Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: rah-duh-MAN-thuhn (alt: rah-duh-MANT-thuhn), adj Notes: This long word is often capitalized Yesterday’s word The word camelious means “relating to the camel or its hump” First usage Our word came into English in the first decade of the 1900s Background / Comments I think I was thinking of chamomile or chameleon and missed the moreContinue reading “rhadamanthine”

Pronounced: kuh-MEE-lee-uhs, adj Notes: My thoughts flew (incorrectly) to a flower Yesterday’s word The word solstitial means First usage The reference material I consulted do not agree; one says that the word arrived in English in the 1300s; another says the mid-1500s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, after I read the definition, itContinue reading “camelious”

Pronounced: sahl-STIH-shuhl, adj Notes: I didn’t know the meaning when looking at the word; after seeing the definition, it seems obvious – do you know it? Yesterday’s word The word solipsism means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments I don’t subscribe to the theory in the first definition;Continue reading “solstitial”

Pronounced: SOL-ip-siz-uhm, noun Notes: I confused this word with another word dealing with logic Yesterday’s word The word carpaccio means “thinly sliced raw meat or fish served with a sauce”; note that the word is usually used postpositively (after the name of the dish, as in ‘salmon carpaccio’) First usage Our word came into EnglishContinue reading “solipsism”

Pronounced: car-PAH-choh (alt: car-PAH-chee-oh), noun Notes: I guessed at this word, and was way off Yesterday’s word The word affectious means “affectionate or cordial” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments Did you notice that our word contains all of the standard vowels in order? If you guessedContinue reading “carpaccio”

Pronounced: uh-FEK-shuhs, adj Notes: You might be able to guess the meaning of this one… and do you see anything interesting in our word? Yesterday’s word The word cacography means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I should have been able to guess the meaning of ourContinue reading “affectious”

Pronounced: ka-KAH-gruh-fee, noun Notes: I should have known the meaning of this word Yesterday’s word The word quacksalver means “a quack; one pretending to have skills or knowledge – especially in medicine” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I was familiar with the word “quack”; what IContinue reading “cacography”

Pronounced: QUACK-sal-vuhr, noun Notes: An interesting word Yesterday’s word The word quotidian means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1300s Background / Comments What a great word to swap out for “daily”! Our word comes form the Latin word quotīdiānus / cottīdiānus (daily), which comes from the adverb cottīdiē (every day). TheContinue reading “quacksalver”

Pronounced: kwoh-TIH-dee-uhn, adj Notes: A good word to know and use Yesterday’s word The word jaculate means “to emit or hurl” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word jaculare (to dart), which comes from jaculum (dart; javelin), which comes from jacereContinue reading “quotidian”

Pronounced: JACK-yuh-late, verb Notes: Another new word for me Yesterday’s word The word benedict is “a newly married man who has long been a bachelor” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments Our word traces back to Shakespeare; specifically, the play Much Ado About Nothing: Benedick and BeatriceContinue reading “jaculate”