Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: GRACH-uh-late, verb Notes: This word may look nearly familiar Yesterday’s word The word mélange is “a mixture often of incongruous elements” First usage Our word came into English in the 1600s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Middle French word mesler (to mix).

Pronounced: may-LAHNZH, noun Notes: I think I’ve seen this word in writing, but I didn’t know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word suage means “to make something unpleasant less severe; to assuage” First usage Our word came into English in the very early 1400s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word suavisContinue reading “mélange”

Pronounced: swaz, verb Notes: I just see the word “usage” scrambled a bit, but that’s not helpful Yesterday’s word The word farrier is “a person who shoes horses” First usage Our word came into English around 1400 (late 1300s to the early 1400s) Background / Comments When I think of shoeing horses, I think ofContinue reading “suage”

Pronounced: FAIR-ee-uhr, noun Notes: Many people may know this word; I’ve run across it, but was not certain Yesterday’s word The word plaint means “complaint” or “protest” or “lamentation”. First usage Our word came into English in the early 1200s (quite an old word!) Background / Comments Like you, I am familiar with the synonymContinue reading “farrier”

Pronounced: plaint, noun Notes: I know some other forms of this word, but not this word Yesterday’s word The word feckless means First usage Our word came into English in the very late 1500s Background / Comments My memory was correct; I associated our word with the first Doctor Who show with Colin Baker inContinue reading “plaint”

Pronounced: FEK-luss, adj Notes: I have read or heard this word, but I wasn’t sure of the definition and (alas!) I didn’t look it up Yesterday’s word The word cognize means “to perceive; to understand; to know” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments We are far more familiarContinue reading “feckless”

Pronounced: KOG-nize, verb Notes: I could recognize (heh) the root of this word, but could not properly define it Yesterday’s word The word scission means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I am familiar with the word ‘schism’ (from the first definition), but IContinue reading “cognize”

Pronounced: SIH-zhuhn, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but I did know a synonym Yesterday’s word The word gaudeamus is “a convivial gathering or merry-making of students at a college or university” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments Our word came from a student’s song calledContinue reading “scission”

Pronounced: gau-dih-AHM-us, noun Notes: Another word I’ve not run across, but one that could be useful Yesterday’s word The word broadside means First usage Our word came into English in the 1500s Background / Comments It is the first meaning above that I did not know. Some of the old Errol Flynn naval films dealContinue reading “gaudeamus”

Pronounced: BRAWD-side, noun Notes: There was one meaning I did not know Yesterday’s word The word debenture is “a certificate acknowledging a debt” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I had two errors regarding this word: first, I thought it was pronounced DEB-en-churr, andContinue reading “broadside”