Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: coin (alt: kwoin), noun Notes: This is a pretty short word to contain neither an ‘a’ or an ‘e’. Yesterday’s word The word bourgeois, as a noun means a member of the middle class one who exhibits behavior in conformity to the conventions of the middle class a member of the capitalist class (inContinue reading “quoin”

Pronounced: boor-ZHWAH (alt: BOOT-zhwah), noun/adj Notes: You may think you know this word, but it has some definitions that I had to examine again. Interesting note: the plural has the same spelling and pronunciation Yesterday’s word The word aleatory means “of, or relating to, accidental change, good luck, or happenstance occurrences; unpredictable” First usage ThisContinue reading “bourgeois”

Pronounced: AY-lee-uh-tawr-ee (alt 1: AY-lee-uh-tore-ee; alt 2: AL-ee-uh-tawr-ee; alt 3: AL-ee-uh-tore-ee) Notes: Lots of ways to pronounce this word; I didn’t know the meaning Yesterday’s phrase The phrase tour de force means “a feat of strength, skill, or ingenuity: an exceptional performance or achievement” First usage The phrase came into English in the early 1800sContinue reading “aleatory”

Pronounced: tour duh FORS, noun Notes: The plural is tours de force. You may know this phrase Yesterday’s word The word cavil means, as a verb, “to raise irritating, inconsequential, or bogus objections”. As a noun, it refers to those type of objections. First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background /Continue reading “tour de force”

Pronounced: KAV-uhl, verb/noun Notes: I’ve definitely run across this word, but had the wrong idea (probably from the context) Yesterday’s word The word gesamtkunstwerk is “a word of art that makes use of many different art forms” First usage This word came into English in the 1930s Background / Comments As you no doubt know,Continue reading “cavil”

Pronounced: guh-ZAHMT-koonst-vuhrk Notes: Pretty obvious origin, but I only recognized part of this word Yesterday’s word The word spang means “directly or exactly on target” First usage This word came into usage in the mid-1800s Background / Comments I remember reading this word, but I’m not sure where. I think it was an English novel;Continue reading “gesamtkunstwerk”

Pronounced: spang, adv Notes: I don’t often hear this word; most people use an alternative Yesterday’s word The word krummholz means “stunted trees near the timber line on a mountain” First usage This word came into English in the 1900s (by which I mean 1900-1909) Background / Comments Another word of German origin; it isContinue reading “spang”

Pronounced: KROOM-holts, noun Notes: I’ve seen these, but didn’t know the name for it Yesterday’s word The word eolian means “of, caused, affected, or related to, wind” First usage The word showed up in English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word has an alternate spelling (aeolian), which is a clue to itsContinue reading “krummholz”

Pronounced: ee-OH-lee-uhn, adj Notes: Another new word for me Yesterday’s word The word gesellschaft means “social relations based on impersonal ties, such as obligations to an institution or society” First usage This word came about in the 1960s Background / Comments Our word comes from the German word Gesellschaft (society; company; party), which is madeContinue reading “eolian”

Pronounced: guh-ZEL-shaft, noun Notes: There is a tie-in with Sherlock Holmes (who knows it?); I missed the tie-in at first, but even had I remembered it immediately, it wouldn’t have helped me with the meaning Yesterday’s word The word melliferous means “of, or relating to, that which gives or produces honey” First usage The wordContinue reading “gesellschaft”