Word of the Day

Word of the Day: Fey

 

Pronunciation: /fay/

 

Definition: (adj)

 

1) Marked by a foreboding of death or calamity

2) Marked by an otherworldly air or attitude

3) Crazy, touched

4) Excessively refined : precious

5) Quaintly unconventional : campy

6) Having supernatural powers of clairvoyance

 

Etymology: Old English fǣge (in the sense ‘fated to die soon’).

Word of the Day

Word of the Day: Alfet

 

Pronunciation: /Al´fet/

 

Definition: (noun)

 

1) A caldron of boiling water into which an accused person plunged his forearm as a test of innocence or guilt.

 

Etymology: From mediæval Latin alfetum, from Old English alfæt ‎(“fire-vat”), from āl ‎(“fire”) + fæt ‎(“vat”)

Fun Fact of the Day

Fun Fact of the Day: Boy, meanings can really get warped, huh? It can really throw a person. Like the word warp, which comes from Old English weorpan “throw” (modern German has the related worfen). Something, perhaps the twisting motion your body makes when you really hurl a thing, led to this the modern sense of “twist, torque.” Well, warped is “thrown out of alignment,” right?