Today's Word

Ineffable

in-EF-uh-buhl

Definition

(adjective) Too great, extreme, or sacred to be expressed in words; indescribable.

Example

The ineffable beauty of the sunset left everyone speechless, unable to capture its brilliance in words.

Fun Fact

“Ineffable” comes from the Latin ineffabilis, combining in- (“not”) and effabilis (“able to be spoken”). Originally used in religious contexts to describe the divine or sacred, it later expanded to refer to any overwhelming experience that defies verbal description. The word remains a poetic favorite for conveying the limits of language in capturing profound emotions or awe-inspiring phenomena.

Previous Words

Parsimonious

Today's Word

Parsimonious

par-sih-MOH-nee-us

Definition

(adjective) Unwilling to spend money or use resources; extremely frugal to the point of stinginess.

Example

He was so parsimonious that he kept the thermostat at 58 degrees all winter and wore two sweaters instead.

Word Origin

From Latin parsimonia, meaning “frugality” or “thrift,” derived from parcere (“to spare, be sparing”). The word entered English in the 15th century through Old French. Its Latin root is also the ancestor of “sparse” — both words carry the idea of deliberate scarcity.

Fun Fact

“Parsimonious” has a philosophical sibling: Occam’s Razor — the principle that the simplest explanation is usually correct — is sometimes called the “principle of parsimony.” In science, parsimony means elegance and economy of explanation, which is considered a virtue. So the same word that describes a miser hoarding his pennies also describes one of the most respected principles in logic and scientific reasoning — the idea that less, truly, is more.

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Ineffable

Definition

Example

Previous Words

Parsimonious

Parsimonious

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Parsimonious

Effervescent

Facetious

Capricious

Sedulous