Today's Word

Accord

uh-KORD

Definition

(noun/verb) A formal agreement or harmony between parties; or, to give or grant something as appropriate.

Example

After months of negotiation, the two nations signed an accord that neither side had believed possible.

Word Origin

From Old French acorder, derived from Medieval Latin accordare — ad- (“to”) + cor/cordis (“heart”). An accord, etymologically, is a meeting of hearts. The same Latin root cor gives us “cordial,” “courage,” and “concord” — all words involving the heart as the seat of agreement, warmth, and bravery.

Fun Fact

Music theory borrowed “accord” directly — in French and several other languages, the word for a musical chord is “accord,” because a chord is literally multiple notes coming into agreement. This isn’t a coincidence: the metaphor of harmony runs through the word at every level. Political accords, personal reconciliation, and musical chords are all describing the same thing — separate elements resolving into something unified. The Paris Peace Accords, the Oslo Accords, and the Kyoto Protocol are among the most significant accords in modern history, each representing that rare moment when discord becomes harmony.

Previous Words

Dour

Today's Word

Dour

DOUR (rhymes with “tour”)

Definition

(adjective) Relentlessly stern and humorless in manner; gloomy and forbidding in appearance or disposition.

Example

The dour headmaster presided over every assembly with the expression of someone who had personally witnessed the decline of civilization and held the students responsible.

Word Origin

Dour derives from the Latin durus, meaning “hard” or “harsh,” through the Scottish Gaelic dúr, meaning “dull” or “obstinate.” It entered English primarily through Scottish usage in the 15th century, where it described not just sternness of expression but a deep, habitual resistance to anything resembling levity or warmth. The word carries its Scottish origins quietly — it is one of those words that sounds exactly like what it means, its single syllable landing with the blunt finality of the disposition it describes.

Fun Fact

Scotland has a long and affectionate relationship with the concept of dourness — so much so that it has become a cultural identifier embraced rather than resisted. The Scottish Calvinist tradition, which dominated the country’s religious and cultural life for centuries, placed enormous emphasis on sobriety, restraint, and the suppression of outward displays of emotion or pleasure. Smiling too readily was considered suspicious. Enjoyment required justification. The dour Presbyterian elder became a stock figure in Scottish literature — simultaneously mocked and respected, his grimness a kind of integrity. Robert Burns spent a significant portion of his career cheerfully undermining this tradition, which is possibly why the Scots love him so much.

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Accord

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Previous Words

Dour

Dour

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Dour

Inviolable

Elucidate

Allay

Convivial