Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: DEE-zuhl, adv Notes: A homonym of diesel, but not related at all, as far as I can tell Yesterday’s word The word scapegrace is “an incorrigible rascal” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments I think the most common word beginning “scape-” is “scapegoat”, which is someone whoContinue reading “deasil”

Pronounced: SKAPE-grace, noun Notes: I think I’ve run across this word in reading, but the origin was interesting enough to be included Yesterday’s word The word tantivy means, as an adverb “at full gallop; at full speed”. As a noun, it means “a fast gallop; rush”. As an adjective, it means “swift”. Finally, as anContinue reading “scapegrace”

Pronounced: tan-TIHV-ee, adv/noun/adj/interjection Notes: Wow! A lot of parts of speech, and I didn’t know any of them Yesterday’s word The word ahimsa is “the Hindu and Buddhist doctrine of refraining from harming any living being” First usage This word came into English in the late 1800s (but see below, too) Background / Comments AlthoughContinue reading “tantivy”

Pronounced: uh-HIM-sah, noun Notes: Like so many words here, this is another word that I didn’t know (and I couldn’t even guess at what it might mean) Yesterday’s word The word hyperborean, as a noun, means “an inhabitant of the extreme north”. As an adjective, it means “relating to the extreme north” or “very cold”.Continue reading “ahimsa”

Pronounced: high-purr-BORE-ee-uhn, noun/adj Notes: Trees; I was thinking something related to trees (but I was wrong) Yesterday’s word The word festinate means “hasty” First usage As far as we can tell (see below), this goes back to the late 1500s or early 1600s Background / Comments This word first appeared in Shakespeare’s King Lear. TheContinue reading “hyperborean”

Pronounced: FESS-tuh-nate, adj Notes: Another interesting word that I didn’t know Yesterday’s word The word gerent means “a ruler or manager” First usage The word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word gerent, which is the present participle of gerere (to manage). As I notedContinue reading “festinate”

Pronounced: JIR-ent, noun Notes: A good word to know; I’m not sure why it’s not used more (I didn’t know it) Yesterday’s word The word propinquity means nearness of blood; kinship nearness in place of time; proximity First usage Our word goes back to the 1300s Background / Comments An interesting background: the Latin rootContinue reading “gerent”

Pronounced: pruh-PING-kwuh-tee, noun Notes: This word always throws me off, because I incorrectly see the word “iniquity” and think that this word has to do with wickedness Yesterday’s word The word benthos is “organisms that live at the bottom of a body of water” First usage This word came into English in the late 1800sContinue reading “propinquity”

Pronounced: BEN-thoss, noun Notes: Not a word I know, or could even guess at Yesterday’s word The word moue is “a little grimace; pout” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Anglo-French word mouwe and has a distant relationship to a Middle Dutch wordContinue reading “benthos”

Pronounced: moo, noun Notes: As is common here, this is another word I don’t know Yesterday’s word The word molochize means “to sacrifice” First usage This word goes back to the mid-1800s Background / Comments Bible knowledge has lessened in recent decades; congratulations if you recognized the Canaanite god “Moloch” from the Bible. In orderContinue reading “moue”