What does that word mean?

It happens a lot. You're reading a book or newspaper or magazine, and suddenly there's this thing, this collection of letters, this word, staring at you with what can only be described as disdain. You remind yourself that you know all the letters of the alphabet, but they seem to be arranged in an unfamiliar way. You say to yourself "What does that word mean?" A trip to the dictionary (or the dictionary website) provides the necessary information, and you resume your reading, content in the knowledge that you've just learned a new word.

But then, a week, a month, or even a year, later, you're reading something else, and you see that word again; and it's just as confounding as it was the first time.

Or the word will come back to haunt you in a different way. A spouse, a child, a coworker, or a friend will come right out and ask you to define it. Serves you right for lending them that book in the first place. You search your mind for the information, but you can't quite place it.

That's when I seek context. "Say it in a sentence," I request. The context given in that sentence usually allows me to provide at least a general definition for my hapless acquaintance.

And that's the purpose of this blog; use context to learn new words. 

While I'll be posting my own stories, of course, I hope my readers will post their own original works inspired by each week's word. In my next post, I'll present the first word. There's no specific order, no alphabetical design, so we won't have to trudge through "aardvark" to get to "speculum." But I don't plan on visiting "speculum" anytime soon.