ruddy

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 11, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>ruddy</strong> &#149; \RUDD-ee\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><strong>1 :</strong> having a healthy reddish color</p> <p><strong>2 :</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red">red</a>, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reddish">reddish</a></p> <p><strong>3</strong> <em>British</em> — used as an intensive</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"There was a stout man with a <em>ruddy</em> complexion, a merchant probably, half asleep." — <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=B8bzAwAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA202#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">Elif Shafak, <em>The Architect’s Apprentice</em>, 2014</a></p> <p>"Lichen green and the reds of fired brick exude a splash of <em>ruddy</em> color on the exterior of Manchester State Park's enclosed picnic area…." — <a href="https://www.kitsapdailynews.com/life/manchester-park-shows-its-true-fall-colors/">Bob Smith, <em>The Kitsap Daily News</em>, 5 Nov. 2019</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>In Old English, there were two related words referring to red coloring: <em>rēad</em> and <em>rudu</em>. <em>Rēad</em> evolved into our present-day <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red"><em>red</em></a></em>. <em>Rudu</em> evolved into <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rud"><em>rud</em></a></em> (a word now encountered only in dialect or archaic usage) and <em>ruddy</em>. Most often, <em>ruddy</em> is applied to the face when it has the red glow of good health or is red from a suffusion of blood from exercise or excitement. It is also used in the names of some birds, such as the American <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruddy%20duck">ruddy duck</a>. In British English, <em>ruddy</em> is also used as a colorful euphemism f