Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 6, 2022 is:
gargantuan • \gahr-GAN-chuh-wuhn\ • adjective Gargantuan means "very large in size or amount." // Bigfoot is said to be a creature of gargantuan proportions.
Examples: "We rode a horse-drawn carriage up to the gargantuan Grand Hotel, still embracing its luxury 1887 roots. After a tour of the quirkily colored suites, we settled in for a lunch of local smoked whitefish in the airy restaurant." — Simon Peter Groebner, The Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 14 Aug. 2022
Did you know? Gargantua is the name of a giant king in François Rabelais's 16th-century satiric novel Gargantua, the second part of a five-volume series about the giant and his son Pantagruel. All of the details of Gargantua's life befit a giant. He rides a colossal mare whose tail switches so violently that it fells the entire forest of Orleans. He has an enormous appetite, such that in one incident he inadvertently swallows five pilgrims while eating a salad. The scale of everything connected with Gargantua led to the adjective gargantuan, which since William Shakespeare's time has been used for anything of tremendous size or volume.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 5, 2022 is:
atone • \uh-TOHN\ • verb Atone is usually used with for to mean “to make amends; to provide or serve as reparation or compensation.” // James tried to atone for the wrongdoings of his youth by devoting his life to helping others.
Examples: “After a childhood act of cowardice, Amir spends most of the play reflecting on and trying to atone for his failure to come to the aid of his best friend.” — Laura Zornosa, The New York Times, 1 July 2022
Did you know? Atone has its roots in the idea of reconciliation and harmony. It grew out of the Middle English phrase at on meaning “in harmony,” a phrase echoed in current expressions like “feeling at one with nature.” When atone joined modern English in the 16th century, it meant “to reconcile,” and suggested the restoration of a peaceful and harmonious state between people or groups. Today, atone specifically implies addressing the damage—or disharmony—caused by one’s own behavior.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 4, 2022 is:
onus • \OH-nuss\ • noun Onus is a formal word that means “a responsibility, obligation, or burden.” It can also be used in some contexts as a synonym for blame or stigma. It is usually preceded by the word the. // Management has made it clear that the onus is on employees to ask for further training if they don’t understand the new procedures.
Examples: “So many of us are solopreneurs, which means we make all of the decisions and the onus is on us to actually follow through on our plans.” — Susan Guillory, Forbes, 18 Aug. 2022
Did you know? Understanding the etymology of onus shouldn’t be a burden; it’s as simple as knowing that English borrowed the word—spelling, meaning, and all—from Latin in the 17th century. Onus is also a distant relative of the Sanskrit word anas, meaning cart (as in, a wheeled wagon or vehicle that carries a burden). English isn’t exactly loaded with words that come from Latin onus, but onerous (“difficult and unpleasant to do or deal with”) is one, which is fitting since in addition to being synonymous with “burden,” onus has also long been used to refer to obligations and responsibilities that one may find annoying, taxing, disagreeable, or distasteful.
