Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: SPAV-ind, adj Notes: I don’t think I’ve ever run across this word Yesterday’s word The word thalassic means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Greek word thálassa (sea), with -ic added to indicate an adjective. I was annoyed with myself for notContinue reading “spavined”

Pronounced: thuh-LASS-ick, adj Notes: Sounds like a pickle (heh). Seriously, I should have known this word Yesterday’s word The word comminute means “to pulverize” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments I would never have guessed the meaning of our word – it looks like ‘commune’ or a shortContinue reading “thalassic”

Pronounced: KOM-uh-noot (alt: KOM-uh-nyoot), verb Notes: Not at all what I thought this word might mean Yesterday’s word The word nosophobia is “an abnormal fear of disease” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments You probably recognized -phobia (fear); usually, when describing phobias, we are talking about irrational,Continue reading “comminute”

Pronounced: noss-uh-FOE-bee-uh, noun Notes: Another phobia! Yesterday’s word The word behoof means “advantage; benefit” First usage Our word came into English back in the late 1200s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Old English word behof (profit; need). From the same source, we get the more familiar verb “behoove” (as in it behoovesContinue reading “nosophobia”

Pronounced: bih-HOOF, noun Notes: I thought that this may be riding something with hooves (but no) Yesterday’s word The word serotonin meaning is hard to determine: I seem to be getting conflicting definitions: The original place I retrieved the word from says that our word is “a hormone that, like dopamine, heightens feelings of well-being,Continue reading “behoof”

Pronounced: ser-uh-TOE-nihn (alt: seer-uh-TOE-nihn), noun Notes: I had just an approximate idea of the meaning. Do you know it? Yesterday’s word The word peregrination is “traveling place to place; also a course of travel, especially on foot” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1400s Background / Comments I have run acrossContinue reading “serotonin”

Pronounced: pear-ih-gruh-NAY-shun, noun Notes: I think I’ve run across this word Yesterday’s word The word chancel means “the space about the altar of a church, usually enclosed, for the clergy and other officials” First usage Our word came into English around 1300 Background / Comments As I noted, I’ve heard of a “chancel choir”; evenContinue reading “peregrination”

Pronounced: CHAN-suhl (alt: CHAHN-suhl), noun Notes: I’ve heard about a “chancel choir”, but that didn’t help my understanding Yesterday’s word The word brahmin is “a member of the upper class, having wealth, social status, and political power” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1400s Background / Comments Our word has rootsContinue reading “chancel”

Pronounced: BRAH-min, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word Yesterday’s word The word mistral is “a cold, dry, northerly wind common in southern France and neighboring regions” First usage Our word came into English around 1600 Background / Comments The word came from Middle French, which came from Provençal, which came from Old Provençal wordContinue reading “brahmin”

Pronounced: MISS-truhl (alt: mih-STRAHL), noun Notes: I remember reading a short story that used this word, but the definition doesn’t exactly line up with the definition Yesterday’s word The word pundit means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments The alternate spelling pandit was unknown to me. I haveContinue reading “mistral”