- Comment
- Love
Word of the Day : July 8, 2018
lucubration \loo-kyuh-BRAY-shun\ noun
Definition
: laborious or intensive study; also : the product of such study — usually used in plural
Did You Know?
Imagine someone studying through the night by the light of a dim candle or lamp. That image demonstrates perfectly the most literal sense of lucubration. Our English word derives from the Latin verb lucubrare, meaning "to work by lamplight." (That Latin root is related to lux, the Latin word for "light.") In its earliest known English uses, lucubration named both nocturnal study itself and a written product thereof. By the 1800s, however, the term had been broadened to refer to any intensive study (day or night), or a composition, especially a weighty one, generated as a result of such study. Nowadays, lucubration is most often used in its plural form and implies pompous or stuffy scholarly writing.
Build your vocabulary! Get Word of the Day in your inbox every day.
Test Your Vocabulary
Who Knew?
What is a ruelle?
a second mother-in-law
the space between a bed and the wall
a pillow for one’s elbow
a week and a day
Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Aired July 8, 2018
All Merriam-Webster content is available at www.merriam-webster.com
- Recommended Recommended
- History & In Progress History
- Browse Library
- Most Popular Library
Get Personalized Recommendations
Let us help you figure out what to learn! By taking a short interview you’ll be able to specify your learning interests and goals, so we can recommend the perfect courses and lessons to try next.
Start InterviewYou don't have any lessons in your history.
Just find something that looks interesting and start learning!