Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: PAH-luh-node, noun Notes: I was thinking it might be related to “palliative”, but it isn’t. Yesterday’s word The word prosopopeia means “a figure of speech in which..” …an imaginary or absent person is represented as acting or speaking …an inanimate object or something abstract is represented as possessing human form; personification Background The wordContinue reading “palinode”

Pronounced: pruh-so-puh-PEE-uh (also spelled prosopopoeia) Notes: Quite a long word! Yesterday’s phrase The phrase scarlet pimpernel means, as one might guess, “a person who rescues others from mortal danger by smuggling them across a border”. Background/Notes The book The Scarlet Pimpernel came out in 1903 and was popular. English speakers began to use scarlet pimpernelContinue reading “prosopopeia”

Pronounced: SKAR-luht PIM-per-nuhl, noun Notes: I have read the book, The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy, and I have seen the 1982 film (with Anthony Andrews & Jane Seymour) as well as the 1934 film (with Leslie Howard & Merle Oberon), but I had no idea that this was a word, which is why itContinue reading “scarlet pimpernel”

Pronounced: MUG-wump, noun Notes: I’ve run across this word, but couldn’t define it properly Yesterday’s word The word pinder refers to a peanut. Background/Notes This word, according to the dictionary I looked it up in, says that it is primarily used in South Carolina. The word itself comes from the Bantu language in Africa; theContinue reading “mugwump”

Pronounced: PIN-der, noun Notes: This is a word I’ve never heard (that I know of); I ran across it while reading the definition of another word Yesterday’s word The word hebetude means “lethargy, dullness”. Background This word comes from Late Latin hebetudo (dullness, bluntness). This derives from the Latin root hebes (dull). First usage TheContinue reading “pinder”

Pronounced: HEH-buh-tude, noun Notes: I wondered if it was related to ‘herbivore’ (nope!) Yesterday’s word The word ilka simply means “each; every” (Still not sure why this would be preferred over “each”) Background It comes from ilk (each), which is from Old English ylc + the indefinite article a First usage This word showed upContinue reading “hebetude”

Pronounced: ILL-kuh, adj Notes: A handy word to know, but I’m not sure what advantage this has over the other words that could be chosen Yesterday’s word The word inspissate means “to make or become thick or thicker” Background This is a somewhat rare verb… it is derived from the Latin spissus (slow, dense), andContinue reading “ilka”

Pronounced: in-SPIH-sate, verb Notes: Another word that leads me to exclaim: There’s a word for that?! Yesterday’s word The word yclept means “called or named” Background The word comes from Old English geclypod. First usage This word goes back a long way; it showed up in the mid-900s

Pronounced: ih-KLEPT Notes: I ran across this word in one of my sources and didn’t know it… I remembered it because of the unusual spelling. A few months later, I ran across this word in my reading. Yesterday’s word The word eclogue is “a poem in which shepherds converse” Background The word comes from LatinContinue reading “yclept”

Pronounced: EHK-log, noun Notes: Really? There is a word for this? Yesterday’s word I assume most, if not all, readers know jinx means “to bring bad luck upon”, but I was unaware that it also meant “to cast a spell on”. Background The origin is not known for sure… it is thought it may comeContinue reading “eclogue”