Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: ACK-sih-dense, noun Notes: Not at all what I thought it was Yesterday’s word The word revanche means “revenge; especially a policy (usually political) designed to recover lost territory or status” First usage Our word appeared in English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments I have never heard this word for revenge. It came fromContinue reading “accidence”

Pronounced: ruh-VAH(n)sh, noun Notes: A new word to me Yesterday’s word The word maunder means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments I try to guess the meaning of a word when I see it. When I saw our word, I first thought it meant “to wander aroundContinue reading “revanche”

Pronounced: MON-duhr, verb Notes: I had an interesting experience when I saw this word Yesterday’s word The word anneal means First usage An old word; it came into usage in English before 1000 Background / Comments Our word has an interesting history; it was associated with the an early discovery — fire. It came fromContinue reading “maunder”

Pronounced: uh-NEEL, verb Notes: I confused this word with another word Yesterday’s word The word fardel is First usage Our word came into English around 1300 Background / Comments I don’t remember hearing our word, but if I can remember it, maybe I’ll use it to refer to a bundle. Our word came from theContinue reading “anneal”

Pronounced: FAR-dl, noun Notes: An interesting word to know – it’s new to me Yesterday’s word The word hummock is First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments As you can see, the definition has nothing to do with a hammock, so how is one “right” who thinks of “hammock”?Continue reading “fardel”

Pronounced: HUH-muck, noun Notes: If you think this is just a misspelled “hammock”, you are right and wrong Yesterday’s word The word sorb means First usage Our word came into English in the first decade of the 1900s Background / Comments If you think like me, when you saw the definition, you thought “what isContinue reading “hummock”

Pronounced: sorb, verb Notes: A neat word, and the definition was educative also Yesterday’s word The word kvell means “to be extraordinarily proud” First usage It’s hard to tell for certain; it’s an Americanism, probably created in the mid-1900s; in 1952, a book of Jewish words and expressions was published that contained our word, butContinue reading “sorb”

Pronounced: kvel, verb Notes: A new word to me Yesterday’s word The word connate means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments Our word came from the Latin word connasci (to be born with), which is composed of com- (with) and nasci (to be born). I had confused ourContinue reading “kvell”

Pronounced: CON-ate (alt: koh-NATE), adj Notes: Not the word I was thinking of Yesterday’s word The word prehension means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I should have been able to get to the meaning through the related word “prehensile”, which I think I knew from the phraseContinue reading “connate”

Pronounced: pree-HEN(t)-shuhn, noun Notes: I should have been able to guess this one Yesterday’s Word The word white-livered means “cowardly” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I am familiar with the term “lily-livered”, which is alternate word to our word. Our word comes from the belief that aContinue reading “prehension”