Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: TOE-tum, noun Notes: I thought I knew the meaning of this word, but I didn’t Yesterday’s word The word tegular means “relating to, resembling, or arranged like tiles” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word came from the Latin word tegula (tile), which came from tegereContinue reading “totem”

Pronounced: TEG-yuh-luhr, adj Notes: Not what I thought (and NOT a misspelling of “regular”) Yesterday’s word The word biannual means occurring twice a year occurring once every two years First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments Just like “biweekly”, our word can have different meanings. Some people teachContinue reading “tegular”

Pronounced: by-AN-yuhl (alt: by-AN-yuh-wuhl), adj Notes: I was not aware of both pronunciations; I use the second one Yesterday’s word The word cordate means “heart-shaped” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments After reading the definition, I realized that I could have guessed the meaning. Our word came fromContinue reading “biannual”

Pronounced: cordate Notes: I didn’t correctly guess the meaning, but you may be able to Yesterday’s word The word aggress means “to make an attack; to act aggressively” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments The words “aggressive” and “aggression” are much more familiar (I didn’t know that thereContinue reading “cordate”

Pronounced: uh-GRESS, verb Notes: I didn’t know this word existed, but you can probably guess the meaning Yesterday’s word The word amaneunsis is “a person employed to take dictation or to copy manuscripts” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments I happen to know the word from someContinue reading “aggress”

Pronounced: uh-man-yoo-EN-sis, noun Notes: I don’t think this word is well known, but I happen to know it Yesterday’s word The word organoleptic means relating to the sensual qualities (taste, color, smell) of substances (such as food or drugs) involving use of the sense organs First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800sContinue reading “amaneunsis”

Pronounced: or-guh-no-LEP-tick, adj Notes: Well, my guess was quite incorrect (it has nothing to do with playing organs) Yesterday’s word The word Malthusian means “relating to the view that population increases faster than its means of subsistence resulting in disaster, unless population is checked by natural calamities or by people deciding to have fewer children”Continue reading “organoleptic”

Pronounced: mal-THOO-zhuhn (alt: mal-THOO-zee-uhn), adj Notes: I didn’t know this word, and could not guess at a meaning Yesterday’s word The word corrigendum is “an error in a printed work discovered after printing and shown with its correction on a separate sheet” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / CommentsContinue reading “Malthusian”

Pronounced: core-uh-JEN-duhm, noun Notes: Not a word knew, but I have run across one (you may have, too) Yesterday’s word The word tontine is “a form of investment in which participants pool their money into a common fund and receive an annuity. Each person’s share increases as members die until the last survivor takes theContinue reading “corrigendum”

Pronounced: TON-teen (alt: ton-TEEN), noun Notes: I didn’t recognize the word, but after reading the definition, I have seen it in a book Yesterday’s word The word derogate means to cause to seem inferior; disparage to take away a part of as to impair; detract to act beneath one’s position or character First usage OurContinue reading “tontine”