Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: kwash, verb Notes: To my surprise, this didn’t mean what I thought it meant Yesterday’s phrase The phrase Scarborough warning means “a very short notice or no notice” First usage Our phrase came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments Our phrase is named after the UK coastal town of Scarborough, although itContinue reading “quash”

Pronounced: SKAR-buh-ruh war-ning Notes: A phrase I didn’t know Yesterday’s word The word per contra means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments Our word comes from Italian, where it means “by the opposite side of the ledger”. A Franciscan friar and mathematician named Luca Pacioli (a friend ofContinue reading “Scarborough warning”

Pronounced: purr-KAHN-truh, adv Notes: I didn’t know this word, but you may be able to guess the meaning Yesterday’s word The word mensch means “a decent, upright, honorable person” First usage Our word came into English in the 1910s Background / Comments Our word is a Yiddish word; it comes from mentsh (man, human being),Continue reading “per contra”

Pronounced: mench (alt: mensh), noun Notes: I’ve run across this word in reading, but wasn’t sure of the meaning Yesterday’s word The word semelparous means “reproducing or breeding only once in a lifetime” First usage Our word came into English in the 1950s Background / Comments Our word comes the Latin parts semel (once) andContinue reading “mensch”

Pronounced: seh-MEL-puh-ruhs, adj Notes: A completely new word to me Yesterday’s word The word approbation means “approval, commendation, or official sanction” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1300s Background / Comments Our word looks like “approval” and so is the meaning, so it’s easy to remember. It came from the LatinContinue reading “semelparous”

Pronounced: ap-roh-BAY-shun, noun Notes: I think I’ve run across this word, but I didn’t know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word apologia means “a defense especially of one’s opinions, position, or actions First usage Our word came into English in the late 1700s Background / Comments Our word may look like “apology”, but while theContinue reading “approbation”

Pronounced: ah-puh-LOH-juh (alt: ah-puh-LOH-jee-uh), noun Notes: I know a related word Yesterday’s word The word polydipsia means “excessive or abnormal thirst” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments As I said yesterday, I recognized “poly” part of our word. In fact, it comes from the Greek words poly- (much,Continue reading “apologia”

Pronounced: paw-lee-DIP-see-uh, noun Notes: I recognized “poly” meaning many or much, but I didn’t know the word Yesterday’s word The word garble means First usage Our word came into English in the early or middle 1400s Background / Comments I knew the first definition; the second was new to me. When the word first enteredContinue reading “polydipsia”

Pronounced: GAR-bull, verb Notes: This word has a second meaning that I didn’t know Yesterday’s word The word homonymous means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments The third definition above is the one I knew. Some background: a homophone describes words of different meanings that sound theContinue reading “garble”

Pronounced: ho-MAH-nuh-muhs, adj Notes: I knew one of the definitions Yesterday’s word The word amerce means “to punish; especially by a fine whose amounts are fixed by a court” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1200s Background / Comments Our word started with the Old French phrase a merci (at [one’s] mercy).Continue reading “homonymous”