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🗓️ 30 November 2023
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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 30, 2023 is:
felicitous • \fih-LISS-uh-tus\ • adjective
Felicitous is an adjective most often used in formal speech and writing to describe something that is very well expressed or suited for some purpose or situation. It can also be used as a synonym for pleasant or delightful.
// She had not been asked ahead of time to speak at the event, but she managed some felicitous remarks nonetheless.
// That the cousins happened to be on the same flight was a felicitous coincidence—they had no idea the other would even be traveling at that time.
Examples:
“The secret to Finnish contentment has long been debated. But Finns credit their happiness to five essential factors: wellness, a seasonal diet, strong connections to nature, an appreciation for the arts, and the friendly local atmosphere. Travelers on the hunt for happiness can get a glimpse of these felicitous lifestyle features on a visit to Finland.” — Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes, 27 Apr. 2023
Did you know?
Before a mouse named Mickey ruled the animation scene, there was Felix—a wily black cat who is often regarded as the first cartoon star, and who became an international sensation in the early 20th century for films such as Felix in Hollywood (1923) and Comicalamities (1928). “Felix,” you might say, was a felicitous—that is, apt—name for the happy, Chaplinesque feline. Felix, after all, is a Latin word meaning “happy” or “fruitful,” and the ancestor of the English adjective felicitous, which can mean both “pleasant and delightful,” and “very well suited or expressed.” With regard to the “apt” sense of felicitous, it’s important to note that it is most often applied to someone’s actions or expressions (as in “a felicitous phrase”). In other words, no matter how fitting someone’s choice of pants may be for, say, the world premiere of a new animated movie, it would not be fitting to say “they arrived at the theater wearing felicitous pants.”
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0:00.0 | It's Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 30th. |
0:11.4 | Today's word is Felicitis spelled F E L I C I T Ous. |
0:18.0 | Felicitis is an adjective. |
0:20.0 | Most often used in formal speech and writing to describe something that is very well expressed |
0:26.7 | or suited for some purpose or situation. |
0:29.4 | It can also be used as a synonym for the words pleasant or delightful. Here's the word used in a sentence from Forbes by Rebecca and Hughes. |
0:38.0 | The secret to Finnish contentment has long been debated, but Finns credit their happiness to five essential factors, |
0:47.0 | wellness, a seasonal diet, strong connections to nature, and appreciation for the arts arts and the friendly local atmosphere. |
0:55.0 | Travelers on the hunt for happiness can get a glimpse of these felicitous lifestyle features on a visit to Finland. |
1:03.0 | Before a mouse named Mickey ruled the animation scene, there was Felix, a wily black cat, |
1:10.0 | who was often regarded as the first cartoon star, and who became an international sensation in the early 20th century for films such as Felix in Hollywood and comic calamities. |
1:22.0 | Felix, you might say, was a felicitis that is an apt name for the |
1:28.1 | happy chaplainesque feline. Felix, after all, is a Latin word meaning happy or fruitful, and the ancestor of the English |
1:37.0 | adjective felicitis, which can mean both pleasant and delightful and very well suited or expressed. With regard to the apt |
1:46.7 | sense of felicitis, it's important to note that it is most often applied to |
1:51.7 | someone's actions or expressions, as in a felicitous phrase. |
1:56.5 | In other words, no matter how fitting someone's choice of pants may be for, say, the world |
2:01.6 | premiere of a new animated movie, |
2:04.0 | it would not be fitting to say they arrived |
2:06.6 | at the theater wearing Phyllicitus pants. |
2:09.7 | With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolipsky. |
2:21.0 | Visit Marion Webster.com today for definitions, word play, and trending word lookups. |
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