Today's Word

Appetence

AP-uh-tuhns

Definition

(noun) A strong craving or natural inclination toward something.

Example

Her appetence for knowledge drove her to read every book she could get her hands on.

Fun Fact

“Appetence” comes from the Latin appetere, meaning “to strive after” or “to seek.” Once commonly used in literature to describe passionate desires or instincts, it has fallen into relative obscurity in modern English. Despite its rarity, it beautifully conveys the deep, instinctive yearnings that drive human behavior, from curiosity to ambition.

Previous Words

Descry

Today's Word

Descry

dih-SKRY

Definition

(verb) To catch sight of something difficult to see; to discover or detect something by careful observation.

Example

After an hour of scanning the hillside, she finally descried the outline of the elk standing motionless among the trees.

Word Origin

From Old French descrier, meaning “to proclaim” or “to cry out about” — which itself evolved to mean “to spot and announce.” The word entered English in the 14th century. It shares roots with “describe” and “decry,” all descending from Latin clamare (“to cry out”) through Old French. The journey from “crying out” to “spotting at a distance” reflects how scouts and lookouts would cry out when they spotted something on the horizon.

Fun Fact

“Descry” was a staple of Romantic and Victorian poetry, used by Keats, Tennyson, and Wordsworth for its particular quality — it implies not just seeing, but discovering something faint or far away. It has nearly disappeared from everyday speech but survives in literary writing. Interestingly, it’s often confused with “decry” (to openly criticize), which is a completely different word — a mix-up that has probably contributed to “descry” being gradually abandoned by everyday writers who’d rather not risk the confusion.

READ MORE...

Appetence

Definition

Example

Previous Words

Descry

Descry

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Descry

Sardonic

Oblique

Verisimilitude

Parsimonious