Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: GROUND-ling, noun Notes: I don’t remember running across this word Yesterday’s word The word hypogeusia is “a diminished sense of taste” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments Our word came from the Greek words hypo- (under) and geusia (taste).

Pronounced: high-puh-GOO-zee-uh (alt1: high-puh-GYOO-zee-uh;alt2: high-puh-GOO-zhee-uh; alt3: high-puh-GYOO-zhee-uh; alt4: high-puh-GOO-zhuh; alt5: high-puh-GYOO-zhuh), noun Notes: Lots of variant pronunciations, but I didn’t know the word Yesterday’s word The word hamartia is “a tragic flaw that brings down a hero” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments I happen to knowContinue reading “hypogeusia”

Pronounced: hah-mahr-TEE-uh, noun Notes: This word was interesting to me Yesterday’s word The word agathokakological means “made up of both good and evil” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I didn’t have any idea of the meaning; however, after I read the definition, IContinue reading “hamartia”

Pronounced: ag-uh-thuh-kak-uh-LAHJ-uh-kuhl Notes: I originally had no idea of the meaning of the word, but afterwards, it made sense to me Yesterday’s word The word intercalate means to insert (something) in a calendar to insert between or among existing elements or layers First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background /Continue reading “agathokakological”

Pronounced: in-TUHR-kuh-late, verb Notes: Interesting word Yesterday’s word The word woodshed, as a noun, is a place for storing firewood a place for administering punishment a place for intensive practice, especially music practice As a verb, it means to practice diligently, especially on a musical instrument to punish or reprimand to coach a witness beforeContinue reading “intercalate”

Pronounced: WOOD-shed, noun/verb Notes: I could name only a few of the definitions Yesterday’s word The word bolide is “a large meteor; especially on that explodes; fireball” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments A meteor that trails sparks can be called a bolide. Our word came from theContinue reading “woodshed”

Pronounced: BOH-lide, noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word Yesterday’s word The word yarborough (sometimes spelled Yarborough) is “a weak hand in a card name; especially one in which no card is higher than a nine” First usage Our word came into English in the 1900s (1900-1910) Background / Comments Our wordContinue reading “bolide”

Pronounced: YAHR-bur-oh (alt: YAHR-bur-uh), noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but some of you may Yesterday’s word The word scarify means to make scratches of small cuts in (something, like skin, a road surface, or the wall of a seed) to lacerate the feelings of First usage Our word came into English in theContinue reading “yarborough”

Pronounced: SKER-uh-fie, verb Notes: Not related to “scare” (which is what I thought) Yesterday’s word The word Laputan means “absurdly fanciful or impractical” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments If you have read Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, published in 1726, you may know our word: it comesContinue reading “scarify”

Pronounced: luh-PYOOT-n, adj Notes: I didn’t know this word, but it made me think of another word, whose origin is the same as this word (quite odd, eh?) Yesterday’s word The word tontine is “a joint financial arrangement whereby the participants contribute equally to a prize that is awarded entirely to the particpant who survivesContinue reading “Laputan”