Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: ah-HAWK-ruh-see, noun Notes: You might get close to the meaning… my reference shows two definitions, one more positive than the other Yesterday’s word The word argot means “an often more or less secret vocabulary and idiom peculiar to a particular group” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / CommentsContinue reading “adhocracy”

Pronounced: AR-guht, noun Notes: I have a vague memory that I’ve run across this word somewhere, but it didn’t help me with the definition Yesterday’s word The word arctophile is “someone who is very fond of teddy bears or collects them” First usage This word showed up in the 1970s Background / Comments The wordContinue reading “argot”

Pronounced: ARK-tuh-file, noun Notes: I thought that maybe this was someone who liked the cold (but no) Yesterday’s word The word bouquiniste is “a dealer in secondhand books” First usage The word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments This word is French, and was created in French in the mid-1700s to describeContinue reading “arctophile”

Pronounced: boo-kee-NEEST, noun Notes: Fancy word for something Yesterday’s word The word pinetum means “an arboretum of coniferous trees (such as pines)” First usage The word came into usage in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Where I grew up, we didn’t have an arboretum, but there was one area in which pine trees grew. MyContinue reading “bouquiniste”

Pronounced: pie-NEE-tuhm, noun Notes: Your guess may be right Yesterday’s word The word autochthonous means indigenous, native formed or originating in the place where found First usage This word showed up in the late 1700s Background / Comments Our word in usually used in scientific and academic writings these days. In ancient Athens, their wordContinue reading “pinetum”

Pronounced: aw-TAHK-thuh-nuhs, adj Notes: I’ve run into this word someplace, but I couldn’t define it Yesterday’s word The word Hobbesian means of or relating to Thomas Hobbes or his ideas grim, selfish, unrestrained, etc First usage This word came into usage in the late 1700s Background / Comments This word was named after English philosopherContinue reading “autochthonous”

Pronounced: HOB-zee-uhn, adj Notes: I associated this word with the Hobbes of Calvin and Hobbes and couldn’t come up with a definition (that’s because I was wrong) Yesterday’s word The word chiropteran means “bat (any of an order of night-flying mammals with forelimbs modified to form wings)” First usage This word came into English inContinue reading “Hobbesian”

Pronounced: kigh-ROP-tuh-ruhn, noun Notes: I should have known this word Yesterday’s word The word marivaudage means an affected writing style banter, especially of a flirtatious nature First usage The first usage comes goes back to the mid-1700s Background / Comments This word was named after a French novelist – Pierre de Marivau. He was knownContinue reading “chiropteran”

Pronounced: mar-uh-VOH-dazh, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but it isn’t one I think I used much Yesterday’s word The word deracinate means to uproot to remove or separate from a native environment or culture to remove the racial of ethnic characteristics or influences from First usage This word came into English in theContinue reading “marivaudage”

Pronounced: dee-RA-suh-nate, adj Notes: Fancy word for something more common Yesterday’s word The word ectogenous means “able to survive outside a host (as some bacteria and other parasites do)” First usage This word come into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments Another Greek word, from ecto- (outside) and -genous (producing)