Word of the Day : February 10, 2018

instauration \in-staw-RAY-shun\ noun

Definition

1 : restoration after decay, lapse, or dilapidation

2 : an act of instituting or establishing something

Did You Know?

Instauration first appeared in English in the early 16th century, a product of the Latin verb instaurare, meaning "to renew or restore." This same source gave us our verb store, by way of Middle English and Anglo-French. After instauration broke into English, the philosopher Francis Bacon began writing his Instauratio Magna, which translates to The Great Instauration. This uncompleted collection of works, which was written in Latin, calls for a restoration to a state of paradise on earth, but one in which humankind is enlightened by knowledge and truth.

Learn a new word every day, delivered to your inbox!

Test Your Vocabulary



  Advanced Vocabulary Quiz






    Which is a synonym of indolent?




                                  melancholy
                                  philistine
                                  lazy
                                  frenetic







    Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
    TAKE THE QUIZ





    Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
    TAKE THE QUIZ

Aired February 10, 2018

All Merriam-Webster content is available at www.merriam-webster.com