Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: zist, noun
Notes: This looks like a pretty good scrabble word!
The word miscible means “capable of being mixed together”
This word came into English in the mid-1500s
Our word comes from the Latin word miscere (to mix). As I noted yesterday, this word is one I’ve actually learned from the various vocabulary sources I use.
Pronounced: MIS-uh-bull, adj
Notes: This is a word I learned from my vocabulary sources. I didn’t know it when I first encountered it, but I’ve learned it. It was marginal as to whether or not to post it, but since I didn’t originally know it, I decided to go ahead and post it.
The word gnomist means “a writer of aphorisms and clever sayings”
Our word came into English in the latter part of the mid-1800s
I only knew of the folklore definition of gnome (little people that live in the earth). It turns out that there is a second dictionary entry for gnome that means “a short, pithy expression of a general truth; aphorism”. Whereas the first entry came from French, which came from Late Latin, which came from Greek, our word comes directly from the Greek word gnṓmē (judgment; opinion; purpose). This Greek word is actually the same one that traveled to Late Latin, to French, and then into English as the first dictionary entry. Curious as to how they word have the same origin, but different meanings.
Pronounced: NO-mist, noun
Notes: Nothing to do with gnomes, at least by the definition
The word bromidic means “commonplace; trite”
Our word came into English in the early 1900s
Another great word to sprinkle (or “sparge” [heh, see yesterday’s comments]) into my conversation. Our word comes from the use of bromide in various compounds used as sedatives. Bromine came from the Greek word bromos (stench) because of its strong smell. But I like this word as an alternative to “commonplace”.
Pronounced: broh-MID-ick, adj
Notes: Another useful word to learn
The word sparge means, as a verb, “to scatter or sprinkle”. As a noun, it means “a sprinkling”
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
Our word is a nice alternative to sprinkle; I hope I remember to use it. It comes from the Latin word spargere (to sprinkle; to scatter).
Pronounced: spahrj, verb/noun
Notes: I may have heard this word, but I don’t have a recollection of it
The word appetence means “a strong desire or inclination”
This word came into English in the early 1600s
Our word is a good one to know; there is an old word “lust” that meant something similar – however, the modern meaning has changed, so our word is a good one to mean this one. Our word comes from the French word appétence (desire), which comes from the Latin word appetentia, which comes from appetere (to seek after), which is made of ad- (to) and petere (to seek).
Pronounced: AP-ih-tuhns, noun
Notes: I don’t know this word, but it is a good word to know
The word crapulous means “characterized by excess eating or drinking”
This word came into English in the mid-1500s
The word comes from the Late Latin word crāpulōsos (inclined to drunkenness). Who would have thought it?
Pronounced: KRAP-yuh-luhs, adj
Notes: Not what one might think
The word alembic means
This word came into English in the early7 1400s
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).
Pronounced: uh-LEM-bick, noun
Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word
The word gloze means “to explain away something; to extenuate or make seem less serious; to gloss over”
This word goes way back to the mid- to late 1200s
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.
Pronounced: glowz (like it sounds), verb
Notes: I don’t know this word, but I know a close phrase
The word sybaritic means “devoted to or related to luxury and pleasure”
This word came into English in the early 1600s
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.
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
The word imprest means “a loan or advance of money”
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
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)
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day