roué

Pronounced: rue-AYE (long a), noun

Notes: This is a word that most everybody has heard, but may not realize that they have heard it, or even what it means.

Yesterday’s word

The word chiaroscuro is “the distribution of light and shade in a picture or sketch”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1600s

Background / Comments

I don’t think I’ve run across this word; it seems somewhat technical to me. However, I don’t know much about art, so maybe people who are familiar with art will recognize it. Our word comes from the Italian word chiaroscuro, which is composed of chiaro (bright), which comes from the Latin word clārus and+ oscuro (dark), which comes from the Latin word obscūrus.

chiaroscuro

Pronounced: kee-ahr-uh-SKYOOR-oh, noun

Notes: This is a somewhat technical word

Yesterday’s word

The word ecdysiast is “a person who disrobes to provide entertainment for others”

First usage

Our word was created in the 1940s

Background / Comments

Our word was created by HL Mencken from ecdysis (shedding; molting), which came from the Greek word ekdysis (casting off), which is a combination of ek- (out) and dyein (to put on).

ecdysiast

Pronounced: ek-DIZ-ee-ast, noun

Notes: I don’t know this word

Yesterday’s word

The word oeuvre means “the complete works of a writer, painter, musician, or the like, taken as a whole”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1800s

Background / Comments

Our word comes directly from French word oeuvre (work), which comes from the Latin word opera (work; effort). I think I’ve run across this word in the work of Peter Schickele – he created the fictional person of PDQ Bach and in one of the PDQ Bach pieces, I think our word is used (it has been quite a while since I’ve listened to my collection, and I’m not sure which work this is a part of).

oeuvre

Pronounced: ERV-ruh, noun (the UK pronunciation has this as a one-syllable word)

Notes: I think I’ve heard this word, but wasn’t clear on the spelling or meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word snowclone refers to a cliche adapted to a new use

First usage

Our word came into English in the first decade of the 2000s

Background / Comments

The word was coined by Glen Whitman, an economics professor, in 2004. It originally referred to statements about Eskimos having many words for snow, which is expanded into forms like “If Eskimos have 20 words for snow, Texas have 40 words for heat.” Another example is the original Star Trek line: “I’m a doctor, not a bricklayer!” (from The Devil in the Dark, which first aired in 1967). A snowclone of this would be anything of the order “I’m a X, not a Y”; for example, “I’m an accountant, not a magician!”. There are a lot of phrases that have become snowclones, ranging from Shakespeare (‘my kingdom for a horse’ ==> ‘my kingdom for a[n] X’) to famous letters to the editor (‘Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus’ ==> ‘Yes, Virginia, there is a X’) to movies (‘You’re gonna need a bigger boat’ ==> ‘We’re gonna need a bigger X’).

snowclone

Pronounced: SNOW-klone, noun

Notes: I have run across snowclones, but did not know this word

Yesterday’s word

The word frisson means “a sudden, passing sensation of excitement; a shudder of emotion; thrill”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1700s

Background / Comments

The key part of this definition is “sudden” and “passing” in whatever emotion is being presented. Our word comes from the French word frisson (shiver; shudder), which comes from the Old French word friçons, which comes from the Late Latin word frictiōnem, the accusative of frictiō (to shiver), which is a derivative of frīgēre (to be cold).

frisson

Pronunciation: free-SONE, noun

Notes: I’ve run across the word, but could not properly define it

Yesterday’s word

The word windrow, as a noun, means

  • a row of raked hay laid to dry in the wind before being baled
  • a row of leaves, dust, snow, or other material swept together

As a verb, it meas “to arrange in a windrow”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1500s

Background / Comments

Growing up on a farm, I have seen multiple windrows, but I didn’t know the name for them. It seems clear that the verb came from the noun. Moreover, I assume that the first definition is the original one, and the second definition arose from non-raked-hay materials that looked like a woodrow. The word is just “wind” and “row” put together.

windrow

Pronounced: WIND-roh, noun/verb

Notes: Looks like “window” misspelled

Yesterday’s word

The word cacography means

  • poor penmanship; bad handwriting
  • incorrect spelling
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1500s

Background / Comments

I recognized recognized the parts of our word caco- (bad), which comes from the Greek word kakos (bad) and graphy (writing), which comes from the Greek word graphia. So, our word means literally “bad writing”, so I knew it meant bad handwriting, or thus penmanship. However, I was not aware that it also included bad spelling.

cacography

Pronounced: kuh-KOG-ruh-fee, noun

Notes: You might be able to figure out this word

Yesterday’s word

The word unwonted means “unusual or unaccustomed”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

I’ve run across this word in reading, and I had a sense of the meaning from the context. However, I was pronouncing it like it was “unwanted”. Our word comes from un- (negation) and the Middle English word woned, wont (accustomed), which is the past principle of wonen (to be used to, to well).

unwonted

Pronounced: un-WON-tid, adj

Notes: This word is a bit of a cheat; I do happen to know the word, but I don’t think it is well known. However, I did not know if well enough to pronounce it properly.

Yesterday’s word

The word lambent means

  • dealing lightly and gracefully with a subject; brilliantly playful
  • running or moving lightly over a surface
  • softly bright or radiant
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Latin word lambent-, a stem of lambēns (lapping), which is the present participle of lambere (to lick; to wash — used of fire or water).

lambent

Pronounced: LAM-bunt, adj

Notes: A word I don’t know

Yesterday’s word

The word gapeseed means

  • one who stares especially with an open mouth
  • something that is an object of staring; anything unusual
First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

Our word is a combination of gape, which comes from the Old Norse word gapa (to open the mouth; stare) and seed, which comes from the Old English word saed (seed). The idiom that the word comes from is “to sow gapeseed”, which means to stare at something (for example, a fair) instead of doing one’s word (such as sowing seed).