Wiktionary:Word of the day/Nominations

Note: Use the talk page only for comments about this page. Nominate words below.

This page is for nominating future Word of the Day entries. The philosophy behind our WOTD feature is similar to that of Wikipedia's featured articles. The main goals are:

1. to highlight the best of Wiktionary's definitions by featuring them on the Main Page,
2. to nurture people's natural interest in unusual words and phrases, and
3. to help readers improve their vocabulary.

Nominate a new word

What to nominate

Exotic usefulness

An ideal WOTD candidate is a word (or phrase) likely to be encountered in a newspaper or in literature. It should be exotic enough that it adds to readers' vocabularies, but not so unusual that it cannot be used in everyday conversation.

For example, the word the wouldn't work because it's too common. It may have an interesting entry, but it is a staple found in every English speaker's lexicon. At the other extreme, antidisestablishmentarianism — a perennial favorite of WOTD nominators — is simply too unusual. No one is going to use that word in everyday conversation, unless they sit around discussing church-state separation in 19th-century England. (That this word was in fact featured as a Word of the Day in no way makes it easier to use and is more related to the fact that it was featured before this section was written.)

Variety

Before nominating a word, you might want to look through our index of past Words of the Day and at the word’s page itself to make sure it (or a variation of it) hasn't already been featured.

Also keep in mind that featured words are chosen to reflect a variety of:

• parts of speech — Nouns, verbs and adjectives should appear more or less equally, but we also need good adverbs, idioms, set phrases and the like.
• languages of origin — Many English words derive ultimately from Latin or Greek precursors, but English has borrowed from, and styled itself after, many other languages, so try to mix it up a bit.
• initial letters — Not all interesting words start with J, K, Q or Z.

What not to nominate

These are in addition to the other warnings already mentioned above.

• No long words - We've already featured all the interesting words over 15 characters long - please wait until after 2017 to renominate any of them.
• No "redlinks" (missing pages) — If a word is not yet in Wiktionary, it belongs at Wiktionary:Requested entries, not here. (Better yet, why not create the entry yourself?)
• No offensive words — Please avoid profanity. A nominated word should not offend the average person, nor should it be something you would be embarrassed to use in front of your boss or your grandmother (or your boss' grandmother, for that matter). Wiktionary defines profane words in part so people know not to use them in polite company. WOTD nominations, on the other hand, should be words that people can safely use in everyday speech. Note also that many parents and schools automatically filter out pages that include certain offensive words, so featuring such a word on the Main Page would restrict access to Wiktionary itself.
• Avoid abbreviations — Abbreviations, initialisms, acronyms, symbols, and the like are unlikely to be selected without extremely convincing reasons. In other words, don't nominate WYSIWYG, dpi, or ☿. Symbols in particular cause problems for readers who lack the required fonts, and are therefore unlikely to be featured.
• Avoid proper nouns — Names of specific people, places, or entities are better suited to featuring in an encyclopedia. Such words rarely have interesting definitions or translations.
• Stick to English — The featured word is an English term because this is the English Wiktionary. For foreign words and phrases see the Foreign Word of the Day.
• No previous selections — We want to feature new selections, not the same selections over and over. Please check the list of previous Words of the Day, to be certain it has not been selected previously.
• Avoid other WOTDs — We want to feature words that haven't been WOTDs for other dictionaries, partly to highlight unique terms that make Wiktionary so special, partly to avoid complaints (by preventing the possibility entirely) that WOTDs were "stolen" from other dictionaries.
• Avoid purely obsolete words – Words whose definitions are only obsolete, archaic, rare or similar should be avoided as hard to use in practice. A word that has a sense marked as rare, etc, in addition to a more common sense is fine.

Updating guide

If you are familiar with using wikitext, please help update future Words of the Day! Do consider a quid pro quo – promoting one or two older nominations as Words of the Day for each new nomination that you make. Click on the "Expand" link below for a detailed guide on how to do this.

How to nominate

Follow the Nominate a new word link below and add your word(s) to the top of the list. Please link your word to our page for it by typing {{wotd-nom|EXAMPLE_WORD}} (be sure to get the capitalization right, and replace "EXAMPLE_WORD" with the word that you want to nominate). You might want to include a concise reason or justification for the nomination. A definition is not necessary since our page for the word should already contain a good definition.

In case there are questions about your word(s), it is imperative that you sign your nomination by adding four tildes (~~~~) at the end. (Although it is not required, you can quickly register for free if you don't already have a username.)

Nominate a new word

Latest nominations

nominations • edit status • purge status

So that those setting the Word of the Day for future days may know what has already been done, anyone doing so should here indicate the last date for which a Word of the Day was set, or the first for which it wasn't, and any relevant notes.

