Pronounced: guh-ZAHMT-koonst-vuhrk
Notes: Pretty obvious origin, but I only recognized part of this word
Yesterday’s word
The word spang means “directly or exactly on target”
First usage
This word came into usage in the mid-1800s
Background / Comments
I remember reading this word, but I’m not sure where. I think it was an English novel; possibly Dorothy Sayer’s book Gaudy Night (a Lord Peter Wimsey story). That book was published in 1935, but I don’t think I’ve run across the word in any relatively recent usage. I thought that perhaps the word was primarily used in the UK, or possibly was now an obsolete word, but this doesn’t seem to be the case; it just doesn’t seem to be used much – it’s a pity because it’s a nice descriptive word. The origin of the word appears to be uncertain… perhaps it is a twisted pronunciation of “spot on”?
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 