Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: dih-SCRY, verb Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word Yesterday’s word The word flyblown means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments Apparently, in the 1600s, the word “blow” had the meaning “to deposit eggs or larvae on”. The insect called the blowfly lays its eggsContinue reading “descry”

Pronounced: FLY-blone, adj Notes: I think I’ve read this word somewhere, but I didn’t know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word Lovelace is “a seducer; a licentious man” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I’ve run across our word as a name of someoneContinue reading “flyblown”

Pronounced: LOVE-lace, noun Notes: I didn’t know this was a word; I’ve just heard it as a name in fiction Yesterday’s word The word litany is First usage Our word came into English before 900 Background / Comments Originally, our word meant the first definition. It came from Anglo-French, which came from Late Latin, whichContinue reading “Lovelace”

Pronounced: LIH-tuh-nee, noun Notes: I’ve heard this word in an expression, but I wasn’t sure what it meant Yesterday’s word The word chauvinism means “the belief in the superiority of one’s country, group, gender, etc” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments When growing up, the phrase “male chauvinism”Continue reading “litany”

Pronounced: SHOW-vuh-niz-uhm, noun Notes: I was familiar with the word, but the background was interesting Yesterday’s word The word jocund means “marked by or suggestive of high spirits and lively mirthfulness” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1300s Background / Comments Our word came from the Middle English jocound, which came fromContinue reading “chauvinism”

Pronounced: JAH-kuhnd, adj Notes: This was a borderline case; I was a little familiar with the word Yesterday’s phrase The phrase Paul Pry is “an excessively inquisitive person” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments I have a recollection of running across our word somewhere. For some reason, IContinue reading “jocund”

Pronounced: (like it looks) Notes: I think I’ve run across the word somewhere Yesterday’s word The word controvertible means “capable of being disputed or opposed by reason” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments I find it interesting that the more common opposite word – incontrovertible – isContinue reading “Paul Pry”

Pronounced: KAHN-truh-ver-tuh-buhl, adj Notes: I should have known the definition Yesterday’s word The word Lorelei is “a dangerously seductive woman” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments I happen to know a teenager named Lorelei; she most certainly is nothing like her name definition. Our word came fromContinue reading “controvertible”

Pronounced: LORE-uh-lie, noun Notes: Not a word I know, but I do know a person with this name Yesterday’s phrase The phrase big data is “an accumulation of data that is too large and complex for processing by traditional database management tools” First usage Our phrase came into English around 1980 Background / Comments OurContinue reading “Lorelei”

Pronounced: big DAY-tuh, noun Notes: I wasn’t quite sure of the meaning of our phrase Yesterday’s phrase The phrase pro rata means, as an adverb, “proportionally”. As an adjective, it means “proportional” First usage Our phrase came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments As I noted, I’ve run across the phrase, andContinue reading “big data”