For a guide on how to set Words of the Day, see the "Updating guide" section above. You may also find these personal comments by EncycloPetey and -sche useful (click on the links).

In 2015, words have been set for August 1–28; September; October 2, 12 and 31; November 2, 11 and 26; and December 6, 14, 18, 22 and 25.
In 2016, words have been set for January 6, 24, 25 and 26; March 4, 5, 8 and 24; April 4 and 24; May 18; and June 11, 22 and 23.

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Entries are in reverse chronological order, by date of nomination. Please add your word or words to the TOP of the list below and remember to sign each new entry by typing four tildes (~~~~)

General nominations

2015

• slingshot (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) don't confuse with sling even though both are instruments for throwing – b_jonas 09:04, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
• specter (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) ghost, same as spectre (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y), but don't confuse with sceptre (ornamental rod) – b_jonas 08:59, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
• gulp (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (noun) amount of food or drink swallowed – b_jonas 08:59, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
• slug (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (noun) hindrance, obstruction, snag – b_jonas 08:53, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
• hearsay (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) – needs transcribed pronunciation, don't confuse with “heresy” b_jonas 08:42, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
• lather (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (verb) cover with soap foam – b_jonas 08:42, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
• wreath (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) circular ornament – b_jonas 08:42, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
• scale (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (noun) skin of fish or reptile – b_jonas 08:59, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
• peel (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (noun) skin of fruit – b_jonas 08:42, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
• liege (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (noun) both of the opposite senses – b_jonas 08:42, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
• adder (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) type of snake – b_jonas 08:42, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
• strife (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) – b_jonas 08:42, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
• raze (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (verb) – b_jonas 08:42, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
• spade (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (noun) digging tool – b_jonas 08:42, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
• showboat (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Jberkel (talk) 10:45, 4 September 2015 (UTC)
• long pig (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) —Μετάknowledge^{discuss/deeds} 03:32, 1 September 2015 (UTC)
• bathyscaphe (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) – I've met this word in the synopsis of a science fiction story – b_jonas 11:45, 30 August 2015 (UTC)
• crafternoon (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 00:03, 24 August 2015 (UTC)
• articulated skeleton (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 22:49, 21 August 2015 (UTC)
• Arizona room (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 21:34, 19 August 2015 (UTC)
• arbuscle (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 19:29, 17 August 2015 (UTC)
• paternoster (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) - A type of cyclical lift Robbijay (talk) 07:17, 17 August 2015 (UTC)
• embrittlement (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — I.S.M.E.T.A. 17:56, 13 August 2015 (UTC)
• aptonym (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 23:47, 10 August 2015 (UTC)
• sciolist (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) JoshuaKGarner (talk) 19:03, 10 August 2015 (UTC)
• apologetic apostrophe (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 00:36, 10 August 2015 (UTC)
• apeirogon (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 15:43, 7 August 2015 (UTC)
• antispinward (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 18:58, 4 August 2015 (UTC)
• scuttle (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Kendroche (talk) 10:22, 4 August 2015 (UTC)
• anting (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 16:12, 3 August 2015 (UTC)
• profundify (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Smuconlaw (talk) 18:09, 1 August 2015 (UTC)
• saw gourds (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — A beautifully evocative phrase. — I.S.M.E.T.A. 16:58, 26 July 2015 (UTC)
• spearcaster (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — I.S.M.E.T.A. 17:00, 23 July 2015 (UTC)
• pentaquark (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) -- Long predicted, just discovered! Smurrayinchester (talk) 12:38, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

  Is it called a discovery if it was predicted? --WikiTiki89 20:39, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

  According to "w:Pentaquark", the 13 July 2015 results "have not yet undergone peer review". Watch this space. Smuconlaw (talk) 19:09, 1 August 2015 (UTC)

