workaday

Workaday is an adjective meaning ordinary, routine, or typical of the day-to-day working life. It is used to describe tasks, experiences, or environments that are plain, unexceptional, or unstimulating, in contrast with things that are glamorous, extraordinary, or imaginative. The term often appears in references to the regular rhythms of work and daily life, as in workaday chores or the workaday world.

Etymology and usage note: the word is a blend of work and day, historically tied to daily labor. In modern English, it carries a slightly literary or formal tone and is more common in British usage, though understood in American English. It can function attributively (a workaday task) or predicatively (life is workaday).

Common phrases: the workaday world, the workaday routine, and workaday tasks are typical examples. The phrase “the workaday world” contrasts the ordinary, everyday sphere with moments of exceptional or imaginative experience.

Distinctions: workaday should not be confused with workday, which refers to the period of time in which work is performed, or with weekday, which designates Monday through Friday. Related terms include quotidian, mundane, prosaic, and routine.

In summary, workaday describes the ordinary, routine aspects of work and daily life, often highlighting their unremarkable or unglamorous character.