Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: come-PORT, verb Notes: I was pretty close to the right definition Yesterday’s word The word sophrosyne is “moderation; discretion; prudence” First usage Our word is another one that didn’t have information about when it came into English Background / Comments Our word is a great one to sprinkle into conversation; with the idea ofContinue reading “comport”

Pronounced: suh-FROSS-uh-nee, noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve every run across this word, but it’s a good, usable word to know Yesterday’s word The word kakistocracy means “government by the least qualified or worst persons” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments The only reason I figured out ourContinue reading “sophrosyne”

Pronounced: kak-ih-STOCK-ruh-see (alt: kah-kih-STOCK-ruh-see), noun Notes: This is a rare exception to my only posting words I don’t know; I was able to correctly guess the meaning of this word, but I think it is rare enough to post Yesterday’s word The word clowder is “a group or cluster of cats” First usage Our wordContinue reading “kakistocracy”

Pronounced: KLOW-der, noun Notes: All I can see is “chowder” misspelled. Yesterday’s word The word coulrophobia is “the fear of clowns” First usage Our word came into English in the 1980s Background / Comments I assume that our word came into English later because clowns were originally supposed to be funny; it was later thatContinue reading “clowder”

Pronounced: kool-ruh-FOE-bee-uh, noun Notes: You may know this phobia (especially if you have it) Yesterday’s word The word kickshaw means First usage Our word came back into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments At least with this word, one can see how the definition evolved (I’m assuming that the first definition above wasContinue reading “coulrophobia”

Pronounced: KICK-shaw, noun Notes: Interesting word; not sure how often I’d use it Yesterday’s word The word boodler is “someone involved in bribery or corruption” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word came to us from the Dutch word boedel (property). This is a neat word toContinue reading “kickshaw”

Pronounced: BOOD-ler, noun Notes: This word seems vaguely familiar; I think I’ve run across it in reading, but I’ve no idea where Yesterday’s word The word mythomane, as a noun, is “a person with a strong or irresistible habit for fantasizing, lying, or exaggerating”. As an adjective, it means “of, or pertaining to, characteristics ofContinue reading “boodler”

Pronounced: MITH-uh-main, noun/adj Notes: A useful word to know Yesterday’s word The word ambisinistrous means “clumsy with both hands” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments If you split this word into ‘ambi’ and ‘sinistrous’, and then saw “sinister” in ‘sinistrous’, and then remembered that ‘sinister’ originally meant ‘left’,Continue reading “mythomane”

Pronounced: am-bih-SIN-uh-struss, adj Notes: You might be able to correctly guess the meaning of this word Yesterday’s word The word hypogeum means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1700s Background / Comments The second definition above is only used when discussing ancient architecture. Our word comes to us from the LatinContinue reading “ambisinistrous”

Pronounced: high-puh-JEE-uhm (alt: hip-uh-JEE-uhm), noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve ever run across this word Yesterday’s word The word degustation is “tasting samples of a variety of similar foods or drinks” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments I saw in this word “gust”, which reminds me of theContinue reading “hypogeum”