Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 28, 2011 is:

coquetry • \KOH-kuh-tree\  • noun
: a flirtatious act or attitude

Examples:
In a not-so-subtle act of coquetry, Nancy smiled flirtatiously and winked at Scott as she walked past him.

“Her Act III solo with a fan became an expression not of conventional coquetry but of impish joy in the moment." -- From a review of the American Ballet Theater in The New York Times, May 25, 2011

Did you know?
The rooster's cocky attitude has given him a reputation for arrogance and promiscuity. It has also given English several terms for people whose behavior is reminiscent of that strutting barnyard fowl. The noun "coquet" comes from French, where it is a diminutive of "coq," the French word for rooster. Originally, in the 1600s, English speakers used "coquet" to describe men who indulged in trifling flirtations. Today "coquet" can refer to male or female flirts (though "coquette," the French feminine form, is more commonly used for flirtatious women), and "coquetry" can refer to flirtation by men or women.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 27, 2011 is:

feisty • \FYE-stee\  • adjective
1 a : full of nervous energy : fidgety b : touchy, quarrelsome c : exuberantly frisky 2 : having or showing a lively aggressiveness : spunky

Examples:
Elena found success as an actress on Broadway thanks in part to her feisty spirit and strong work ethic.

"Puss, the adorable, boots-wearing, sword-slashing sidekick, already has quite a following, based on his appearance in 'Shrek' II-IV. But feisty, cinematic kitties always have enjoyed a devoted fan base." -- From an article by Jackie Burrell in the San Jose Mercury News, October 23, 2011

Did you know?
In certain parts of the United States, most notably the South, the noun "feist" (pronounced to rhyme with "heist") refers to a small dog used in hunting small game animals (such as squirrels). Also spelled "fice" or "fyce," it comes from an obsolete term, "fisting hound," that derived from another obsolete term, "fist," a verb that once meant "to break wind." The term "feisty" has come a long way from its flatulent origin, but its small-dog association still seems relevant: the term conveys the spunk and determination that one may associate with a dog that manages to make its presence known (either through its bark or its bite) despite its small size.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 26, 2011 is:

bemuse • \bih-MYOOZ\  • verb
1 : to make confused : puzzle, bewilder 2 : to occupy the attention of : absorb 3 : to cause to have feelings of wry or tolerant amusement

Examples:
She had neither asked for nor expected her newfound celebrity, and was bemused by all the attention she was receiving.

"When Brazil’s central bank stepped into the market to defend the country’s weakening currency last month, many were a little bemused. After all, the country’s finance minister, Guido Mantega, has spent the best part of this year waging a currency war against the dollar and complaining about just how strong the Brazilian real is." -- From a blog post by Samantha Pearson at ft.com (The Financial Times), October 27, 2011

Did you know?
In 1735, British poet Alexander Pope lamented, in rhyme, being besieged by "a parson much bemus'd in beer." The cleric in question was apparently one of a horde of would-be poets who plagued Pope with requests that he read their verses. Pope meant that the parson had found his muse -- his inspiration -- in beer. That use of "bemus'd" harks back to a 1705 letter in which Pope wrote of "Poets … irrecoverably Be-mus'd." In both letter and poem, Pope used "bemused" to allude to being inspired by or devoted to one of the Muses, the Greek sister goddesses of art, music, and literature. The lexicographers who followed him, however, interpreted "bemus'd in beer" as meaning "left confused by beer," and their confusion gave rise to the first modern sense of "bemused" above.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 25, 2011 is:

placid • \PLASS-id\  • adjective
: serenely free of interruption or disturbance; also : complacent

Examples:
It was fortunate that the horse Meaghan was riding had a placid disposition and didn't try to bolt when the car backfired.

