For some, college can be an expansive experience that lifts them out of a parochial [pəˈroʊkiəl] mindset.parochial
adj [pəˈroʊkiəl]
Parochial is a formal word that is usually used in a disapproving way to describe something that is limited in range or scope, as to a narrow region or area.
Both parish and its related adjective parochial were borrowed at that time directly from Anglo-French terms that came from parochia. English Jul 27, 2026, 3:49 AM cowpoke
From the lighthouse's aerie [ˈɛri] tourists can get a bird's-eye view of the rocky coastline.aerie
noun [ˈɛri]
Aerie refers to the nest of a bird (such as an eagle or hawk) built high up on a cliff or on the top of a mountain. It can also be used for a room or building built high up so that people inside can see things happening below them.
via Medieval Latin and Old French and probably traces to an earlier Latin word, ager, meaning “field.” English Jul 26, 2026, 7:28 AM cowpoke
There are few sights more charming than that of lambs gamboling [ˈɡæmbəl] about in a meadow in full flower.gambol
verb [ˈɡæmbəl]
Gambol means "to run or jump in a lively way." It is used as a synonym of frolic.
In Middle French, the noun gambade referred to the frisky spring of a jumping horse. In the early 1500s, its influence leapt into English twice, lending a playful bounce to both noun and verb forms of gambol. (The noun means "a skipping or leaping about in play.") Neither English word is restricted to horses, but rather can be used of any frolicsome creature. English Jul 8, 2026, 3:48 AM cowpoke
* Japanese cuisine（日本料理）
* Italian cuisine（イタリア料理）
* French cuisine（フランス料理） Jul 5, 2026, 8:25 PM onisiuchan
“Game 3 of the World Series was a stone-cold thriller, with peaks of high drama and longueurs [lɔŋˈɡər] of exquisitely tense tedium ...” — Steve Rushin, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025longueur
noun [lɔŋˈɡər]
Longueur refers to a boring part of something (such as a book or play). It is usually used in the plural form.
The French borrowing longueur has been doing the job for us since the late 18th century. English Jun 20, 2026, 7:15 AM cowpoke
“A tangled web of interpersonal feuds, played out in letters to the local newspaper, in social media posts and via legal filings in county court, has left the town with no clear path out of a situation that’s not covered by state law. The imbroglio [ɪmˈbroʊljoʊ] has even reached the state Capitol ...” — Seth Klamann and Sam Tabachnik, The Denver Post, 8 Mar. 2026imbroglio
noun [ɪmˈbroʊljoʊ] or [ɪmˈbroʊlˌjoʊ]]
A formal word that refers to a complex dispute or argument.
Ever noticed how an imbroglio embroils people in controversy? There’s a reason for that—an etymological one, anyway. Both the noun imbroglio (referring to, among other things, a scandal or bitter argument) and verb embroil (“to involve in conflicts or difficulties”) come from the Middle French word embrouiller, a combination of the prefix en- and brouiller, meaning “to jumble,”... English May 14, 2026, 4:47 AM cowpoke
“Turning from his father’s trade of corset-making, [Thomas] Paine tried his hand at business, met and impressed Benjamin Franklin in London, sailed to America, and there found his true metier [ˈmɛtjeɪ] as a pamphleteer and radical.” — Matthew Redmond, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2025métier
noun [ˈmɛtjeɪ]
Métier, sometimes styled metier, is a formal word that refers to something that a person does very well.
Métier is sometimes translated from its original French as “job” or “career” but in that language it more accurately refers to the trade or profession in which one works.
In English we tend toward a narrower meaning for métier, referring either to a job for which one is perfectly suited or a particular field in which one is extremely skilled. English May 3, 2026, 6:12 AM cowpoke
“Congress approved an initial tranche [trɑnʃ] of funding legislation in November as the longest shutdown in history came to an end.” — Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025tranche [trɑnʃ]
Noun
Tranche refers to a division or portion of a whole.
A tranche of leaked documents was delivered to the newspaper anonymously, with more promised to come.
In French, tranche means “slice.” Cutting deeper into the word’s etymology, we find the Old French word trenchier, meaning “to cut,” which has its likely origin in a Latin word meaning “to cut in three,” from Latin trini meaning “three each.” Tranche emerged in the English language in the late 19th century... English Mar 15, 2026, 5:58 AM cowpoke
Pressured by voters on both sides of the issue, the congressman temporized [ˈtɛmpəˌraɪz].temporize [ˈtɛmpəˌraɪz]
verb
To temporize is to avoid making a decision or giving a definite answer in order to have more time. (With negative connotation)
Temporize comes from the Middle French word temporiser, which in turn likely traces back via Medieval Latin temporizāre, "to delay," to the Latin noun tempus, meaning "time." English Dec 22, 2025, 5:29 AM cowpoke
It’s this kind of selfishness that leads down the road to perdition [pərˈdɪʃən].perdition [pərˈdɪʃən]
noun
Perdition refers to hell, or to the state of being in hell forever as punishment after death—in other words, damnation. It is usually used figuratively.
Perdition is a word that gives a darn, and then some. It was borrowed into English in the 14th century from the Anglo-French noun perdiciun and ultimately comes from the Latin verb perdere, meaning “to destroy.” English Nov 25, 2025, 3:50 AM cowpoke
