• borough • Pronunciation: bêr -ro • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: 1. A self-governing incorporated small town or village in some US states. 2. An administrative unit of a large city like New York and London. 3. An administrative unit in Alaska corresponding to a county in other states. 4....

Lew Jury, who communicates with me onll by e-mail, sent this today: Discussion of today’s good word as suggested and created by your granddaughter Abigail brought back memories for me of the time my nine year-old granddaughter Kaylin sent you the word bibliophile . That nine year old is now 22 and r...

• picket • Pronunciation: pik -it • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: 1. A pointed stake, pole, or post driven in the ground or, when pointed at the top and grouped together, serve as a defense, as 'a picket fence or stockade'. 2. A sentry or, when grouped together, a detachment assigned to a ...

• desnorolator • Pronunciation: dee- snor -rê-lay-têr • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: A machine that prevents snoring, particularly a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine that prevents snoring and the dangerous breathing dysfunction that accompanies it, sleep apnea. Notes: Th...

• charm • Pronunciation: chahrm • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun, Verb Meaning: 1. A magical spell or power, an incantation that supposedly casts a magical spell on someone. 2. Any delightful quality that attracts; captivation or the ability to captivate. 3. A small attractive ornament, such as migh...

• gainly • Pronunciation: gayn -lee • Hear it! Part of Speech: Adjective, adverb Meaning: 1. Well-formed, tactful, gracious, becoming. 2. (Adjective) Proper, suitable, fitting. 3. (Adverb) Suitably, fitly, handily, readily, conveniently. 3. (Adverb) Very, completely, thoroughly. Notes: Here is a wo...

• horary • Pronunciation: hor -rêr-ree • Hear it! Part of Speech: Adjective, noun Meaning: 1. Pertaining to an hour, related to hours. 2. Hourly, occurring once every hour. 3. Lasting for an hour or two, as the blossoms of a flower. Notes: Here is a word rarely heard outside science or astrology. I...

• punch • Pronunciation: pênch • Hear it! Part of Speech: Verb Meaning: 1. To hit, strike, tap. 2. Strike hard with the fist. 3. To penetrate, perforate, puncture, to make a hole in something thin with a tool designed for that purpose. Notes: This punch is unrelated to the drink punch. That punch s...

• soldier • 'Pronunciation: sol -jêr • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: 1. A member of the army or armed forces. 2. An enlistee or noncommissioned officer in an army. 3. A member of a social insect species whose job it is to defend the colony, as 'a soldier ant' or 'bee'. Notes: Today's Good ...

Here is a map of the language families surrounding the Proto-Indo-European languages, from which PIE languages often borrowed words.

• wiseacre • Pronunciation: waiz -ay-kêr • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: A smarty-pants, an upstart know-it-all, especially one who makes insolent conceited wisecracks all the time. Notes: Wiseacre is an oddball word that should have been orphaned long ago. Wags, however, have tried to der...

• augur • Pronunciation: aw -gêr • Hear it! Part of Speech: Verb Meaning: To foresee, foretell, presage. Notes: The family of today's Good Word includes an adjective, augural , and a noun augury "the process of foretelling the future". It serves without affix as the personal noun: an augu...

• parole • Pronunciation: pê- rol • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: 1. Early release of a prisoner under conditions which receive continual monitoring. 2. A password for a guard or officer of the day. 3. Word of honor. 4. Language usage, performance of language, linguistic act as opposed to ...

• convivial • Pronunciation: kên- vi -vi-êl • Hear it! Part of Speech: Adjective Meaning: 1. Friendly, congenial, jovial, enjoying good company. 2. Festive, fond of feasting or banquets and the festive moods at banquets. Notes: Today's Good Word's definition refers to a kind of jovial sociability. ...

• icky • Pronunciation: ik -ee • Hear it! Part of Speech: Adjective Meaning: 1. Sickly, sick, ill. 2. Disagreeably sticky. 3. Distasteful, repulsive, highly unpleasant. 4. (Music) Ignorant of swinging jazz, preferring smooth, "sweet" jazz. Notes: Here is a word that we usually leave behin...