Author Archives: Richard

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”

Pronounced: KLACH (alt: KLAHCH), noun Notes: I usually hear this word mispronounced Yesterday’s word The word fillip means to strike by holding the nail of a finger against the ball of the thumb and then suddenly releasing it to urge on; to stimulate First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background /Continue 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 with the necessary changes having been made with the respective differences having been considered First usage Our phrase came into English in the 1500s Background / Comments Our phrase came from Latin, where is literally means “things havingContinue reading “Anthropocene”