Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: in-TER-stuhs, noun Notes: I know a related word, and was close (but not quite right) with the definition Yesterday’s word The word virilocal means “relating to the custom of living with the family of the husband” Background / Comments As I said yesterday, I had no idea that there was a word for thisContinue reading “interstice”

Pronounced: vir-ih-LOCK-uhl, adj Notes: I didn’t know that there was a word for this Yesterday’s word The word pandect means a complete code of the laws of a country or system of law a treatise covering an entire subject Background / Comments The original pandect was the Pandectae, a 50-volume digest of Roman civil lawContinue reading “virilocal”

Pronounced: PAN-dekt, noun Notes: I had no idea of the meaning of this word Yesterday’s word The word cynophobia means “fear of dogs” Background / Comments The word comes from Greek — from the words kyon (dog) and -phobia (fear). First usage This word came into use in the late 1800s

Pronounced: sigh-nuh-FOE-bee-uh, noun Notes: Clearly, a fear (phobia) of some kind… Yesterday’s word The word corvine means “of or relating to the crows : resembling a crow” Background / Comments The word comes from Latin corvinus, which comes from corvus (raven). Interestingly, “raven” doesn’t come from this, but from Old English hrœfn, which is relatedContinue reading “cynophobia”

Pronounced: KORE-vine, adj Notes: I didn’t know this word existed Yesterday’s word The word plummy can mean of or relating to plums choice; desirable rich and mellow (voice) carefully articulated and affected accent; thought typical of the English upper class Background / Comments I assume most people know the first meaning, and several know theContinue reading “corvine”

Pronounced: PLUM-ee, adj Notes: This word had four definitions; I knew two of them. How many can you think of? Yesterday’s word The solidus is the forward slash symbol (‘/’) used to mean “or” (as in his/her) or “and or” (straggler/deserter) or “per” (feet/second). Background / Comments The word I use informally for this symbolContinue reading “plummy”

Pronounced: SAH-luh-duhs, noun Notes: This is a fancy word for something; I know a different fancy word for it, but not this one Yesterday’s word The word contund means “to thrash or bruise” Background / Comments I should have seen the similarity to contusion and been able to guess at the meaning. Our word comesContinue reading “solidus”

Pronounced: kuhn-TUHND, verb Notes: This is another case of a word that I didn’t have any idea of the meaning, but after looking at the definition, I should have been able to figure it out. Yesterday’s word The word pukka means “geniune, authentic; also first-class” Background / Comments If this word evokes mental pictures ofContinue reading “contund”

Pronounced: PUH-kuh, adj Notes: I’ve run across this word in reading, and had an idea of the meaning, but I also found the background interesting. Do you know the meaning? Yesterday’s word The word subduct means “to push or move below something” Background / Comments The word comes from Latin subducere (to draw up, withdraw,Continue reading “pukka”

Pronounced: suhb-DUCT, verb Notes: I found it hard to define this word Yesterday’s word The word logy means “marked by sluggishness and lack of vitality; groggy” Background / Comments The origins of logy (sometimes spelled loggy) are uncertain (but it is NOT related to “groggy” except in meaning). It is thought to come from theContinue reading “subduct”