The Word of the Day

lugubrious \loo-GOO-bree-us\ adjective
*1 : mournful; especially : exaggeratedly or affectedly mournful
2 : dismal

Example sentence: "The dogs ... simultaneously lifting their noses, began to howl in most lugubrious fashion." (Bram Stoker, _Dracula_)

Did you know? "It is a consolation to the wretched to have companions in misery," wrote Publilius Syrus in the first century BC. Perhaps this explains why "lugubrious" is so woeful -- it's all alone. Sure, we can dress up "lugubrious" with suffixes to form "lugubriously" or "lugubriousness," but the word remains essentially an only child -- the sole surviving English offspring of its Latin ancestors. This wasn't always the case, though. "Lugubrious" once had a linguistic living relative in "luctual," an adjective meaning "sad" or "sorrowful." Like "lugubrious," "luctual" traced ultimately to the Latin verb "lugere," meaning "to mourn." "Luctual," however, faded into obsolescence long ago, leaving "lugubrious" to carry on the family's mournful mission all alone.

belfry \BEL-free\ noun
*1 : a bell tower; especially : one surmounting or attached to another structure
2 : a room or framework for enclosing a bell
3 : head

Example sentence: "It was three o'clock; the church bell tolled as I passed under the belfry: the charm of the hour lay in its approaching dimness, in the low-gliding and pale-beaming sun." (Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre)

Did you know? Surprisingly, "belfry" does not come from "bell," and early belfries did not contain bells at all. "Belfry" comes from "berfrey," a medieval term for a wooden tower used in sieges. The structure could be rolled up to a fortification wall so that warriors hidden inside could storm the battlements. Over time, the term was applied to other types of shelters and towers, many of which had bells in them. Through association, people began spelling "berfrey" as "bellfrey," then as "belfrey" and later "belfry." On a more metaphorical note, someone who has "bats in the belfry" is crazy or eccentric. This phrase is responsible for the use of "bats" for "crazy" ("Are you completely bats?") and the occasional use of "belfry" for "head" ("He's not quite right in the belfry").