Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: STRAYT-n, verb Notes: I’ve run across this word and thought it was merely an old-fashioned spelling of “straighten” – but it is not Yesterday’s word The word sciolism means “a superficial show of learning” First usage This word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments The word comes from Late LatinContinue reading “straiten”

Pronounced: SIGH-uh-lih-zuhm, noun Notes: I wish I had known this word; I could have used it a few times in the course of my career Yesterday’s word The word elutriate means “to purify or separate, especially by washing or straining” First usage This came into usage in the mid-1700s Background / Comments It comes fromContinue reading “sciolism”

Pronounced: ih-LOO-tree-ate, verb (first syllable can also be ‘ee-‘ or ‘uh-‘) Notes: It looks a bit like elucidate, but that’s not the meaning Yesterday’s word The word lief means “soon, gladly” First usage The word first appeared in the 1200s Background / Comments The word was lēof in Old English, and started in Bewulf asContinue reading “elutriate”

Pronounced: leef, adv Notes: We don’t often get adverbs listed! Yesterday’s word The word emolument means “payment, salary, or fees from an office or employment” First usage This word goes back to the late 1400s Background / Comments I think I’ve read this word in the US Constitution. It comes from Latin emolumentum (profit, advantage),Continue reading “lief”

Pronounced: ih-MOLL-yuh-muhnt, noun Notes: This is a word I’ve run across in reading, but never looked up, so I wasn’t sure what it meant Yesterday’s word The word tare means “a deduction from the gross weight of a substance made in allowance for the weight of the container; also, the weight of the container FirstContinue reading “emolument”

Pronounced: tehr, noun Notes: Sounds like “tear” (a rip) to me. I’ve run across this word, and kind of knew the meaning from the association, but not fully, and I didn’t know the background. Yesterday’s word The word circumvallate means “to surround by a defensive structure, such a a rampart” First usage This word cameContinue reading “tare”

Pronounced: sir-kuhm-VAL-ate, verb Notes: Well, I knew part of the word, but not the whole thing Yesterday’s word The word amaranthine means of or relating to an amaranth (ANNOYING definition!!) not fading or dying: immortal being dark reddish purple First usage This word showed up in the mid-1600s Background / Comments I don’t like itContinue reading “circumvallate”

Pronounced: a-muh-RAN(T)-thuhn, adj Notes: Quite a mouthful, with one particularly annoying definition Yesterday’s word The word malfeasance is probably well known; the meaning is “an illegal action, especially by a public official”. First usage It’s not new; it goes back to the mid-1600s Background / Comments The word comes from Anglo-Norman malfaisance (wrongdoing), which inContinue reading “amaranthine”

Pronounced: mal-FEE-zuhns, noun Notes: I was pretty close with this one, but I decided to add it to write about the similar-looking words “misfeasance” and “nonfeasance” Yesterday’s word The word carrefour means crossroads square, plaza First usage This word came into English in the 1400s Background / Comments Even though we see the word ‘four’Continue reading “malfeasance”

Pronounced: kah-ruh-FOUR, noun Notes: I couldn’t even begin to guess at the meaning of this word Yesterday’s word The word inscape refers to “the unique essence of a person, place, or thing (especially as expressed in a word of art such as a poem)” First usage The word came into being in the mid-1800s. BackgroundContinue reading “carrefour”