Today's Word

Nominal

NOM-uh-nuhl

Definition

(adjective) Existing in name only; or very small in amount.

Example

Although she held a nominal title of leadership, real decisions were made by the board.

Word Origin

From Latin nomen, meaning “name.” It entered English in the late 15th century referring to something “by name rather than reality.”

Fun Fact

The term nominal shows up in multiple disciplines—from economics (as in “nominal value,” meaning the stated rather than actual worth) to aerospace, where engineers use it to mean “operating normally.” The contrast between nominal and real reminds us how perception can differ from truth—what’s written, titled, or labeled doesn’t always reflect what’s genuinely happening behind the scenes.

Previous Words

Maudlin

Today's Word

Maudlin

MAWD-lin

Definition

(adjective) Self-pityingly or tearfully sentimental, often in an excessive or embarrassing way; mawkishly emotional especially from drink.

Example

By the third glass of wine, he had gone fully maudlin, pulling out his phone to show anyone who would look at old photos of his college years.

Word Origin

A direct corruption of Magdalene — as in Mary Magdalene, who is depicted in medieval and Renaissance art as weeping with dramatic, open grief. The name Magdalene was pronounced maudlen in Middle English, and the association with her tearful image was so strong that the word detached from its origin entirely and became a common adjective by the 17th century. Oxford’s Magdalen College and Cambridge’s Magdalene College both preserve the original pronunciation — still said as maudlin — a linguistic fossil of the word’s religious origins.

Fun Fact

The connection between alcohol and maudlin sentiment is old enough to be embedded in the word’s earliest recorded uses. 17th century writers consistently paired maudlin with drunkenness — the specific emotional state of someone who has had just enough to drink to lose their emotional defenses entirely but not enough to lose consciousness. Modern neuroscience has since explained why: alcohol suppresses the prefrontal cortex, which regulates emotional inhibition, while leaving the limbic system — the brain’s emotional core — largely intact. The result is precisely the maudlin condition the word describes: emotions fully online, judgment fully offline.

READ MORE...

Nominal

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Previous Words

Maudlin

Maudlin

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Maudlin

Onerous

Toady

Wanton

Laconic