Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: LEK-shuhn, noun Notes: I didn’t know the definition (but I did pronounced it correctly) Yesterday’s word The word coriaceous means “of, or like, leather; rough skinned” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word coriāceus (leathern – made of or resembling leather).Continue reading “lection”

Pronounced: core-ee-AY-shuhs, adj (the accented syllable is a long ‘a’ sound) Notes: I don’t think I’ve ever run across this word Yesterday’s word The word uberty means “abundance; fruitfulness” First usage The word goes way back to the early 1400s Background / Comments Pretty straightforward; our word comes the Latin word uber (rich; fruitful; abundant).Continue reading “coriaceous”

Pronounced: YOO-bur-tee, noun Notes: This is another word that looks like an initial letter is missing, but it is really its own word Yesterday’s word The word recondite means “dealing with, or related to, difficult, dense, or complex topics” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments I tend toContinue reading “uberty”

Pronounced: REK-uhn-dite (alt: rih-KON-dite), adj Notes: The word is familiar to me (meaning I’ve read it more than once), but I couldn’t define it Yesterday’s word The word ovine means “of, relating to, or resembling, sheep” First usage This word came into English in the late 1600s Background / Comments This word is ‘bovine’ withContinue reading “recondite”

Pronounced: OH-vine, adj Notes: Looks like “bovine” misspelled, but it isn’t Yesterday’s word The word logophile is “a lover of words” First usage Oddly enough, this word only seems to go back to the 1920s. Background / Comments I do love words (and learning), and that’s why I do this blog, even if it neverContinue reading “ovine”

Pronounced: LAW-guh-file (alt: LOG-uh-file), noun Notes: I originally looked at this word hastily and thought that it may be a lover of sawmills or logging… I should have paid closer attention; perhaps you know it? Yesterday’s word The word mythomania means “an abnormal tendency to exaggerate or lie” First usage This word came into EnglishContinue reading “logophile”

Pronounced: mith-uh-MAY-nee-uh, noun Notes: Parsing this word, I thought it was an obsession with myths, but that’s not it. Yesterday’s word The word saporific means “that which produces flavor or taste” First usage The word is relatively old – coming into English in the late 1600s Background / Comments Our word is only one letterContinue reading “mythomania”

Pronounced: sap-uh-RIFF-ick, adj Notes: It is very close in spelling to soporific, which is a different word Yesterday’s word The word kayfabe means “portrayal of staged events as real, especially in professional wrestling” First usage This word is a relatively recent word and came into English in the 1980s Background / Comments The origin ofContinue reading “saporific”

Pronounced: KAY-fayb, noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve every run across this word Yesterday’s word The word hortatory means “urging some course of positive action; encouraging” First usage The word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I confess that I’ve frequently mispronounced this word; I thought it was HOAR-uh-tore-ee, and IContinue reading “kayfabe”

Pronounced: HAWR-tuh-tawr-ee (alt: HAWR-tuh-tore-ee), adj Notes: I’ve been mis-pronouncing this word, and possible also misspelling it… I think I’ve been influenced by hearing others mis-pronounce it (see tomorrow’s comments) Yesterday’s word The word whataboutery is “the practice of responding to an accusation by making a counter-accusation, real or imaginary, relevant or irrelevant” First usage ThisContinue reading “hortatory”