Author Archives: Richard

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. RejectedContinue reading “zoanthropy”

Pronounced: KLEM-uhnt, adj Notes: You may know this word Yesterday’s word The word commensal, as an adjective, means “eating together at the same table”. As a noun, it means “a table companion” Note: This word also has a meaning in ecology: as an adjective, it means “organisms that live with, on, or in one another,Continue reading “clement”

Pronounced: kuh-MEN-sull, adj/noun Notes: I should have been able to get close to this definition (but I didn’t) Yesterday’s word The word peccable means “imperfect; flawed; capable of sinning” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments The more familiar word is ‘impeccable’ (without sin; perfect). I didn’t knowContinue reading “commensal”

Pronounced: PECK-uh-bull, adj Notes: If you don’t know this word, you can probably figure it out (I didn’t know this word existed) Yesterday’s word The word tenebrific means “producing darkness” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments Our word is a potentially useful word; I’ve never run across it.Continue reading “peccable”

Pronounced: tenebrific, adj Notes: I saw nothing at all familiar in this word to give me a clue to its meaning Yesterday’s word The word licit means “legal or legitimate” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1400s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I assume most people realized that ourContinue reading “tenebrific”

Pronounced: LISS-it, adj Notes: You probably know this definition, but I didn’t know this word existed Yesterday’s word The word sodality means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments As I mentioned, I just see “soda” in this word. If I don’t pay close attention, I can almostContinue reading “licit”

Pronounced: so-DALL-ih-tee (alt: suh-DALL-ih-tee), noun Notes: It looks like it should have something to do with soda Yesterday’s word The word refect means “to refresh with food or drink” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1400s Background / Comments Another useful word to drop into conversation. It comes from the LatinContinue reading “sodality”

Pronounced: rih-FEKT, verb Notes: This just looks like a misspelling of “reflect” to me Yesterday’s word The word mackle, as a noun, means “a blured mark in printing as from a double stroke or impression”. As a verb, it means “to make or print a blurred mark (as from a double impression in printing)” FirstContinue reading “refect”

Pronounced: MACK-uhl, verb/noun Notes: I think many of us have experience with this word, but we may not know that there was a word for this action/thing Yesterday’s word The word angor means “extreme anguish or mental distress” First usage Our word is relatively old; it came into English in the mid-1400s Background / CommentsContinue reading “mackle”

Pronounced: ANG-guhr, noun Notes: No, this is not ‘anger’ misspelled Yesterday’s word The word mysophobia means “an excessive fear of dirt or filth” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments Everyone probably recognizes the -phobia (fear) suffix. The first part comes from the Greek word mýsos (pollution; defilement).Continue reading “angor”