• ajar (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) -- ALGRIF talk 12:41, 13 July 2015 (UTC)
• maladroit (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) SemperBlotto (talk) 15:12, 11 July 2015 (UTC)
• Earth-grazing (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) --Jan Kameníček (talk) 11:03, 10 July 2015 (UTC)
• chronophagous (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) —suzukaze (t・c) 18:23, 7 July 2015 (UTC)
• amanaty (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 22:43, 17 June 2015 (UTC)
• vignette (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) -- Co-workers are mis-using it terribly. Ryoverde (talk) 13:25, 16 June 2015 (UTC)
• flibbertigibbet (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Doctor Pleasant (talk) 18:02, 31 May 2015 (UTC)
• cheeky (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) -- Specifically, the UK food and drink sense, whose opacity to Americans is currently the basis of an internet meme. Smurrayinchester (talk) 14:18, 15 May 2015 (UTC)
• abreast (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) -- ALGRIF talk 14:08, 29 April 2015 (UTC)
• lexicon (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) 64.114.223.52 16:52, 28 April 2015 (UTC)
• fussbudget (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) bd2412 T 18:31, 20 April 2015 (UTC)
• phalanx (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Pcloney (talk) 16:52, 20 April 2015 (UTC)
• vacillation (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) -- 109.175.27.248 13:03, 4 April 2015 (UTC)
• discernible (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) -- 109.175.27.248 09:34, 3 April 2015 (UTC)
• all Sir Garnet (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Smurrayinchester (talk) 10:03, 31 March 2015 (UTC)
• hectad (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Smuconlaw (talk) 11:46, 22 March 2015 (UTC)
• coterie (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) -- OlEnglish ^(Talk) 18:14, 17 March 2015 (UTC)
• bodge (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) -- OlEnglish ^(Talk) 18:13, 17 March 2015 (UTC)
• veridical (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) -- OlEnglish ^(Talk) 18:12, 17 March 2015 (UTC)
• whirlpool (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) - 91.126.221.67
• debacchate (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — An excellent word. — I.S.M.E.T.A. 22:29, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
• vive (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) WikiWinters (talk) 23:56, 1 March 2015 (UTC)
• crow over (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — I.S.M.E.T.A. 18:26, 28 February 2015 (UTC)
• dory (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 16:07, 20 February 2015 (UTC)
• three-fisted (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 07:11, 20 February 2015 (UTC)
• adoxography (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y)
• trite (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) WikiWinters (talk) 13:08, 17 February 2015 (UTC)
• sodden (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Type56op9 (talk) 12:17, 15 February 2015 (UTC)
• fedge (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Smuconlaw (talk) 12:07, 15 February 2015 (UTC)
• galanthophile (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Smuconlaw (talk) 11:42, 15 February 2015 (UTC)
• poculiform (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Smuconlaw (talk) 11:42, 15 February 2015 (UTC)
• calamondin (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Kiwima (talk) 00:44, 15 February 2015 (UTC)
• Romanesco (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Smuconlaw (talk) 19:11, 12 February 2015 (UTC)
• inoculate (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) - topical in US due to measles epidemic due to objections to immunization. DCDuring TALK 23:10, 10 February 2015 (UTC)
• birdsmouth (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 03:23, 8 February 2015 (UTC)
• wouldn't shout if a shark bit him (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (with a mention of the polysemy that lead to the expression) - -sche (discuss) 22:45, 6 February 2015 (UTC)
• welfare trap (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) - Morgengave (talk) 08:36, 1 February 2015 (UTC)
• addling (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 20:18, 31 January 2015 (UTC)
• gafiate (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (if the "join the sci-fi community" sense can be cited) Smurrayinchester (talk) 08:45, 20 January 2015 (UTC)
• baby carrot (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (interesting combination of senses) —Mr. Granger (talk • contribs) 01:31, 16 January 2015 (UTC)
• tenacious (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) -XndrK (talk) 19:41, 3 January 2015 (UTC)

