horripilation

Pronounced: haw-rip-uh-LAY-shun (alt: hoe-rip-uh-LAY-shun)

Notes: Though I didn’t know the right definition, I did recognize parts of this word

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Yesterday’s word

The word teal, as an adjective, means “of greenish blue color”. As a noun, it means

• any of the various species of small dabbling ducks
• greenish blue color

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1300s

Background / Comments

I had our word backward; I knew that there was a type of duck called a “teal”, and I thought it was so named because of the teal colors upon it. However, the fact is that the color was named after the patches on the duck. Our word came from the Middle English word tele.