- Today's Word
Quotidian
kwoh-TID-ee-uhn
Definition
- (adjective) Happening every day; ordinary or routine.
Example
Though quotidian, her morning coffee ritual brought her immense comfort.
Fun Fact
“Quotidian” comes from the Latin quotidianus, meaning “daily.” While it often describes mundane routines, many writers and philosophers celebrate the beauty of everyday life. The poet William Wordsworth found inspiration in quotidian moments, turning simple walks and ordinary people into powerful poetry. In psychology, mindfulness practices encourage people to appreciate the quotidian rather than overlook it.
(adjective) Too great, extreme, or overwhelming to be adequately expressed in words.
Standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon for the first time, she was struck by an ineffable feeling — something vast and wordless that no photograph or description had ever come close to capturing.
Ineffable derives from the Latin ineffabilis — “unutterable” — built from in- (“not”) and effabilis (“speakable”), itself from effari, meaning “to speak out,” from ex- (“out”) and fari (“to speak”). It entered English in the 15th century, used predominantly in religious and mystical contexts to describe the divine — God being the ultimate ineffable subject, a presence so vast that language itself collapses in the attempt to contain it.