Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: au-toe-KIN-uh-see, noun Notes: Another word that is new to me Yesterday’s word The word sprachgefühl means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments Our word comes (as you might think) from German – the word Sprache (language; speech) and Gefühl (feeling). Because nouns are capitalized in German,Continue reading “autokinesy”

Pronounced: SHRPAHK-guh-fuel, noun Notes: This word is a new one to me Yesterday’s word The word approbation is “approval, praise, commendation, or official sanction” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1300s Background / Comments I thought our word meant something like disapproval, but that is clearly wrong: it came from theContinue reading “sprachgefühl”

Pronounced: ap-roh-BAY-shuhn, noun Notes: I thought I knew the definition, but I was wrong Yesterday’s word The word demean means “to conduct or behave (oneself) usually in a proper manner” First usage Our word came into English in the second half of the 1200s Background / Comments I was surprised when I read the definition;Continue reading “approbation”

Pronounced: dih-MEAN, verb Notes: I thought I knew this word, but I didn’t (more or less) Yesterday’s word The word vulnerary, as a noun, means “something used for the healing of wounds”. As an adjective, it means “useful in healing of wounds”. First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background /Continue reading “demean”

Pronounced: VUHL-nuh-rer-ee, noun/adj Notes: Another word that is new to me Yesterday’s word The word groundling is First usage Our word came into English around 1600s Background / Comments In Elizabethan times, people who attended plays could (if they could afford it) sit in the upper gallery. The poor people could only afford the pennyContinue reading “vulnerary”

Pronounced: GROUND-ling, noun Notes: I don’t remember running across this word Yesterday’s word The word hypogeusia is “a diminished sense of taste” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments Our word came from the Greek words hypo- (under) and geusia (taste).

Pronounced: high-puh-GOO-zee-uh (alt1: high-puh-GYOO-zee-uh;alt2: high-puh-GOO-zhee-uh; alt3: high-puh-GYOO-zhee-uh; alt4: high-puh-GOO-zhuh; alt5: high-puh-GYOO-zhuh), noun Notes: Lots of variant pronunciations, but I didn’t know the word Yesterday’s word The word hamartia is “a tragic flaw that brings down a hero” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments I happen to knowContinue reading “hypogeusia”

Pronounced: hah-mahr-TEE-uh, noun Notes: This word was interesting to me Yesterday’s word The word agathokakological means “made up of both good and evil” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I didn’t have any idea of the meaning; however, after I read the definition, IContinue reading “hamartia”

Pronounced: ag-uh-thuh-kak-uh-LAHJ-uh-kuhl Notes: I originally had no idea of the meaning of the word, but afterwards, it made sense to me Yesterday’s word The word intercalate means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word came from the Latin prefix inter- (between; among) and the verb calāreContinue reading “agathokakological”

Pronounced: in-TUHR-kuh-late, verb Notes: Interesting word Yesterday’s word The word woodshed, as a noun, is As a verb, it means First usage Our word came into English first as a noun in the mid-1700s, and then as a verb in the late 1800s. Background / Comments Well, how many definitions did you know? I haveContinue reading “intercalate”