Pronounced: LIH-tuh-nee, noun
Notes: I’ve heard this word in an expression, but I wasn’t sure what it meant
Yesterday’s word
The word chauvinism means “the belief in the superiority of one’s country, group, gender, etc”
First usage
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
Background / Comments
When growing up, the phrase “male chauvinism” or “male chauvinist pig” was thrown around. However, I did not know about our word’s origin: our word was named after Nicolas Chauvin, a legendary French soldier in Napolean’s army – he was noted for his fanatical patriotism. His name was popularized in the 1831 play La Cocarde Tricolore by the Cogniard brothers.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 