ludic

*****************************************************************
Discover the people and events that made history ON THIS DAY. 
Sign up for the free daily newsletter from Britannica.
http://register.britannica.com/mailinglist
*****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for December 8 is: 

ludic   \LOO-dik\   adjective
     : of, relating to, or characterized by play : playful 

Example sentence:
     Three-year-old Rachel was delighted with her present, a 
ludic and lively pop-up book about the celebration of Hanukkah.

Did you know? 
     Here's a serious word, just for fun. That is to say, it 
means "fun," but it was created in all seriousness around 1940 
by psychologists. They wanted a term to describe what children 
do, and they came up with "ludic activity." That may seem 
ludicrous -- why not just call it "playing"? -- but the 
word "ludic" caught on, and it's not all child's play anymore. 
It can refer to architecture that is playful, narrative that is 
humorous and even satirical, and literature that is 
light. "Ludic" is ultimately from the Latin noun "ludus," which 
refers to a whole range of fun things -- stage shows, games, 
sports, even jokes. The more familiar word "ludicrous" also 
traces back to the same source.