Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: pyoos, noun/adj Notes: I know that I’ve heard this word, but I could not properly define it Yesterday’s word The word philoprogenitive means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word comes from two different languages – the prefix philo- came from the Greek word phílos (loving;Continue reading “puce”

Pronounced: fih-luh-pro-JEH-nuh-tihv, adj Notes: Quite a word, but I didn’t know it Yesterday’s word The word canaille means “the common people; the masses; riffraff” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1600s Background / Comments I am pretty sure that I have run across our word somewhere, but I cannot recall itContinue reading “philoprogenitive”

Pronounced: kuh-NAIL (alt: kuh-NAH-yuh), noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but I think I’ve seen some related word in some reading Yesterday’s word The word sequacious means “intellectually servile” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments Our word is rather insulting; it is akin to saying that someoneContinue reading “canaille”

Pronounced: sih-KWAY-shuhs, adj Notes: Not what I thought Yesterday’s word The word presentiment is “the sense that something is going to happen (especially something bad)” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments As I noted, I was pretty close to the meaning, just by breaking the word into pre-Continue reading “sequacious”

Pronounced: prih-ZEN-tuh-ment, noun Notes: Interesting word; I was close to the meaning Yesterday’s word The word bijou (plural bijoux or bijous) is First usage Our word came into English in the late 1600s Background / Comments I had the impression that our word meant merely “small”. Our word came from French, and to French fromContinue reading “presentiment”

Pronounced: BEE-zhoo, noun Notes: I have come across this word is reading, but didn’t quite know it Yesterday’s word The word fungible means “interchangeable” First usage Our word first came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments Our word came from the Latin word fungi (to perform in place).

Pronounced: FUN-juh-bull, adj Notes: Another word I have run across, but wasn’t sure of the meaning Yesterday’s word The word styptic means “tending to contract or bind; astringent – especially tending to check bleeding” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1300s Background / Comments I have a distinct memory of readingContinue reading “fungible”

Pronounced: STIP-tik, adj Notes: I have run across this word, but wasn’t sure of the definition Yesterday’s word The word inveigle means “to get something or to persuade someone to do something by deception or flattery” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1500s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, IContinue reading “styptic”

Pronounced: in-VAY-gull (alt: in-VEE-gull), verb Notes: I knew part of the meaning, but not the entire meaning Yesterday’s word The word pogonip is “a dense winter fog containing frozen particles that is formed in deep mountain valleys of the western US” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments ThisContinue reading “inveigle”

Pronounced: PAH-guh-nip, noun Notes: I don’t know this word, but people with certain experiences may Yesterday’s word The word pettifogger is First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I ran across our word in some English author – probably Dorothy Sayers or Agatha Christie. I knew that it referredContinue reading “pogonip”