It's Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 14th.

Today's word is Cupid, capital C u-P-I-D. Cupid is a noun. Cupid is the Roman

God of erotic love. The word Cupid in lowercase refers to a figure that represents Cupid as a

naked usually winged boy often holding a bow and arrow. Here's the word used in a

sentence from the Williston Daily Herald.

Michelangelo's talent as a sculptor first drew attention after a failed attempt at art fraud.

The Cardinal who purchased his fake antique Cupid statue was so impressed with

Michelangelo's work that he invited the artist to Rome for a meeting.

According to Roman mythology, Cupid was the son of Mercury, the messenger god and Venus, the goddess of love.

In Roman times, the winged messenger of love was sometimes depicted in armor, but no one is sure if that was intended

as a sarcastic comment on the similarities between warfare and romance, or a reminder that love

conquers all.

Cupid was generally seen as a good spirit who brought happiness to all,

but his matchmaking could cause mischief.

Venus wasn't above using her son's power to get revenge on her rivals and she

once plotted to have the beautiful mortal Psyche fall in love with a despicable man.

But the plan backfired. Cupid fell in love with

Saike and she eventually became his immortal wife. With your word of the day

I'm Peter Sok Kallowski. Visit Marion Webster.com today for definitions, word play, and trending word lookups.