Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: WHIFF-tea, adj Notes: Another word that I have not heard about Yesterday’s phrase The phrase dead hand means the stifling influence of something, especially of the past on the present the perpetual ownership of property by institutions, such as churches First usage Our phrase came into English in the early 1600s Background / CommentsContinue reading “wifty”

Pronounced: (as it looks), noun Notes: Another word of which I knew one of the definitions Yesterday’s word The word perseverate means to repeat or recur persistently to go back over previously covered ground First usage Our word came into English in the 1910s Background / Comments Our word looks like a form of persevereContinue reading “dead hand”

Pronounced: puhr-SEH-vuh-rate, verb Notes: Another word I’ve not run across Yesterday’s word The word grinagog is “one who is always grinning” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments Our word came from the Old English word grennian (to show the teeth in pain or anger) combined with (it isContinue reading “perseverate”

Pronounced: GRIN-uh-gog, noun Notes: You may be able to guess the meaning, but I’ve never run across this word Yesterday’s word The word apotheosis means the perfect form or example of something; quintessence the highest or best part of something elevation to divine status; deification First usage Our word came into English in the lateContinue reading “grinagog”

Pronounced: uh-pah-thee-OH-suhs, noun Notes: Interesting definitions Yesterday’s word The word pot-valor is “boldness or courage induced by the consumption of alcohol” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments I have heard the alternate phrases “liquid courage” and “Dutch courage”, but our word was new to me. It isContinue reading “apotheosis”

Pronounced: POT-val-uhr, noun Notes: I didn’t know the meaning of the word, but after seeing it, it made sense Yesterday’s word The word ratiocination is the process of exact thinking; reasoning a reasoned train of thought First usage Our word came into English in the early to mid-1500s Background / Comments Our word seems toContinue reading “pot-valor”

Pronounced: rah-tee-oh-suh-NAY-shun, noun Notes: I saw “ratio” in the word and mispronounced it Yesterday’s word The word gazunder means “to reduce the amount of an offer after it has been accepted by the seller” First usage Our word came into English in the 1980s Background / Comments As I noted, I’ve never run across thisContinue reading “ratiocination”

Pronounced: guh-ZUHN-duhr, verb Notes: I have not heard this word before Yesterday’s word The word bricolage is “construction or something constructed by using whatever comes to hand” First usage Our word came into English in the 1960s Background / Comments Our word came from the French word bricolage (do-it-yourself), which came from bricoler (to doContinue reading “gazunder”

Pronounced: bree-koh-LAHZH, noun Notes: I’ve never run across this word Yesterday’s word The word traject, as a verb, means “to transport; to transmit”. As a noun, it means “transport; transmission; passage” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s (for the noun) and the early 1600s (for the verb). Background / Comments OurContinue reading “bricolage”

Pronounced: truh-JEKT, verb/noun Notes: I know “trajectory”, but not this word Yesterday’s word The word colloquy means conversation; dialogue a high-level serious discussion; conference First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments If you thought of “colloquial”, you did well: “colloquial” came a couple of hundred years after colloquy. OurContinue reading “traject”