rejectamenta

Pronounced: rih-jek-tuh-MEN-tuh, noun

Notes: This word is a plural noun; you may know the word

Yesterday’s word

The word officious means

  • excessively eager in offering unwanted or unneeded advice or help
  • acting in pompous or domineering manner, especially in trivial matters
First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1400s

Background / Comments

I had an idea of the sense of pomposity; a kind of a stickler for details. What I did not know was that this word originally a good thing: someone who was dutiful or helpful. Over time, the word came to have a negative sense. With that known, our word comes from the Latin word officiosus (dutiful), which came from officium (service).

officious

Pronounced: oh-FISH-us, adj

Notes: You probably know this word, as I did, but I was unaware of the background

Yesterday’s word

The word serein means “a fine rain falling after sunset from a sky in which no clouds are visible”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the French word serein, which came from the Middle French word serain (evening; nightfall). This word came from the Latin word sērum (a late hour), which is the neuter form of sērus (late). I don’t think I’ve ever seen a serein, but after sunset, it is hard to see clouds in the sky.

serein

Pronounced: suh-RAN, noun

Notes: Neat word (but I didn’t know it)

Yesterday’s word

The word purblind means

  • partially blind
  • lacking in understanding, insight, or vision
First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1300s

Background / Comments

I find the background to our word interesting: it is a combination of pure and blind — meaning completely blind. Over time, the sense shifted meaning to our meaning.

purblind

Pronounced: PURR-blind, adj

Notes: You may know this word; I found the background interesting

Yesterday’s word

The word anatine means “resembling a duck, swan, or goose; a member of this family of birds, the Anatidae

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

It it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it must be anatine, eh? Our word came from the Latin word anatinus (of, or pertaining to, a duck), which has the root of anat- (duck).

anatine

Pronounced: AN-uh-tine (alt: AN-uh-tin), noun

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

Yesterday’s word

The word condign means “well-deserved; appropriate”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1400s

Background / Comments

Our word is another useful word to use in conversation; it helps the one using to remember the word, and would, no doubt, be instructive to those hearing him. Our word comes from the Middle English word condigne, which came from Anglo French, which came from the Latin word condignus, made up of com- (completely) and dignus (worthy). This latter word is the source of our word ‘dignity’.

condign

Pronounced: kuhn-DINE, adj

Notes: My pronunciation of this word was wrong; I had the accent on the first syllable

Yesterday’s word

The word rident means “laughing; smiling; cheerful”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

What a nice word to drop into conversation! It comes from the Latin word rīdent, related to the present participle of rīdēre (to laugh).

rident

Pronounced: RIDE-nt, adj

Notes: A nice, useful word, but I didn’t know it

Yesterday’s word

The word blag, as a verb, means “to obtain something by guile; to cheat, rob, snatch, steal, scam, or beg”. As a noun, it means “a robbery, con, or theft”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1930s

Background / Comments

The origin of this word is not known… I don’t remember having every run across it.

blag

Pronounced: blag

Notes: I’ve never run across this word

Yesterday’s word

The word bugbear means

  • any source, real or imaginary, of needless fright or fear
  • a persistent problem or source of annoyance
  • a goblin that eat up naught children [folklore]
First usage

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

Background / Comments

I have run across the second definition of our word, but the third one (from folklore) and the first one are ones that I did not know. Our word is a combination of bug and bear. The word bug does not refer to an insect, but is an obsolete word meaning “a bogy or hobgoblin”. It comes from the Middle English word bugge (scarecrow; demon; hobgoblin). The word bear refers to the animal.

bugbear

Pronounced: BUG-bear, noun

Notes: I knew one of the definitions of this word; do you know it?

Yesterday’s word

The word vermeil, as an adjective, means “bright red in color”. As a noun, it means

  • vermillion color (bright orange-red)
  • metal, such a silver, bronze, or copper that has been guilded
First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1400s

Background / Comments

I think I was wrong in most of the ways about this word; first of all, I didn’t have the pronunciation correct; I thought it was “ver-MEAL”. Secondly, I knew it was a color, but for some reason, I think of blue or green (possibly from thinking of ‘verde’). Red dye used to be made from insects of the genus Kermes. Our word comes from the Latin word vermiculus (little worm, kermes), which is the diminutive form of vermis (worm).