Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: kuh-DOO-suh-tee, noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word Yesterday’s word The word aciniform means “shaped like a cluster of grapes” First usage This word came into English in the late 1700s Background / Comments Pretty straightforward… this word came from the Latin word acinus (grape, berry, seed).

Pronounced: uh-SIN-uh-form Notes: I would never have guessed this meaning (but you might if you know Latin) Yesterday’s word The word putative means commonly accepted or supposed assumed to exist of to have existed First usage This word has been around since the 1400s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word putatus,Continue reading “aciniform”

Pronounced: PYOO-tuh-tihv, adj Notes: I confused this word with punitive Yesterday’s word The word crackjaw means, as an adjective, “hard to pronounce”. As a noun, it refers to “a word or phrase that is hard to pronounce” First Usage This word has been around since the mid-1800s Background / Notes There are many ways toContinue reading “putative”

Pronounced: KRACK-jaw, adj/noun Notes: You might guess this word, and it has many synonyms Yesterday’s word The word egregious means “extraordinary in a bad way; conspicuously bad; flagrant” First Usage This word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I ran across this word in a comedy show (Yes,Continue reading “crackjaw”

Pronounced: ih-GREE-jus, adj Notes: I first ran across this in a comedy (see the Background / Comments in the next post) Yesterday’s word The word voluntourism is “tourism in which travelers do volunteer work” First usage This word is pretty recent; in came into English in the 1990s Background / Comments As you probably haveContinue reading “egregious”

Pronounced: vah-luhn-TOOR-ih-zuhm, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but you might be able to guess the definition Yesterday’s word The word epigone means “a follower; a disciple – also an inferior imitator” First usage This word came into English in the 1800s Background / Comments Well, I was distantly correct as to Greek origins.Continue reading “voluntourism”

Pronounced: EH-puh-goan, noun Notes: This looked Greek to me, but I couldn’t figure out the meaning Yesterday’s word The word hokum means nonsense Trite material introduced to evoke an emotional response from an audience First usage This word is just over 100 years old, coming into English in the 1910s Background / Comments I thoughtContinue reading “epigone”

Pronounced: HOE-kum, noun Notes: I wasn’t sure about this word; there are two meanings. Yesterday’s word The word claque is a group hired to applaud at a performance a group of servile flatterers First usage This word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word comes from French; the verb for “toContinue reading “hokum”

Pronounced: klak, noun Notes: I thought this may be related somehow to clique. Yesterday’s word The word squirl means “a flourish or curve, especially in handwriting” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments It is thought that this word is a blend of squiggle and twirl (maybe whirl). IContinue reading “claque”

Pronounced: skwuhrl, noun Notes: This is not a misspelling of squirrel, but it does sound similar Yesterday’s word The word desuetude means “discontinuance from use or exercise; disuse” First usage This word goes back to the mid-1400s Background / Notes Though similar in meaning to “disuse”, the origin of desuetude is quite different. It comesContinue reading “squirl”