Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: WING-kuhl, noun/verb Notes: I knew the verb meaning, but not the noun Yesterday’s word The word presage means First usage Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1300s Background / Comments Our word – the verb presage – was predated by a noun presage (omen). Our word comes from the LatinContinue reading “winkle”

Pronounced: PREH-sij, verb Notes: Another word I don’t recall having seen (and my guess was way off) Yesterday’s word The word pullulate means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word came from the Latin word pullulare (to sprout), which came from pullulus, which is a diminutiveContinue reading “presage”

Pronounced: PULL-yuh-late, verb Notes: A new word for me Yesterday’s word The word fructuous means “fruitful” First usage Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1300s Background / Comments I had the meaning wrong because when I saw our word, I saw a similarity to the word “fractious”; had I thought ofContinue reading “pullulate”

Pronounced: FREK-chuh-wuhs, adj Notes: I didn’t get this word right; you may know it Yesterday’s word The word magpie means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I knew of the bird definition; I also knew of the collector meaning (a more widely used synonym is “packrat”); however,Continue reading “fructuous”

Pronounced: MAG-pie Notes: I knew some of the meanings, but not all of them Yesterday’s word The word trattoria means “a restaurant; specifically a usually small Italian restaurant” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments In thinking about our word, I don’t think I have run across it –Continue reading “magpie”

Pronounced: trah-tuh-REE-uh, noun Notes: This word seems a bit familiar to me, but I don’t remember running across it Yesterday’s word The word dotterel is First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments I have not heard our word, and had no idea it referred to a bird. Supposedly, theContinue reading “trattoria”

Pronounced: DOT-uhr-uhl, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but it turns out I did know some of the background Yesterday’s word The word cognizable means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1600s Background / Comments I knew the second definition above, but that turns out to be the less commonContinue reading “dotterel”

Pronounced: KAHG-nuh-zuh-bell, adj Notes: I knew one of the definitions Yesterday’s word The word gannet is First usage Our word came into English before 1000 Background / Comments Apparently, the first meaning was the original one. These birds had a reputation for being greedy (but it was not a deserved reputation). Nevertheless, that reputation isContinue reading “cognizable”

Pronounced: GAN-it, noun Notes: Interesting word Yesterday’s word The word prolix means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1300s to early 1400s Background / Comments Between prolix, verbose, wordy, and redundant, I tend to prefer “verbose”. However, our word carries with it the idea of unreasonable and tedious dwelling upon details.Continue reading “gannet”

Pronounced: pro-LICKS, adj Notes: Not a word I know, but a useful one Yesterday’s word The word weft is “the threads that run across the width of a woven fabric and are interlaced through the warp (the threads that run lengthwise)” First usage Our word came into English in the early 700s Background / CommentsContinue reading “prolix”