Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: PIE-ler, adj
Notes: I didn’t know this word, but after seeing the definition, I should have known it
The word bankster is “a banker who engages in dishonest or illegal behavior.
Our word came into English in the late 1800s
I have previously posted entries for poetaster and philosophaster. As in those words, the -ster suffix means something derogatory. It is thought that our word is combination of banker and gangster.
Pronounced: BANG-stir, noun
Notes: I didn’t know this word, but it is related to other entries
The word verbigeration is a term of psychiatry and is “the constant or obsessive repetition of meaningless words or phrases, usually indicating mental illness”
Our word came into English in the late 1800s
Our word took me aback a little, as I (for fun) will make up phrases at home. I believe that the mental illness is when one has no control over this. In any event, our word comes from the Latin word verbigerāre (to chat; to converse), which comes from verbum (word) and gerāre, a durative derivation of gerere (to carry on; transact).
Pronounced: verg-bij-uh-RAY-shuhn, noun
Notes: I didn’t know this word
The word entoptic means “relating to images that originate within the eye” (as opposed to images resulting from light entering the eye).
Our word came into English in the late 1800s
One type of entoptic images are the so-called “floaters”. Another type would be the images one gets if one presses lightly upon the closed eyelids. Our word comes from a combination of Greek words: ento- (within) and optic (relating to the eye or sight).
Pronounced: en-TOP-tick, adj
Notes: I may have run across this word in reading, but I could not recall the definition
The word fascicle means
Our word came into English in the late 1400s
Our word comes from the Latin word fasciculus, which is the diminutive of fascis (bundle; pack).
Pronounced: FASS-ih-kuhl, noun
Notes: I didn’t know this word
The word constative, as a noun, means “a statement that can be judged as true or false”. As an adjective, it means “capable of being true or false”.
Our word came into English in the first decade of the 1900s
Subjective statements (opinions, for example) are not fascicle: “I enjoyed the movie” cannot be judged true or false. Objective statements can: “The sky is blue” is a constative. Our word comes from the Latin word constare (to stand firm).
Pronounced: kuhn-STAY-tiv (alt: KON-stuh-tiv), noun/adj
Notes: Not a word I know
The word operose means
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
After seeing the definition, I was reminded of “opus” (work). In fact, our word comes from the Latin word operōsus (busy, active), from oper-, a stem of opus (work).
Pronounced: OP-uh-rose, adj
Notes: This is another word that I didn’t know, but after seeing the definition, I could see it
The word punalua is “a group of brothers marrying a group of sisters”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
This word is a Hawaiian one.
Pronounced: poo-nuh-LOO-uh, noun
Notes: This word looks a bit like luau, but it isn’t
The word procrustean means “tending to produce conformity by violent or arbitrary means”
Our word came into English in the mid-1600s
Our word means “like Procrustes”; Procrustes was a robber who invited people to rest in his bed, but then he either stretched their limbs or amputated them in order to make them fit the bed. Thus, we get the meaning of our word.
Pronounced: pro-KRUS-tee-uhn, adj
Notes: This word can be upper case as well
The word apricity means “warmth of the sun; basking in the sun”
Our word came into English in the early 1600s
A neat little word. It comes from the Latin word apricari (to bask in the sun).
Pronounced: a-PRISS-ih-tee, noun
Notes: This word has nothing to do with apricots (in case you were wondering)
The word effulgent means “shining forth brilliantly; radiant”
Our word came into English in the mid-1700s
Our word comes from the Latin word effulgent, which traces back to ef- (out; thoroughly) combined with fulgēre (to shine).
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day