Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: dih-TUHRG, verb Notes: You probably know this word, but I didn’t know it existed Yesterday’s word The word pilose means “covered with soft hairs or fur” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments As I wrote yesterday, our word rings a faint bell, so I think I’ve runContinue reading “deterge”

Pronounced: PIE-lohss, adj Notes: After reading the meaning, I think I’ve run across this word somewhere, but I wasn’t able to recall the meaning – do you know it? Yesterday’s word The word trangam means “a trinket, puzzle, or odd gadget” First usage This word goes back a long way; it came into English inContinue reading “pilose”

Pronounced: TRANG-uhm, noun Notes: I have several of these at home (you may, too), but I didn’t know this word Yesterday’s word The word sectile means “capable of being cut smoothly with a knife” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1700s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, this word isContinue reading “trangam”

Pronounced: SEK-till, adj Notes: Another useful word, but I was unaware of it Yesterday’s word The word parergon means an accessory, embellishment, or byproduct of a main work subsidiary work undertaken in addition to one’s main employment First usage Our word goes back a long way to the early 1600s Background / Comments In theContinue reading “sectile”

Notes: I didn’t know this word, but it is useful Pronounced: pa-RUHR-gahn, noun Yesterday’s word The word boondoggle means work of little or no value done to keep or look busy a “make work” project, often based on favoritism First usage This word came into English in the 1930s Background / Comments It is knownContinue reading “parergon”

Pronounced: BOON-dog-uhl (alt: BOON-daw-guhl), noun Notes: While I’ve heard this word used, I wasn’t sure of the precise definition Yesterday’s word The word spread-eagle means, as a noun, “an emblematic representation of an eagle with outspread wings”. As a verb, it means to position someone with arms and legs stretched out to assume the formContinue reading “boondoggle”

Pronounced: [like it looks], noun/verb/adj Notes: I knew some of the definitions, but not all of them, so it’s here Yesterday’s word The word Parnassian means of, or related to, poetry related to Mount Parnassus First usage This word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments Parnassus (Mount Parnassus) is a mountains rangeContinue reading “spread-eagle”

Pronounced: par-NAS-ee-uhn, adj Notes: This word has an interesting meaning Yesterday’s word The word blackbird, besides the noun meaning a bird with black plumage, means (as a noun) “an indentured laborer or slave kidnapped from the South Pacific”. As a verb, it means “to engage in slave trade” or “to kidnap a person to workContinue reading “Parnassian”

Pronounced: just like it looks, noun/verb Notes: I think most of us know the bird called a blackbird, but there is another definition as a noun. In addition, did you know that this word was a verb? Yesterday’s word The word tumescent means “pompous and pretentious, especially in one’s speech; filled with ideas; teeming” FirstContinue reading “blackbird”

Pronounced: too-MESS-uhnt (alt: tyoo-MESS-uhnt), adj Notes: An interesting, useful word Yesterday’s phrase The phrase chicken hawk not only refers to various hawks that are believed to prey upon chickens, but also is “a person who favors military action, yet has avoided military service” First usage Our phrase came into being the the mid-1800s Background /Continue reading “tumescent”