intercalate

Pronounced: in-TUHR-kuh-late, verb

Notes: Interesting word

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Yesterday’s word

The word woodshed, as a noun, is

• a place for storing firewood
• a place for administering punishment
• a place for intensive practice, especially music practice

As a verb, it means

• to practice diligently, especially on a musical instrument
• to punish or reprimand
• to coach a witness before a trial

First usage

Our word came into English first as a noun in the mid-1700s, and then as a verb in the late 1800s.

Background / Comments

Well, how many definitions did you know? I have heard woodshed used in five of the six definitions (all of the noun definitions, and all but the last of the verb definitions). Oddly enough, I associate one of the meetings with the 1954 film White Christmas. In the 2000 video about the film (White Christmas: A Look Back with Rosemary Clooney), Rosemary Clooney said that Bing Crosby used woodshed in the sense of practicing music. Also, our word is a pretty good example of how one can see the progress in the various definitions of a word. Clearly, the place for storing firewood was the original definition. I can imagine a parent wanting to discipline a child would take the child to the woodshed. That same idea of isolation would fit the idea of practicing music. Finally, the idea of practicing music would lead to coaching a witness (which would also tend to be done in an isolated session).