Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: PECK-yuh-late, verb Notes: I know a related word; do you know this one? Yesterday’s word The word potboiler is “a usually inferior work (as of art or literature) produced chiefly for profit First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments The reason I had a debate with myself overContinue reading “peculate”

Pronounced: POT-boy-ler, noun Notes: I had a debate about posting this word (more tomorrow) Yesterday’s word The word ambit means “scope; range; limit; or boundary” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1300s Background / Comments I’ve never run across our word, but it is a nice, useful word. It comes fromContinue reading “potboiler”

Pronounced: AM-bit, noun Notes: Interesting word Yesterday’s word The word vertiginous means First usage Our word came into English around 1600 Background / Comments At first, the definitions look quite different, but if you think about frequent and rapid changes occurring about an individual, it could be dizzying. Our word comes from the Latin adjectiveContinue reading “ambit”

Pronounced: ver-TIH-juh-nuss, adj Notes: There are two definitions that don’t appear to be related at all Yesterday’s word The word sternutate means “to sneeze” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments I hope I remember to use this once in a while to be different from “sneeze”. What aContinue reading “vertiginous”

Pronounced: stir-NEW-tate (alt: stir-NYOU-tate), verb Notes: A great word to know and use Yesterday’s phrase The phrase qui vive means “alert; lookout” First usage Our phrase came into English in the 1700s (probably mid-1700s) Background / Comments I am not sure where I first read this word, but I have certain read the phrase “onContinue reading “sternutate”

Pronounced: key-VEEV, noun Notes: I do know this word, but not the origin or the correct pronunciation Yesterday’s word The word ingurgitate means “to swallow greedily or in large amounts” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I did not know that this word exists, but it is surelyContinue reading “qui vive”

Pronounced: in-GUR-jih-tate, verb Notes: Interesting word, but it’s new to me Yesterday’s word The word eisteddfod is “a (usually Welsh) competitive festival of the arts especially in poetry and singing” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments As the spelling (especially the double-‘d’) indicates, this is a WelshContinue reading “ingurgitate”

Pronounced: aye-STETH-vahd, noun Notes: The spelling and punctuation give a clue to where the word comes from Yesterday’s word The word emollient, as an adjective, means “soothing or softening”. As a noun, it means “something that soothes or softens” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments I didn’t expectContinue reading “eisteddfod”

Pronounced: ih-MOLL-yuhnt, adj/noun Notes: This word doesn’t mean what I thought it meant Yesterday’s word The word lagniappe is “a small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase; in a broad sense, something given or obtained gratuitously”. First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s BackgroundContinue reading “emollient”

Pronounced: LAN-yap, noun Notes: I’ve read this word, but did not know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word probity means “integrity and honest” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments I was uncertain of whether or not to use our word; I now know the meaning, but when IContinue reading “lagniappe”