Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 12, 2025 is: multifarious \mul-tuh-FAIR-ee-us\ adjective Something described as multifarious has great diversity or variety, or is made up of many and various kinds of things. Multifarious is a formal word and a synonym of [diverse](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diverse). // He participated in multifarious activities throughout college. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/multifarious) Examples: "Over the course of his multifarious career, [musician Pat] Metheny has led numerous bands, more than a few of whose members later became band leaders in their own right." — George Varga, The San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2023 Did you know? Before the late 16th-century appearance of multifarious, English speakers used another word similar in form and meaning: multifary, meaning "in many ways," appeared—and disappeared—in the 15th century. Before either of the English words existed, there was the Medieval Latin word multifarius, from the Latin adverb multifariam, meaning "in many places." Multi-, as you may know, means "many," and is used to form, well, multifarious English words, from multicultural to multimillion. The word [omnifarious](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omnifarious) ("of all varieties, forms, or kinds"), a relative of multifarious, is created with omni- ("all") rather than multi-.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 11, 2025 is: quark \KWORK\ noun Quark is a word used in physics to refer to any one of several types of very small particles that make up matter. // Quarks, which combine together to form protons and neutrons, come in six types, or [flavors](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flavor): up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quark) Examples: “One quantum field is special because its default value can change. Called the [Higgs field](https://bit.ly/4jTKpPN), it controls the mass of many fundamental particles, like electrons and quarks. Unlike every other quantum field physicists have discovered, the Higgs field has a default value above zero. Dialing the Higgs field value up or down would increase or decrease the mass of electrons and other particles. If the setting of the Higgs field were zero, those particles would be massless.” — Matt Von Hippel, Wired, 19 Aug. 2024 Did you know? If you were a physics major, chances are that [James Joyce](https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Joyce) didn’t make it onto your syllabus. While literature majors are likely more familiar with his work, Joyce has a surprising tie to physics. In the early 1960s, American physicist [Murray Gell-Man](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Murray-Gell-Mann) came up with the word quork, which he used to refer to his concept of an elementary particle smaller than a proton or neutron (by his own account he was in the habit of using names like “squeak” and “squork” for peculiar objects). He later settled on the spelling quark after reading a line from James Joyce’s [Finnegans Wake](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Finnegans-Wake): “Three quarks for Muster Mark! / Sure he has not got much of a bark / And sure any he has it’s all beside the mark.” The name stuck and has been used by physicists ever since.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 10, 2025 is: imperturbable \im-per-TER-buh-bul\ adjective Imperturbable describes someone or something marked by extreme calm; such a person or thing is very hard to disturb or upset. // The imperturbable captain did not panic when the boat sailed into the path of a violent storm. // Nothing disrupted the contestant's imperturbable focus. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imperturbable) Examples: "The thick heat is not letting up after a long stretch of nearly-90-degree-days, though the crowd has not seemed to notice. Instead, these thousands of people emanate a truly imperturbable energy as they get to see gospel legend [Mavis Staples](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mavis-Staples) for free." — David Cohn, The Daily Californian (UC Berkeley), 13 Oct. 2024 Did you know? Imperturbable is a bit of a mouthful, but don’t let its five syllables [perturb](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perturb) you. Instead, let us break it down: this word, as well as its antonym [perturbable](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perturbable), comes from the Latin verb perturbare, meaning "to agitate, trouble, or throw into confusion." Perturbare comes in turn from the combination of per-, meaning "thoroughly," and turbare, meaning "to disturb"; unsurprisingly perturbare is also the source of the English verb perturb. Other perturbare descendants include [disturb](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disturb) ("to destroy the tranquility or composure of") and [turbid](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turbid) ("thick or opaque with or as if with roiled sediment").

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 9, 2025 is: wend \WEND\ verb Wend is a literary word that means “to move slowly from one place to another usually by a winding or indirect course”; wending is traveling or proceeding on one’s way in such a manner. // Hikers wend along the marked trails to the top of the mountain, which provides a panoramic view of the area towns. // We wended our way through the narrow streets of the city’s historic quarter. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wend) Examples: “Otters do not like to share food.... There is a flickering movement of jaws before they swallow and dive again. For a moment I think they have left, then they surface once more and I make out two long shapes, one just ahead of the other. They wend their way further down the waterway before insinuating themselves back into the dark.” — Miriam Darlington, Otter Country: In Search of the Wild Otter, 2024 Did you know? “Out through the fields and woods / And over the walls I have wended …” So wrote poet [Robert Frost](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Frost) in “[Reluctance](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53085/reluctance),” using the word’s familiar sense of “to direct one’s course.” By the time of the poem’s publication in 1913, many other senses of wend had wended their way into and out of popular English usage including “to change direction,” “to change someone’s mind,” “to transform into something else,” and “to turn (a ship’s head) in [tacking](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tack).” All of that turning is linked to the word’s Old English ancestor, wendan, which shares roots with the Old English verb, windan, meaning “to twist” (windan is also the ancestor of the English verb [wind](https://bit.ly/42dL8Vr) as in “the river winds through the valley”). Wend is also to thank for lending the English verb go its past tense form [went](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/went) (as a past tense form of wend, went has long since been superseded by wended).

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 8, 2025 is: gregarious \grih-GAIR-ee-us\ adjective Gregarious is used to describe someone who enjoys the company of other people. // Justin’s gregarious personality made it easy for him to get to know people at the networking event. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gregarious) Examples: “How can we reap the benefits of deep connection if we are not naturally gregarious and extroverted? But as I have delved into the evidence, I have discovered that our social skills are like our muscles—the more we use them, the stronger they become. Even self-declared introverts can learn to be more sociable, if they wish.” — David Robson, BBC, 23 July 2024 Did you know? Everyone knows that [birds of a feather flock together](https://bit.ly/3CGF25O), so it comes as no surprise that gregarious was applied mainly to animals when it first began appearing in English texts in the 17th century. After all, gregarious comes from the Latin noun grex, meaning “flock” or “herd,” and it’s tough to avoid being social when you’re part of a flock, flying and roosting [cheek by jowl](https://bit.ly/4hMzohq) (or beak) with your fellow feathered friends. Take [starlings](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/starling), for example, which congregate in massive numbers—we define the word starling as “any of a family of usually dark gregarious birds,” meaning that starlings are inclined to associate with others of their kind. By the 18th century gregarious was being used to describe social human beings as well, be they chatty Cathys or [convivial](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/convivial) Connors who relish being in the company of others.