presenteeism

Pronounced: prez-uhn-TEE-iz-uhn, noun

Notes: Another word I should have known (using hindsight, after I saw the definition)

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Yesterday’s word

The word bafflegab means “obscure, pompous, or incomprehensible language, such as bureaucratic jargon”

First usage

This word came into English in the 1950s

Background / Comments

I heard this word in the Doctor Who show – the classic series, during the time of the Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker; I cannot think of the name of the show, but I have a remembrance of Romana. I think therefore, that it is the show The Pirate Planet, written by Douglas Adams (the author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). This word has an American origin; coined by Milton A Smith, the assistant general counsel for the US Chamber of Commerce. It is thought that it comes from the Scots bauchle (to denounce) combined with gab (talk; possibly of imitative origin).