nimrod

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 11, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>nimrod</strong> &#149; \NIM-rahd\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><strong>1 :</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunter">hunter</a></p> <p><strong>2 :</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idiot">idiot</a>, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jerk">jerk</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"The hunting season is now in full blast. Several <em>nimrods</em>, both veteran and amateur, are shouldering the gun and marching to the woods and marshes." — Gary Pullano, <em>The Holland (Michigan) Sentinel</em>, 13 Dec. 2015</p> <p>"The stereotypical cast for the film-within-the-film cleverly overacts and paints their obnoxious characters as helpless <em>nimrods</em>." — Alex Pelham, <em>The Daily Texan</em> (University of Texas), 14 Mar. 2015</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>The word <em>nimrod</em> gets its start in the Bible: Nimrod was king of a country known as <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Shinar">Shinar</a>, and he's described in <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genesis#h2">Genesis</a> as "the first on earth to be a mighty man" and "a mighty hunter before the Lord." English speakers of the 16th century didn't think Nimrod was particularly benevolent; they used his name as a synonym of <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tyrant">tyrant</a></em>—a meaning that is now obsolete. In the 17th century, English speakers began using <em>nimrod</em> as a generic term for any hunter. That meaning is not especially common today but it's still encountered occasionally, especially in hunting and fishing journalism. The legendary Nimrod is also sometimes associated with the attempt to build "the tower of <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.c