Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: KOM-uh-nate, verb
Notes: My guess at the meaning was way off
The word afflated means “having inspiration; inspired”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
Our word comes from the obsolete verb afflate (to inspire), which came from the Latin word afflātus, which is the past participle of afflāre (to breathe upon), from af- (towards) and flāre (to blow). I find it interesting that we still have afflated, but afflate is obsolete.
Pronounced: uh-FLAY-tid, adj
Notes: I haven’t run across this word, and could not figure out the meaning
The word slithy means “smooth and active; slimy; slithery”
Our word came into English in the late 1800s
This word was created by Lewis Carroll in the novel Through the Looking-Glass (full title is Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There), published in 1871. This novel is the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, published in 1865. Through the Looking-Glass has a kind of chess theme (instead of playing cards, as in the first book). I’ve read that all chess pieces are represented except a bishop. This is also the book than contains “Jabberwocky” and “The Walrus and the Carpenter”, as well as the characters Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Our word is a combination of slimy and lithe.
Pronounced: SLIH-thee, adj
Notes: You may know this word (I recognized it, but could not properly define it)
The word sororal means “of, relating to, or characteristic of, a sister or sisters; sisterly”
Our word came into English in the mid-1600s
When I saw this word, I thought of ‘sorrel’ and thought it may be related to horses somehow. After I saw the definition, I realized that the same basis is used for ‘sorority’, and I certainly should have been able to figure out the definition. Our word comes from the Latin word soror (sister).
Pronounced: suh-RAWR-uhl (alt: suh-ROAR-uhl), adj
Notes: This is one of those words that I didn’t know, but after I saw the definition, I thought “Of course! I should have known this word!”
The word blet means “to over-ripen to the point of rotting”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
Our word was coined by botanist John Lindley in the 1830s; he took it from the French word blettir (to over-ripen).
Pronounced: blet, verb
Notes: I didn’t know this word existed
The word rubricate means
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
When I saw the second definition, I thought “What does rubrics mean?” While it can refer to a heading in a book that is done is larger type, and often in a different color (historically red), I believe that in context, the meaning here is “a guide listing specific criteria for grading or scoring academic papers, projects, or tests”. Our word comes from the late Latin word rūbrīcātus, the past participle of rūbrīcāre (to color red), from rūbrīca (red ocher).
Occasionally, I run across a word that I happen to know, but I don’t think is well known, so I post it as a rejected word. Today that word is ululate (to howl or wail). There used to be a humor group called Capitol Steps (they do political satire), and one of their routines used the word ululate, and I learned it. They pronounced it “YOUL-yuh-late”, but apparently, the preferred pronunciation is “UHL-yuh-late”.
Pronounced: ROO-brih-kate, verb
Notes: You may be able to guess at the meaning
The word exaptation means “the adaptation of a trait for a purpose other than for which is was evolved”
This word was created in the 1980s
The word was coined by Stephen J Gould in 1981: it is a combination of ex- (out) and adaptation, which itself is made up of ad- (toward) and aptare (to fit). Personally, I find the meaning a bit silly, as who is really to say what “the purpose” of a trait really was. An example of ‘feathers’ was given. It is said that “purpose” of feathers was warmth and later they were used for flight. Perhaps God gave feathers to birds for the dual purpose of warmth and flight.
Pronounced: ek-sap-TAY-shuhn, noun
Notes: I’ve not run across this word
The word philosophaster means “a person who only has a superficial knowledge of philosophy or who feigns a knowledge he or she does not possess”
Our word came into English in the early 1600s
Yesterday, I really should have had that I have met a philosophaster, but I thought that it might give too much away. It was in the course of work; we had installed some software, and were training people to maintain the system. The lead maintenance software engineer had read the manuals enough to pick up some of the technical terms, and he would randomly throw these words in to impress his superiors. To us (who had written and knew the system), it was clear that he was spouting gibberish, but it impressed those who didn’t know the system. He did sound impressive; unfortunately, he didn’t have any idea of how the system worked. We found it highly amusing; fortunately, our manager had a quiet word with some of the higher-ups and was able to get the guy re-assigned. To this day, I don’t know if if he ever realized that we were fully aware of his pretense at knowledge. When I saw our word, I immediately thought of this guy. You may have had a guess at the meaning if you recall the post of poetaster from last year, where -aster is a Latin pejorative (something that imperfectly resembles or mimics the real thing) combined with philosopher, which came from the Latin word philosophus (philosopher), which came from the Greek word philósophus (philosopher), made up up philo- (loving) and sophía (wisdom).
Pronounced: fi-loss-uh-FAS-ter (alt: fi-LOSS-uh-fas-ter), noun
Notes: I didn’t know this word, but I do know what this word is
The word petrichor means “the pleasant smell of the first rain after a dry spell”
Our word came into English (was coined) in the 1960s
I happened to know this word because it was used in a Doctor Who show called The Doctor’s Wife, which aired in May 2011. Our word was used and defined in the show to be something like ‘the smell of the earth after rain’. I had never heard the word before and assumed that it was made up for the show, and then later discovered that it was a real word. Our word was coined by IJ Bear and RG Thomas in 1964; it is from two Greek words: petros (stone) and ichor (the fluid that slows in the veins of the Greek gods).
Pronounced: PET-rih-kuhr, noun
Notes: I happen to know this word
The word degust means “to taste or savor carefully or appreciatively”
Our word came into English in the early 1600s
Our word comes from the Latin word degustare (to taste or try), which is composed of de- (a Latin intensifier) plus gustare (to taste).
Pronounced: dih-GUST, verb
Notes: Pretty close to disgust, but it’s not that word
The word roué means “a man devoted to a life of sensual pleasure; rake”
Our word came into English in the late 1700s
Yesterday, I noted that most people have heard this word: if you’ve ever seen the film The Sound of Music, you have heard the word. When the oldest girl, Liesl, sneaks out of the house meets with Rolfe, they sing Sixteen Going on Seventeen. In the first part of the song, Rolfe is trying to impress Liesl of her naïveté says “…fellows will fall in line – eager young lads, and roués, and cads will offer you food and wine. Totally unprepared are you…” At first, I could not remember the word, but then the above line came back to me. As you might guess, our word is a French word; it began to take on its meaning when it was used to refer to the disreputable (libertine) companions of Philippe II. The word roué literally means “broken on the wheel”, and came from the Latin word rota (wheel). The wheel was an instrument of punishment, so the word was used for people who were deserving of that punishment.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day