pediculous

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 2, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>pediculous</strong> &#149; \pih-DIK-yuh-lus\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><strong>:</strong> infested with lice <strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lousy">lousy</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>All of the campers in the cabin had to be checked for lice when one boy’s sleeping bag was discovered to be <em>pediculous</em>.</p> <p>"They say <em>pediculous</em> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humor">humors</a> and flyborne air are culprits of plague, so the townsmen make a pyre of flowers and brush, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attar">attar</a> and <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spikenard">spikenard</a>, by way of purging the air of offense." — <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=VJxxlpjWNakC&amp;pg=PA121&amp;lpg=PA121&amp;dq=%22so+the+townsmen+make+a+pyre+of+flowers+and+brush%22&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=BmBlJ_Jhyb&amp;sig=ACfU3U1AzKxJY1E3HUwe_WWmKMRuStiizQ&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjQpuGTh__qAhVsl3IEHVgtA9kQ6AEwAHoECAEQAQ#v=onepage&amp;q=%22so%20the%20townsmen%20make%20a%20pyre%20of%20flowers%20and%20brush%22&amp;f=false">Fiona Maazel, <em>Last Last Chance</em>, 2008</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>Count on the English language's Latin lexical options to pretty up the unpleasant. You can have an entire conversation about lice and avoid the l-word entirely using <em>pediculous</em> and its relatives. None of the words (from <em>pediculus</em>, meaning "louse") is remotely common, but they're all available to you should you feel the need for them. There's <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pediculosis">pediculosis</a></em>, meaning "infestation with lice," <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dict