Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 11, 2009 is:

exhilarate • \ig-ZIL-uh-rayt\  • verb
1 a : to make cheerful and excited* b : enliven, excite 2 : refresh, stimulate

Example sentence:
“Whooshing down a snow-covered mountain at high speed exhilarates me,” said Tara, explaining her love of skiing.

Did you know?
Many people find "exhilarate" a difficult word to spell. It's easy to forget that silent "h" in there, and is it an "er" or "ar" after the "l"? It may be easier to remember the spelling if you know that "exhilarate" is ultimately derived from the Latin adjective "hilarus," meaning "cheerful." (This also explains why the earliest meaning of "exhilarate" is "to make cheerful.") "Exhilarate" comes from "exhilaratus," the past participle of "exhilarare," which is formed by combining "ex-" and "hilarare," a verb that derives from "hilarus" and means "to cheer or gladden." If "hilarus" looks familiar, that may be because it's also the source of "hilarious" and "hilarity" (as well as "hilariously" and "hilariousness," of course).

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 10, 2009 is:

rectify • \REK-tuh-fye\  • verb
*1 : to set right : remedy 2 : to purify (as alcohol) especially by repeated or fractional distillation 3 : to correct by removing errors : adjust

Example sentence:
The night before the Web site was to go live, the programmers worked frantically to rectify several unresolved security problems.

Did you know?
Which of the following words does not share its ancestry with "rectify"?

1) direct 2) regimen 3) obstruct 4) correct 5) resurrection

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 09, 2009 is:

docile • \DAH-sul\  • adjective
1 : easily taught *2 : easily led or managed

Example sentence:
"Quite docile and harmless was Billy, and it was pitiful to see how hard he tried to learn, as if groping dimly after the lost knowledge which had cost him so much." (Louisa May Alcott, Little Men)

Did you know?
Docile students can make teaching a lot easier. Nowadays, calling students "docile" indicates they aren't trouble-makers. But there's more than just good behavior connecting docility to teachability. The original meaning of "docile" is more to the point: "readily absorbing something taught." "The docile mind may soon thy precepts know," rendered Ben Jonson, for example, in a 17th-century translation of the Roman poet Horace. "Docile" comes from Latin "docēre," which means "to teach." Other descendants of "docēre" include "doctrine" (which can mean "something that is taught"), "document" (the earliest meaning of which was "instruction"), and "doctor" and "docent" (both of which can refer to college teachers).

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 08, 2009 is:

sacerdotal • \sass-er-DOH-tul\  • adjective
*1 : of or relating to priests or a priesthood : priestly 2 : of, relating to, or suggesting religious belief emphasizing the powers of priests as essential mediators between God and mankind

Example sentence:
It surprised Jim whenever Father Thomas would shed his sacerdotal role to take up a secular topic of conversation such as contemporary rock music.

Did you know?
"Sacerdotal" is one of a host of English words derived from the Latin adjective "sacer," meaning "sacred." Other words derived from "sacer" include "desecrate," "sacrifice," "sacrilege," "consecrate," "sacrament," and even "execrable" (developed from the Latin word "exsecrari," meaning "to put under a curse"). One unlikely "sacer" descendant is "sacrum," referring to the series of five vertebrae in the lower back connected to the pelvis. In Latin this bone was called the "os sacrum," or "holy bone," a translation of the Greek "hieron osteon."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 07, 2009 is:

bastion • \BAS-chun\  • noun
1 : a projecting part of a fortification 2 : a fortified area or position 3 a : a place of security or survival* b : a place dominated by a particular group or marked by a particular characteristic

Example sentence:
The university's economics department was considered the last bastion of political conservatism within an otherwise liberal campus.

Did you know?
"Bastion" is constructed of etymological building blocks that are very similar to those of "bastille" (a word now used as a general term for a prison, but probably best known as the name of the Parisian fortress-turned-prison stormed by an angry mob at the start of the French Revolution). The history of "bastion" can be traced through Middle French to the Old Italian verb "bastire," which means "to build." "Bastille" descends from the Old Occitan verb "bastir," which also means "to build." "Bastir" and "bastire" are themselves of Germanic origin and akin to the Old High German word "besten," meaning "to patch."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 06, 2009 is:

nudnik • \NOOD-nik (the "OO" is as in "good")\  • noun
: a person who is a bore or nuisance

Example sentence:
James worried that he would never finish his work if the office nudnik didn't quit hanging around his cubicle.

Did you know?
The suffix "-nik" came to English through Yiddish (and ultimately from Polish and Ukrainian). It means "one connected with or characterized by being." You might be familiar with "beatnik," "computernik," or "neatnik," but what about "no-goodnik" or "allrightnik"? The suffix "-nik" is frequently used in English to create nonce words that are often jocular or slightly derogatory. Some theorize that the popularity of the suffix was enhanced by Russian "Sputnik," as well as Al Capp's frequent use of "-nik" words in his "L'il Abner" cartoons. The "nud-" of the Yiddish borrowing "nudnik" ultimately comes from the Polish word "nuda," meaning "boredom."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 05, 2009 is:

maugre • \MAW-gur\  • preposition
archaic : in spite of

Example sentence:
"I love thee so that, maugre all thy pride, / Nor wit nor reason can my passion hide." (Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Act III, Scene i)

Did you know?
"Maugre" is now quite rare, but having served the English language for more than 700 years, it's due whatever rest it's currently enjoying. Although it may not be a word worth incorporating into your expressive vocabulary, being familiar with it will be helpful in reading the works of such authors as Shakespeare, Scott, Milton, and, as in this quote from his Essays, First Series, Emerson: "By virtue of this inevitable nature, private will is overpowered, and, maugre our efforts or our imperfections, your genius will speak from you, and mine from me." The word is Anglo-French in origin, coming from "mal" or "mau," meaning "evil," and "gré," meaning "grace, favor."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 04, 2009 is:

invective • \in-VEK-tiv\  • noun
*1 : an abusive expression or speech 2 : insulting or abusive language : vituperation

Example sentence:
The sonnet is an invective against the poet's wife and the man who cuckolded him.

Did you know?
"Invective" began life in the 15th century as an adjective meaning "of, relating to, or characterized by insult or abuse." In 1523, it appeared in print as a noun meaning "an example of abusive speech." Eventually, the noun developed a second sense applying to abusive language as a whole. "Invective" comes to us from the Middle French word "invectif," which in turn derives from Latin "invectivus," meaning "reproachful, abusive." ("Invectivus" comes from Latin "invectus," past participle of the verb "invehere," one form of which means "to assail with words.") "Invective" is similar to "abuse," but it tends to suggest not only anger and vehemence, but also verbal and rhetorical skill. It sometimes implies public denunciation, as in "blistering political invective."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 03, 2009 is:

regimen • \REJ-uh-mun\  • noun
*1 : a systematic course of treatment or training 2 : government, rule 3 : a government in power : regime

Example sentence:
Sherry’s personal trainer at the gym started her on a workout regimen of 30 minutes on the treadmill followed by 30 minutes of weight training.

Did you know?
We borrowed "regimen" straight from Latin, spelling and all -- but in Latin, the word simply meant "rule" or "government." In English, it usually refers to a system of rules or guidelines, often for living a healthy life or taking a regular dose of exercise. The Latin "regimen" derives from another Latin word, the verb "regere," which means "to lead straight" or "to rule." If you trace straight back from "regere," you'll find that "regimen" has plenty of lexical kin, including "correct," "erect," "region," "rule," and "surge." If you are using the "training" sense of "regimen," be careful not to confuse the word with "regiment," another "regere" descendant, which is used for a military unit.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.