Summary: Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 10, 2013 is: lackadaisical \lak-uh-DAY-zih-kul\ adjective : lacking life, spirit, or zest : languid Examples: Feeling particularly lackadaisical in the summer heat, we lounged on the front porch drinking lemonade. "Malone will be tasked with reeling in a team of players who favor one-on-one basketball and often played lackadaisical defense." From an article by Jason Jones in the Sacramento Bee, May 31, 2013 Did you know? Alas, alack, there are times when life seems to be one unfortunate occurrence after another. Weve all had days when nothing seemed to go right. When folks had one of those days back in the 17th century, they'd cry "Lackaday" to express their sorrow and disappointment. "Lackaday" was a shortened form of the expression "alack the day." In the mid-1700s, "lackadaisical" was coined through addition of the suffix "-ical." The word "lackadaisy" also was used around that time as an interjection similar to "lackaday," and this word, though never as prevalent as "lackaday," might have influenced the coinage of "lackadaisical."
