Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: FRAN-juh-bull, adj Notes: I didn’t know this word when I first ran across it Yesterday’s word The word Ruritanian means “relating to an imaginary place characterized by romance, adventure, and intrigue”. First usage This word began to be used in the late 1800s Background / Comments The book The Prisoner of Zenda by AnthonyContinue reading “frangible”

Pronounced: roor-ih-TAY-nee-uhn, adj Notes: I recognized the source of the word, but didn’t get the meaning right Yesterday’s word The word polemic, as a noun, means “someone or something that is controversial”. As an adjective, it means “something that is controversial, argumentative, or contrarian”. The form polemical can be used as the adjectival form. FirstContinue reading “Ruritanian”

Pronounced: puh-LEM-ick (alternatively, poh-), noun, adj Notes: I wasn’t quite right on this word Yesterday’s word The word ecotopia means “an ecologically ideal place” First usage This word came into English in the 1970s Background / Comments This word came from the title of a novel by Ernest Callenbach – Ecotopia. In the book, thisContinue reading “polemic”

Pronounced: EE-koh-toe-pee-uh (alternatively, EK-oh-toe-pee-uh), noun Notes: I didn’t know the word, but it made sense later Yesterday’s word The word espy means “to see at a distance; catch sight of” First usage This word goes back to the late 1100s or early 1200s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I might have had theContinue reading “ecotopia”

Notes: If I had paid attention to the pronunciation, I would have known this word Pronounced: ih-SPY, verb Yesterday’s word The word ensiform means “shaped like a sword or a sword blade” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, this is a handy word toContinue reading “espy”

Pronounced: EN-suh-form, adj Notes: I wish I had known this word; it could be useful Yesterday’s word The word passel means “a group of individuals or objects of an unspecified number” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments The word is an alteration of the word “parcel”.

Pronounced: PASS-uhl, noun Notes: I think I’ve run across this word, but I could not define it Yesterday’s word The word ergophobia means “an abnormal fear or aversion to work” First usage This word goes back to the early 1900s Background / Comments This word comes from Greek words; you probably recognized phobia (fear). TheContinue reading “passel”

Pronounced: er-guh-FOE-bee-uh, noun Notes: When I ran across this word, I didn’t know what it meant, but I’ve learned it now Yesterday’s word The word apatetic means “having colors and forms like camoflage” First usage This word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments The word comes from a Greek word, apatētikosContinue reading “ergophobia”

Pronounced: ap-uh-TET-ick, adj Notes: Another interesting word that I’ve not heard before Yesterday’s word The word robustious means strong and sturdy boisterous coarse or crude First usage This word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I knew the first meaning, because I could see, as you probably could also, “robust” in theContinue reading “apatetic”

Pronounced: roh-BUS-chuhs Notes: I knew one of the meanings, but not the others Yesterday’s word The word parapraxis, as I noted yesterday, means a Freudian slip; technically, “a slip of the tongue or pen that otherwise reveals true motivation”. First usage Our word is a relatively late one, coming into English in the 1930s BackgroundContinue reading “robustious”