Word of the day

Tribology (noun)

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

Megaron (noun)

1. The rectangular great hall in a Mycenaean building, usually supported with pillars.

orbicular (adj)

1. Circular or spherical in shape; round.

Velleity (noun)

1. The lowest degree of desire or volition; a slight wish, with no effort obtain it.

agley (adv)

1. Wrong in the sense of awry, askew, amiss or distorted.

Genet (noun)

1. A group of genetically identical individuals (plants, fungi, bacteria etc.) that have grown in a given location, all originating from asexual reproduction of a single ancestor.

Downtime (noun)

1. The amount of time lost due to forces beyond one's control, such as the breakdown of machinery or a computer crash.
2. A period of time when work or other activity is less intense or stops.
3. A period of time set aside for relaxation and rest; leisure time, free time.

Zakat (noun)

1. Almsgiving, one of the five pillars of Islam, in the form of an annual tax on certain types of property which is then used for charitable purposes.

quotidian (adj)

1. Happening every day; daily.
2. Run-of-the-mill; common, ordinary.

iatrogenic (adj)

1. (of a medical condition) Induced by the words or actions of the physician.

marmoreal (adj)

1. Made out of marble.
2. Resembling marble or a marble statue; cold, smooth, white, etc.; marble-like.

manifest (verb)

1. To show plainly; to make to appear distinctly; to display or exhibit.
2. To exhibit the lists or prepared invoices of; to declare at the customhouse.

Prosody (noun)

1. The study of poetic meter; the patterns of sounds and rhythms in verse or speech.

sesquiquadrate (adj)

1. (astronomy, of two celestial bodies) Separated by 135 degrees in aspect.

Enormity (noun)

1. Extreme wickedness, nefariousness, or cruelty.
2. An act of extreme evil or wickedness.
3. Great size; enormousness, hugeness, immenseness.

flack (verb)

1. To publicise, to promote.

Flack (noun)

1. A publicity agent.

cogent (adj)

1. Reasonable and convincing; based on evidence.
2. Appealing to the intellect or powers of reasoning.

Kerplunk (noun)

1. A sound of someone or something falling and landing heavily; a thud.
2. A disappointment which comes as a surprise.

kerplunk (interj)

1. Used to indicate a thudding sound.

kerplunk (verb)

1. To make the sound of falling and landing heavily; to thud.

greige (adj)

1. Of clothing, textiles, etc.: neither bleached nor dyed, nor otherwise fully processed; unfinished.
2. Of a color like that of unbleached or undyed fabric, between grey and beige.

Greige (noun)

1. A color like that of unbleached or undyed fabric between grey and beige, closely akin to taupe.
2. Clothing, textiles, etc., which have neither been bleached nor dyed, nor otherwise fully processed; greige goods.

Scuttlebutt (noun)

1. Originally (now chiefly historical), a cask with a hole cut into its top, used to provide drinking water on board a ship; now (by extension, informal), a drinking fountain on a modern ship.
2. Gossip, idle chatter; also, rumor.
3. An American soldier who fought in the Korean War during the 1950s; earned his nickname ("Scuttlebutt" Stacy) due to his constant gossip and chatter. First appearance Marvel Comics Marines in Action #1 (February, 1955)
3. A sentient battleship built by the Korbinites using the same technology they used to create Beta Ray Bill. First appearance Marvel Comics Thor #337 (August, 1983).

scuttlebutt (verb)

1. To spread (information) by way of gossip or rumor.
2. To chat idly or gossip; also, to spread rumors.

xenodochial (adj)

Friendly to strangers.

irenic (adj)

1. Promoting or fitted to promote peace or peacemaking, especially over disputes; conciliatory, non-confrontational, peaceful.

Constellation (noun)

1. An arbitrary formation of stars perceived as a figure (especially one from mythology) or pattern, or a division of the sky including it, especially one officially recognized by astronomers; an asterism.
2. Any of the 88 regions of the sky officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union, including all stars and celestial bodies in the region.
3. A configuration or grouping of related things.
4. A wide, seemingly unlimited, assortment.
5. Synonym of complex (“a collection of ideas caused by repressed emotions that leads to an abnormal mental condition”).
6. A network of connections between people who are in polyamorous relationships, for example between a person, their partner, and that person's partner.
7. A fleet of satellites used for the same purpose.
8. The configuration of planets at a given time (especially a person's birth), as believed to affect events on Earth, or used for determining a horoscope.
9. A person's character or inclinations, supposedly determined by their horoscope.

Motley Crew (noun)

1. A group of people of mixed background, especially one with a common goal.
2. American heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California in 1981.

irrespirable (adj)

Not respirable; not suitable for breathing; unbreathable.

pullulate (verb)

1. To rapidly multiply.
2. To germinate.
3. To teem with; to be filled with.