Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: PA-shuh (alt 1: PASH-uh; alt 2: puh-SHAH), noun
Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word
The word falcate means “narrow and curved in shape like a scythe or sickle”
This word came into English in the early or mid-1800s
A synonym is falciform. Our word comes from the Latin word falcātus (sickle-shaped), of which falc- is a stem of falx (sickle).
Pronounced: FAL-kate, adj
Notes: I got this word from a vocabulary calendar, and this entry happened to have an error; they printed the pronunciation of some other word instead of our word
The word repugn means to oppose, resist, or right
This word came into English in the late 1300s
To me, the word looked like the verb form of “repugnant” (with the -ant ending left off), so I thought perhaps it meant the act of offending or finding offensive. In reality, the word comes from the Old French word repugner, which comes from the Latin word repugnare. It is split into re- (again) and pugnare (to fight), which came from pugnus (fist). We get the word pugilist from this same source.
Pronounced: rih-PYOON, verb
Notes: I parsed the word incorrectly and thus had the meaning wrong
The word layette is “garments, clothing, or bedding for a newborn baby”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
I think I have run across this word, and get about 50-75% of the meaning from the context, but that was not enough to define it properly. I don’t even remember where I read this word. It comes from French; specifically, the Middle French word laiete (small coffer), related to laie (chest).
Pronounced: lay-ET, noun
Notes: I’ve run across this word in reading, but couldn’t properly define it, but I’m sure some readers will know it
The phrase pro se means “on one’s own behalf”; it tends to be used in law when referring to someone who represents himself in court
The phrase came into usage in the mid-1800s
A common legal saying is “an attorney who represents himself has a fool for a client”. Even though I’ve read many Perry Mason stories, I don’t recall our phrase. Our phrase is Latin: pro (for) and se (himself, herself, itself, themselves).
Pronounced: pro say
Notes: I don’t know this phrase, but if I were better at languages, I could probably work it out
The word boniface is “an innkeeper or landlord, usually of a kind nature”
The word goes back to the mid-1700s
Despite the actual year it came into our language, our word seems to me to have an old-world charm and seems to belong to the days of chivalry and knights. In reality, our word comes from a character in a 1707 play: The Beaux’ Strategem by George Farquhar. “Boniface” was the name of a jovial innkeeper in the play. It must have been popular and memorable, because it became a word not too many years later. Interestingly enough, that same play is also the origin of Lady Bountiful; I’ve run across the expression do the Lady Bountiful in my reading, which has the uncomplimentary meaning of “being generous in order to show off one’s wealth in a patronizing way”.
Pronounced: BON-uh-face (alt: BON-uh-fiss), noun
Notes: Maybe you know this word; I did not (depends on what you read, I think)
The word depose means
The word goes back to around 1300
I knew of the first definition; and I think for most people that it is the one that they know. The other definitions are probably used more in the legal realm, and the phrase take a deposition (using the noun form of depose) is one I’ve read in the Perry Mason stories. However, even with this aid, these other definitions were not ready in my mind. The word comes from the Old French word deposer, which comes from Latin deponere (to testify, to put down), which is made up of de- combined with ponere (to put).
Pronounced: dih-POZE, verb
Notes: You may know a meaning, but this word has a meaning that didn’t spring to my mind
The word glom means “take hold or possession of; to steal, catch, or grab” – but see my comments below.
This word came into English in the late 1800s
I quoted the definition as provided in the information I had, but it seemed to be missing something; I had run across this word in a Nero Wolfe novella This Won’t Kill You, and, from the context, it was clear that glom meant “to look at”, which wasn’t given as a meaning. So, naturally, I checked the internet, and it has “steal” as the first meaning, then “to catch or grab” as the second meaning, and then “to look at” for the third meaning. I felt vindicated. By the way, when I was checking on the name of the novella, it was originally called This Will Kill You when published in magazines; the title changed when it was published in book form – a collection of Nero Wolfe novellas. The word is an Americanism; it is thought to come from the Scots word glaum/glam (to snatch at). There is also the Scots word glammis (the jaws of a vice). A parent word is the Scots Gaelic word glàm (to grab; to clutch). I’m guessing that the “look at” definition arises from the idea of “clutching” or “grabbing” someone with one’s eyes.
Pronounced: glom, verb
Notes: I was surprised when I looked at the definition; it wasn’t what I thought. I’ve run across this word and I thought I knew it… more in the comments tomorrow.
The word surrebuttal is “the response to a rebuttal”
This word came into English in the late 1800s
I enjoyed reading Perry Mason stories, and with all of the courtroom action, I’m surprised that I did not read this word in any of the stories (at least that I remember). Perhaps Mr Gardner (author of the Perry Mason stories) thought that the word would be a distraction; I seem to remember reading re-rebuttal instead in the books. Our word comes from the Latin word sur- (over; above) combined with rebuttal, which comes from rebut (to refute), which in turn comes from Old French rebouter (to push back), which came from boute (to push).
Pronounced: suhr-rih-BUT-l, noun
Note: This is a word I should have come across, but haven’t
The word accrete means “to become fused together; to grow or merge together”
Our word goes back to the late 1700s
I like this word. In my mind’s eye, I can see spots of grass accreting (growing together). The word is actually a back formation from accretion. Ice can also accrete.
Pronounced: uh-KREET, verb
Notes: I didn’t know this word, but maybe you do (or can figure it out)
The word ana means, as a noun “a collection of items, such as quotations, anecdotes, etc related to a person, place, etc”. As an adverb, it means “in equal quantities” (The adverbial usage can be found in prescriptions).
The noun form came into English in the mid-1700s; the adverb is older, going back to around 1500.
I had trouble with making a guess at this word because aná in Koine Greek means “up; again; back”. Oddly enough, the adverbial definition does come from the Greek word aná, but the meaning in classical Greek means “of each”. The noun is far removed from Greek; it is the suffix -ana (such as in Americana) without the dash.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day