Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: MAN-uh, noun Notes: I know what this is (originally), but I don’t know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word expiate means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I was reaching back to the roots; I was thinking that our word means “to atone for”, and itContinue reading “manna”

Pronounced: ECK-spee-ate, verb Notes: My guess was close to the correct meaning Yesterday’s word The word exungulate means “to pare nails, claws, etc” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Great word! How much more fun to say I was exungulating this morning instead of the rather prosaicContinue reading “expiate”

Pronounced: ek-SUNG-uh-late, verb Notes: Great word! (but not at all what I thought) Yesterday’s word The word fustian is First usage Our word came into English in two phases: the first definition arrived around 1200, but the second one didn’t come about until the 1500s. Background / Comments An early documented usage of the secondContinue reading “exungulate”

Pronounced: FUSS-chun, noun Notes: I think of “fussy” when I see this word, but that’s not the meaning Yesterday’s word The word leviathan is “something large and powerful” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1300s Background / Comments I thought that our word referred to some kind of sea creature; mainlyContinue reading “fustian”

Pronounced: lih-VIE-uh-thuhn, noun Notes: I thought I knew the word, but my definition was a bit off Yesterday’s word The word stanch means First usage Our word came into English around 1300 Background / Comments It turns out that “stanch” and “staunch” are not quite as separated as I thought; our word is a verb,Continue reading “leviathan”

Pronounced: stawnch, verb Notes: I have to confess that I confuse this word with “staunch”, but they are separate words Yesterday’s word The word tohobohu is “chaos; confusion” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments What a great word to use for chaos! Our word came from HebrewContinue reading “stanch”

Pronounced: TOE-hoo-boh-hoo, noun Notes: A new word to me, but it is useful (it is a thing we encounter) Yesterday’s word The word callithump is “a noisy boisterous band or parade” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word is primarily used in America. In the 1800s, thereContinue reading “tohubohu”

Pronounced: KAH-luh-thump, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but the definition makes sense Yesterday’s word The word stygian means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I normally run across this word in the phrase “stygian darkness”, so I thought it meant especially black, which kind of fitsContinue reading “callithump”

Pronounced: stygian, adj Notes: Again a word I’ve run across, but didn’t properly know the definition, but I do have a related funny short tale. Yesterday’s word The word gelid means “extremely cold; icy” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I was not aware that this wordContinue reading “stygian”

Pronounced: JEH-luhd, adj Notes: Not quite what I thought it meant… Yesterday’s word A Cerberus is “a powerful, hostile guard” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1300s Background / Comments As I recently noted, when I was young, I had an interest in Greek and Roman mythology. I knew about Cerberus,Continue reading “gelid”