Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: trah-tuh-REE-uh, noun Notes: This word seems a bit familiar to me, but I don’t remember running across it Yesterday’s word The word dotterel is any of the various plovers (birds) breeding in mountainous areas someone who is easily duped First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments I haveContinue reading “trattoria”

Pronounced: DOT-uhr-uhl, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but it turns out I did know some of the background Yesterday’s word The word cognizable means capable of being judicially heard and determined capable of being known First usage Our word came into English in the late 1600s Background / Comments I knew the secondContinue reading “dotterel”

Pronounced: KAHG-nuh-zuh-bell, adj Notes: I knew one of the definitions Yesterday’s word The word gannet is a large seabird known for catching fish by diving from a height a greedy person First usage Our word came into English before 1000 Background / Comments Apparently, the first meaning was the original one. These birds had aContinue reading “cognizable”

Pronounced: GAN-it, noun Notes: Interesting word Yesterday’s word The word prolix means unduly prolonged or drawn out; too long marked by or using an excess of words First usage Our word came into English in the late 1300s to early 1400s Background / Comments Between prolix, verbose, wordy, and redundant, I tend to prefer “verbose”.Continue reading “gannet”

Pronounced: pro-LICKS, adj Notes: Not a word I know, but a useful one Yesterday’s word The word weft is “the threads that run across the width of a woven fabric and are interlaced through the warp (the threads that run lengthwise)” First usage Our word came into English in the early 700s Background / CommentsContinue reading “prolix”

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 to word hard; to toil to churn to make wet or muddy As a noun, it means hard work confusion; turmoil First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments OurContinue reading “apposite”

Pronounced: MOYL, verb/noun Notes: Not really a word I know Yesterday’s word The word demesne means legal possession of land as one’s own the land attached to an estate realm; domain First usage Our word came into English in the late 1200s Background / Comments I was struck by the pronunciation; “dih-MANE” is pretty closeContinue reading “moil”

Pronounced: dih-MANE, noun Notes: Interesting word Yesterday’s word The word dint, as a noun, means force; power a dent 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 usedContinue 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 a long discussion usually between persons of different cultures or levels of sophistication idle talk misleading or beguiling speech First usage Our word came into English in the early 1700s BackgroundContinue reading “dint”