Word of the Day: Labile

(Adjective) Pronunciation: ['ley-bIl or 'ley-bêl]

Definition: Changeable, unstable; apt to slip away.

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Usage: When used to describe personalities, today's word replaces "temperamental" or "moody," as in, "Birgitta was a labile lass with a personality hard to calculate." It also refers to unstable chemical and electrical changes. The noun is lability [lê-'bi-lê-tee].

Suggested Usage: Today's proffering works in discussions of international politics: "Don't talk to me about lability in the Middle East. We've reconsidered 3 vacations in the past 2 years over it." With its two 'liquid' sounds (L's in this case), the word is euphonic (nice-sounding) enough for poetic or romantic expression, "The sunny, labile days of that spring were hard to pin down in his memory; she was the constant that held that year together in his mind."

Etymology: Latin labilis "slippery, apt to slip" via Old French "labile." Related to labor and lapsare both of which mean "to slip, stumble, fall." The past participle of "labor" is "lapsus," the origin of English "lapse." The stem here is probably related to labium "lip" and English "lip" which all seem to come from the same root, *leb-.

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