Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: bell-es-PREE, noun Notes: Another word I don’t know (but a good one) Yesterday’s word The word ecdysis is “the shedding of an outer layer; molting” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word came from the Greek word ekdysis, which is from ekdyein (to take off), whichContinue reading “bel-esprit”

Pronounced: EK-duh-sis, noun Notes: I’m pretty sure I have run across this word, but I could not recall the definition Yesterday’s word The word meliorism means “the belief that the world can be made better and improved by concentrated effort and diligent work” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background /Continue reading “ecdysis”

Pronounced: MEAL-yuh-riz-uhm (alt: MEE-lee-uh-riz-uhm), noun Notes: Nice word, but I didn’t know it Yesterday’s word The word earwig means, as a noun, “any of various insects of the order Dermaptera, having a pair of pincers at the rear of the abdomen”. As a verb, it means to influence or bias a person by insinuations toContinue reading “meliorism”

Pronounced: EAR-wig, noun/verb Notes: I had a faint idea of the meaning of the noun form, but no clue concerning the verb form Yesterday’s word The word xyst means “a garden walkway planted and bordered with trees” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments Our word comes from theContinue reading “earwig”

Pronounced: zist, noun Notes: This looks like a pretty good scrabble word! Yesterday’s word The word miscible means “capable of being mixed together” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word miscere (to mix). As I noted yesterday, this word is one I’veContinue reading “xyst”

Pronounced: MIS-uh-bull, adj Notes: This is a word I learned from my vocabulary sources. I didn’t know it when I first encountered it, but I’ve learned it. It was marginal as to whether or not to post it, but since I didn’t originally know it, I decided to go ahead and post it. Yesterday’s wordContinue reading “miscible”

Pronounced: NO-mist, noun Notes: Nothing to do with gnomes, at least by the definition Yesterday’s word The word bromidic means “commonplace; trite” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1900s Background / Comments Another great word to sprinkle (or “sparge” [heh, see yesterday’s comments]) into my conversation. Our word comes from theContinue reading “gnomist”

Pronounced: broh-MID-ick, adj Notes: Another useful word to learn Yesterday’s word The word sparge means, as a verb, “to scatter or sprinkle”. As a noun, it means “a sprinkling” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments Our word is a nice alternative to sprinkle; I hope I remember toContinue reading “bromidic”

Pronounced: spahrj, verb/noun Notes: I may have heard this word, but I don’t have a recollection of it Yesterday’s word The word appetence means “a strong desire or inclination” First usage This word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word is a good one to know; there is an oldContinue reading “sparge”

Pronounced: AP-ih-tuhns, noun Notes: I don’t know this word, but it is a good word to know Yesterday’s word The word crapulous means “characterized by excess eating or drinking” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments The word comes from the Late Latin word crāpulōsos (inclined to drunkenness). WhoContinue reading “appetence”