crapulous

Pronounced: KRAP-yuh-luhs, adj

Notes: Not what one might think

Yesterday’s word

The word alembic means

  • an apparatus formerly used in distilling
  • something that refines, purifies, or transforms
First usage

This word came into English in the early7 1400s

Background / Comments

I cannot recall ever hearing or reading of a still called an alembic, but the word has made quite a journey into English. It came to us from Old French, and it came there from the Latin word alembicus, which comes the the Arabic word al-anbiq (the still), which itself came from the Greek word ambix (cup).

alembic

Pronounced: uh-LEM-bick, noun

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

Yesterday’s word

The word gloze means “to explain away something; to extenuate or make seem less serious; to gloss over”

First usage

This word goes way back to the mid- to late 1200s

Background / Comments

The word came from Middle English, and into Middle English from the Old French word gloser and into Old French from the Medieval Latin word glossāre.

gloze

Pronounced: glowz (like it sounds), verb

Notes: I don’t know this word, but I know a close phrase

Yesterday’s word

The word sybaritic means “devoted to or related to luxury and pleasure”

First usage

This word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

This word comes from an ancient Greek city called Sybaris, located in southern Italy. It was noted for its wealth; its residents were notorious for their love of luxury. This is a good word to know to describe someone devoted to pleasure.

sybaritic

Pronounced: sib-uh-RIT-ick, adj

Notes: I have run across this word in reading (but I don’t remember where), but I didn’t know the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word imprest means “a loan or advance of money”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

It is thought that our word, a noun, came from the obsolete verb imprest (to advance money to). That word came from the Italian word imprestare, which came from Medieval Latin imprestāre (to lend), which came from Latin im- plus praestāre (to tender; offer; present)

imprest

Pronounced: IHM-prest, noun

Notes: A useful word, but I don’t think I’ve ever run across this word before

Yesterday’s word

The word cramoisy means, as an adjective, “of a crimson color”. As a noun, it is “crimson cloth”

First usage

This is an old word, going back to the early 1400s

Background / Comments

Our word had an interesting journey. It came into English from the French word cramoisi, which came from the Spanish word carmesi, which comes from the Arabic word qirmizi (of kermes [kermes is a red dye made from insects]).

cramoisy

Pronounced: KRAM-oy-zee (alt: kruh-MOY-zee), adj/noun

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

Yesterday’s word

The word chuffed is British slang for “pleased or delighted”; oddly enough, it can also mean the opposite: “annoyed or displeased”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

I’ve only heard this used for the first meaning (pleased/delighted). Our word comes from chuff (to please or delight), which comes from an obsolete meaning of chuff (a puffed out cheek).

chuffed

Pronounced: [like it sounds]

Notes: You may know this word; I’ve run across it quite a bit in recent months

Yesterday’s word

The word orphic means

  • melodious; entrancing
  • mystical; occult
First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

I have taken a course in Western music, and one part of it discusses the story of Orpheus, a character in Greek mythology from which our word comes. If you don’t know the story, Orpheus was a superb musician; his playing and singing could charm animals, trees, and even rocks. When his beloved wife Eurydice (your-RID-uh-see) died of a snakebite, he traveled to the underworld to ask for her back. His playing charmed even Hades, the god of the underworld, who allowed her to follow him out of Hades, on the condition that Orpheus not look behind him until they were clear of the underworld. They had nearly made it when Orpheus, driven nearly made with doubt, looked behind him and thus lost her. Thus, the first meaning comes from the character of Orpheus; I’m not sure how the second meaning came about, unless it refers to the story in general.

orphic

Pronounced: OR-fick, adj

Notes: I am happy that I knew the origin, but even with that, I didn’t know the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word cornice means

  • a mass of snow or ice built up along a mountain ridge
  • the uppermost horizontal edge of a wall and its decorative treatment
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

Our word comes from the Italian word cornice (crow), which comes from the Latin word cornix. I had an idea of the second meaning, but the first one is entirely new to me.

cornice

Pronounced: CORE-niss, noun

Notes: I knew one of the definitions, but not the other – do you know either definition?

Yesterday’s word

The word oxymoron means “a figure of speech in which the two contradictory term appear together for emphasis” – here’s a good one: accurate estimate

First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

The plural of oxymoron is oxymora (but, in fairness, oxymorons is acceptable). I am bemused by the origin of this word: It comes from the Greek word oxymoron, which comes from oxys (sharp) and moros (dull), which means that the word’s origin is itself an oxymoron. Words are such fun!

oxymoron

Pronounced: ok-see-MORE-on, noun

Notes: I think everyone knows this word, but I find the plural form interesting, as well as the background

Yesterday’s word

The word quoin is “one of the keystones forming a wall; a cornerstone”

First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

I didn’t recognize this word at first, but now that I think about, I may have run across this word! There is a novel by Agatha Christie called Murder in Mesopotamia, and I think that is where I ran across the word. If I am remembering correctly, a quoin was involved. I don’t have the book handy, so I could be wrong about that. Note that our word can also be spelled coign or coigne. The reason our word is pronounced “coin” is because the word is a variant of coin (coin is about 200 years older than quoin). The word comes from the Middle English word coyne/coygne, which is turn came from Anglo-French, which came from the Middle French word coin/coigne (wedge, corner, die), which came from the Latin word cuneus (wedge).