Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 18, 2011 is:

vulcanize • \VUL-kuh-nyze\  • verb
: to subject to or to undergo the process of treating crude or synthetic rubber or similar plastic material chemically to give it useful properties (as elasticity, strength, and stability)

Examples:
Rubber that has been vulcanized is not just for tires -- a wide range of articles, from hoses and hockey pucks to rubber bands and rain boots, are made with it.

"The sulfur in the juice of morning glories is used to vulcanize rubber, but it was used long before Goodyear as a hallucinogenic, a laxative and possibly to make rubber bouncing balls." -- From an article by Judy Terry at press-citizen.com (Iowa City Press-Citizen), October 19, 2011

Did you know?
"Vulcanize" sounds like something Spock from Star Trek might do, but the explanation behind this word has more to do with ancient mythology than it does with science fiction. Vulcanization involves heating rubber in combination with sulfur. The Roman god Vulcan (whose Greek counterpart is Hephaestus) was the god of fire and of skills that used fire, such as metalworking. So when Charles Goodyear discovered that high heat would result in stronger rubber, he called the process "vulcanization" after the god of fire. Goodyear stumbled upon the idea in 1839 and acquired a patent for it in 1844, but the words "vulcanize" and "vulcanization" didn't appear in print until 1845 and 1846 respectively.

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bibliophage: an ardent reader; a bookworm.

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 17, 2011 is:

haberdasher • \HAB-er-dash-er\  • noun
1 British : a dealer in notions 2 : a dealer in men's clothing and accessories

Examples:
Mr. Watson planned to visit the haberdasher during the week to find some new shirts for his wardrobe.

"Under his ownership, the store's reputation spread. Clients flew into Portland and stayed at the Heathman Hotel to await their appointments with the courteous haberdasher." -- From an obituary by Anne Saker in The Oregonian, September 20, 2011

Did you know?
At various times throughout its history, the term "haberdasher" has referred to a dealer of hats or caps, a seller of notions (sewing supplies such as needles and thimbles), and apparently (perhaps somewhat coyly) as a person who sells liquor. Nowadays, with hats not being as fashionable as they once were, the word mostly is applied generally as a clothing outfitter for men, with "haberdashery" referring to the establishment or the goods sold there. "Haberdasher" derives via Middle English from "hapertas," an Anglo-French word for a kind of cloth, as does the obsolete noun "haberdash," which once meant petty merchandise or small wares.

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opuscule: a small or minor work.

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 16, 2011 is:

mountebank • \MOUN-tih-bank\  • noun
1 : a person who sells quack medicines from a platform 2 : a boastful unscrupulous pretender : charlatan

Examples:
In his newspaper column, Gavin criticized the talk-radio host as "a mountebank whose 'expert' opinions and advice are complete hooey."

"Bring your five-minute tales related to all things fraudulent and pseudo. Flimflammers, mountebanks, poseurs and snake oil salesmen especially welcome." -- From a literary events listing by Gina Webb in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 25, 2011

Did you know?
"Mountebank" derives from the Italian "montimbanco," which was formed by combining the verb "montare" ("to mount"), the preposition "in" (converted to "im," meaning "in" or "on"), and the noun "banco" ("bench"). Put these components together and you can deduce the literal origins of "mountebank" as someone mounted on a bench -- the "bench" being the platform on which charlatans from the 16th and 17th centuries would stand to sell their phony medicines. Mountebanks often included various forms of light entertainment on stage in order to attract customers. Later, extended uses of "mountebank" referred to someone who falsely claims to have knowledge about a particular subject or a person who simply pretends to be something he or she is not in order to gain attention.

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apocrypha: various religious writings of uncertain origin regarded by some as inspired, but rejected by most authorities.

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 15, 2011 is:

tramontane • \truh-MAHN-tayn\  • adjective
1 : situated on the north side of the Alps : transalpine 2 : lying on or coming from the other side of a mountain range

Examples:
He kept a journal on his journey to the tramontane region of the country.

"The lesser known area of Emporda, just across the border from Roussillon in France, is a rugged hilly area where wild herbs have a stronghold. The vines hang on as the tramontane winds whip across the area mixing the aromas of the pollen." -- From an article by Colin Pressdee in the Daily Post (Liverpool), August 28, 2010

Did you know?
The journey of "tramontane" into English starts in Latin and begins with the coming together of the prefix "trans-," meaning "across" or "beyond," and "montanus," meaning "of a mountain." When the word entered Italian, it did so as "tramontano" and referred to people or things on or from the other side of a mountain range -- specifically, the Alps. "Tramontano" then traveled into English during the late 16th century as both the adjective "tramontane," with the same meaning as the Italian word, and as the noun "tramontane," meaning "one dwelling in a tramontane region" or "a foreigner." During the 18th century, the adjective began carrying the meaning "barbarous," but that meaning is now rarely -- if ever -- used.

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fascicle: a section of a book or set of books published in installments as separate pamphlets or volumes.

