Visceral - plus, play our new game: Typeshift

[Merriam-Webster]( WORD OF THE DAY [May 4, 2017](#none) visceral [Audio pronunciation]( adjective | VISS-uh-rul Definition 1 : felt in or as if in the internal organs of the body : [deep]( 2 : not intellectual : [instinctive](, [unreasoning]( 3 : dealing with crude or elemental emotions : [earthy]( 4 : of, relating to, or located on or among the internal organs of the body : [splanchnic]( Scroll down for more about visceral WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE [April 2017 Words of the Day Quiz]( Let the rain quiz you [PLAY NOW]( Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try! [TAKE ME THERE [>]]( Plus: [SEE WHAT LOOKUPS ARE TRENDING NOW! [>]]( Did You Know? The [viscera]( are the internal organs of the body—especially those located in the large cavity of the [trunk]( (e.g., the heart, liver, and intestines). The word viscera comes from Latin, in which it has essentially the same meaning. Something visceral has to do with the viscera, and in a more figurative sense, something visceral is felt "deep down." Even in the early years of its use, visceral often referred to things emotional rather than physiological. For example, in 1640 an English bishop named Edward Reynolds wrote, "Love is of all other the inmost and most visceral affection." This figurative use is the most common use of visceral, but the word continues to be used in medical contexts as well. Examples of VISCERAL "My mom is the only one who still writes me letters. And there's something visceral about opening a letter—I see her on the page. I see her in her handwriting." — Steve Carell, quoted in The Boston Globe Magazine, 24 July 2011 "After months of drama, the gravity of the coming week is hard to grasp and, totally untested, feels strangely abstract. What is tangible, however, is the spitting acrimony and visceral anger that still animate both sides of the Brexit debate." — Louis McEvoy, Cherwell (Oxford University), 25 Feb. 2017 Test Your Vocabulary Fill in the blanks to complete the word that precedes jar in this name for the jar in which the ancient Egyptians preserved the viscera of a deceased person: c _ n _ pi _ (jar). [VIEW THE ANSWER [>]]( WORD GAMES Typeshift—Our new daily word game Anagram puzzles meet word search. A new, more difficult puzzle every day of the week starting with an easy puzzle on Monday and working to a deviously hard puzzle on Sunday. [PLAY NOW [>]]( 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](