Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: yehg, noun Notes: I’m a little surprised that I have never heard this word Yesterday’s word The word Juno is “a woman of stately bearing and beauty” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments I knew that Juno was a goddess in Roman mythology; she was theContinue reading “yegg”

Pronounced: JOO-noh, noun Notes: You may know this word Yesterday’s word The word nosocomial means “acquired or occurring in a hospital” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word is generally used of infections. It came from the Late Latin (or New Latin) word nosocomium (hospital); one partContinue reading “Juno”

Pronounced: nah-suh-KOH-me-uhl, adj Notes: Another word I have not run across Yesterday’s word The word Ballardian means “relating to a dystopian world, especially one characterized by social and environmental degradation, assisted by technology” First usage I could not find a reference that said when our word came into usage; probably in the late 1900s BackgroundContinue reading “nosocomial”

Pronounced: ba-LAHR-dee-uhn, adj Notes: A word I’ve not run across Yesterday’s word The word foppery means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments These days, a “fop” is a man who is extremely devoted to or vain about his appearance or dress. Originally, it referred to a foolish orContinue reading “Ballardian”

Pronounced: FAH-pree (alt: FAH-puh-ree), noun Notes: This is a borderline word; I was pretty close to the definitions Yesterday’s word The word cock-horse means, as an adverb, “mounted with a leg on each side”. As a noun, it is “a hobby horse”. First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / CommentsContinue reading “foppery”

Pronounced: KAHK-horse, adv/noun Notes: I know the word, but not the meaning – especially not the noun meaning Yesterday’s word The word volant means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I thought that our word might be related to “voluntary”, but that was clearly wrong. Our word cameContinue reading “cock-horse”

Pronounced: VOH-luhnt, adj Notes: My guess at the meaning was utterly wrong Yesterday’s word The word caballine means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments The two definitions above don’t appear to be related to each other at all – however, the Greeks believed the Muses furnish men withContinue reading “volant”

Pronounced: CAB-uh-lihn (alt: CAB-uh-leen), adj Notes: Also capitalized, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen this word Yesterday’s word The word exigent means First usage Our word came into English in the early to mid-1400s Background / Comments I think I confused our word with “extant”. Our word came from late Middle English, which cameContinue reading “caballine”

Pronounced: EK-suh-juht, adj Notes: I’ve run across this word in many places, but I didn’t get the meaning right Yesterday’s phrase The phrase wheel horse is First usage Our phrase came into English in the early 1700s Background / Comments Our phrase comes from the two words “wheel” and “horse”, and thus, the second definitionContinue reading “exigent”

Pronounced: (as expected), noun Notes: I have heard of “wheel house”, but not “wheel horse” Yesterday’s word The word ecotone is “a transition area between two adjacent ecological communities” First usage Our word came into English in the 1900s (1900-1910) Background / Comments Our word refers to the area in which landscapes overlap, where theContinue reading “wheel horse”