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 14, 2011 is:

bamboozle • \bam-BOO-zul\  • verb
1 : to deceive by underhanded methods : dupe, hoodwink 2 : to confuse, frustrate, or throw off thoroughly or completely

Examples:
Olivia couldn’t believe that she had been bamboozled into giving money to a phony charity.

"Football at every level involves repeated acts of deception. A quarterback fakes a handoff, a receiver pantomimes a catch to bamboozle a defensive back, a linebacker feints a blitz before suddenly reversing course to drop back in pass coverage. " -- From a column by Ray Cox in The Roanoke Times (Virginia), September 2, 2011

Did you know?
In 1710, Irish author Jonathan Swift wrote an article on "the continual Corruption of our English Tongue" in which he complained of "the Choice of certain Words invented by some pretty Fellows." Among the inventions Swift disliked were "bamboozle," "bubble" (a dupe), "put" (a fool), and "sham." (Perhaps he objected to the use of "sham" as a verb; he himself had used the adjective meaning "false" a couple of years previously.) What all these words appear to have in common is a connection to the underworld as jargon of criminals. Other than that, the origin of "bamboozle" remains a mystery, but the over-300-year-old word has clearly defied Swift's assertion that "All new affected Modes of Speech . . . are the first perishing Parts in any Language."

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lyard: streaked or spotted with gray or white.

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 13, 2011 is:

gyre • \JYRE\  • noun
: a circular or spiral motion or form; especially : a giant circular oceanic surface current

Examples:
Sophia will be focusing her graduate studies on the effects of ocean gyres on North America's climate.

"When gyres of warm wind coming over the Pacific hit the cold water in the Bay, the air chills and condenses to form fog." -- From an article by Lily Dayton in the Monterey County Herald (California), July 26, 2011

Did you know?
William Butler Yeats opens his 1920 poem, "The Second Coming," with the following lines: "Turning and turning in the widening gyre / The falcon cannot hear the falconer; / Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world…." Often found in poetic or literary contexts as an alternative to the more familiar "circle" or "spiral," "gyre" comes via the Latin "gyrus" from the Greek "gyros," meaning "ring" or "circle." Today, "gyre" is most frequently encountered as an oceanographic term that refers to vast circular systems of ocean currents, such as the North Atlantic Gyre, a system of currents circling clockwise between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. "Gyre" is also sometimes used of more localized vortices such as those produced by whirlpools or tornados.

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 12, 2011 is:

lachrymose • \LAK-ruh-mohss\  • adjective
1 : given to tears or weeping : tearful 2 : tending to cause tears : mournful

Examples:
"'What a shame it is,' he said, wiping at his own eyes. Magee was a sucker for weeping women, and lachrymose when he had been drinking." -- From Michael Chabon’s short story "Smoke," as published in his 2005 collection A Model World and Other Stories

"The swish and slap of the windshield wipers kept good time with the banjos as [Merle] Haggard and his combo sang lachrymose patriotic songs in exaggerated stereo." -- From Jonathan Raban’s 2011 book Driving Home: An American Journey

Did you know?
The adjective "lachrymose" comes from Latin "lacrimosus" (from the noun "lacrima," meaning "tear"). "Lachrymose" didn't appear in English until around 1727, but another closely related adjective can be traced back to the late 16th century. This earlier cousin, "lachrymal" (sometimes spelled "lacrimal," particularly in its scientific applications), has a scientific flavor and is defined as "of, relating to, or being glands that produce tears" or "of, relating to, or marked by tears." In contrast, "lachrymose" typically applies to someone who is moved to tears because of strong emotions or something that stimulates such feelings.

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rankle: to cause keen irritation or bitter resentment in.

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 11, 2011 is:

cumulate • \KYOO-myuh-layt\  • verb
1 : to gather or pile or become gathered or piled in a heap 2 a : to combine into one 3 a: to build up by addition of new material b : to increase gradually in quantity or number

Examples:
"You've demonstrated great proficiency in cumulating a collection of excuses," Elise told her employee, "but your energies would be better spent meeting, rather than forcing the revision of, deadlines."

"In its weak form, the hypothesis has been that although speed of processing on any one task may be only weakly correlated with more complex performances, such small differences cumulate over time and tasks." -- From 2011 book The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence, edited by Robert J. Sternberg and Scott Barry Kaufman

Did you know?
"Cumulate" and its far more common relative "accumulate" both come from the Latin word "cumulare," meaning "to heap up." "Cumulare," in turn, comes from "cumulus," meaning "mass." ("Cumulus" functions as an English word in its own right as well. It can mean "heap" or "accumulation," or it can refer to a kind of dense puffy cloud with a flat base and rounded outlines.) "Cumulate" and "accumulate" overlap in meaning, but you're likely to find "cumulate" mostly in technical contexts. The word's related adjective, "cumulative," however, is used more widely.

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zeal: fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence; ardor.

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