- Today's Word
Vicissitude
vih-SIS-ih-tood (or vih-SIS-ih-tyood)
Definition
- (noun) A change or variation, often unexpected and typically one of life’s challenges or difficulties.
- The natural ups and downs or alternations of life.
Example
Despite the vicissitudes of her career, she remained resilient and adapted to every challenge with determination.
Fun Fact
“Vicissitude” originates from the Latin word vicissitudo, which stems from vicis, meaning “change” or “alternation.” The term was first used in English in the 16th century to describe the inevitable fluctuations of fortune and life’s unpredictable nature. Philosophers and writers have long explored the concept of vicissitudes, using it to illustrate the impermanence of human existence and the resilience required to navigate life’s ebb and flow.
(adjective) Showy and cheap in appearance; flashy in a way that suggests low quality or poor taste.
The hotel lobby was all tawdry glamour — gold-painted fixtures, velvet ropes, and crystal chandeliers that turned out to be plastic on closer inspection.
Tawdry is one of English’s most remarkable etymological stories — it derives directly from St. Audrey, a 7th century Anglo-Saxon queen who died of a throat tumor she believed was divine punishment for her youthful vanity in wearing elaborate necklaces. At the annual St. Audrey’s Fair held in her honor on the Isle of Ely, cheap lace necklaces were sold as souvenirs — called “St. Audrey’s lace,” which over time was slurred into “tawdry lace,” and eventually just tawdry. A queen’s dying regret became an adjective for everything she once loved.