Today's Word

Temperance

[TEM-per-uns]

Definition

(noun) Moderation in action, thought, or feeling; especially regarding self-restraint in behavior or expression. As a noun, it refers to practicing moderation and self-control, particularly in relation to alcohol consumption or physical pleasures.

Example

The ancient philosophers believed that temperance was one of the cardinal virtues, essential for living a balanced and meaningful life.

Fun Fact

The word “temperance” comes from the Latin “temperantia,” meaning “moderation” or “self-control,” and was originally one of the four cardinal virtues in ancient Greek philosophy. While the word initially represented general self-restraint, it became strongly associated with the anti-alcohol movement in 19th-century America. The Temperance Movement gained such momentum that it led to Prohibition in 1920, making the word synonymous with complete abstinence from alcohol rather than its original meaning of moderation. This shift in meaning illustrates how social movements can dramatically change a word’s primary association over time.

Previous Words

Iniquity

Today's Word

Iniquity

ih-NIK-wih-tee

Definition

(noun) Gross injustice or wickedness; a deeply immoral act or condition that violates fundamental principles of right and wrong.

Example

The report documented decades of iniquity — not isolated lapses in judgment but a systematic, deliberate pattern of harm that had been protected at every level.

Word Origin

Iniquity derives from the Latin iniquitas, meaning “unevenness” or “injustice” — built from in- (“not”) and aequus (“equal” or “just”). The same root aequus gives us equity, equal, and adequate — making iniquity the precise negation of fairness and balance. It entered English in the 14th century through Old French, used predominantly in religious and moral contexts to describe sin and wickedness before expanding into its broader legal and ethical sense of profound injustice.

Fun Fact

The Den of Iniquity — a phrase so embedded in English that it has become almost a cliché — has a surprisingly specific origin. In Victorian England, moral reformers used the phrase to describe the gin houses, gambling dens, and brothels of London’s East End, producing pamphlets with titles so lurid they guaranteed readership. The campaign was partly genuine moral concern and partly a class-coded attack on working-class leisure — the same activities conducted in private clubs by wealthy men attracted no equivalent outrage. The phrase outlasted the campaign by centuries, which is how language tends to preserve the anxieties of eras that no longer exist.

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Temperance

Definition

Example

Previous Words

Iniquity

Iniquity

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Iniquity

Protean

Enervate

Veracity

Inchoate