Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: MON-duhr, verb Notes: I had an interesting experience when I saw this word Yesterday’s word The word anneal means to make (something, like glass or steel) less brittle by heating and then cooling strengthen; toughen First usage An old word; it came into usage in English before 1000 Background / Comments Our word hasContinue reading “maunder”

Pronounced: uh-NEEL, verb Notes: I confused this word with another word Yesterday’s word The word fardel is a bundle a burden 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. OurContinue reading “anneal”

Pronounced: FAR-dl, noun Notes: An interesting word to know – it’s new to me Yesterday’s word The word hummock is a rounded knoll or hillock a ridge of ice a fertile area in the southern United States (especially Florida) First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments As you canContinue 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 to take up and hold by absorption to take up and hold by adsorption First usage Our word came into English in the first decade of the 1900s Background / CommentsContinue 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 congenial congenital 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 hadContinue reading “kvell”

Pronounced: CON-ate (alt: koh-NATE), adj Notes: Not the word I was thinking of Yesterday’s word The word prehension means the act of taking hold, seizing, or grasping mental understanding; comprehension apprehension by the senses First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I should have been able to get toContinue 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”

Pronounced: pree-HEN(t)-shun, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but I do know a related word Yesterday’s word The word white-livered means “cowardly” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I didn’t plan to have two words in a row that both means “cowardly”; it’s just how the wordsContinue reading “prehension”

Pronounced: white-LIVE-uhrd, adj Notes: You may know this word; I found the origin interesting Yesterday’s word The word pusillanimous means “lacking courage and resolution; marked by contemptible timidity” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I must have been thinking of ‘pugilism’ when I though of boxing. OurContinue reading “white-livered”