Author Archives: Richard

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”

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”