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There are many Word of the Day programs and websites out there, so you may ask what is the point of doing it on a forum when we've got that? Well the point is, that just learning a word sometimes it isn't enough to be able to use it in the right context. However, if enough people participate, on a forum you can get an idea of how words flow and change in interpretation from person to person that may surprise you, and more specifically from the kind of people who come to GA and like to read gay fiction, i.e. examples of potential readers. Thus, this thread. So participate! Please. Here's the idea: 1) Anyone can post a Word of the Day, and multiple people can do so on the same day, but it must come with a definition that is accurate. You can add your own definition or impression, if you like. In fact, that's encouraged. Also, please only post one a day and do not simply copy Words of the Day from other websites, make it your own word of the day. See a word you never knew before? Had that weird thing happen to you where a word you've never encounted before suddenly starts getting used a lot around you? For dictionaries, I recommend Dictionary.com and Oxford. Use whatever you prefer, though. 2) If you see it and think something, tell us what that is, that's what makes a forum unique! Give us a moment of your time! Let us know if you know that word. What's your impression of it? Do you think it is pretentious, useless, useful, silly, obsolete? Would you ever use it? Tell us an anecdote about it! Or anything really. Building an impression of the sounds and meanings of various words that various cultures have is an undeniable asset in writing. Accessing your conscious and unconscious word bank can provide helpful triggers when you're searching for the right word, even if you never use the words. Simply learning associations can help! 3) Etymology would be nice, but it's not required. 4) Foreign words you'd like to introduce are fine, but make sure you are still giving us a dictionary definition in English. So I'll start. I've heard this word before, had a vague idea of what it was, but never really knew. au·gu·ry [aw-gyuh-ree] noun, plural au·gu·ries. 1. the art or practice of an augur; divination. 2. the rite or ceremony of an augur. 3. an omen, token, or indication. they heard the sound as an augury of death late Middle English (in the sense 'divination'): from Old French augurie or Latin augurium 'interpretation of omens For some reason, I always thought this had to do with farming. I seem to see this word more in the plural, but I had no idea there were augurs. "So what does your father do?" "He's an augur." "Cool, seen anything in the stars lately?" "Nah, he says the stars are on strike."

Is there a proofing programme specifically for authors? I've been using word and Grammarly as my proofreader and I'm not happy with either. Can someone recommend a better proofing software? I've been looking at Ginger and something called 'white smoke'. They all indulge in aggressive marketing in that they push you to sign for paid subs without being able to evaluate the basic programme. I use dialogue in my stories so I need to have ready dictionary access so the proofing doesn't throw up continual and similar errors. Any help would be appreciated.