From the good folks at Merriam-Webster, today’s Word of the Day is psephology. It was not a word with which I was familiar, but on this day when we cast our votes it is an appropriate word. Psephology is the scientific study of elections.

The word comes from the Greek word “psēphos,” meaning “pebble” because pebbles were used by the ancient Greeks in voting. Today’s Word might have been “ballot” – an equally fine choice given it comes from ballotta, an Italian word meaning “little ball,” and Italians once voted by placing such balls in a container.

I think it is of note that one relative of psephology is “psephomancy”, meaning “divination by pebbles.” Maybe that should be our new moniker for the pre-election work of polling.