "to jut out.") Today, salient is usually used to describe things that "leap out" in a figurative sense, such as the salient features of a painting or the salient points made in an essay or argument.
validate (verb|VAL-uh-dayt)
To validate something is to show that it is real or correct. Validate can also mean “to state or show that something is legal or official,” “to put a mark on something to show that it has been checked and is official or accepted,” and “to show that someone’s feelings, opinions, etc., are fair and reasonable.”
// The company’s claims about its latest product are yet to be validated.
// You can get discounted parking by having your parking garage ticket validated at the museum's ticket desk.
// The decline in sales only validated our concerns about the menu changes.
When validate first entered the language in the mid-17th century, its meaning was tied fast to its close relative, the adjective valid, meaning “executed with the proper legal authority and formalities”: to validate something, such as a marriage or treaty, was to make it legally valid. This meaning is still current, but the word is now used in nonlegal and informal contexts as well. If the museum you visit validates your parking garage ticket, you're given an official mark on the ticket and you do not have to pay full price for parking. If someone’s claims cannot be validated, those claims cannot be confirmed. And if a coach puts an untested player into the game and the player scores the winning point, the player’s strong performance validates the coach’s decision.
apathy (noun|AP-uh-thee)
Apathy refers either to a lack of feeling or emotion, or to a lack of interest or concern.
// Though the girl’s expression communicated apathy, Gina knew her daughter was actually very pleased at having won the poetry prize.
// While the previous mayor’s administration responded to the community’s needs with little more than apathy, city hall under the new leadership is making real changes.
Once more without feeling! While its siblings antipathy, sympathy, and empathy refer to often strong emotions, whether tender or terrible, apathy is unconcerned with all that. Whether one is feeling blasé, indifferent, or—to use a more recent coinage—meh, apathy is the perfect word for such a lack of passion. At the root of apathy and its kin is páthos, a Greek word meaning “experience, misfortune, or emotion,” which led first to the adjective apathḗs (“not suffering, without passion or feeling, impassive”) and then the noun apatheîa before passing through Latin and Middle French on its way to English. The prefix a- in both means “without.” The other aforementioned páthos descendants are, of course, supplied with their own prefixes that give clues to their respective meanings: anti- (“opposite”), sym- (“at the same time”), and em- (“in” or “within”).
flagrant (adjective|FLAY-grunt)
Something may be described as flagrant if it is conspicuously bad—that is, too bad to be ignored.
// In a flagrant violation of the family's code of ethics, someone finished the ice cream and left the empty container in the freezer.
A flagrant foul in sports involves no flame or literal heat—it's just too conspicuously bad for referees to ignore—but the roots of flagrant are hot, hot, hot. In Latin, flagrāre means "to burn," and flagrans means "flaming" or "fiery" (both carry meanings relating to literal flames as well as the figurative flames of passion). When it was first used in the 16th century, flagrant had the same "flaming, fiery" meaning as flagrans, but by the 18th century it had acquired its current meaning of “conspicuously bad or offensive.” (Another flagrāre descendant in English, conflagration, retained its "fiery" meaning.) Some usage experts warn against using flagrant and blatant interchangeably. While both words apply to noticeable lapses, they are not true synonyms. Blatant (likely from a Latin word meaning “to chatter”) typically describes a person, action, or thing that attracts disapproving attention (e.g., "a blatant grammatical error"), while flagrant carries a heavier connotation of offense often for violated morality (e.g., "flagrant abuse of public office").