Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 21, 2024 is: scurrilous  \SKUR-uh-lus\  adjective Scurrilous is a formal adjective that most often describes language that contains obscenities, abuse, or, especially, slanderâthat is, a false statement that damages a personâs reputation. Scurrilous can also describe someone who uses or tends to use scurrilous language, or it can describe a person or thing as evil or vulgar. // The press secretary made a point at the briefing not to address the scurrilous rumors surrounding the senator. See the entry > Examples: âThere are many interesting and surprising details about âJingle Bellsâ known to few of the millions of people who happily sing the beloved song every December. For one, its authorâa somewhat scurrilous fellow named James Lord Pierpontâwas the uncle of the legendary Gilded Age banker J.P. Morgan (the P. is for Pierpont), who reportedly thought little of his songwriting relative, once calling him âGood for nothing.ââ â David Templeton, The Argus-Courier (Petaluma, California), 18 Dec. 2023 Did you know? Scurrilous (and its much rarer relation scurrile, which has the same meaning) comes from the Middle French word scurrile, which comes ultimately from the Latin noun scurra, meaning âbuffoonâ or âjester.â Fittingly, 18th-century lexicographer Samuel Johnson defined scurrilous as âusing such language as only the licence of a buffoon could warrant.â Qualities traditionally associated with buffooneryâvulgarity, irreverence, and indecorousnessâare qualities often invoked by the word scurrilous. Unlike the words of a jester, however, âscurrilousâ language of the present day more often intends to seriously harm or slander someone than to produce a few laughs.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 21, 2024 is: scurrilous \SKUR-uh-lus\ adjective Scurrilous is a formal adjective that most often describes language that contains obscenities, abuse, or, especially, slanderâthat is, a false statement that damages a personâs reputation. Scurrilous can also describe someone who uses or tends to use scurrilous language, or it can describe a person or thing as evil or vulgar. // The press secretary made a point at the briefing not to address the scurrilous rumors surrounding the senator. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scurrilous) Examples: âThere are many interesting and surprising details about âJingle Bellsâ known to few of the millions of people who happily sing the beloved song every December. For one, its authorâa somewhat scurrilous fellow named James Lord Pierpontâwas the uncle of the legendary Gilded Age banker J.P. Morgan (the P. is for Pierpont), who reportedly thought little of his songwriting relative, once calling him âGood for nothing.ââ â David Templeton, The Argus-Courier (Petaluma, California), 18 Dec. 2023 Did you know? Scurrilous (and its much rarer relation [scurrile](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scurrile), which has the same meaning) comes from the Middle French word scurrile, which comes ultimately from the Latin noun scurra, meaning âbuffoonâ or âjester.â Fittingly, 18th-century lexicographer Samuel Johnson defined scurrilous as âusing such language as only the [licence](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/licence) of a buffoon could warrant.â Qualities traditionally associated with buffooneryâvulgarity, irreverence, and indecorousnessâare qualities often invoked by the word scurrilous. Unlike the words of a jester, however, âscurrilousâ language of the present day more often intends to seriously harm or slander someone than to produce a few laughs.