Word of the Day

: March 3, 2010

transmogrify

verb transs-MAH-gruh-fye

What It Means

: to change or alter greatly and often with grotesque or humorous effect

transmogrify in Context

With the help of an interior decorator, Max transmogrified his drab, cluttered apartment into a stylish yet functional bachelor pad.

Did You Know?

We know that the prefix "trans-" means "across" or "beyond" and appears in many words that evoke change, such as "transform" and "transpire," but we don't know the exact origins of "transmogrify." The 17th-century dramatist, novelist, and poet Aphra Behn, who is regarded as England's first female professional writer, was among the first English authors to use the word. In her 1671 comic play The Amorous Prince, Behn wrote, "I wou'd Love would transmogriphy me to a maid now." A century later, Scottish poet Robert Burns plied the word again in verse, aptly capturing the grotesque and sometimes humorous effect of transmogrification: "Social life and Glee sit down, . . . Till, quite transmugrify'd, they're grown Debauchery and Drinking."