Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: SCREW-tate, verb Notes: Not a word I know Yesterday’s word The word mare is “any of several mostly flat dark areas of considerable extent on the surface of the moon or Mars” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments The idea that the dark areas of the moonContinue reading “scrutate”

Pronounced: MAHR-ay, noun Notes: When I saw the word, I thought that of course I knew it was an adult, female horse, but then I saw the pronunciation, and I didn’t know that this word means Yesterday’s word The word palmer is First usage Our word came into English around 1300 Background / Comments IContinue reading “mare”

Pronounced: PAH-murr, noun Notes: You may be able to guess one of the meanings Yesterday’s word The word numen is “a spiritual force or influence often identified with a natural object, phenomenon, or place” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word made an interesting journey; itContinue reading “palmer”

Pronounced: NOO-muhn, noun Notes: An odd word, I think Yesterday’s word The word handsel means, as a noun As a verb, it means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments Because our word makes me think of the fairy tale, I keep thinking that it would be fun toContinue reading “numen”

Pronounced: HAN-sel, noun/verb Notes: Also “hansel”; sounded like a character in a fairy tale to me Yesterday’s word The word provender is First usage Our word came into English around 1300 Background / Comments I think I’ve run across both meanings of the word; as I noted yesterday, I included this word because I foundContinue reading “handsel”

Pronounced: PRAH-vuhn-duhr, noun Notes: I kind of knew this word, but the origin was interesting enough to include it Yesterday’s word The word manumit means “to free from slavery” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I did not know that there was a wordContinue reading “provender”

Pronounced: man-yuh-MIT, verb Notes: I didn’t know that there was a word for this Yesterday’s word The word ailurophile means “a cat fancier; a lover of cats” First usage Our word came into English in the 1920s Background / Comments This is one of those words that I keep running across in books, look itContinue reading “manumit”

Pronounced: aye-LOOR-uh-file (alt: aye-LOOR-uh-fie-uhl) Notes: I keep running across this word and forgetting the meaning Yesterday’s word The word chiral refers to something that “cannot be superposed on its mirror image” (note the deliberate use of “superposed” instead of “superimposed”) First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments TheContinue reading “ailurophile”

Pronounced: KY-ruhl, adj Notes: I haven’t run across this word Yesterday’s word The word vapor means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Most of us would have known the first definition, from the noun “vapor” — but the second one was completely unknown to me. The secondContinue reading “chiral”

Pronounced: VAY-purr, verb Notes: I know what the noun means, but the verb had a surprise definition Yesterday’s word The word quinary means First usage Our word came into English in the very late 1500s Background / Comments Most of us know the words “primary” and “secondary”. Many probably know “tertiary”. I don’t know howContinue reading “vapor”