pulchritude

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 1, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>pulchritude</strong> &#149; \PUHL-kruh-tood\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><strong>:</strong> physical <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comeliness">comeliness</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>The magazine features a photo essay of celebrities who are famed for their Hollywood stardom and <em>pulchritude</em>.</p> <p>"Sadly, Renee's judgment on Mrs. Appleyard's baby's <em>pulchritude</em>, or lack of it, turned out to be true—he was an 'ugly little thing.'" — Kate Atkinson, <em>Life After Life: A Novel</em>, 2013</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p><em>Pulchritude</em> is a descendant of the Latin adjective <em>pulcher</em>, which means "beautiful." <em>Pulcher</em> hasn't exactly been a wellspring of English terms, but it did give English both <em>pulchritude</em> and <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pulchritudinous#other-words">pulchritudinous</a></em>, an adjective meaning "attractive" or "beautiful." The verb <em>pulchrify</em> (a synonym of <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beautify">beautify</a></em>), the noun <em>pulchritudeness</em> (same meaning as <em>pulchritude</em>), and the adjective <em>pulchrous</em> (meaning "fair or beautiful") are other <em>pulcher</em> offspring, but those terms have proved that, in at least some linguistic cases, beauty is fleeting.</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>