Word of the Day — October 2026

Origin: Entered English from Latin or French during the Middle Ages

Example: Finding such iconoclast in nature is rare.

Spelling tip: ICONO + CLAST — 10 letters total

Fun fact: From Greek eikon (image) + klastes (breaker) — Byzantine iconoclasts destroyed religious images in the 8th-9th centuries by imperial decree.

🌍 In other languages: Worth 14 points in Scrabble — a potential bingo word (50pt bonus for using all 7 tiles)

Origin: Ending from French -esque meaning in the style of

Example: Her kafkaesque approach to the problem was refreshing.

Spelling tip: QU always together — KAFKAES + QU + E

Fun fact: Named after Franz Kafka whose The Trial (1925) depicts a man arrested and prosecuted by an authority that never reveals the crime.

🌍 In other languages: High-value Scrabble word (30 pts) with Q(10)

Origin: Entered English from Latin or French during the Middle Ages

Example: They managed to mitigate despite the challenges.

Spelling tip: MITI + GATE — 8 letters total

Fun fact: From Latin mitigare meaning to make mild — mitis (soft) + agere (to do). Climate scientists use mitigation vs adaptation as key strategies.

🌍 In other languages: Worth 11 points in Scrabble — a potential bingo word (50pt bonus for using all 7 tiles)

Origin: Entered English from Latin or French during the Middle Ages

Example: The team worked hard to obfuscate the project forward.

Spelling tip: OBFUS + CATE — 9 letters total

Fun fact: From Latin obfuscare meaning to darken — in computing, code obfuscation deliberately makes source code hard to understand to prevent reverse engineering.

🌍 In other languages: Worth 16 points in Scrabble — a potential bingo word (50pt bonus for using all 7 tiles)

Origin: Ending from Greek -ikos meaning relating to

Example: The word quizzical captures the idea perfectly.

Spelling tip: QU always together — + QU + IZZICAL

Fun fact: Legend claims a Dublin theatre owner bet he could introduce a new word overnight by chalking QUIZ on walls across the city in 1791.

🌍 In other languages: High-value Scrabble word (38 pts) with Q(10), Z(10)

Origin: Ending from Latin -iosus meaning full of

Example: The word spurious captures the idea perfectly.

Spelling tip: SPUR + IOUS — 8 letters total

Fun fact: From Latin spurius meaning illegitimate or false — in Roman law, a spurius was a child of unknown father with no inheritance rights.

🌍 In other languages: Worth 10 points in Scrabble — a potential bingo word (50pt bonus for using all 7 tiles)

Origin: Entered English from Latin or French during the Middle Ages

Example: The word unabashed captures the idea perfectly.

Spelling tip: UNABA + SHED — 9 letters total

Fun fact: Abash comes from Old French esbahir meaning to astonish — related to bay (as in holding something at bay, stopped in astonishment).

🌍 In other languages: Worth 15 points in Scrabble — a potential bingo word (50pt bonus for using all 7 tiles)

Origin: Entered English from Latin or French during the Middle Ages

Example: The concept of wizardry has fascinated scholars for centuries.

Spelling tip: WIZA + RDRY — 8 letters total

Fun fact: Wizard comes from Middle English wys (wise) + -ard — originally just meant a wise man before gaining magical connotations in the 1500s.

🌍 In other languages: High-value Scrabble word (24 pts) with Z(10)

Origin: Entered English from Latin or French during the Middle Ages

Example: The concept of yearning has fascinated scholars for centuries.

Spelling tip: YEAR + NING — 8 letters total

Fun fact: From Old English giernan meaning to desire — cognate with German gern (gladly) and related to the word greedy via Proto-Germanic.

🌍 In other languages: Worth 12 points in Scrabble — a potential bingo word (50pt bonus for using all 7 tiles)

Origin: Ending from Latin -iosus meaning full of

Example: The word acrimonious captures the idea perfectly.

Spelling tip: ACRIMO + NIOUS — 11 letters total

Fun fact: From Latin acer meaning sharp or pungent — the same root gives us acrid, acerbic, and vinegar (vin aigre, sharp wine).

🌍 In other languages: Worth 15 points in Scrabble — a potential bingo word (50pt bonus for using all 7 tiles)

Origin: Ending from Latin -iosus meaning full of

Example: The word capricious captures the idea perfectly.

Spelling tip: CAPRI + CIOUS — 10 letters total

Fun fact: From Italian capriccio meaning a sudden shiver — possibly from capra (goat) referring to a goat's unpredictable jumps.

🌍 In other languages: Worth 16 points in Scrabble — a potential bingo word (50pt bonus for using all 7 tiles)

Origin: Entered English from Latin or French during the Middle Ages

Example: The ebullient atmosphere made everyone uncomfortable.

Spelling tip: Remember: I before E in this word

Fun fact: From Latin ebullire meaning to bubble out — shares its root with boil, and describes enthusiasm that seems to bubble over.

🌍 In other languages: Worth 11 points in Scrabble — a potential bingo word (50pt bonus for using all 7 tiles)

Origin: Entered English from Latin or French during the Middle Ages

Example: The word gargantuan captures the idea perfectly.

Spelling tip: GARGA + NTUAN — 10 letters total

Fun fact: Named after Gargantua, the giant king in Rabelais' 1534 satirical novel who once accidentally swallowed six pilgrims in a salad.

🌍 In other languages: Worth 12 points in Scrabble — a potential bingo word (50pt bonus for using all 7 tiles)

Origin: Ending from Latin -ibilis meaning capable of

Example: The word indelible captures the idea perfectly.

Spelling tip: Ends in -IBLE (not -ABLE)

Fun fact: From Latin indelebilis meaning indestructible — the first indelible ink was made from silver nitrate, which darkens permanently on skin in sunlight.

🌍 In other languages: Worth 12 points in Scrabble — a potential bingo word (50pt bonus for using all 7 tiles)

Origin: Entered English from Latin or French during the Middle Ages

Example: The word kismet captures the idea perfectly.

Spelling tip: KIS + MET — 6 letters total

Fun fact: From Arabic qisma meaning portion or lot — entered English via Turkish during the Ottoman era, meaning fate or destiny.

🌍 In other languages: Scores 12 points in Scrabble — a strong vocabulary word to know

Origin: Latin or Greek adjective suffix indicating relating to

Example: The word mercurial captures the idea perfectly.

Spelling tip: MERCU + RIAL — 9 letters total

Fun fact: Named after Mercury, the swift Roman messenger god — people born under Mercury were thought to be eloquent, clever, and changeable.

🌍 In other languages: Worth 13 points in Scrabble — a potential bingo word (50pt bonus for using all 7 tiles)