This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 18–October 24, 2025

Brazen thieves stole jewels worth more than $100 million from the Louvre on October 19. Four people wearing masks broke into the Paris museum in broad daylight. They entered a window of the second-floor Apollo Gallery using an electric ladder, cut through glass cases with a chain saw, and removed eight pieces of royal jewelry, including tiaras and necklaces. The four were then seen fleeing on scooters. The audacious heist raised questions about the popular museum's security.

This week, two surfers near Santa Cruz, California, had their surfboards commandeered by sea otters. The incidents echoed similar occurrences last year, when an otter known as 841 climbed onto and hijacked several surfboards. Experts aren't sure if the current culprit is 841. So far, this surfboard snatcher seems less aggressive than last year's, only nipping gently at the surfers' ankles to dislodge them. Commandeer is from the Dutch kommandeeren, "to command."

Satellite trackers spotted some SpaceX satellites sending transmissions in a way that contravenes standards set by the International Telecommunication Union. The Starshield satellites appear to be sending data to Earth on frequencies reserved for sending commands the opposite way, from Earth to satellites in space. This violates rules meant to avoid interference with scientific satellites. The word contravene comes from the French contravenir, "to transgress."

Several former pro football players have started careers in nursing, a field that men are often dissuaded from pursuing. Just 13 percent of nurses are male, a statistic that discourages men from entering the female-dominated profession. Retired NFL fullback Patrick Hill, who works as a psychiatric nurse, says the sport was good preparation for nursing, as both require "mental toughness and resiliency." The word dissuade is from the Latin dissuadere, "advise against."

Hindus around the world celebrated the five-day festival of Diwali. The holiday's high point was October 20, when millions participated in Lakshmi puja, a ritual devoted to the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Traditions include cleaning homes, lighting lamps, and saying prayers, all said to benefit good fortune and abundance. The puja was followed by feasts, firecrackers, and outdoor gatherings. The Latin root of prosperity is prosperus, "favorable or fortunate."

Competitors met at an annual Massachusetts event known as "the Super Bowl" of their quintessential New England hobby: growing giant pumpkins. Several participants at the Topsfield Fair competition presented enormous gourds weighing over a thousand pounds. In a region famous for autumnal colors and fall fruits and vegetables, the sport is the epitome of pumpkin spice season. First place went to Alex Noel of Abington, Connecticut, whose gargantuan squash weighed in at a record 2,507 pounds.

Natalie Grabow, at age 80, became the oldest woman ever to complete the Ironman World Championship race. It took her nearly 17 hours to complete the 26.2-mile run, 112-mile cycle, and 2.4-mile swim. Grabow entered her first Ironman triathlon 20 years ago; she credits her success to her training regimen. Her weekly routine includes 18 miles of running; daily strength and flexibility workouts; and four days of swimming and cycling. In Latin, regimen means "rule or rudder."

Centrist candidate Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia's presidential runoff. A general election in August ended in a resounding defeat for the ruling Movement Toward Socialism party, but votes for Paz, of the Christian Democratic Party, and former right-wing president Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga were too close to be conclusive. Paz, who was backed by rural and working-class voters, won the runoff with 54.5 percent of the votes versus Quiroga’s 45.5 percent.

Experts say that Western Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, which was badly damaged by the remnants of Typhoon Halong last week, is particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change. The storm slammed into the region's southwest coast, causing massive flooding and displacing at least 2,000 people. The area is especially vulnerable to extreme weather because it is so close to sea level, and its villages are built on permafrost that continues to melt as temperatures grow warmer.

A California man was arrested for trafficking stolen Lego pieces after tens of thousands of the collectible toys were found at his home. Officers discovered bins full of Lego bricks and headless figurines, along with neatly organized rows of Lego heads. There were also piles of unopened Lego sets. The man was charged with buying stolen Lego merchandise and reselling it at inflated prices. The original meaning of traffic was "to transport goods for the purpose of trade."