vicissitude

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The Word of the Day for February 21 is:

vicissitude   \vuh-SISS-uh-tood\   noun
     1 a : the quality or state of being changeable : 
mutability  b : natural change or mutation visible in nature or 
in human affairs
     2 *a : a favorable or unfavorable event or situation that 
occurs by chance : a fluctuation of state or condition  b : a 
difficulty or hardship attendant on a way of life, a career, or 
a course of action and usually beyond one's control  c : 
alternating change : succession

Example sentence:
     You have to be able to withstand financial losses to 
weather the vicissitudes of the stock market.

Did you know?
     "Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse 
to better," wrote British theologian Richard Hooker in the 16th 
century. That observation may shed some light on "vicissitude," 
a word that can refer simply to the fact of change, or to an 
instance of it, but that often refers specifically to hardship 
or difficulty brought about by change. To survive "the 
vicissitudes of life" is thus to survive life's ups and downs, 
with special emphasis on the downs. "Vicissitude" is a 
descendant of the Latin noun "vicis," meaning "change" 
or "alternation," and it has been a part of the English 
language since the 16th century. In contemporary usage, it most 
often occurs in the plural.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.