Notorious - plus, our new weekly word game!

[Merriam-Webster]( WORD OF THE DAY [June 22, 2018](#none) notorious [Audio pronunciation]( adjective | noh-TOR-ee-us Definition : generally known and talked of; especially : widely and unfavorably known Scroll down for more about notorious TRENDING NOW: [asylum]( [insubordinate]( [promulgate]( [epochal]( [SEE ALL [>]]( PEOPLE ARE READING # ['Creep': A Skin-Crawling History]( # [Centuries and How to Refer to Them]( # [If the Shoe Fits]( # [On the Disruption of 'Disrupt']( WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE [Words for Summer: A Quiz]( Test your knowledge of words related to the season of longer days and vacations. [PLAY NOW]( Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try! [TAKE ME THERE [>]]( Did You Know? Notorious was adopted into English in the 16th century from Medieval Latin notorius, itself from Late Latin's noun notorium, meaning "information" or "indictment." Notorium, in turn, derives from the Latin verb noscere, meaning "to come to know." Although notorious can be a synonym of [famous](, meaning simply "widely known," it long ago developed the additional implication of someone or something unpleasant or undesirable. The Book of Common Prayer of 1549 includes one of the first known uses of the unfavorable meaning in print, referring to "notorious synners." Examples of NOTORIOUS "[Black-legged ticks](, notorious for transmitting the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, are now present in almost half of U.S. counties, up nearly 45 percent since 1998." — Bradley Rife et al., O, The Oprah Magazine, April 2018 "Galveston Island has it all. To some, Texas' bustling island will always be defined by its storied past, its nineteenth-century elegance, big-city ambitions, notorious seaport, and even more notorious storms." — Texas Monthly, May 2018 Word Family Quiz What descendant of Latin noscere, meaning "to come to know," is an adjective meaning "possessing outstanding qualities"? [VIEW THE ANSWER [>]]( MERCH Show Your Wordie Pride! New swag now available — featuring our newly added words welp and wordie [CHECK OUT OUR SELECTION [>]]( MORE WORD FUN: [WORD GAMES [>]]( [TRENDING NOW [>]]( [WORDS AT PLAY [>]]( FOLLOW US: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( [Pinterest]( SHARE: [Facebook][Facebook]( [Twitter][Twitter]( [View this email in a web browser]( You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day. [Unsubscribe from Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day]( [Manage your subscription settings]( Merriam-Webster, Inc. 47 Federal Street P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA 01102 [www.merriam-webster.com](