Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: PLUN-der-bund, noun Notes: Some people may be able to make a good guess at this word Yesterday’s word The word invigilate means “to keep watch : supervise, monitor” Background / Comments This word has a Latin root : vigilare (to stay awake); the same root gave us vigilant. Oddly enough, another descendant is reveille.Continue reading “plunderbund”

Pronounced: in-VIH-juh-late, verb Notes: I thought maybe it was related to vigilante (but no) Yesterday’s word The word orexigenic means “stimulating the appetite” Background / Comments The word comes from Greek: orexis (longing) and -genic (producing). This seems like a handy word to know. First usage This word isn’t that old; it showed up inContinue reading “invigilate”

Pronounced: uh-rek-suh-JEN-ik, adj Notes: I saw “rex” in the word and thought it may have to do with kings or royalty (I was wrong; besides, this word does not come from Latin) Yesterday’s word The word pridian means “of or relating to a previous day or to yesterday; also: former”. Background / Comments For suchContinue reading “orexigenic”

Pronounced: PRIH-dee-uhn, adj Notes: This word is seldom used, which is a shame as it’s a useful word Yesterday’s word The word spitfire refers to “someone high-spirited, quick-tempered, and outspoken” Background / Comments This word came from the combination of spit and fire. First usage This word showed up in the early 1600s Rejected wordContinue reading “pridian”

Pronounced: SPIT-fire, noun Notes: This word is lowercase, and thus NOT the British fighter aircraft associated with World War II (actually, it existed before the war, and remained in use afterwards). Anyway, that is not this word. Yesterday’s word The word haptic means relating to or based on the sense of touch characterized by aContinue reading “spitfire”

Pronounced: HAP-tik, adj Notes: I didn’t know this word when I first ran across it, but I think I’ve run across it since Yesterday’s word The word gage has quite a variety of origins (and thus meanings): As a verb, “to offer something as a guarantee of good faith”. As a noun, is “a pledge;Continue reading “haptic”

Pronounced: gayj, noun/verb Notes: This is another word that has multiple origins and meanings. One of the meanings I didn’t know that I knew (more tomorrow). Yesterday’s word The word retronym means “a term consisting of a noun and a modifier which specifies the original meaning of the noun”. For example, in the pre-digital days,Continue reading “gage”

Pronounced: REH-troh-nim, noun Notes: This is a fairly modern word to describe a relatively modern situation Yesterday’s word The word rummy means, as a noun, “any of various card games in which the objective is to make sets or sequences of three or more cards”. As an adjective, it can mean a drunkard odd orContinue reading “retronym”

Pronounced: RUH-me, adj/noun Notes: This was a marginal case: this word has multiple meanings and origins (as has been the case lately); I knew two of the three, but the third one I did not know. One of the meanings has a tie-in to a well-known movie. Yesterday’s word The word chinoiserie is “a styleContinue reading “rummy”

Pronounced: sheen-WAHZ-ree, noun Notes: You may recognize part of the word Yesterday’s word The word mizzle means, as a noun, “fine rain or drizzle’. As a verb, it means to rain in fine drops to leave suddenly to confuse Background / Comments The rain meaning comes from Middle English misellen (to drizzle). Its root wordContinue reading “chinoiserie”