xeric

bibelot

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 16, 2026 is: bibelot • \BEE-buh-loh\  • noun A bibelot is a small household ornament or decorative object. // His grandfather set up a table every week at the flea market where he sold all sorts of bibelots and bric-a-brac, from ceramic figurines to tiny blown glass sculptures. See the entry > [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bibelot] Examples: “One by one, the beads and baubles and charms and bibelots have been cleaned and polished and now they are being placed on shelves, in jars and containers, in bins, and in a bathtub in Beadniks’ new store on Main Street.” — Bob Audette, The Brattleboro (Vermont) Reformer, 21 June 2025 Did you know? The English language, it would seem, can’t get enough of synonyms for trinket [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trinket], including gewgaw [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gewgaw], gimcrack [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gimcrack], and knickknack [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knickknack], just as lovers of tchotchkes [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tchotchke] can’t get enough of such ornamental trifles. Lady Charlotte Guest (1812-1895) was just such a lover of baubles and bric-a-brac. Not only was Guest an accomplished linguist, educator, publisher, and philanthropist, she also amassed collections of everything from porcelain to playing cards, which she ultimately donated to museums. We also have Guest to thank for the first known use in English of the French word for “trinket,” bibelot, which she recorded in a journal entry in 1873 while in Paris: “After 3, walked up to Lady Hopetoun’s to amuse her with some of our little bibelots.”

loquacious

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 15, 2026 is: loquacious • \loh-KWAY-shus\  • adjective Loquacious means “liking to talk and talking smoothly and easily.” Someone described as loquacious might also be called wordy [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wordy] (prone to using more words than necessary) or garrulous [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garrulous] (tending to talk a lot). // We were entertained all afternoon by our host’s loquacious parrot and its nonstop script of favored phrases. See the entry > [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loquacious] Examples: “Due to their loquacious nature, marmosets have recently become a focus of studies on the evolutionary origin of human speech and language.” — Tobias Kahland et al., Nature Communications, 28 Mar. 2026 Did you know? Loquacious undeniably has a poetic ring to it. It’s been a favorite of the writerly sort since it made its first appearance in English in the 17th century and, with poetic license, writers stretched its meaning beyond “talkative,” and especially “excessively talkative,” to describe such things as the chattering of birds and the babbling of brooks. The ultimate source of all this chattiness is loquī, a Latin verb meaning “to talk, speak.” Other words descended from loquī include colloquial [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colloquial], eloquent [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eloquent], soliloquy [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soliloquy], and ventriloquism [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ventriloquism].

yaw

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 14, 2026 is: yaw • \YAW\  • verb The verb yaw when used for the action of a ship, aircraft, spacecraft, or projectile means "to move to the left or right especially in an uncontrolled manner." More broadly, yaw is used as a synonym of alternate [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alternate] to mean "to change from one to another repeatedly." // The rogue wave hit the vessel, and the ship yawed hard to the right. // The album yaws from soulful ballad to up-tempo [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/up-tempo] pop hit and back again. See the entry > [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yaw] Examples: "The out-of-control motion radiated down to the spacecraft itself, which began yawing and pitching [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pitch] in response to the force." — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Nov. 2025 Did you know? In the heyday of large sailing ships, numerous nautical words appeared on the horizon. Yaw is one such word. Its origin isn't exactly known, but it began turning up in print in the 16th century, first as a noun meaning "movement off course" or "side to side movement," and then as a verb. For centuries, it remained a sailing word—often alongside pitch [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pitch] ("to have the front end rise and fall")—with occasional extended use as a synonym of the verb alternate [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alternate]. When the era of airplane flight dawned, much of the vocabulary of sailing found new life in aeronautics, and "yawing" was no longer confined to the sea. Nowadays yaw, pitch, and roll [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roll] are just as likely to be used by pilots and rocket scientists to describe the motion of their crafts.

implacable

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 13, 2026 is: implacable • \im-PLAK-uh-bul\  • adjective Someone or something described as implacable is not capable of being appeased or changed. // The project faced implacable resistance from community members, and is now off the table. See the entry > [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/implacable] Examples: “Unlike, say, the globetrotting stories of Ian Fleming or John le Carré, in which victories only temporarily frustrate an implacable foe, [Agatha] Christie’s smaller worlds feel put right when the cover closes or credits roll.” — The Economist, 17 Jan. 2026 Did you know? Implacable is rooted in the Latin verb placare, meaning “to soothe,” but its im- prefix is a variant of the negating prefix in- (as in inactive) and it signals that there’s nothing warm and fuzzy here. Someone or something described as implacable cannot be soothed, which usually means trouble: implacable is most often attached to words like foe, enemy, hatred and hostility. The opposite of implacable is, of course, placable [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/placable]; it means “easily soothed,” but sadly isn’t called upon very often. Another placare word is likely more familiar. Placate [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/placate] means “to soothe or appease”; it’s frequently applied when an angry person is made to feel less so.

fulcrum

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 12, 2026 is: fulcrum • \FULL-krum\  • noun In technical use, fulcrum refers to the support on which a lever moves when it is used to lift something. In figurative use, fulcrum refers to a person or thing that makes it possible for something to function or develop, or in other words, one who plays an essential role in something. // Although the lead actor was phenomenal, critics suggested that the supporting cast was the real fulcrum of the show. See the entry > [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fulcrum] Examples: “The moral fulcrum of Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, in which a scholar gains knowledge and power through a demonic pact, is a relatively straightforward statement on the human condition.” — Eric Olson, Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026 Did you know? The Latin word fulcrum, which refers to the head or back support of a couch, comes from the verb fulcīre, which means “to prop, support.” When fulcrum was first used in English in the 17th century, it referred to the point on which a lever or similar device (such as the oar of a boat) is supported. The literal use easily supported figurative use, and it didn’t take long for the word to develop a meaning referring to one deemed essential to the function or development of something. Despite fulcrum’s multiple senses, the word's meanings have kept a steady theme. In zoology, fulcrum refers to a part of an animal that serves as a hinge or support, such as the joint supporting a bird’s wing.