2014

• acnestis (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 21:33, 31 December 2014 (UTC)
• acheiropoieton (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 02:40, 31 December 2014 (UTC)
• aboiement (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 16:07, 28 December 2014 (UTC)
• ma (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) WikiWinters (talk) 00:11, 2 December 2014 (UTC)
• constraint (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) 77.160.95.122 16:08, 15 November 2014 (UTC)
• entelechy (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) —Romanophile (talk) 11:36, 8 November 2014 (UTC)
• prograde (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) MandatoryTeaser (talk) 08:28, 21 September 2014 (UTC)
• circumlocution (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) 172.248.68.73 17:17, 17 September 2014 (UTC)
• pangram (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Meemo16 (talk) 06:53, 17 September 2014 (UTC)
• coquette (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Lapeirousia (talk) 10:43, 25 August 2014 (UTC)
• jape (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) —This unsigned comment was added by Toddles9 (talk • contribs) at 06:34, 22 August 2014.
• penitent (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) 95.145.106.67 23:50, 8 August 2014 (UTC)
• mare's nest (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) --CopperKettle (talk) 05:33, 5 August 2014 (UTC)
• miscellany (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) 96.245.249.117 01:21, 4 August 2014 (UTC)
• parsimonious (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y)
• nacre (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Renard Migrant (talk) 13:06, 20 July 2014 (UTC)
• manpack (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) --WikiTiki89 16:21, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
• poplit (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — That bit of skin behind one's knee that formerly had no name. — I.S.M.E.T.A. 10:58, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
• chronique scandaleuse (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — I.S.M.E.T.A. 06:44, 12 July 2014 (UTC)
• calumniate (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) - When "besmirch," "aspersions" or "defamation" just aren't doing the trick. 216.20.152.85 23:08, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
• superbia (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) 216.20.152.85 23:08, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
• allometry (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) - Studying growth of a part of an organism relative to a whole; could be used metaphorically to refer to organizations, electorates, movements, etc 216.20.152.85 23:08, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
• exuviate (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) - Would have been an ideal word to describe Britney Spears' shaving of her own head. 216.20.152.85 23:08, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
• contumacy (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) 216.20.152.85 23:08, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
• haecceity (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) - The quality of something that makes it unique and idiosyncratic 216.20.152.85 23:08, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
• atrabilious (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) - A unique and more specific way of saying "irritable" implying that the person is suffering from indigestion. 216.20.152.85 23:08, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
• cacoethes (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Used to describe an irrational yet irresistable reason for doing something. 216.20.152.85 22:57, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
• tetchy (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Amusingly similar to "touchy" although they have completely different etymologies. 216.20.152.85 22:57, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
• volute (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) - Adjective meaning "in the shape of a coil." 216.20.152.85 22:57, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
• aureate (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) - Great word for describing prose/oratory or set and setting 216.20.152.85 22:51, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
• klecksography (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 02:37, 9 July 2014 (UTC)
• bellytimber (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) User:Leasnam gave me the idea. --WikiTiki89 03:00, 25 June 2014 (UTC)
• premunire (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) --CopperKettle (talk) 06:04, 15 June 2014 (UTC)
• vitriolic (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) One might encounter this word with the approaching U.S. election season. --WikiEnthusiastNumberTwenty-Two (talk) 06:18, 14 June 2014 (UTC)
• dude-bro (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) —Mr. Granger (talk • contribs) 23:08, 11 June 2014 (UTC)
• cenote (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) — Ungoliant ^(falai) 02:37, 8 June 2014 (UTC)
• purpurous (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) 92.234.87.150 19:56, 26 May 2014 (UTC)
• petrichor (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (a sublime word with permeating fragrance)
• alnage (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) --CopperKettle (talk) 16:54, 18 May 2014 (UTC)
• yonic (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) --Vahag (talk) 06:13, 25 April 2014 (UTC)
• xenocide (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) —Doctor Pleasant (talk) 16:23, 19 April 2014 (UTC)
• macroeconomics (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) —Doctor Pleasant (talk) 16:23, 19 April 2014 (UTC)
• háček (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) —Mr. Granger (talk • contribs) 18:40, 30 March 2014 (UTC)
• gardyloo (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) 101.163.100.41 08:05, 28 March 2014 (UTC)
• fictionary (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) --TeleComNasSprVen (talk) 05:40, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
• memoriter (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (irregular adverb!) --Æ&Œ (talk) 01:56, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
• flack (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (publicity agent) --CopperKettle (talk) 08:08, 19 February 2014 (UTC)
• coop (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (enclosure) – b_jonas 20:09, 15 February 2014 (UTC)

2013

• winge (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Shir-El too (talk) 13:56, 30 December 2013 (UTC)
• whinge (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Shir-El too (talk) 13:56, 30 December 2013 (UTC)
• puddle jumper (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) Ultimateria (talk) 01:55, 22 December 2013 (UTC)
• hinterland (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) --TeleComNasSprVen (talk) 20:44, 21 December 2013 (UTC)
• disinformative (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) --TeleComNasSprVen (talk) 20:44, 21 December 2013 (UTC)
• predominance (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) --TeleComNasSprVen (talk) 20:44, 21 December 2013 (UTC)
• concoction (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) --TeleComNasSprVen (talk) 20:44, 21 December 2013 (UTC)

Nominations for particular days

Nominate a word here if you think it is fitting for a particular day of the year, such as an anniversary of a notable person's birth or death, or the release of a notable book or film; a festival or holiday; and so on. As there are currently few volunteers working on this page, please nominate words well in advance of when you would like them to appear (preferably six months or more). Note that your nominated word may be featured on another day instead.

April

• 4: logarithmancy (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) (I found this concept just delightful and surprising) --Pereru (talk) 14:59, 1 September 2013 (UTC)
  • Suitable for 2017 (update after 4 April 2016) – death anniversary of John Napier (died 1617), discoverer of logarithms.

December

• rhematic (Check: R, A, G, H, W, Y) --12-17 in any year, in honor of the birthday of the late Ken Iverson, for Roger Hui writes in “Remembering Ken Iverson” that “Ken was deeply interested in words, their use and their etymology. […] I think nothing I had ever done impressed Ken quite as much as when I found the word ‘rhematic’ (meaning, pertaining to the formation of words), a word he had been searching for for some time.” Needs the definition checked, and a pronunciation entry. – b_jonas 09:30, 5 September 2015 (UTC)

Older nominations

Note to administrators and interested editors: If you notice words that have already appeared, or are in the queue to appear, as Words of the Day, please strike them out by using <s> and </s> HTML tags.

See also

• Category:Word of the day archive