Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: SITS-kreeg, noun Notes: Your guess at the meaning may be correct Yesterday’s word The word parietal means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments The second definition above is the one that was utterly unknown to me. As for the first definition, my understanding of the wordContinue reading “sitzkrieg”

Pronounced: puh-RYE-uh-t(uh)l, adj Notes: I was our of date on one definition, and didn’t know the other Yesterday’s word The word optics means First usage The first meaning came about in the mid-1500s; the second meaning in from the 1970s (quite a spread!) Background / Comments The first meaning I suspect most people know, butContinue reading “parietal”

Pronounced: OP-ticks, noun Notes: This word has a meaning of which I was unaware Yesterday’s word The word anthophilous means “feeding upon or living among flowers” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word is certainly an interesting one and may be worth dropping into a conversation. ItContinue reading “optics”

Pronounced: an-THAH-fuh-luhss, adj Notes: I didn’t know there was such a word; it’s good to learn it Yesterday’s word The word zymology is “the science of fermentation” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments People who work in certain industries (such as making yeast, making wine, or brewing beer)Continue reading “anthophilous”

Pronounced: zy-MOLL-uh-jee, noun Notes: People in certain professions or with certain hobbies will know this word (I didn’t) Yesterday’s word The word conurbation is “an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities” First usage Our word came into English in the 1910s Background / Comments When I saw the definition, I thought it was aContinue reading “zymology”

Pronounced: kah-nuhr-BAY-shuhn, noun Notes: Another word that is new to me Yesterday’s word The word scandent means “climbing; ascending” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1600s Background / Comments Our word is a good one for general use. It came from the Latin word scandere (to climb). The same Latin wordContinue reading “conurbation”

Pronounced: SKAN-duhnt, adj Notes: A new word to me, but a useful one Yesterday’s word The word ludic means “of, relating to, or characterized by play; playful” First usage Our word came into English in the 1930s Background / Comments Psychologists wanted a word do describe what children do — apparently, the word “playing” didn’tContinue reading “scandent”

Pronounced: LOO-dick, adj Notes: Not a word I’ve run across Yesterday’s word The word oneiric means “of or relating to dreams; dreamy” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word came from the Greek word oneiros (dream).

Pronounced: oh-NYE-rick, adj Notes: Not at all what I thought it meant! Yesterday’s word The word victual means “food usable by people”. The more common plural form means “supplies of food”. I think I have only seen the plural form of our word. First usage Our word came into English around 1300s Background / CommentsContinue reading “oneiric”

Pronounced: vih-tuhl, noun Notes: This word is much more common in the plural: do you know the meaning of the singular form? Yesterday’s word The word klatsch is “a casual gathering of people for conversation, etc” First usage Our word came into English in the 1950s Background / Comments I have always heard people sayContinue reading “victual”