Hodiernal

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /həʊdiˈɜːnl̩/

Definitions

1. Concerning issues or events that are significant in modern times Relevant to occurrences and experiences that happen in the current day Connected to circumstances and phenomena that influence the present moment
2. Pertaining to events, conditions, or matters of the current day
3. Associated with or characteristic of what happens or exists today

Etymology: "Hodiernal" is built from three layers of Latin. At its core is "hodiē," meaning "today," which was formed from "hōc" ("this") and "diē" ("day"). To that the Latin adjective-forming suffix "-rnus" was added to make "hodiernus," meaning "of today" or "present-day." English took the stem as "hodiern," and then attached its own adjective-forming suffix "-al," producing a word that means roughly "belonging to the present day." The result is a deliberately formal word that sounds more learned than its plain synonyms. It is a useful example of how English often builds adjectives by stacking suffixes onto a borrowed Latin stem. The core idea, "this day," is preserved in the original parts, which makes the word transparent to anyone who knows that "hodie" was the everyday Latin for "today."