Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: ah-toe-TEH-lick, adj Notes: A good word to know (but I didn’t know it) Yesterday’s word The word wahine is a Polynesian woman a female surfer First usage The references I checked are not clear; one says that our word came into English in the late 1700s; another one has the mid-1800s (but also seeContinue reading “autotelic”

Pronounced: wah-HEE-nee, noun Notes: Another word that I don’t know Yesterday’s word The word acedious means “characterized by apathy, boredom, or sloth” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments What a great word to drop into conversation! It came from the Latin word acedia, which came from theContinue reading “wahine”

Pronounced: uh-SEE-dee-uhs, adj Notes: A good word to know Yesterday’s word The word putsch is “a secretly plotted and suddenly executed attempt to overthrow a government” First usage Our word came into English in the 1910s Background / Comments If you enjoy history, or have studied about World War II, you are probably familiar withContinue reading “acedious”

Pronounced: puhch, noun Notes: You may know the meaning, or may get a clue from history Yesterday’s word The word polygyny is “the practice of having two or more wives” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1700s Background / Comments If, like me, you thought “I thought that was the definitionContinue reading “putsch”

Pronounced: puh-LIH-juh-nee, noun Notes: You may know this word Yesterday’s word The word deliquesce means to dissolve or melt away to become soft or liquid with age or maturity (used of some fungal structures) First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments Our word came from de- (from; down; away)Continue reading “polygyny”

Pronounced: deh-lih-KWES, verb Notes: A new word to me Yesterday’s word The word yeanling means, as a noun, “the young of an animal (especially of a sheep or a goat)”. As an adjective, it means “new-born; infant”. First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments I know the word “yearling”,Continue reading “deliquesce”

Pronounced: YEEN-ling, noun/adj Notes: I didn’t know this was a word; you may be able to guess the meaning Yesterday’s word The word pleiad is “a group of (usually seven) illustrious or brilliant persons or things” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments I am familiar with the “Pleiades”Continue reading “yeanling”

Pronounced: PLEE-uhd, noun Notes: This looks similar to a word I know, but it is only remotely related Yesterday’s word The word anemious means “growing in windy conditions” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments I was thinking that perhaps our word was related to anemones, but noContinue reading “pleiad”

Pronounced: uh-NEE-mih-us, adj Notes: My guess at the meaning was incorrect Yesterday’s word The word aubade is a song or poem greeting the dawn a morning love song, or a song or poem of lovers parting at dawn First usage Our word came into English in the mid to late 1600s Background / Comments AsContinue reading “anemious”

Pronounced: oh-BAHD, noun Notes: Another word I have no recollection of running across Yesterday’s word The word pishogue means “sorcery; witchcraft; spell” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word came from the Irish word piseog (witchcraft).