Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: kuh-MEE-lee-uhs, adj Notes: My thoughts flew (incorrectly) to a flower Yesterday’s word The word solstitial means of, relating to, or characteristic of a solstice happening or appearing at or associated with a solstice First usage The reference material I consulted do not agree; one says that the word arrived in English in the 1300s;Continue 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 the view or theory that the self is all that exists or can be known to exist self-absorption or self-centeredness First usage OurContinue 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 bad handwriting bad spelling First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I should have been able to guessContinue 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 occurring every day belonging to each day; everyday commonplace; ordinary 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 / cottīdiānusContinue 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”

Pronounced: BEH-nuh-dikt, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word existed Yesterday’s word The word gramarye is “occult learning; magic” First usage Our word is old; coming into English in the early 1300s Background / Comments I don’t do much reading in that area, so the word was unknown to me. It comes from the OldContinue reading “benedict”