Pronounced: POH-koh-kyuh-RAHN-tee, adj
Notes: This word isn’t one that I know
Yesterday’s word
The word dreadnought has multiple meanings
- a fearless person
- a battleship armed with all heavy guns
- a thick cloth
- a warm garment made of thick cloth
- a type of acoustic guitar with a large body and loud sound
First usage
This word goes back to the mid-1500s
Background / Comments
I only knew the second meaning (how about you?) The word literally means “fear nothing” because it is composed of dread (fear) and nought (nothing). The word nought (also naught) comes from na (no) and wiht (thing). The first meaning comes from a 1573 English ship “Dreadnought”. The second and last meaning comes from a 1906 battleship, “HMS Dreadnought”, known for its heavy guns. The other two meanings come from the heavy garments worn on ships to protect from the elements.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 