Today’s word of the day is cacoethes, an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action. It is also spelled cacoëthes and it is pronounced /kahk-uh-EE-theez/. Cacoëthes loquendi is a mania for talking or a morbid desire for gossip or speechmaking. Cacoëthes scribendi is a morbid propensity for writing or an itch for authorship.