Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: PUHL-yuh-late, verb Notes: I thought this had to do with chickens, and I was both right and wrong Yesterday’s word The word ochophobia means “a fear or dislike of crowds” Background Probably everyone knows that -phobia means “fear” — it comes from Greek, as does the ochlos part, which means “mob”. First usage ThisContinue reading “pullulate”

Pronounced: ahk-luh-FOE-bee-uh, noun Notes: My guess was fear of the number eight (that’s not right) Yesterday’s word The word sastruga means “a wavelike ridge of hard snow formed by the wind — usually used in the plural (sastrugi). Background This word came into English from German, but it is not of German origin. The wordContinue reading “ochlophobia”

Pronounced: SAS-truh-guh, noun Notes: This word is usually used in the plural (sastrugi), and is more-or-less timely for last month’s weather. Even though I grew up in northern Illinois, I did not know this word, and I’d be surprised if any native Texan knows it. Yesterday’s word The word ocellus means a small simple eyeContinue reading “sastruga”

Pronounced: oh-SELL-us, noun Notes: Yet another word I simply didn’t know Yesterday’s word The word gymkhana means “a meet featuring sporting contests or athletic skills such as competitive games on horseback or a timed contest for automobiles”. Background The word originates in India; it is considered to be an alteration of the Hindi gẽdkhāna, whichContinue reading “ocellus”

Pronounced: jim-KAH-nuh, noun Notes: I have run across this in a British television show, but I didn’t know the word Yesterday’s word The word trompe l’oeil means a style of painting in which objects are rendered in extremely realistic detail, giving an illusion of reality a painting, mural, etc made in this style Background TheContinue reading “gymkhana”

Pronounced: tromp loi Notes: No credit for knowing the language this word comes from Yesterday’s word The word sedulous means involving or accomplished with careful perseverance diligent in application or pursuit Background The word traces back to the Latin se dolus, literally meaning “without guile”. The two words eventually merged into one, sedulo (sincerely, diligently),Continue reading “trompe l’oeil”

Pronounced: SEH-juh-luhs, adj Notes: I was off on this word; I associated it with something sinister or unpleasant, and that’s not at all the case for this word Yesterday’s word The word ullage means “the amount of liquid by which a container falls short of being full” – a pretty handy word. Background The wordContinue reading “sedulous”

Pronounced: UL-ihj, noun Notes: A nice, useful word that I did not know Yesterday’s word The word tarantism means “a dancing mania or malady of late medieval Europe” Background In the 1500s the town of Taranto in Italy was hit by a dance craze; people had a hysterical impulse to dance and was called “tarantism”.Continue reading “ullage”

Pronounced: TA-run-tih-zuhm, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but it is related to a word I have heard of Yesterday’s word The word Bluebeard refers to a marries and kills one wife after another Background As I noted yesterday, I knew the meaning of this word; it was the background that I didn’t know.Continue reading “tarantism”

Pronounced: BLUE-beard, noun Notes: I know the word, but the background was utterly new to me Yesterday’s word The word palinode means an ode or song recanting or retracting something in an earlier poem a formal retraction Background The story goes that Stesichorus, a Greek poet in the 6th century BC, was struck blind afterContinue reading “Bluebeard”