Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: OR-uh-tund, adj Notes: I just see “rotund” in this word, and that’s not the meaning Yesterday’s word The word tantivy means, as an adverb, “at full gallop”. As an adjective it means “swift or rapid”. As a noun, it means “a gallop or rush” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600sContinue reading “orotund”

Pronounced: tan-TIV-ee, adv/adj/noun Notes: A certain group of people probably know this word Yesterday’s word The word bobbery means “squabble; commotion; confusion” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments Our word has a Hindi background: it is a corruption of the phrase bap re, from bap (father) andContinue reading “tantivy”

Pronounced: BOB-uh-ree, noun Notes: I’ve not run across this word Yesterday’s word The word escutcheon is First usage Our word came into English in the late 1400s Background / Comments Our word came from the Old North French word escuchon, which came from the Latin word scūtum (shield). I mentioned yesterday that this word wasContinue reading “bobbery”

Pronounced: ih-SKOOCH-uhn, noun Notes: This word is vaguely familiar to me, but I could not define it Yesterday’s word The word camorra means “a secret group united for unscrupulous purposes” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments The only place I remember running across this word is in theContinue reading “escutcheon”

Pronounced: kuh-MORE-uh, noun Notes: I have run across this word, but I didn’t know the proper definition Yesterday’s word The word accidence means “the rudiments or essentials of a subject” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1500s Background / Comments I would have guessed that this word was close to accident,Continue reading “camorra”

Pronounced: ACK-sih-duhns, noun Notes: Not at all what I thought Yesterday’s word The word pronunciamento means “an official or authoritarian announcement” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word is from the Spanish (duh!) word pronunciamento (pronouncement; military uprising); this word came from the verb pronunciar (to announce),Continue reading “accidence”

Pronounced: pro-nun-see-uh-MEN-toe, noun Notes: You can probably guess at the meaning of this word (I didn’t know this was a word) Yesterday’s word The word nidificate means “to build a nest” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments Our word came from the Latin word nīdificātus, the pastContinue reading “pronunciamento”

Pronounced: NID-uh-fih-kate, verb Notes: A useful word to know Yesterday’s word The word hegira means “a journey or migration, especially when taken to escape an undesirable situation” First usage This word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments This word came from the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622Continue reading “nidificate”

Pronounced: hih-JIGH-ruh (alt: HEJ-uhr-uh), noun Notes: This is a new word to me Yesterday’s word The word votive means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I have heard of a “votive candle”, but I always thought that merely meant a small candle; I was not aware thatContinue reading “hegira”

Pronounced: VOE-tihv, adj Notes: I’ve heard this word, but I didn’t know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word satori is “sudden enlightenment or intuitive understanding” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments When I first saw this word, I thought of the word sartorial, and thought it was related.Continue reading “votive”