Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: weft, noun Notes: Some people may know this word Yesterday’s word The word apposite means “highly pertinent or appropriate; apt” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word sounds just like “opposite”, and they do share a common Latin root: the word ponere (to put orContinue reading “weft”

Pronounced: AH-puh-zuht, adj Notes: I kind of knew this word Yesterday’s word The word moil, as a verb means As a noun, it means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Old French word moillier (to moisten), which came from the Latin wordContinue reading “apposite”

Pronounced: MOYL, verb/noun Notes: Not really a word I know Yesterday’s word The word demesne means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1200s Background / Comments I was struck by the pronunciation; “dih-MANE” is pretty close to the pronunciation of domain (doe-MANE), and, in fact, share the same source. Our wordContinue reading “moil”

Pronounced: dih-MANE, noun Notes: Interesting word Yesterday’s word The word dint, as a noun, means As a verb, it means to make a dent or to drive in with force First usage Our word is very old; coming into English in the late 800s Background / Comments I am more used to the idea ofContinue reading “demesne”

Pronounced: dint (well, duh), noun/verb Notes: I think I’ve run across the word but couldn’t define it properly Yesterday’s word The word palaver means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1700s Background / Comments In the 1700s, Portuguese and English sailors often met during trading trips along the West African coast.Continue reading “dint”

Pronounced: puh-LAH-ver, noun Notes: Do you know what our word has to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ? Yesterday’s word The word antonomasia is First usage Our word came into English in the last 1500s Background / Comments I didn’t know our word, but I should have recognized parts of it. Our word cameContinue reading “palaver”

Pronounced: an-toe-no-MAY-zhuh, noun Notes: This sounds like some kind of disease, but many of us have used what this word means Yesterday’s word The word yahoo is “a boorish, crass, or stupid person” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments If you knew our word, it’s probably because youContinue reading “antonomasia”

Pronounced: YAY-who, noun Notes: Not the search engine Yesterday’s word The word hogen-mogen means, as a noun, “a person having or affecting high power”. As an adjective, it means “powerful; grand” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments Our word is another word derived from the Dutch word hoogmogendContinue reading “yahoo”

Pronounced: HOE-gun-moh-gun, noun/adj Notes: This is not a word that I know Yesterday’s word The word redoubt means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments I had a general idea of our word, having run across it in various computer games. Our word is not related to doubtContinue reading “hogen-mogen”

Pronounced: rih-DOWT, noun Notes: You may know this word (it does NOT mean “to doubt again”!) Yesterday’s word The word toenadering means “establishing or re-establishing of cordial relations, especially between nations” First usage Our word came into English in the 1920s Background / Comments Our word is a Dutch word; it comes from toenadering (advance;Continue reading “redoubt”