Humanities
Word curio icon

Word Curio

March 31, 2018

Word of the Day: Rectitude

1 CQ

Word of the Day : March 31, 2018

rectitude \REK-tuh-tood\ noun

Definition

1 : the quality or state of being straight

2 : moral integrity : righteousness

3 : the quality or state of being correct in judgment or procedure

Did You Know?

Rectitude has a righteous derivation. It comes straight from the Latin adjective rectus, which means both "right" and "straight." Rectitude itself can mean either "straightness" (an early use referred to literal straightness of lines, although this sense is now rare) or "rightness" of character. Rectus has a number of other descendants in English, including rectangle (a figure with four right angles), rectify ("to make right"), rectilinear ("moving in or forming a straight line"), and even rectus itself (a medical term for any one of several straight muscles in the body).

Build your vocabulary! Get Word of the Day in your inbox every day.

Test Your Vocabulary



  March 2018 Words of the Day Quiz








    Which is a synonym of lugubrious?




                                  mournful
                                  plainspoken
                                  homely
                                  sluggish








    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 March 31, 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 Interview

You don't have any lessons in your history.
Just find something that looks interesting and start learning!

Comments
500 characters max