Word of the day

Tribology (noun)

1. (physics, engineering) The science and technology of friction, lubrication, and wear.

Thaumaturgy (noun)

1. The working of miracles.
2. Magic, witchcraft, wizardry

Occultation (noun)

1. (astronomy) An astronomical event that occurs when one celestial object is hidden by another celestial object that passes between it and the observer when the nearer object appears larger and completely hides the more distant object.
2. The state of being occult (“hidden, undetected”).
3. (Shia Islam) The disappearance of the messianic figure, or Mahdi, who will one day return to the world.

wonky (adj)

1. (mostly British and Australian) Lopsided, misaligned or off-center.
2. (computing) Suffering from intermittent bugs; broken.
3. Generally incorrect

Clip (noun)

1. A device, typically flexible or worked by a spring, for holding an object or objects together or in place.
2. A movie or a radio or television program is a short piece of it that is broadcast separately.

clip (verb)

1. Fasten or be fastened with a clip or clips.
2. Something cut out of a newspaper or magazine.
3. To hit something or someone with a short sharp movement.

evoke (verb)

1. To cause the manifestation of something (emotion, picture, etc.) in someone's mind or imagination.

illuminate (verb)

1. To shine light on something.
2. To clarify or make something understandable.
3. To decorate the page of a manuscript book with ornamental designs.

Adytum (noun)

1. (Ancient Greece, religion) The innermost sanctuary or shrine in an ancient temple, from where oracles were given.
2. (by extension) A private chamber; a sanctum.

Ochre (noun)

1. An earth pigment containing silica, aluminum and ferric oxide.
2. A somewhat yellowish orange color.

Nychthemeron (noun)

1. A period of one day and one night; a date.

Mnemonic (noun)

1. Something (especially a series of ideas, letters, words, etc.) used to help in remembering a thing; a memory aid.
2. (computing) The human-readable, textual form of an assembly language instruction, not including operands.
3. (obsolete) Synonym of mnemonics (“the study of techniques for remembering anything more easily”)

mnemonic (adj)

1. Especially of a series of ideas, letters, words, etc.: intended to help in remembering.
2. Of or relating to mnemonics (“the study of techniques for remembering anything more easily”).
3. Of or relating to memory.

Progeny (noun)

1. (uncountable) Offspring or descendants.
2. (countable) Result of a creative effort.

Xiphias (noun)

1. The swordfish.

Oneiromancy (noun)

1. (uncountable, divination) Divination by the interpretation of dreams.
2. (uncountable, in a weak sense) The interpretation of dreams.
3. (countable, divination) An act of such divination or dream-interpretation.

Amalgamate (verb)

1. To merge, to combine, to blend, to join.
2. To make an alloy of a metal and mercury.
3. (mathematics) To combine (free groups) by identifying respective isomorphic subgroups.

aphotic (adj)

1. Having no light, especially no sunlight; specifically (biology, oceanography) describing that part of deep lakes and oceans where less than one per cent of sunlight penetrates and where photosynthesis is not possible.

Devoir (noun)

1. (archaic, often in plural) Duty, business; something that one must do.

Polyptoton (noun)

1. A stylistic scheme in which words from the same root are used together, or a word is repeated in a different inflection or case.

Homoglyph (noun)

1. A character identical or nearly identical in appearance to another, but which differs in the meaning it represents.

Avatar (noun)

1. (Hinduism) The incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
2. The physical embodiment of an idea or concept; a personification.
3. A digital representation or handle of a person or being.
4. A 2009 epic science fiction film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver.

Orrery n

1. A clockwork model of the solar system.

Vekotin (Noun)
Syllabification(key): ve‧ko‧tin

1. (colloquial) An unspecified piece of apparatus, or one for which one does not know a real name; a gimmick, thingamajig, contraption, contrivance, device, fandango, gadget, widget.

Janus (noun)

1. (Roman mythology) The god of doorways, gates and transitions, and of beginnings and endings, having two faces looking in opposite directions.
2. (attributively) Used to indicate things with two faces (such as animals with diprosopus) or aspects; or made of two different materials; or having a two-way action.
3. (chemistry, attributively) Used to indicate an azo dye with a quaternary ammonium group, frequently with the diazo component being safranine.
4. (figuratively) A two-faced person, a hypocrite.
5. (astronomy) A moon of Saturn.

rickroll v (transitive, Internet slang)

1. To mislead (someone) into following a seemingly innocuous hyperlink, or sometimes a QR code, that leads to a YouTube video of Rick Astley's song "Never Gonna Give You Up".
2. (by extension) To surprise or trick (someone) into listening to this song in a live setting.

Rickroll (noun)

1. (Internet slang) An act of or attempt at rickrolling.

Bicultural (noun)

1. A person belonging to two cultures.

bicultural (adj)

1. Adapted to two separate cultures.
2. Having working knowledge of two separate cultures.

Rubric (noun)

1. A heading in a book highlighted in red.
2. A category or classification.
3. An established rule or custom, a guideline.
4. (education) A set of scoring criteria for evaluating student work and for giving feedback.