Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: LEEF, adv/adj Notes: I have run across this word, but I could not properly define it Yesterday’s word The word etiolate means First usage Our word first came into English in the late 1700s Background / Comments Our word came from the French word étioler — it was originally used to depriving growing celeryContinue reading “lief”

Pronounced: EE-tee-uh-late, verb Notes: A new word to me; I don’t believe I’ve ever run across it Yesterday’s word The word orgulous means “haughty” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1200s Background / Comments I didn’t know our word existed; it would be fun to drop it into conversation when theContinue reading “etiolate”

Pronounced: OR-gyuh-luhs, adj Notes: I (incorrectly) thought this word may be related to ogres Yesterday’s word The word aerie is First usage Our word came into English in the late-1500s Background / Comments I think the place where I found the word has an incorrect pronunciation; the Internet has “AIR-ee” or “EAR-ee”, whereas in yesterday’sContinue reading “orgulous”

Pronounced: ER-ee, noun Notes: You probably know this word; I included it for the pronunciation Yesterday’s word The word cimmerian means “very dark or gloomy” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments Our word came from Homer’s Odyssey; the Cimmerians, who were a mythical people who lived inContinue reading “aerie”

Pronounced: sih-MIR-ee-uhn, adj Notes: I have no memory of running across this word Yesterday’s word The word moiety is First usage Our word came into English in around the mid-1400s Background / Comments Our word came from the Anglo-French word moité (a half; part of something), which came from the Late Latin word medietat- (half),Continue reading “cimmerian”

Pronounced: MOT-uh-tee, noun Notes: I didn’t know this at all Yesterday’s word The word lubricious means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments Our word came from the Latin word lubricus (slippery; smooth). I guess this is why the word looked like “lubricant” to me.

Pronounced: loo-BRISH-uhs, adj Notes: Another word that doesn’t mean what I thought Yesterday’s word The word netsuke is “a small and often intricately carved toggle (wood, ivory, or metal, for example) used to fasten a small container to a kimono sash” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / CommentsContinue reading “lubricious”

Pronounced: NETS-kay, noun Notes: The pronunciation was not at all what I thought Yesterday’s word The word macher is First usage Our word came into English in the 1910s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I didn’t know what our word meant, but I thought it looked like “maker”… as it turns out, ourContinue reading “netsuke”

Pronounced: MOCK-uhr, noun Notes: I wasn’t right in the definition, but I was close in the origin Yesterday’s word The word argy-bargy is “a lively discussion; argument; dispute” First usage Our word came into English around 1600 Background / Comments I think that the alternate pronunciation was new to me because I have heard thisContinue reading “macher”

Pronounced: are-jee-BAR-jee (alt: are-gee-BAR-gee), noun Notes: The alternate pronunciation was new to me Yesterday’s word The word ganef is “a thief, swindler, or rascal” First usage Our word came into English in the 1920s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I have run across a variant of our word; specifically, “gonif” in some novelContinue reading “argy-bargy”