Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: DEH-me-urge, noun Notes: Not what I thought Yesterday’s phrase The phrase Jerusalem syndrome is “a phenomenon in which a visitor to a holy place suffers from religious psychosis, such as believing himself or herself to be a messiah”. First usage Surprisingly, our phrase came into English in the 1980s Background / Comments The phenomenonContinue reading “demiurge”

Pronounced: jih-ROOS-uh-luhm SIN-drome, noun Notes: I have never heard this phrase Yesterday’s phrase The phrase vade mecum means First usage Our phrase came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments Our phrase came from the Latin phrase vade mecum (go with me). It has long been used to refer to manuals or guidebooks thatContinue reading “Jerusalem syndrome”

Pronounced: vay-dee-ME-kuhm, noun Notes: I’ve come across this word in reading and didn’t pronounce it correctly; in addition, I wasn’t sure of the meaning Yesterday’s word The word spaniel, of course, refers to the dog, but it also means “a submissive or fawning person” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1300sContinue reading “vade mecum”

Pronounced: SPAN-yull, noun Notes: This word has another meaning besides the dog breed – do you know it? Yesterday’s word The word antimacassar is “a piece of covering placed over the back or arms of a seat to protect from hair oil, dirt, etc” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s BackgroundContinue reading “spaniel”

Pronounced: an-tih-mus-KASS-suhr, noun Notes: I recognize our word, but not meaning (more tomorrow) Yesterday’s word The word luciferin is “any of various organic substances that upon oxidation produce a virtually heatless light” (such as the light fireflies produce). First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments Many people knowContinue reading “antimacassar”

Pronounced: loo-SIH-fruhn (alt: loo-SIH-fuh-run), noun Notes: This word has nothing to do with the devil Yesterday’s phrase The phrase mala fide means “in bad faith” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I was aware of the phrase bona fides (in good faith), but I didn’tContinue reading “luciferin”

Pronounced: MAL-uh FIE-dee, adv/adj Notes: I didn’t know this phrase existed, but perhaps you can work out the meaning? Yesterday’s word The word thew means First usage Our word came into English before 900 Background / Comments I have a recollection of reading the phrase “smote (maybe ‘smite’) thew and sinew”, but I cannot recallContinue reading “mala fide”

Pronounced: thoo, noun Notes: I didn’t recognize this word by itself Yesterday’s word The word eviscerate means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments I seem to remember reading or hearing the word in some mystery story (or show); it may have been a Sherlock Holmes, but IContinue reading “thew”

Pronounced: ih-VIS-uh-rate, verb Notes: I kind of knew this word Yesterday’s word The word balletoname is “a devotee of ballet” First usage Our word came into English in the 1930s Background / Comments Because the word’s pronunciation begins “bah-LEH-tuh” and not “bahl-AYE”, I didn’t think of it being related to the ballet. I had guessedContinue reading “eviscerate”

Pronounced: bah-LEH-tuh-mane, noun Notes: Not what I thought after seeing the pronunciation Yesterday’s word The word enervate means, as a verb, “to deprive of strength or vitality”. As an adjective, it means “deprived of strength; weakened” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments For a long time, IContinue reading “balletomane”