"Los Angeles was initially welcoming of them, as it is of anyone with money, but when it became clear that they were using one of the city's biggest franchises … to pay their personal expenses, among other shenanigans, the ire in the normally placid city exploded." -- From an article by Vanessa Grigoriadis in Vanity Fair, August 2011

Did you know?
Like "placid," the words "calm," "tranquil," and "serene" all mean "quiet and free from disturbance." "Calm" conveys a quiet composure that contrasts with surrounding chaos, while "tranquil" suggests a very deep quietude and peace. "Serene" is loftier still, carrying a sense of utter peace and happiness. Though "placid" traces back to Latin "placēre," meaning "to please," it isn't always as positive a term as its synonyms. It can imply a lack of agitation rather than a true peace, and it sometimes suggests excessive self-satisfaction or even stupidity.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 24, 2011 is:

impute • \im-PYOOT\  • verb
1 : to lay the responsibility or blame for often falsely or unjustly 2 : to credit to a person or a cause

Examples:
"My enemies have tried to impute sinister motives to my actions," said the politician, "but I assure the voters that I have always placed their interests first and foremost."

"Rosenberg wants us to let go of the many illusions that define our conversations about life and science. We impute purpose to things that lack it. We act as though history and culture can be explained in terms of sweeping, general patterns." -- From a book review by Jesse Singal in The Boston Globe, October 20, 2011

Did you know?
"Impute" is a somewhat formal word that is used to suggest that someone or something has or is guilty of something. It is similar in meaning to such words as "ascribe" and "attribute," though it is more likely to suggest an association with something that brings discredit. When we "impute" something, we typically impute it to someone or something. You may also encounter the related noun "imputation," which appears in such contexts as "I deny all your imputations of blame."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 23, 2011 is:

trammel • \TRAM-ul\  • noun
1 : a net for catching birds or fish 2 : something impeding activity, progress, or freedom : restraint -- usually used in plural

Examples:
"I cast the miserable trammels of worldly discretion to the winds, and spoke with the fervour that filled me…." -- From Wilkie Collins' 1868 novel The Moonstone

"Those details remind us that we're at a modern play, one in which the author rejects the trammels of a genre that, to be honest, are extremely familiar." -- From a theater review by Judith Newmark in St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 15, 2011

Did you know?
A trammel fishing net traditionally has three layers, with the middle one finer-meshed and slack so that fish passing through the first net carry some of the center net through the coarser third net and are trapped. Appropriately, "trammel" traces back to the Late Latin "tremaculum," which comes from Latin "tres," meaning "three," and "macula," meaning "mesh." Today, "trammels" is synonymous with "restraints," and "trammel" is also used as a verb meaning "to confine" or "to enmesh." You may also run across the adjective "untrammeled," meaning "not confined or limited."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 22, 2011 is:

splenetic • \splih-NET-ik\  • adjective
: marked by bad temper, malevolence, or spite

Examples:
I know David was in a bad mood all day, but the splenetic tone of his reply to Brenda’s question was not necessary.

"If he were 10 or 15 years younger (or at least looked like he was), [Charlie] Sheen would be perfect as the splenetic, screed-spouting anti-hero of John Osborne’s 'Look Back in Anger.'" -- From an article by Ben Brantley on the New York Times Arts Beat blog, May 26, 2011

Did you know?
In early Western physiology, a person's physical qualities and mental disposition were believed to be determined by the proportion of four bodily humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. The last of these was believed to be secreted by the spleen, causing feelings of disposition ranging from intense sadness (melancholia) to irascibility. This now-discredited association explains how the use of "splenetic" (deriving from the Late Latin "spleneticus" and the Latin "splen," meaning "spleen") came to mean both "bad-tempered" and "given to melancholy" as well as "of or relating to the spleen." In later years, the "melancholy" sense fell out of use, but the sense pertaining to ill humor or malevolence remains with us today.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 21, 2011 is:

strudel • \STROO-dul\  • noun
: a pastry made from a thin sheet of dough rolled up with filling and baked

Examples:
Strudels are usually made with high-gluten flour to increase the malleability of the dough.

"The Supremes belted out a song on the radio, their voices as smooth and flawless as the ribbon of cream Kirsten poured from the pitcher onto her father's strudel, and the whole house smelled cheerfully of pork and spiced apples, laced with a note of butter. -- From Rebecca Coleman’s 2011 novel The Kingdom of Childhood

Did you know?
The word "strudel" first appeared in English in the late 19th century, but the confection the word refers to is likely much older. The strudel is Austrian in origin, and its name comes from the German word "Strudel," meaning "whirlpool" -- which the pastry resembles when cut to reveal its thin sheet of dough rolled around the filling. Strudels can be sweet or savory, but the sweet apple strudel is the most famous.