Pronounced: zoh-AN-thruh-pee, noun
Notes: The subject of many jokes
Yesterday’s word
The word clement mean “mild; gentle; lenient”
First usage
Our word came into English in the late 1400s
Background / Comments
Our word comes from the Latin word clemens (gentle; mild). The opposite word ‘inclement’ (normally used with weather) is much better known.
Rejected Word
I considered the word inkhorn (adj); while I enjoy this word, I was aware of it. This word started out as a noun; in the 1300s, an inkhorn was used to hold ink for quills or pens. Writing has been associated with scholarship back in the times when not everybody could read or write. Anyway, the adjective came about because it was associated with scholarly words (long words). It began to acquire a someone negative meaning; usually describing words used to show off knowledge or that are pedantic.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 