Ripped from the Headlines: November 2025: November Words

November was the ninth month in the Roman calendar — novem is "nine" in Latin — and it's stuffed full of word-worthy events. From Native American Heritage Month to Veterans Day to Thanksgiving, dig in to this bountiful harvest of timely November vocabulary.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. armistice
    a state of peace agreed to between opponents
    Armistice Day was the holiday proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 to mark the one-year anniversary of the end of World War I. The armistice went into effect on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" in 1918. In 1954, the day was officially renamed Veterans Day.
  2. aviation
    the art of operating aircraft
    November is National Aviation History Month, so things are looking up! The Wright Brothers made their first flight in 1903, and the technology of air travel continues to advance by leaps and bounds. Avis means bird in Latin: Avian describes anything to do with birds, and aviation is the act of flying.
  3. bargain
    an advantageous purchase
    The day after Thanksgiving has become known as Black Friday, when retailers offer deep discounts and shoppers look for bargains on their holiday gifts. A bargain can refer to a deal between two parties, and also to a good deal: a favorably low price for the buyer.
  4. circadian
    having or relating to 24-hour cycles
    Daylight-savings time, which starts in most places in the U.S. in March, ends in early November. That's when we set our clocks back an hour, which is nice because it's not pitch dark when we wake up in the morning. But this time change can disrupt our bodies' circadian rhythms, especially our sleep cycles, much the same way that jet lag does. Circa diem means "about day" in Latin.
  5. commerce
    transactions supplying goods and services
    Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, when many retail businesses start to show a profit for the year due to a spike in holiday commerce: the buying and selling of goods and services. The Latin root commercium shows up in words like commercial and merchandise. Black Friday gets its name from the old practice of using red ink in accounting ledgers to record losses, and black ink for profits: The expression in the black describes a profitable company.
  6. consumer
    a person who uses goods or services
    Holiday shoppers are consumers. To consume something is to eat it, buy it, or otherwise use it up — the way a fire will consume a house if it's not put out. In economic terms, a consumer is someone who spends money for goods and services. A producer is the counterpart: someone who makes or supplies whatever the consumer buys.
  7. cornucopia
    a horn filled with fruit and grain symbolizing prosperity
    Cornucopia literally means "horn of plenty" in Latin, and it's an ancient symbol of prosperity and a successful harvest. The term is derived from the practice of stuffing a goat's horn with grain and fruit as an autumn offering. Today, the cornucopia is often seen in Thanksgiving decorations, as the holiday is focused on gratitude, a bounty of food, and togetherness.
  8. electorate
    the body of enfranchised citizens; those qualified to vote
    The first Tuesday in November is Election Day, when members of the electorate — citizens eligible to vote — cast their votes for the candidates they believe will do the best job in government positions ranging from town council members all the way up to the president. Elect, the root of electorate comes from the Latin verb eligere, meaning "to choose."
  9. foliage
    the collective amount of leaves of one or more plants
    The season of autumn is also known as fall because many trees drop their leaves before winter. In many parts of the world, the reds, oranges and yellows on display during the fall foliage season are one of nature's spectacular sights. Folium means "leaf" in Latin. The French word feuillage made its way into English as foliage.
  10. gratitude
    a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation
    Thanksgiving celebrates the spirit of gratitude: thankfulness for what we have. The word gratitude comes from the same Latin root, gratus — meaning both "pleasing" and "thankful" — as grateful. It's closely related to gratia, meaning "grace," which you can see in words like gracious and graceful.
  11. incumbent
    the official who holds an office
    Incumbere means "to lean over" in Latin, and incumbent can describe something you are duty-bound to do as a result of your position or job — in the sense that the duty leans over you insistently. Accordingly, an incumbent politician is one who currently holds a particular office, and is the one obligated to do the job.
  12. indigenous
    originating where it is found
    November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate America's indigenous peoples. Indigenus means "native" in Latin; the gen- in there is the Latin root meaning "born" that you see in genetic or genesis. There were an estimated 60 million people living in the Americas before the European's arrived. Today, the indigenous population of the U.S. is about 9.7 million people.
  13. pilgrim
    someone who journeys in foreign lands
    British pilgrims arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620, seeking prosperity and hoping to found a religious society. A pilgrimage is a trip, often religious in nature, to a destination far from one's home. In 1621, the Plymouth pilgrims and Wampanoag Native Americans shared a harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.
  14. suffrage
    a legal right to vote
    The first Tuesday in November is Election Day, and suffrage is the right to vote. The word comes from the Latin suffragium, which is also the root of suffragettes, the name given to the late-19th- and early-20th-century activists whose struggles for women's right to vote led to the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment on August 18, 1920. After that, the United States had universal suffrage, meaning that every adult could vote.
  15. thanksgiving
    a short prayer of thanks before a meal
    In 1621, the Plymouth colonists celebrated a good harvest with a three-day feast that was attended by people from the local Wampanoag tribe. Harvest festivals of thanksgiving had existed in both cultures for centuries before that, but it wasn't until the 1800s that the Thanksgiving holiday as we know it began to take shape. It was declared a national holiday by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, during the Civil War, after Union victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg.
  16. veteran
    a person who has served in the armed forces
    November 11 is Veterans Day, a holiday honoring all who have served in the United States Armed Forces. The event was originally called Armistice Day, created on the first anniversary of the end of World War I in 1919. In 1954, it was renamed Veterans Day and designated an official national holiday. Veteran refers to someone who has served in the military, whether in combat or not. It can also describe someone with extensive experience in a particular field.
Created on Wed Nov 11 16:06:29 EST 2020 (updated Thu Nov 06 19:36:56 EST 2025)

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