The Words of the Week - Oct. 3
Dictionary lookups from lexicography, federal court, and Washington D.C.
‘Dictionary’
The word dictionary is always one of our top lookups, but to toot our own horn (toot toot!), may we suggest it was trending this week due to the news that we are publishing a new edition of our Collegiate Dictionary (an actual book!) in November.
Merriam-Webster announced Thursday it has taken the rare step of fully revising and reimagining one of its most popular dictionaries with a fresh edition that adds over 5,000 new words, including “petrichor,” “teraflop,” “dumbphone” and “ghost kitchen.”
—Leanne Italie, The Associated Press. 25 Sept. 2025
We define the relevant sense of dictionary as “a reference source in print or electronic form containing words usually alphabetically arranged along with information about their forms, pronunciations, functions, etymologies, meanings, and syntactic and idiomatic uses.” The word came to English as a borrowing from Medieval Latin dictiōnārium, the name for an alphabetized guide to the Vulgate, a Latin version of the Bible authorized and used by the Roman Catholic Church.
‘Yom Kippur’
Lookups for Yom Kippur were high as the holiday was observed this week.
Each year on Yom Kippur, when Jews fast for 25 hours, we abstain not only from food and water, but also from the wearing of leather footwear. One of the most beautiful interpretations for this regulation comes from Rabbi Moshe Schick, a late-19th-century Hungarian rabbi, who suggested that the reason we do not wear leather on Yom Kippur is rooted in our commitment to compassion.
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Yom Kippur is a Jewish holiday observed with fasting and prayer on the 10th day of Tishri in accordance with the rites described in Leviticus 16. The Hebrew yōm kippūr translates literally to “day of atonement.”
‘Brass’
A specific use of brass appeared in the news more than usual this week, leading to increased lookups for the word.
President Tells Top Brass U.S. Cities Should Be Military ‘Training Grounds’
—While President Donald Trump initially seemed unaware of the meeting, he later confirmed he would also address the assembled brass …
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We define the relevant sense of brass, which can be singular or plural in construction, as “high-ranking members of the military.” Brass also refers to, among other things, an alloy consisting essentially of copper and zinc in variable proportions. The wearing of brass medals and other insignia by high-ranking military ultimately led to the word being used as a metonym for the generals, etc., themselves.
‘Obloquy’
Use of obloquy in a decision by a federal judge led to it being a top lookup for perhaps the first time ever.
In a 161-page decision, US District Judge William G. Young, an appointee of former president Ronald Reagan, sharply criticized the administration, saying its actions violated First Amendment protections. … “Carrying on in this fashion, ICE brings indelible obloquy to this administration and everyone who works in it,” Young added.
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We define the relevant sense of obloquy as “the condition of one that is discredited; bad repute.” It can also be used to mean “a strongly condemnatory utterance; abusive language.” The word can be traced back to the Latin verb obloquī, meaning “to break in on, interrupt,” from ob- (“against”) + loquī (“to speak”).
‘Furlough’
Lookups for furlough rose following the shutdown of the federal government.
The failure of Congress to keep the government open means that hundreds of thousands of federal workers could be furloughed or laid off.
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Furlough has several senses as both a noun and verb. The relevant sense of the verb in the quote above is “to lay off (a worker) usually for a brief or temporary period.” The sense of the noun relevant to the government shutdown is “a temporary leave from work that is not paid and is often for a set period of time.” The word comes from the Dutch verlof, meaning literally “permission.”
Word Worth Knowing: ‘Obnubilate’
The meaning of obnubilate (“to becloud or obscure”) becomes clearer when you know that its ancestors are the Latin terms ob- (meaning “in the way”) and nūbēs (“cloud”). It’s a high-flown sounding word, which may be why it often turns up in texts by and about politicians. This has been true for a long time. In fact, when the U.S. Constitution was up for ratification, 18th-century Pennsylvania statesman James Wilson used obnubilate to calm fears that the president would have too much power: “Our first executive magistrate is not obnubilated behind the mysterious obscurity of counsellors…. He is the dignified, but accountable magistrate of a free and great people.”
