The Word(s) of the Day

eupeptic \yoo-PEP-tik\ adjective
1 : of, relating to, or having good digestion
*2 : cheerful, optimistic

Example sentence: "The generous outpouring of writings devoted to public libraries ... makes me positively eupeptic about the future of scholarship in this area." (E. A. Goedeken, _Libraries & Culture_, March 22, 2004)

Did you know? "Eupeptic" first appeared around 1700 and was probably created from "eupepsia," a word meaning "good digestion." ("Eupepsia" was cooked up from "eu-," meaning "good," and "-pepsia," meaning "digestion," ingredients that are ultimately of Greek origin.) It seems reasonable that good digestion might enhance one's outlook on life -- and indeed, "eupeptic" can suggest a happy frame of mind as well as a happy digestive system. Along similar lines, someone with poor digestion might be cranky, and the antonymous counterparts of "eupeptic" and "eupepsia" -- "dyspeptic" and "dyspepsia" -- can suggest either indigestion or ill humor.

sycophant \SIK-uh-funt\ noun : a servile self-seeking flatterer

Example sentence: "I can't stand sycophants," said Rosemary, "so if you want that promotion, do your best and let your work speak for itself."

Did you know? In ancient Greece, "sykophantes" meant "slanderer." It derives from two other Greek words, "sykon" (meaning "fig") and "phainein" (meaning "to show or reveal"). How did fig revealers become slanderers? One theory has to do with the taxes Greek farmers were required to pay on the figs they brought to market. Apparently, the farmers would sometimes try to avoid making the payments, but squealers -- fig revealers -- would fink on them, and they would be forced to pay. Another possible source is a sense of the word "fig" meaning "a gesture or sign of contempt (as thrusting a thumb between two fingers)." In any case, Latin retained the "swindler" sense when it borrowed a version of "sykophantes," but by the time English speakers in the 16th century borrowed it as "sycophant," the squealers had become flatterers.