Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: soo-PURR-buh-tee, noun Notes: I don’t remember running across this word Yesterday’s word The word effloresce means “to burst into bloom; to blossom, or become covered in flowers” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments Our word came from the Latin word efflōrēscere (to blossom out), which is madeContinue reading “superbity”

Pronounced: ef-luh-RESS, verb Notes: Another word you may be able to guess Yesterday’s word The word analphabetic, as a noun, means “an illiterate person”. As an adjective, it can mean “illiterate” or “not alphabetical” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments Not a hard word to get, ifContinue reading “effloresce”

Pronounced: an-al-fuh-BET-ick, adj/noun Notes: You may be able to figure this one out Yesterday’s word The word caprine means “of, or pertaining to, goats” First usage Our word comes from the late 1300s or early 1400s Background / Comments Our word came from late Middle English, which came from the Latin word caprinous, which comesContinue reading “analphabetic”

Pronounced: KAP-rine (alt: KAP-rin), adj Notes: You may know this word, but I didn’t Yesterday’s word The word uliginous means “swampy; slimy; slippery” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I don’t think I’ve every run across this word, but it does look (at a quick glance) asContinue reading “caprine”

Pronounced: you-LIJ-uh-nuss, adj Notes: This word looks like it is related to “ugly” (but it does not) Yesterday’s phrase The phrase ad hominem means “that which appeals to one’s prejudices or emotions rather than to one’s intellect or reason” First usage The definition above came into English in the late 1500s (see comments below). BackgroundContinue reading “uliginous”

Pronounced: ad HOM-uh-nuhm (alt: ahd HOM-uh-nuhm), adj Notes: I’ve run across this phrase, but I have misunderstood us Yesterday’s word The word lodestar means “someone or something that serves as a guiding principle, model, inspiration, ambition, etc.” First usage This word came into English in the later 1300s Background / Comments Our word comes fromContinue reading “ad hominem”

Pronounced: LOAD-star, noun Notes: I’ve heard this word, but realized I could not define it very accurately Yesterday’s word The word grabble means “to feel and search for something with the hands; to grope; to scramble” First usage This word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I thought our word wasContinue reading “lodestar”

Pronounced: GRAB-uhl, verb Notes: I was rather fuzzy on the definition of this word Yesterday’s word The word adolesce means “to reach of pass through adolescence” First usage In what was a surprise to me, this word goes back to the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word, a verb, is a back-formation from the nounContinue reading “grabble”

Pronounced: ad-uh-LESS, verb Notes: You may be able to guess the meaning, but I didn’t know this word Yesterday’s word The word adret means “the side of a mountain that receives direct sunlight” First usage The word came into English in the 1930s Background / Comments I don’t do much mountain climbing (okay, none atContinue reading “adolesce”