Episode Summary: "Undulant"

Podcast: Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day
Date: August 25, 2025
Host: Peter Sokolowski

Main Theme

This episode revolves around deepening listeners’ vocabulary by exploring the adjective undulant, its definition, origins, multiple uses, and related words. The goal is to enrich word knowledge and demonstrate “undulant” in context, engaging lovers of language with practical applications.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Definition and Spelling

• [00:42] The episode introduces undulant:
  • Spelled: U-N-D-U-L-A-N-T
  • Meaning: An adjective describing things that “rise and fall in waves, or things that have a wavy form, outline or surface.”

2. Usage in Context

• [00:48] Example from Monica Wood (lithub.com):

  "We stack books into attractive still lifes accompanied by a single tulip in a bud vase, or into risky undulant towers poised to flatten a passing house cat."

  • This sentence showcases “undulant” describing precariously wavy stacks of books.

3. Practical Application

• [01:12] Peter Sokolowski highlights helpful situations for “undulant”:
  • Describing the briny sea: “Wave hello to the word undulant.”
  • Usage extends to rolling hills, a snake’s movement, or a fever with waxing/waning intensity.

4. Word Origins

• [01:40] Explaining etymology:
  • The word comes from the Latin unda, meaning "wave."
  • Related English words:
    • Inundate: “to cover with a flood”
    • Undulate: “to form or move in waves”

5. Vocabulary Expansion

• The host encourages the audience to consider “undulant” as a precise and vibrant descriptor—not just for the ocean, but for anything wavy, rhythmic, or oscillating.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [00:42] Host:
  “If you’re looking for an adjective that encapsulates the rising and falling of the briny sea, wave hello to the word undulant.”
• [01:32] Host:
  “While not an especially common descriptor, it is useful not only for describing the ocean itself but for everything from rolling hills to a snake’s sinuous movement to a fever that waxes and wanes.”
• [01:59] Host:
  “The root of the word undulant is, perhaps unsurprisingly, unda, a Latin word meaning wave.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:42] – Introduction and spelling of “undulant”
• [00:48] – Literary example illustrating usage
• [01:12] – Practical uses beyond the ocean
• [01:40] – Etymology and related words

Tone & Style

The episode maintains Merriam-Webster’s classic, approachable, and slightly playful tone. The host interweaves scholarship with accessible language: “Wave hello to the word undulant,” making vocabulary both engaging and memorable.

Conclusion

This episode makes “undulant” accessible, memorable, and ready for listeners’ everyday vocabulary, connecting the word’s shape, feel, and Latin root to common images and contexts.