Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: nar Notes: Also spelled gnarr. Another word I’ve no run across Yesterday’s word The word subrogate means First usage The second definition above was the first meaning in the first half of the 1400s; the first meaning comes from the mid-1500s. Background / Comments I think I confused our word with subjugate (to bringContinue reading “gnar”

Pronounced: SUB-ruh-gate, verb Notes: This word has a much more common synonym Yesterday’s word The word puissant means “potent” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments Our word sounds a lot more run to use that ‘potent’. If you think it looks French, you are correct: it came intoContinue reading “subrogate”

Pronounced: PWIS-uhnt (alt: PYOO-uh-suhnt), adj Notes: Not what I thought Yesterday’s word The word cicerone means “a person who conducts sightseers; a guide” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments This is an Italian word. Because it has Italian background, the proper plural is ciceroni (just like the properContinue reading “puissant”

Pronounced: sis-uh-ROE-nee (alt: chich-uh-ROE-nee), noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word anywhere Yesterday’s word The word inhere means “to belong to something by its very nature; to be an inseparable part of something” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I didn’t know that this verbContinue reading “cicerone”

Pronounced: in-HERE, verb Notes: You might be able to guess this one, even if you don’t know it Yesterday’s word The word viridescent means “slightly green; greenish” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments If you take off the ‘v’, you get iridescent, which means something that shows varied,Continue reading “inhere”

Pronounced: vir-ih-DESS-uhnt, adj Notes: Another strike for the poor quality control on this entry; it was clearly an adjective from the definition, but was listed as a noun. Yesterday’s word The word spavined means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments This is one of the word in whichContinue reading “viridescent”

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”