Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: shur-muh-NESK, adj
Notes: You may know the origin of the word, but do you know the meaning?
The word galoot means “an awkward, eccentric, or foolish person”
Our word came into English in the early 1800s
In my mind’s eye, I can hear Yosemite Sam using the phrase “ya ijit galoot!”… thus, I was aware that it was a disparaging term, but I didn’t actually know this meaning. The origin of this slang word is unknown.
Pronounced: guh-LOOT, noun
Notes: I’ve heard this word in Bugs Bunny (Yosemite Sam), but I didn’t quite know the meaning
The word fane means “a place of worship”
Our word came into English in the late 1300s
Our word comes from the Latin word fanum (temple).
Pronounced: FAIN, noun
Notes: I don’t think I’ve every run across this word
The word hallux is, in humans, “the big toe”, or, more technically, “the first of innermost digit of the foot of humans and primates”. In bird, it refers to “the comparable, usually backward-directed digit”.
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
Our word came from the Late Latin word (h)allux from Latin hallus, associated with pollex (thumb).
Pronounced: HAL-ucks, noun
Notes: Some people may know this word
The word symphysis means “a growing together”
Our word first came into English in the mid-1500s
I recognized the ‘sym-‘ (syn- or sun- in Greek) as meaning ‘together’, as in symphony (sounding together) or symbiosis (living together), but didn’t recognize the rest of the word. Our word came into English from Latin, and into Latin from the Greek word symphysis (growing together), which is composed of syn- (with; together) and phyein (to grow). This word is often found in anatomy to describe the fusion of two bones or cartilages.
Pronounced: SIM-fih-sis, noun
Notes: I knew part of the word
The word dalles means “the rapids of a river running between the walls of a canyon or gorge”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
The reason that our word is one that I didn’t know that I knew is because our word has an alternate spelling (and pronunciation) “dells”. I grew up in northern Illinois, and the Wisconsin Dells were well-known. Even before seeing the definition, that was the idea I had in mind for the meaning of “dells” (but I was thinking more of waterfalls than rapids). This word is primarily found in America (another Americanism). It came from Canadian French, where it is the plural of the French word dial, which came from the Normandy word dalles (sink).
Pronounced: dolls, noun
Notes: This is one of those words that I knew, but didn’t know that I knew
The word politic means “tactful; shrewd”
Our word came into English in the mid-1400s
Our word came from the Old French word politique (political), which came from the Latin word politicus (political), which came from the Greek word politikos, which came from polites (citizen), which came from polis (city).
Pronounced: POLL-ih-tick, adj
Notes: I’ve run across this word and had a vague idea of the meaning
The word railbird is
Our word came into English (well, American English) in the late 1800s
The “rail” part of this word refers, not to railroads (as I thought), but to the rails along racetracks. It seems clear that the second definition appeared first. Such a person, after sufficient watching would consider himself an expert, and thus, the first definition above. When I looked this word up on the internet, it seems that the definition has undergone further changes, and can now refer to any self-styled critic or expert or kibitzer. The word is a combination of rail (mentioned previously) and bird (in the sense of “a frequent visitor, as used in ‘jailbird’ or ‘yardbird’). This word is mostly used or found in America (an “Americanism”).
Pronounced: RALE-bird, noun
Notes: It looked to me like it was someone fond of trains, but no
The phrase salad days means
Our phrase came about in the early 1600s
Our phrase would appear to have been invented by Shakespeare, and was used in the play Antony and Cleopatra, and there clearly meant the first definition. It is not clear how or when the second definition came about.
Pronounced: [as it sounds], noun
Notes: This phrase has nothing to do with diets (heh); it is one of the phrases that I have read, but I didn’t know the proper definition
The word catchpenny is “a trinket; something made to sell readily at a low price, regardless of value or use”
Our word came into English in the mid-1700s
Our word comes from the phrase “catch a penny” — something that sells at a low price would indeed catch pennies. Back in those days, there was also a halfpenny and a farthing (a quarter of a penny).
Pronounced: KACH-pen-ee, noun
Notes: I’ve run across this word, and had an idea of the meaning, but I wasn’t quite right
Curiously, the word dabster means
Our word came into English in the early 1700s
It is a bit odd to have a word that has such widely different meanings. Apparently, in the UK, the first definition is used most often; in the US, the second definition is used more often. Our word comes from the word dab (an expert) and -ster (a suffix meaning a person engaged in some activity; it is also used as a diminutive and as a derogatory suffix). In the now extinct comic strip User Friendly, one of the characters is called ‘Sid Dabster’.
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