pricket

Pronounced: PRIK-it, noun

Notes: Looks like a misspelling of “picket” (as in “picket fence”) – a new word to me

Yesterday’s word

The word tautology is “the needless repetition of an idea, especially in words”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

Apparently, the common example of a tautology is “widow woman”… I spent a few minutes trying to think of something else; I can think of straight, unnecessary repetition, such as “ATM machine” or “PIN number”, but our word seems to be used when the other word is not the same, but adds nothing. I have had annoying conversations when I ask a yes/no question and get back a lengthy statement that could have been stated as “yes” — these may be an example of tautological conversation, which sounds nice. Our word comes from the Late Latin word tautologia, which came from the Greek word tautología (repetition of something already said).

tautology

Pronounced: taw-TAHL-uh-jee, noun

Notes: I’ve seen this word used, but wasn’t sure of the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word pinchgut means, as a noun, “a miserly person”; as an adjective, it means “miserly”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

Our word has a nautical origin: it originally meant someone who didn’t give enough food to a ship’s crew (presumably causing their “guts” to pinch together).

Rejected Word

The word rigmarole came up; my first thought was that it was a typo; I was sure it was rigamarole (because that’s how I pronounce it). It had the meaning I thought (“confused or meaningless talk”). I learned that the word is also spelled rigamarole – due to the common pronunciation of “RIH-guh-muh-roll”. The origin of the word is also interesting: in the Middle Ages, there was a game called Ragmane or Ragman: a player randomly selected a string attached to a roll of verses and read the selected verse. The roll was called a “Ragman roll” after the fictional king who supposedly wrote the verses. In the 1500s, ragman and ragman roll referred to a list or catalog. These terms fell our of written use, the in speech, ragman roll persisted and became, in the 1700s, written as rigmarole to mean “a succession of confused, meaningless, or foolish statements”.

pinchgut

Pronounced: PINCH-gut, noun/adj

Notes: This word is new to me

Yesterday’s word

The word hypocorism is

  • a pet name
  • the practice of using a pet name
  • the use of forms of speech imitative of baby talk
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Instead of “pet name”, I’ve seen the word defined as a “nickname”. The third definition is new to me; I don’t remember it from before. Our word came from the Greek word hypokórisma (pet name; endearing name).

hypocorism

Pronounced: high-POCK-uh-riz-uhm (alt: hih-POCK-uh-riz-uhm), noun

Notes: I think I posted this word at work some years ago, but not here

Yesterday’s word

The word bludge, as a noun, means “an easy task”. As a verb it means

  • to shirk responsibility
  • to obtains something through the generosity of others; to scrounge
First usage

Our word came into English in the 1910s

Background / Comments

Yesterday, I thought our word looked like it should be related to bludgeon, which I knew was a kind of club, so I thought our word had the meaning of hitting someone. While that idea was wrong, our word does indeed descend from bludgeon, in a convoluted way. Incidentally, the origin of bludgeon is not known. From the verb bludgeon (to force into something) came bludge on (to impose on someone). From the noun bludgeon came the back formation bludge (to use a bludgeon). From bludge came bludger, someone who would do the bludging – it came to mean a harlot’s bully or pimp. Apparently through this path, the meaning of “to shirk” came out. I told you it was convoluted!

bludge

Pronounced: bluhj, verb/noun

Notes: I thought this might have have something to do with hitting another person (nope!)

Yesterday’s word

The word previse means “to forsee” or “to forewarn”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1400s

Background / Comments

I thought that most might get this meaning, seeing pre- (before) and vise with looks like it comes from the base of “vision” or “seeing”. That’s mostly right, but the word comes from late Middle English, where is came from the Latin word praevīsus, the past participle of praevidēre (to forsee).

previse

Pronounced: prih-VIZE, verb

Notes: I didn’t know this word, but you may be able to correctly guess it

Yesterday’s word

The word codswallop means “nonsense”

First usage

This word came into English in the 1950s

Background / Comments

I knew this word, but there is a story behind this word that I didn’t know. In reality, the origin of the word is not known, but I thought the unproven story was worth sharing: A man named Hiram Codd designed a soft drink bottle that had a marble in its neck to keep the fizz. The word “wallop” was slang for beer; those who preferred alcoholic drinks referred to the Hiram’s drink as “Codd’s Wallop”. I’m kind of surprised that something so relatively recent has an unknown origin.

codswallop

Pronounced: KODZ-wall-up, noun

Notes: This is a word that knew, but I liked the origin story

Yesterday’s word

The word anon means

  • in a short time; soon; immediately
  • at another time
First usage

Very old; the word dates back to before 1000.

Background / Comments

I learned this word as a freshman in high school, where Romeo and Juliet was taught in English class. I don’t have the Act or Scene, but there is a point in which character calls to another (I think Juliet to a nurse or governess or vice versa) and the response is “I come anon”. I understood this to mean “right away”; I was not fully aware of the second meaning above. Our word comes from the Middle English word anon or anoon, which came from Old English on āne (in one course; straightaway).

anon

Pronounced: uh-NON, adv

Notes: This is not short for anonymous…

Yesterday’s word

The word copacetic means “excellent; satisfactory; OK”

First usage

Our word goes back to the 1910s

Background / Comments

For some reason, I thought our word was Italian, but apparently, there are multiple theories about the origin: some say it comes from Black English; others say Louisiana French. Some say Italian, Yiddish, and Hebrew. It appears that there is no convincing evidence for any of these theories. I’ve heard our word in phrases like “Everything’s copacetic.”, so I thought it meant quiet or untroubled. Thus, I was close to the true meaning, but not exactly right.

copacetic

Pronounced: koh-puh-SEH-tick, adj

Notes: Also copasetic. I kind of know this word (it was marginal)

Yesterday’s word

The word estivate means

  • to spend the summer, as at a specific place of in a certain activity
  • (in zoology) to spend a hot, dry season in an inactive, dormant state, as certain reptiles, snails, and insects.
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

I assume the zoological definition was first, and it became more generalized to the first listed definition. I actually have not heard it used for the first definition above; I’ve heard it used as a contrast to ‘hibernate’. Our word comes from the Latin word aestīvātus, which is the part participle of aestīvāre (to reside during the summer).

estivate

Pronounced: ESS-tuh-vate, verb

Notes: I didn’t originally know this word, but I think I’ve run across it multiple times, so it was marginal, but I added it

Yesterday’s word

The word Struwwelpeter is “a personStruwwelpeter with long, think, disheveled hair” (think of the famous picture of Einstein with his hair all wild)

First usage

Our word came into English in the first decade of the 1900s

Background / Comments

You may have noticed that the word is capitalized; that should have been a clue that our word in German in origin (it’s my understanding that in German, nouns are always capitalized). It is named after a fictional person in the book Der Struwwelpeter (Shockheaded Peter), written by Heinrich Hoffman and published in 1845.