Language Archives

To winnow is “to separate or distinguish”, “to analyze critically”. But it can also just mean “to fan” or “blow away”, especially to separate grains from dirt “by throwing it into the air and allowing the wind or a forced current of air to blow away impurities”.

Cursory is an adjective meaning “going rapidly over something, without noticing details; hasty; superficial”.

Innumerate means “unfamiliar with mathematical concepts and methods” — in other words, innumeracy is another way of saying “numerical illiteracy”.

Vacuous is an adjective meaning “without contents; empty”. Its more specific meanings include “devoid of meaning”, “devoid of expression”, “lacking in ideas or intelligence”, or “idle”.

Jejune is fun to say, but it means “not interesting; dull”. Its other meanings include “immature”, “uninformed”, and “lacking in nutritive value”.

Gelid is just another way to say “extremely cold” or “icy”, either literally or figuratively.

The word quotidian means “daily” or “ordinary”. It comes from the Latin word quotidianus, meaning “daily”.

The philtrum is an oddly specific anatomical term, meaning “the vertical indentation in the midline of the upper lip, also called the infranasal depression.” I never knew there was even a word for that!

Titivate means “to make decorative additions to”, “to spruce up”.

Savoir-faire is “tact” or “knowledge of just what to do in any situation”. It comes from French (duh!), from the words savoir, meaning “to know how”, and faire, “to do”.