Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: PUN-dit, noun Notes: Also written pandit. I’ve run across the word, but wasn’t sure of the definition Yesterday’s word The work bibliophobe is someone who is afraid of books (or hates them or fears them) First usage I cannot find information about when this word entered English Background / Comments Our word was prettyContinue reading “pundit”

Pronounced: BIB-lee-uh-phobe, noun Notes: Okay, this is (probably) an easy one, but I didn’t know this word existed Yesterday’s word The (long) word hemidemisemiquaver is a 64th note, which I don’t think one finds very often First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments According to what I’ve read, inContinue reading “bibliophobe”

Pronounced: hem-ee-dem-ee-SEM-ee-kway-vuhr, noun Notes: Some people with a certain background may get this immediately Yesterday’s word The word troth means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1100s Background I have run across our word in the phrase “plight one’s troth”; by my recollection, it was pronounced the second way (with a longContinue reading “hemidemisemiquaver”

Pronounced: trawth (alt: trohth), noun Notes: I’ve run across this word, but didn’t quite know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word dermatoglyphics means First usage Our word came into English in the 1920s Background / Comments Did you spot what was unusual about our word? It has no repeated letters; in fact, this is oneContinue reading “troth”

Pronounced: duhr-mat-uh-GLIF-icks (alt: duhr-muh-tuh-GLIF-icks), noun Notes: There is something very unusual about this word – can you spot it? Yesterday’s word The word euthenics is “a science concerned with bettering human living conditions through the improvement of their environment” First usage Our word came into English in the 1900s Background / Comments I recognized eu-Continue reading “dermatoglyphics”

Pronounced: you-THEN-icks, noun Notes: This is another word that is new to me Yesterday’s word The word dubiety means “doubtfulness or uncertainty” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments When one is in doubt (dubiety), one is of two minds, and that is a clue to the origin; ourContinue reading “euthenics”

Pronounced: doo-BY-ih-tee (alt: dyoo-BY-ih-tee), noun Notes: You might be able to guess the meaning of this word Yesterday’s word The word foofaraw means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word sounded a bit familiar. Our word came about on the western frontier of the United States. However,Continue reading “dubiety”

Pronounced: FOO-fuh-raw, noun Notes: I’ve run across this word, but only had a vague understanding of its meaning Yesterday’s word The word suberous means “like cork in appearance or texture” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments The background of our word is pretty straightforward: it comes from theContinue reading “foofaraw”

Pronounced: SUE-burr-us, adj Notes: A good word, but I didn’t know it Yesterday’s word The word noosphere is used in ecology and is “the biosphere including and modified by such human activities as agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, urbanization, and industrialization” First usage Our word came into English in the 1940s Background / Comments Our wordContinue reading “suberous”

Pronounced: NO-uh-sfear, noun Notes: Another word I don’t know Yesterday’s word The word orotund means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1700s Background / Comments Our word is a contraction of the Latin phrase ore rotundo (with a round moth), made up of ore, which comes from os (mouth) combined withContinue reading “noosphere”