Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: KLACH (alt: KLAHCH), noun Notes: I usually hear this word mispronounced Yesterday’s word The word fillip means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I was aware of the second meaning, although I have more often seen it used an a noun: person A uses something as aContinue reading “klatsch”

Pronounced: FIH-lup, verb Notes: I sort of knew one of the definitions Yesterday’s word The word impedimenta is “baggage, supplies, or equipment related to an activity or expedition, especially when regarded as slowing one’s progress” First usage Our word came into English around 1600 Background / Comments Our word came from Latin, which is theContinue reading “fillip”

Pronounced: im-ped-uh-MEN-tuh, plural noun Notes: This word looks familiar, but I could not define it Yesterday’s word The word chthonic means “of or relating to the underworld; infernal” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments Our word came from the Greek word chthōn (earth), which was associated withContinue reading “impedimenta”

Pronounced: THAH-nik, adj Notes: I don’t think I’ve ever run across this word Yesterday’s word The word Anthropocene is “the geological period marked by a significant human impact on climate and the environment” First usage Our word came into English around 2000 Background / Comments Our word came from the Greek word anthropo- (human) andContinue reading “chthonic”

Pronounced: AN-thruh-puh-seen, noun Notes: Another word I’ve never run across Yesterday’s phrase The phrase mutatis mutandis means First usage Our phrase came into English in the 1500s Background / Comments Our phrase came from Latin, where is literally means “things having been changed that have to be changed”. It doesn’t get used very often, butContinue reading “Anthropocene”

Pronounced: myoo-TAH-tuhs-myoo-TAN-duhs, adv Notes: I don’t think I’ve seen this phrase before Yesterday’s word The word bildungsroman is “a novel concerned with the maturing of someone from childhood to adulthood” First usage Our word came into English in the 1910s Background / Comments Our word came from the German words Bildung (education; formation) and RomanContinue reading “mutatis mutandis”

Pronounced: BILL-doongz-roh-mahn (alt: BILL-doongks-roh-mahn), noun Notes: This word is also new to me Yesterday’s word The word Locofoco is First usage Our word came into English in the 1800s Background / Comments In the 1800s, a Locofoco was a new type of self-igniting match. It was also used of self-igniting cigars – like modern matches,Continue reading “bildungsroman”

Pronounced: loh-kuh-FOH-koh, noun Notes: I have not run across this word Yesterday’s word The word captcha is “a test used to make sure that a human is using a system, not a computer program” (the test usually consists of asking the subject to read and enter distorted text). First usage Our word came into EnglishContinue reading “Locofoco”

Pronounced: KAP-chuh, noun Notes: You probably know the meaning, but the background was interesting to me Yesterday’s word The word jalousie is First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments It turns out that our word is the French word for “jealousy”, so the fact that I confused ourContinue reading “captcha”

Pronounced: JAH-luh-see, noun Notes: This word looks like an alternate spelling of “jealousy”, but… Yesterday’s word The word prebuttal is “an argument in anticipation of a criticism; a preemptive rebuttal” First usage Our word came into English in the 1990s Background / Comments I was close; I knew that a “rebuttal” is a refutation ofContinue reading “jalousie”