• meritocracy • Pronunciation: mer-ri- tah -krê-si • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: Governance by people chosen on the basis of merit, for their competence rather than birth, wealth or other criteria. Notes: This word, parallel to democracy , comes with the same full panoply of derivational...

• lambaste • Pronunciation: læm- bayst • Hear it! Part of Speech: Verb, transitive Meaning: No, today's word has nothing to do with basting lamb, not even if you are on the lam: it means 1. to beat or thrash thoroughly or 2. to scold or chastise furiously. Notes: Today's Good Word is a lexical orph...

• steeplejack • Pronunciation: stee -pêl-jæk • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: Someone who works on spires, steeples, smokestacks, and other tall structures. Notes: Today we have a word that reached the height of its popularity in 1940 according to Google Books Ngrams. It is a lovely lexical...

• fruition • Pronunciation: fru- i -shên • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun, mass Meaning: 1. Successful completion, fulfillment, materialization, intended results. 2. Enjoyment of something possessed. 3. The action of bearing fruit. Notes: Today's word and fruit are other examples of the English habi...

• gargantuan • Pronunciation: gahr- gæn -chu-ên • Hear it! Part of Speech: Adjective Meaning: Huge, colossal, gigantic. Notes: Today we have a large word referring to extra large objects. It is the adjective made from an archaic word, Gargantua "a giant". A gargantuist at one time referre...

• hyperbole • Pronunciation: hai- pêr -bê-lee • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: A figure of speech that exaggerates for emphasis, metaphoric overstatement. Notes: Today's Good Word belongs to a large and widespread family. The use of hyperboles is hyperbolism, which you get when you hyperbol...

• geek • Pronunciation: geek • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: 1. (US Slang) A socially awkward person who devotes all his or her time to some scientific pursuit, usually involving computers. 2. (US Slang) A serious intellectual better adapted to thinking than mingling with his or her peers....

• farce • Pronunciation: fahrs • Hear it! Part of Speech: fahrs Meaning: 1. Stuffing, filling, force-meat. 2. An exaggerated parody of base humor, an artistic work with no redeeming social value that usually resorts to slapstick humor. Notes: Today's noun may be used as a verb in its first sense, a...

My answer had been "a high priced courtesan". Brilliant reply and reasoning. So how did we get to the verb “to court,” Again, the legitimate behavior in regal courts. The legal court got its name from the time when royal justice was measured out in regal courts. When the word of a king wa...

• courtesan • Pronunciation: kor -tê-zên • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: 1. A mistress supported by a member of the nobility. 2. A sophisticated prostitute with an elite, if not courtly clientele. Notes: Today's word refers to a highly successful entrepreneuse in the world's oldest profess...

• luftmensch • Pronunciation: luft -mench • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: 1. An airhead, a contemplative person whose head is in the clouds and has little if any idea of practical matters, like earning a living. 2. A petty tradesman, peddler, unsuccessful businessperson. Notes: Today's wor...

• prestige • Pronunciation: pres- teezh • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun, mass (no plural) Meaning: High level of respect, importance, great influence, high standing in the eyes of others, commanding position. Notes: Here is a French word copied by English so recently (early 19th century) that the F...

• contrary • Pronunciation: kahn -trer-ri • Hear it! Part of Speech: Adjective Meaning: 1. Opposed, counter, extremely divergent. 2. Willful, perverse, tending to be far away from general behavior. Notes: This word is often confused with opposite. Opposite refers to things that are altogether diffe...

• egoist • Pronunciation: ee -go-ist • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: 1. Someone who is conceited, self-centered, wrapped up in him- or herself; a person with an inflated ego. 2. A person who subscribes to the theory of egoism, the philosophy that self-interest is the basis of all morality....

• dehiscent • Pronunciation: dee- hi -sênt • Hear it! Part of Speech: Adjective Meaning: 1. Gaping open, wide open. 2. (Botany) Bursting open at ripening to allow seeds to escape, as 'a plant with dehiscent pods'. Notes: Today's word is the adjective from the verb dehisce "to gape or burst ope...