Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: suh-FROZE-uh-nee, noun Notes: Strange pronunciation for a word I didn’t know Yesterday’s word The word palliate means to cover by excuses and apologies to moderate the intensity of First usage This word traces back to the 1400s Background / Comments We go back to Roman times for this word. The Romans had a cloakContinue reading “sophrosyne”

Pronounced: PAH-lee-ate, verb Notes: I’ve run across this word in reading Yesterday’s phrase The phrase black dog means “depression” First usage This word showed up (with this meaning) in the mid-1600s Background / Notes As you might expect, this word was originally used for a canine of dark complexion. People started using the expression forContinue reading “palliate”

Pronounced: as it sounds, noun Notes: Even if you know the word, it has an interesting history Yesterday’s word The word antonomasia means “the use of a proper name to designate a member of a class; also: the use of an epithet or title in place of a proper name First usage This word hasContinue reading “black dog”

Pronounced: an-tuh-no-MAY-zhuh (alt: an-tun-no-MAY-zhee-uh), noun Notes: A good word to know; this kind of thing is relatively common Yesterday’s word The word gobemouche is “a gullible or credulous person” First usage This word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments The word comes from French gobe-mouche (flycatcher, sucker), from gober (to suckContinue reading “antonomasia”

Pronounced: GOB-moosh, noun Notes: I don’t remember ever running across this word Yesterday’s word The word commove means to move violently; agitate to rouse intense feeling in; excite to passion First usage This word goes back to the 1300s Background / Comments This is a rare word; Samuel Johnson declared the word “not in use”;Continue reading “gobemouche”

Pronounced: kuh-MOVE, verb Notes: I could not guess the meaning of this word Yesterday’s word The word ikistics means “the study of human settlements, drawing on such disciplines as city planning, architecture, sociology, etc.” First usage The word goes back to the 1960s Background / Comments The word was coined by Constantinos A Doxiadis, GreekContinue reading “commove”

Pronounced: ih-KISS-tiks, noun Notes: Not much to say; not a word I knew Yesterday’s word The word kittel is “a white cotton or linen robe worm by Orthodox Jews on holidays such as Rosh Hashanah and also used as a burial shroud” First usage I couldn’t find information about when this word first showed upContinue reading “ekistics”

Pronounced: KIH-tuhl, noun Notes: I think I should have known this word; it may be familiar to some readers Yesterday’s word The word booboisie means “ignorant or uncultured people regarded as a class” First usage This word goes back to the 1920s Background / Comments The word was coined by H. L. Mencken. It isContinue reading “kittel”

Pronounced: boo-bwa-ZEE, noun Notes: Hopefully, we don’t have to use this word too often Yesterday’s word The word infrangible means not capable of being broken or separated into parts not to be infringed or violated First usage This word appeared in English in the 1500s Background / Comments The word came to English from MiddleContinue reading “booboisie”

Pronounced: in-FRAN-juh-buhl, adj Notes: I recognize “in” as a negation, so “not frangible” — whatever that is Yesterday’s word The word adhocracy means a flexible, adaptable organization that lacks a formal structure an organization characterized by lack of planning, responding to problems as they emerge rather than anticipating and avoiding them First usage A relativelyContinue reading “infrangible”