Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: narr, noun Notes: I have never heard of this word, but I know a related word Yesterday’s word The word cabotage means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments When I saw our word, I remembered history classes of long ago and remembered one called Cabot; I thoughtContinue reading “knar”

Pronounced: CAB-uh-tij (alt: cab-uh-TAHZH), noun Notes: This word is so similar to “sabotage” that is stops me from making a good guess Yesterday’s word The word sepia, as a noun, means As an adjective, it merely means “of a reddish-brown color” First usage Our word goes back to the mid-1500s Background / Comments From theContinue reading “cabotage”

Pronounced: SEE-pee-uh, noun/adj Notes: Most of us know the meaning of this; I chose this word because of the background Yesterday’s word The word renascent means “being reborn; springing again into being; reinvigorated” First usage Our word came into English in the early- or mid-1700s Background / Comments When I saw the definition of ourContinue reading “sepia”

Pronounced: rih-NASS-uhnt (alt: rih-NAY-suhnt), adj Notes: I didn’t know this word, but I do know a form of it Yesterday’s word The word taupe, as a noun, means “a brownish gray, similar to the color of the skin of a mole”. As an adjective, it refers to something of this color. First usage Our wordContinue reading “renascent”

Pronounced: tope, noun/adj Notes: I know that this word is a color, but I wasn’t sure of the precise definition Yesterday’s word The word gaslight means “to cause a person to doubt his sanity through the use of psychological manipulation” First usage Our word came into English in the 1950s Background / Comments A gaslightContinue reading “taupe”

Pronounced: GAS-light, verb Notes: I kind of had an idea of this word, but couldn’t give the precise definitely Yesterday’s word The word ponceau, as a noun, means “a bright red color”. As an adjective, it means “of bright red color” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments IContinue reading “gaslight”

Pronounced: pon-SO, noun/adj Notes: I didn’t know this word Yesterday’s word The word slubber means “to perform hastily or carelessly” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Low German word slubbern (to do work carelessly): not related to ‘slobber’ at all.

Pronounced: SLUB-er, verb Notes: This looks too much like “slobber” for me to work out the meaning Yesterday’s word The word mumpish means “sullen; silent; depressed” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1700s Background / Comments This sounds like a great word to work into conversations. It doesn’t have anything toContinue reading “slubber”

Pronounced: MUM-pish Notes: This word is not what I thought it was Yesterday’s word The word pavonine means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word pāvōnīnus, a derivative of pāvō from the stem pāvōn (peacock) combined with -ine (of or pertaining to;Continue reading “mumpish”

Pronounced: PAV-uh-nine (alt: PAV-uh-nihn), adj Notes: I didn’t know this word, and I don’t think I’ve run across it Yesterday’s word The word compunctious means “feeling remorse or guilt” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word compungere (to prick hard), comprisedContinue reading “pavonine”