Today's Word

Iconoclast

eye-KON-uh-klast

Definition

(noun) A person who attacks or criticizes cherished beliefs or established institutions.

Example

The filmmaker built a reputation as an iconoclast, unafraid to challenge industry norms.

Word Origin

Mid 17th century: from Greek eikonoklastēs, from eikōn ‘icon’ + klastēs ‘breaker’ (from klan, ‘to break’). Originally referred to those who destroyed religious icons.

Fun Fact

Although it began as a term for religious defacers during the Byzantine Empire, iconoclast eventually took on a broader meaning. Today, it applies to anyone who disrupts tradition or challenges orthodoxy—from artists and entrepreneurs to scientists and comedians. Being called an iconoclast can be either a badge of honor or a warning label, depending on the company you keep.

Previous Words

Welter

Today's Word

Welter

WEL-ter

Definition

(noun/verb) A large, disordered mass or quantity of something; a confused, turbulent state of affairs.

Example

She returned from the conference with a welter of contradictory advice, conflicting data, and competing priorities that somehow all needed to be acted on simultaneously.

Word Origin

Welter derives from the Middle Low German or Middle Dutch welteren, meaning “to roll” or “to toss” — related to the Old English wieltan, meaning “to overturn.” It entered English in the 14th century, initially as a verb meaning to roll or toss in waves before acquiring its noun sense of a confused, turbulent mass. The nautical origin is fitting — a welter has the quality of something churned by water, perpetually in motion, resistant to any organizing principle.

Fun Fact

Welterweight — the boxing weight class between lightweight and middleweight — takes its name directly from this word, though the precise connection is debated. One theory holds that welterweight originally described a particularly heavy blow — a welter — suggesting fighters in this class hit with exceptional force relative to their size. Another traces it to the agricultural term welt, describing a heavy stroke. Whatever its origin, the weight class has produced some of boxing’s most celebrated champions — Sugar Ray Robinson, Thomas Hearns, and Oscar De La Hoya among them — making welterweight arguably the most historically rich division in the sport, which is a welter of greatness by any measure.

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Iconoclast

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Previous Words

Welter

Welter

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Welter

Supercilious

Pallid

Prosaic

Trenchant