bourgeois

Pronounced: boor-ZHWAH (alt: BOOT-zhwah), noun/adj

Notes: You may think you know this word, but it has some definitions that I had to examine again. Interesting note: the plural has the same spelling and pronunciation

Yesterday’s word

The word aleatory means “of, or relating to, accidental change, good luck, or happenstance occurrences; unpredictable”

First usage

This word came into English in the late 1600s

Background / Comments

Our word comes from the Latin word āleātōrius, which comes from āleātōr (gambler), which comes from ālea (game of chance). This would be a great word to drop into conversation.

aleatory

Pronounced: AY-lee-uh-tawr-ee (alt 1: AY-lee-uh-tore-ee; alt 2: AL-ee-uh-tawr-ee; alt 3: AL-ee-uh-tore-ee)

Notes: Lots of ways to pronounce this word; I didn’t know the meaning

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase tour de force means “a feat of strength, skill, or ingenuity: an exceptional performance or achievement”

First usage

The phrase came into English in the early 1800s

Background / Comments

As you can tell, this phrase is French; it is from tour (turn; feat) plus de (of) plus force (strength). This entry was marginal; I’ve heard the word multiple times and had an idea of the meaning.

tour de force

Pronounced: tour duh FORS, noun

Notes: The plural is tours de force. You may know this phrase

Yesterday’s word

The word cavil means, as a verb, “to raise irritating, inconsequential, or bogus objections”. As a noun, it refers to those type of objections.

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

Our word comes from the Latin word cavillārī (to jeer; scoff; quibble), which derives from cavilla (jesting; banter). It is a well-used method to attempt avoiding work or to delay something. It’s a good word to use, and you look quite smart telling someone not to cavil.

cavil

Pronounced: KAV-uhl, verb/noun

Notes: I’ve definitely run across this word, but had the wrong idea (probably from the context)

Yesterday’s word

The word gesamtkunstwerk is “a word of art that makes use of many different art forms”

First usage

This word came into English in the 1930s

Background / Comments

As you no doubt know, this is a German word. It tends to be associated with Richard Wagner, who used it (the German word) to describe his ideal of opera as a complete work of art; a kind of uniting of music, song, dance, visual arts, and poetry. The word is a combination of gesamt (total; whole) plus Kunst (art) plus Werk (work).

gesamtkunstwerk

Pronounced: guh-ZAHMT-koonst-vuhrk

Notes: Pretty obvious origin, but I only recognized part of this word

Yesterday’s word

The word spang means “directly or exactly on target”

First usage

This word came into usage in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

I remember reading this word, but I’m not sure where. I think it was an English novel; possibly Dorothy Sayer’s book Gaudy Night (a Lord Peter Wimsey story). That book was published in 1935, but I don’t think I’ve run across the word in any relatively recent usage. I thought that perhaps the word was primarily used in the UK, or possibly was now an obsolete word, but this doesn’t seem to be the case; it just doesn’t seem to be used much – it’s a pity because it’s a nice descriptive word. The origin of the word appears to be uncertain… perhaps it is a twisted pronunciation of “spot on”?

spang

Pronounced: spang, adv

Notes: I don’t often hear this word; most people use an alternative

Yesterday’s word

The word krummholz means “stunted trees near the timber line on a mountain”

First usage

This word came into English in the 1900s (by which I mean 1900-1909)

Background / Comments

Another word of German origin; it is the combining of krumm (crooked) with Holz (wood). I’ve been on mountains above the timber line, and I remember stunted trees in the area, but I didn’t know that there was a word for them.

krummholz

Pronounced: KROOM-holts, noun

Notes: I’ve seen these, but didn’t know the name for it

Yesterday’s word

The word eolian means “of, caused, affected, or related to, wind”

First usage

The word showed up in English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

Our word has an alternate spelling (aeolian), which is a clue to its origin: it comes from Aeolus – the Greek god of winds as well as the king of the floating island Aeolia.

eolian

Pronounced: ee-OH-lee-uhn, adj

Notes: Another new word for me

Yesterday’s word

The word gesellschaft means “social relations based on impersonal ties, such as obligations to an institution or society”

First usage

This word came about in the 1960s

Background / Comments

Our word comes from the German word Gesellschaft (society; company; party), which is made up of Geselle (companion) and -schaft (-ship). Yesterday, I mentioned Sherlock Holmes. In the first short story (A Scandal in Bohemia), Holmes and Watson are examining the notepaper making an appointment. Holmes points to a “Gt” woven into the paper and explains that it stands for “Gesellschaft” (Company). The “Gt” is a common abbreviation, much as we use “Co” for “Company”. I remembered this scene after I read the definition; however, since the English meaning isn’t “Company”, even remembering it beforehand wouldn’t have helped me with the correct definition.

gesellschaft

Pronounced: guh-ZEL-shaft, noun

Notes: There is a tie-in with Sherlock Holmes (who knows it?); I missed the tie-in at first, but even had I remembered it immediately, it wouldn’t have helped me with the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word melliferous means “of, or relating to, that which gives or produces honey”

First usage

The word traces back to the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Nothing to do with melody; our word comes from the Latin word mellifer (honey-bearing), which is made up of melli-, which comes from mel (honey) combined with -fer (that which carries).

melliferous

Pronounced: muh-LIFF-er-uhs, adj

Notes: I thought this word was a synonym for melodious, but it’s not

Yesterday’s word

The word anschauung means

  • intuition
  • outlook, attitude, opinion, etc
First usage

The word came into English in the early 1800s

Background / Comments

As you probably guessed, our word is Germanic in origin. It comes from the German word Anschauung (view, contemplation, perception), which comes from anschauen (to look at), which is made up of an- (at) combined with schauen (to look). When I first saw this word, I thought of the word Anschluss, meaning “union”, but more specifically the 1938 political union of Austria with Germany.

By the way, I recently learned that German nouns are capitalized, so I’m attempting to remember to do this when dealing with word of German origin.