torrid
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\n \n Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 12, 2024 is:\n \n
\n \n\n torrid • \\TOR-id\\ • adjective
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Torrid can be used to describe something that is literally hot (such as a region near the Earth\u2019s equator) or figuratively hot (such as a romance).
\n\n// The tabloids were relentless in covering every minor detail of the celebrity couple\u2019s torrid affair.
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\u201cChinese cities such as Chongqing, a southwestern metropolis known for its torrid summers, have for years used their air raid tunnels as public cooling centers.\u201d \u2014 The Associated Press, 7 July 2023
\n \n \n\n Did you know?
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Hot, steamy, sultry: English is full of words that do double-duty in describing thirst traps both literal (as in the tropics) and figurative (as in, well, thirst traps). Torrid comes from the Latin verb torr\u0113re, which means \u201cto burn\u201d or \u201cto parch\u201d and is an ancestor of our word toast. (Despite its dry implications, torr\u0113re is also an ancestor of torrent, as in \u201ca torrent of rain.\u201d) Torrid first appeared in English in the 16th century and was originally used to describe something burned or scorched by exposure to the sun, but it has since taken on an extended meaning similar to the \u201csexy\u201d sense of hot: \u201cshowing fiery passion,\u201d as in \u201ctorrid love letters\u201d or \u201ca torrid affair.\u201d
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