Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: zoe-uh-MORE-fick, adj
Notes: I didn’t quite get the meaning correct
The word gelt means “money”
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
I think I’ve heard this word in a movie or in a TV show, but I cannot recall any details. Our word is from the Yiddish word gelt (money), which came from the German/Dutch word geld (money).
Pronounced: gelt, noun
Notes: I think I’ve run across the word, but I could not remember the meaning – do you?
The word florilegium is “a volume of writings; anthology”
Our word came into English in the mid-1600s
Well, it turns out that my instincts were not so far off: People who create florilegia (the plural of our word) are gathering the best of stories, much as one would gather a bouquet of good flowers. Our word came from a New Latin word that came from the Latin word florilegus (culling flowers). Our word was first a collection of flowers, and then a book about flowers, and finally a collection of the flowers of literature. Rather to my surprise, the word “anthology” has a similar origin, but instead of Latin, it traces back to a Greek word for “flower gathering”.
Pronounced: floor-uh-LEE-juhm (alt: floor-uh-LEE-jee-uhm), noun
Notes: I didn’t know the meaning, but “flor…” made me think of flowers
The word coventrate means “to devastate, such as by heavy bombing”
Our word came into English in the 1940s
Our word goes back to the bombing of Coventry in central England; it was devastated by German bombing in Nov 1940. The Germans coined a verb coventrieren, which came into English very quickly as coventrate.
Pronounced: KOV-uhn-trate, verb
Notes: I didn’t know the meaning of this at first glance
The word bouquiniste is “a dealer in secondhand books”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
When I read the origins of our word, it sounded familiar, so I did what I should have before I posted it — I checked, and I have already posted this word, but hadn’t remembered. If I forgot, I hope any readers have done so also, and won’t terribly mind a repeat. As you probably know, our word is French. Originally, there were books for sale along the river Seine in Paris. These were called bouquin in French. Booksellers were outlawed from selling on the bridge, and when they set up shop along the embankment, and were called boutquinistes, and from there the word passed into English.
Pronounced: boo-key-NEEST, noun
Notes: My guess at the meaning was way off the mark
The word myology is
Our word came into English in the mid-1600s
Clearly, the -ology ending of our word means “study”; the first part is myo-/my- (muscle), but it came from the Greek word mys (mouse; muscle). Interesting that the same word is used for “muscle” and “mouse” — it’s because some think that flexing a muscle (such as ones biceps) resembles the movement of a mouse.
Pronounced: my-AH-luh-jee, noun
Notes: Not a word I’ve run across
The word boondoggle is
Our word came into English in the 1930s
Some people say that the origin of our word is unknown, but others indicate that Robert Link, a scoutmaster in the 1920s, created the term for the braided leather cords made an worn by scouts. A boondoggle was presented to the Prince of Wales at the 1929 World Jamboree, and the word thereafter spread. It isn’t quite clear how the term came to be used in the second meeting. I have heard boondoggle used to describe unnecessary trips taken by politicians at the taxpayer’s expense. I’ve heard it used at work, where it seemed to be applied to trips taken on expense accounts that were not actually necessary.
Pronounced: BOON-dah-gull, noun
Notes: I’ve heard this word used, but I did not know the correct meaning
The word unshirted means
Our word came into English in the 1930s
As noted yesterday, our word does not mean shirtless, which means “poor”. There is another word “shirty” that means “bad-tempered”. Our word is un- (not) combined with shirt, which comes from the Old English word scyrte.
Pronounced: un-SURE-tid, adj
Notes: This word is not the same as “shirtless”
The word indite means
Our word came into English in the mid-1300s
As I noted yesterday, our word is a homophone of “indict” (to charge with a crime). Our word is the older, and, in fact, “indict” was an alteration from our word, and came about 200 years later. Our word came from the Latin word indicere (to make known formally; to proclaim), which is made up of in- and dicere (to talk; speak; say).
Pronounced: in-DITE, verb
Notes: I believe this is a homophone of “indict”, and I got this word confused with that one
The word zounds is an interjection that expresses surprise or indignation.
Our word came into English in the late 1500s
I have only heard this expression on an old radio show; I’ve never heard it in person, nor have I heard anyone say it in my presence. Our word is a contraction of “God’s wounds”.
Pronounced: ZOWNDZ, interjection
Notes: I have heard this word only, but I did not know much about it
The word uxorial means “of, relating to, or characteristic of a wife”
Our word came into English in the late 1700s
Our word came from the Latin root word uxor (wife). I have run across legal documents describing, for example, “Mr Anderson et ux Carol” (literally “Mr Anderson and wife Carol”).
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