Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 4, 2025 is:
zaftig • \ZAHF-tig\ • adjective
Someone described as zaftig has a full, rounded figure, or in other words is pleasingly plump.
// Portraits of zaftig models are exhibited in the artist's collection.
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Examples:
"... Pablo Picasso produced an estimated 13,500 paintings, in addition to astounding quantities of drawings, prints, sculptures and ceramics. ... He veered between opposite poles of abstraction and realism, between the gaunt, poetic figures of his Blue Period and the zaftig matrons of his Rose Period, between the paper-lightness of his wildly inventive collages and the bulbous tonnage of his sculpted bronze heads." — Deborah Solomon, The New York Times, 9 Apr. 2023
Did you know?
Zaftig has been in use in English—mainly in the United States—since the 1920s; a couple of the earliest known uses are found in Variety magazine, in reviews of burlesque dancers. The word comes from the Yiddish zaftik, meaning "juicy" or "succulent," which in turn comes from zaft, meaning "juice" or "sap." If this word is new to you and you would like to take it out for a spin, please be advised that even though most dictionaries define it as implying attractiveness, people to whom it might apply may not appreciate its use.
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1:49
sarcophagus
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 3, 2025 is:
sarcophagus • \sahr-KAH-fuh-gus\ • noun
Sarcophagus refers to a coffin, and specifically a stone coffin.
// The crypt under the abbey church contains the sarcophagus of the monastery's founding abbot.
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Examples:
"Experts found as many as 1,035 artwork fragments, as well as one hundred graves increasing the cathedral's total record to more than five hundred burials. Many of the coffins, along with scattered bones, remain unidentified. A lead sarcophagus that may belong to the poet Joachim du Bellay is among one of the more notable burials." — Francesca Aton, ARTNews, 4 Dec. 2024
Did you know?
Body-eating coffins might sound like something out of a horror film, but flesh-eating stone? The latter plays a role in the etymology of sarcophagus; it is the literal translation of líthos sarkóphagos, the Greek phrase that underlies the English term. The phrase traveled through Latin between Greek and English, taking on the form lapis sarcophagus before being shortened to sarcophagus. It's not clear whether the ancient Romans believed that a certain type of limestone from the region around Troy would dissolve flesh (and thus was desirable for making coffins); that assertion came from Roman scholar Pliny the Elder, but he also reported such phenomena as dog-headed people and elephants who wrote Greek. Regardless, there is no doubt that the ancient Greek word for the limestone traces back to a combination of sárx, meaning "flesh," and a derivative of phagein, a verb meaning "to eat."
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2:10
presage
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 2, 2025 is:
presage • \PRESS-ij\ • verb
To presage something is to give or be a sign that it will happen in the future. Presage is a formal synonym of foreshadow, foretell, and predict.
// The sudden gloom and ominous dark clouds clearly presaged a nasty storm.
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Examples:
“What we’re really looking for are handsome, vigorous chickens who do well in cold climes. … Adding birds of different breeds presaged an important change in our understanding: now that it was easier to tell birds apart, the distinct personalities of individuals began to reveal themselves more clearly.” — Sy Montgomery, What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World’s Most Familiar Bird, 2024
Did you know?
Although sages, being known for their great wisdom, are sometimes believed to possess the ability to predict the future, there is no connection between the noun sage and the verb presage, which means—as you’ve likely foreseen—“to foretell or predict.” While sage comes from the Latin verb sapere (“to be wise”), presage comes instead from a different Latin source: the adjective praesagus, a combination of the prefix prae and sagus, meaning “prophetic.” Presage entered English first as a noun referring to an omen, that is, something that foreshadows or portends a future event. A couple of centuries later it was joined by the verb, which is used for the action of foreshadowing, as in “the current economic slowdown could presage another recession,” and may apply to suggesting a coming event or indicating its likelihood.
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2:10
disputatious
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 1, 2025 is:
disputatious • \dis-pyuh-TAY-shus\ • adjective
Disputatious is a formal word used to describe someone who often disagrees and argues with other people (in other words, someone inclined to dispute). It can also describe something marked or characterized by arguments or controversies, or something that provokes debate or controversy.
// The podcast is hosted by a disputatious pair whose sparring has drawn legions of listeners.
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Examples:
"The 1990s were especially disputatious; civil wars arose on multiple continents, as did major wars in Europe and Africa." — Paul Poast, The Atlantic, 17 Nov. 2023
Did you know?
Quarrelsome, contentious, polemical—the English language sure loves a multisyllabic word to describe your tetchier types, and who are we to argue? Disputatious is another lengthy adjective applied to people who like to start arguments or find something to disagree about, and it can be used to characterize situations and issues as well. For example, court trials are disputatious; that is, they are marked by the action of disputing. And an issue or matter is disputatious if it provokes controversy. However, if a matter, such as an assertion made by someone, is open to question rather than downright controversial, it’s merely disputable. In any case, there’s no arguing that disputatious, dispute, and disputable have diverged somewhat in meaning from their Latin source: the verb dispurare means simply "to discuss."
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2:02
encroach
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 31, 2025 is:
encroach • \in-KROHCH\ • verb
To encroach is to gradually move or go into an area that is beyond the usual or desired limits, or to gradually take or begin to use or affect something that belongs to, or is being used by, someone else. Encroach is often followed by on or upon.
// Conflicts between people and bears increase as humans continue to encroach on bear territory.
// They argue that the law would encroach on states' authority.
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Examples:
"In their young adult years, Mufasa and Taka find their courage and loyalty tested when a group of white lions encroach upon the pride." — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Dec. 2024
Did you know?
The history behind encroach is likely to hook you in. The word comes from the Middle English verb encrochen, which means "to get or seize." The Anglo-French predecessor of encrochen is encrocher, which was formed by combining the prefix en- ("in") with the noun croche ("hook"). Croche is also an ancestor of our word crochet; that word first referred to a crochet hook or to the needlework done with it. Encroach carries the meaning of "intrude," both in terms of privilege and property. The word can also hop over legal barriers to describe a general advancement beyond desirable or normal limits (such as a hurricane that encroaches on the mainland).
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