It's Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 12th.
Today's word is fulcrum, also pronounced fulcrum, and spelled F-U-L-C-R-U-M.
Fulcrum is a noun.
In technical use, it refers to the support on which a lever moves when it is used to lift something.
In figurative use, fulcrum refers to a person or thing that makes it possible for something to function or develop,
or in other words, one who plays an essential role in something.
Here's the word used in a sentence from Literary Hub.
The moral fulcrum of Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Dr. Faustus,
in which a scholar gains knowledge and power through a demonic pact,
is a relatively straightforward statement on the human condition.
The Latin word fulcrum, which refers to the head or back support of a couch,
comes from the verb fulcure, which means to prop or support.
When fulcrum was used in English in the 17th century for the first time,
it referred to the point on which a lever or similar device, such as the oar of a boat, is supported.
The literal use easily supported figurative use, and it didn't take long for the word to develop
a meaning referring to one deemed essential to the function or development of something.
Despite fulcrum's multiple senses, the word's meanings have kept a steady theme.
In zoology, fulcrum refers to a part of an animal that serves as a hinge or support,
such as the joint supporting a bird's wing.
With your Word of the Day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.