marrowsky

Pronounced: MUH-rau-ski, noun

Notes: I’ve not run across this word, but you probably know its synonym

Yesterday’s word

The word abrade means “to scrape off or to wear off or down by scraping or rubbing”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1600s

Background / Comments

I think I’ve run across this word – it certainly has a good, useful meaning. Once again, we look to Latin; our word comes from the Latin word abrādere (to scrape away from), which comes from ab- (away from) and rādere (to scrape).

abrade

Pronounced: uh-BRADE, verb

Notes: This word sounds like one I should know

Yesterday’s word

The word nullifidian means, as a noun, “an atheist; a person who has no religious faith or belief in God (or any gods)” As an adjective, it means “having no faith or belief”

First usage

Our word goes way back to the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

I said that you may be able to work out the meaning; if you saw “null” (or possibly “nullify”) and the root “fidi” (faith). In fact, that is the origin of our word: it’s from the Latin words nullus (no) and fides (faith). A nullifidian seems to me to be a rather sad thing. I’m reminded of a quote from the first season of the TV series Babylon 5: …I am both terrified and reassured to know that there are still wonders in the Universe — that we have not yet explained everything.

nullifidian

Pronounced: null-uh-FID-ee-uhn, noun/adj

Notes: You might be able to work this one out

Yesterday’s word

The word procellous means “stormy, as on the sea”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Our word comes to us from Latin; specifically, the word procellōsus (stormy), which came from procella (a storm) with the adjective-making suffix -ōsus (-ous in English). I’m just a little surprised that I haven’t run across this word or any part of it.

procellous

Pronounced: pro-SELL-us, adj

Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word

Yesterday’s word

The word mithridatism means “the developing of immunity to a poison by gradually increasing the dose”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Our word is named after King Mithridates VI (king of Pontus, an area now in Turkey). He reigned from 120 BC to 63 BC. His father was poisoned, so (little wonder) he wanted to develop an immunity to poison. It is said that he succeeded by ingesting gradually increasing amounts. King Mithridates VI was defeated by Pompey; ironically (as it was said), he was afraid of being captured alive and attempted to commit suicide by taking poison — but due to his built-up immunity, it didn’t work… so he gave his sword to a servant and had the servant kill him with the sword. If you haven’t figured it out, I ran across our word when researching the entry for tachyphylaxis.

mithridatism

Pronounced: MITH-rih-day-tiz-um, noun

Notes: I ran across this word while researching a recent word, and thought the background was interesting (and it gave me a laugh)

Yesterday’s word

The word boscage is “a mass of trees or shrubs”

First usage

Our word came into English in the second half of the 1300s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Middle English boskage, which came from the Middle French word boscage.

boscage

Pronounced: BAHS-kij, noun

Notes: Not a cage for your boss…

Yesterday’s word

The word tachyphylaxis means “successively decreased response to a drug or a toxin over time”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1910s

Background / Comments

As an avid reader of detective/crime/mystery stories, one of the good plots involves tachyphylaxis – the criminal will take gradually increasing amounts of some poison (arsenic, usually), and thus build up an immunity to what would be fatal dose to another person. He then shares a poisonous meal with the victim, who dies. If the source of poison is not known, the criminal can be find and can say that it couldn’t have been in the meal, since he shared the meal and is fine. If the source of the poison is known, he can pretend to be ill himself, but he recovers. Our word comes from a combination of Greek words: tachy- (swift) and phylaxis (protection). People who take long-term prescriptions may run across the other side of the meaning: to get the same effect, they either need to take higher doses, or they need to change medicine.

tachyphylaxis

Pronounced: tak-uh-fih-LACK-sis, noun

Notes: What a word! Some people might know this

Yesterday’s word

The word crepitate means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”

First usage

A rare dual usage; our word came into English in the early 1600s but with a different (and now obsolete) meaning (see below); the meaning given above is from the mid-1800s.

Background / Comments

Somehow, sitting in front of a “creptitating” fire doesn’t really have the same impact as sitting in front of a “crackling” fire. When our word first came into English in the 1600s, it meant “to fart”. Our word comes from the Latin word crepitātus, which is the past participle of crepitāre (to rattle; rustle; chatter; fart).

crepitate

Pronounced: KREP-ih-tate, verb

Notes: Not at all what I thought

Yesterday’s word

The word nephalism means “teetotalism; abstinence from alcohol”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

One who practices nephalism is a ‘nephalist’. I am a nephalist; given all of the problems caused by drinking and drunkenness, I think America would be better off if nephalism was more popular. People tend to imagine that they have better self-control than they actually do; I don’t know of anyone who deliberately becomes a drunkard. Then there are those that cannot stop drinking once they start. I think nephalism is a safer practice. There is a very active anti-tobacco lobby, even though the dangers from ‘secondhand smoke’ has been highly exaggerated. I wish this group would turn their attention to alcoholism instead of tobacco. Well, enough of that… our word comes the from the Greek word nephalios (sober).

nephalism

Pronounced: NEE-fuh-liz-uhm, noun

Notes: I didn’t know this word, but I like it; it would be good to drop into conversation

Yesterday’s word

The word opuscule means

  • a small or minor word
  • a literary or musical work of small size
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Our word comes from the Latin word opusculum, which is made up of opus (work) and -culum (a suffix denoting smallness). I have heard of opus, but with the emphasis on the first syllable (OH-puhs). Our word, with the emphasis on “puhs” just confused me and I didn’t see “opus” in the word. One of the things I thought was that it was some horrid medical condition.

opuscule

Notes: My mind thought of several possible meanings; none of them correct.

Pronounced: oh-PUHS-kyool, noun

Yesterday’s word

The word hurly-burly, as a noun, means “disorder; confusion; commotion; uproar”. As an adjective, it means “characterized by disorder, confusion, commotion, uproar”.

First usage

Our word came into English way back in the mid-1400s

Background / Comments

I tend to confuse our word with ‘hurdy-gurdy’, which is a kind of musical instrument. Our word is thought to come from the a duplication of hurling, from the verb hurl (to toss). When there is disorder, confusion, etc, our senses seem to be tossed about.