Author Archives: Richard

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”

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”