Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 06, 2008 is:

agrarian • \uh-GRAIR-ee-un\  • adjective
1 : of or relating to fields or lands or their tenure 2 *a : of, relating to, or characteristic of farmers or their way of lifeb : organized or designed to promote agricultural interests

Example sentence:
Since buying their organic farm three years ago, Ken and Sheila have been gradually adjusting to an agrarian lifestyle.

Did you know?
Today, an acre is generally considered to be a unit of land measuring 43,560 square feet (4,047 square meters). Before that standard was set, it's believed that an acre represented a rougher measurement -- the amount of land that could be plowed in one day with a yoke of oxen. Both "acre" and today's word, "agrarian," derive from the Latin noun "ager" and the Greek noun "agros," meaning "field." (You can probably guess that "agriculture" is another descendant.) "Agrarian," first used in English in the 17th century, describes things pertaining to the cultivation of fields, as well as the farmers who cultivate them.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 05, 2008 is:

cumshaw • \KUM-shaw\  • noun
: present, gratuity; also : bribe, payoff

Example sentence:
"I never heard her ask for any cumshaw that weighed less than a ton and which required fewer than a dozen enlisted men and two trucks to move." (James A. Michener, Los Angeles Times, October 19, 1986)

Did you know?
It was probably British Navy personnel who first picked up "cumshaw" in Chinese ports, during the First Opium War of 1839-42. "Cumshaw" is from a word that means "grateful thanks" in the dialect of Xiamen, a port in southeast China. Apparently, sailors heard it from the beggars who hung around the ports, and mistook it as the word for a handout. Since then, U.S. sailors have given "cumshaw" its own unique application, for something obtained through unofficial means (whether deviously or simply ingeniously). Outside of naval circles, meanings of "cumshaw" range from a harmless gratuity or gift to bending the rules a little to outright bribery.