Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: GAPE-seed, noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word Yesterday’s word The word rallentando means “slackening; becoming slower or winding down”; it is used as a musical direction. First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments I know the abbreviation used on sheet music (rall.), butContinue reading “gapeseed”

Pronounced: rah-luhn-TAHN-doe, adj/adv Notes: This is a word that I knew, but didn’t know that I knew Yesterday’s word The word veracious means “truthful; honest; accurate” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1600s Background / Comments As I noted, our word is pretty close in pronunciation to voracious; we tend toContinue reading “rallentando”

Pronounced: vuh-RAY-shuss, adj Notes: No, this is not voracious misspelled! Yesterday’s word The word louche means “shifty; disreputable; shady; sketchy” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments My theory (by which I mean that I reasoned this out without reading about this elsewhere; it may be that manyContinue reading “veracious”

Pronounced: loosh, adj Notes: I have a theory about this word (which I didn’t know) Yesterday’s word The word irresolute means “uncertain or indecisive” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word in- (not) combined with resoltus, a past participle of resolvere (toContinue reading “louche”

Pronounced: ih-REZ-uh-look, adj Notes: I could not properly define this, but you may know the word Yesterday’s word The word rufescent means “slightly reddish; tinged with red; rufous” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments No, I didn’t know the meaning of ‘rufous’ in the definition – itContinue reading “irresolute”

Pronounced: roo-FESS-unt, adj Notes: Not a word that I can remember seeing Yesterday’s word The word frabjous means “wonderful; delightful” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments This is another word created by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking Glass, published in 1871. Note that Through the Looking GlassContinue reading “rufescent”

Pronounced: FRAB-juss, adj Notes: I recognized the word, but I didn’t know the definition Yesterday’s word The word rimple means “to wrinkle; crumple; crease” First usage Our word came into English in the early to mid-1400s Background / Comments The word came from late Middle English; it is related to “rumple”, and came from MiddleContinue reading “frabjous”

Pronounced: RIM-pull, verb Notes: I don’t think I’ve ever run across this word Yesterday’s word The word seisin means “possession of either land or chattel” (see comments below for more) First usage Our word came into English in the late 1200s Background / Comments I ran across this word in the dictionary, and thus theContinue reading “rimple”

Pronounced: SEE-zin, noun Notes: Learning this word was an aggravating or humiliating experience Yesterday’s word The word shoat is First usage This is an old word; going back to the late 1300s to early 1400s Background / Comments I am pretty sure that I have run across this word used in the first definition above;Continue reading “seisin”

Pronounced: shote, noun (also spelled “shote”) Notes: I think I’ve run across this word Yesterday’s word The word demirep refers to “a woman of doubtful reputation or respectability” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments I an across this word in a Nero Wolfe story Die Like a DogContinue reading “shoat”