Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: par-uh-PRAK-sis, noun
Notes: There is a more common phrase for this word
The word quaggy means “marshy; flabby; spongy”
This word goes back to the late 1500s
The word comes from quag (marsh); thus, marsh-like and its related attributes – spongy or flabby.
Pronounced: KWAG-ee, adj
Notes: I’m surprised at the age of this word
The word auspicate means “to arrange auspicious ceremonies or rituals planned to bring good luck”
This word goes back to the late 1500s
Our word comes from the Latin word auspicātus (consecrated by auguries), which is the past participle of auspicārī. An “augury” is the rite of ceremony of a soothsayer or prophet. I think that a lot of people have rituals that they hope will bring them luck… now you know a word for it!
Pronounced: AW-spih-kate, verb
Notes: Another interesting word, but I could not define it
The word gastronome means “a connoisseur of good food”
The word started being used in the early 1800s
I have mentioned before that I enjoy mystery stories, and the Nero Wolfe stories by Rex Stout are for me, enjoyable. Nero Wolfe fits our word perfectly; he is a brilliant detective, but doesn’t like to work. He enjoys fine good (a gastronome), and employs a full-time chef. His other interest is orchids, of which he has thousands on the penthouse rooftop of his house. Anyway, our word is a French word that came from gastronomie, which came from two Greek words: gastro- (stomach) and nomous (law); we could say that the root words mean “the stomach rules”.
Pronounced: GAS-truh-nome, noun
Notes: I was pretty close to this definition
The word premiate means “to grant a prize or give an award to”
This word came into English in the mid-1500s
This word comes from the medieval Latin word praemiātus, which is the past participle of praemiāre (to reward). I’ve not come across this word, but it seems pretty useful.
Pronounced: PREE-mee-ate, verb
Notes: Not a word I know
The word chatoyant means, as an adjective, “having a changeable luster like that of a cat’s eye at night”. As a noun, it is “a chatoyant gemstone, such as a cat’s eye”.
This word came into English in the early 1800s
In hindsight, I should have recognized the word “chat”, which is French for “cat” and then I would have been in the vicinity of the definition. Our word comes from the French word chatoyer (to shine like a cat’s eye).
Pronounced: shuh-TOY-uhnt, adj/noun
Notes: I had no idea of the definition until I read the background; then I realized I should have had a pretty good guess.
The word habiliment means “the clothes worn by those of a certain profession”
This word goes back to the late 1300s or early 1400s
There are no longer many professions that can be told by their clothing these days: priests have their special collar, and nuns often have their habit. There is typical clothing (habiliment) for lumberjacks. How many professions have a distinct kind of clothing? Our word comes from the Middle English word (h)abylement, which came from the French word habillement, which is from habiller abillier (“to trim a log”, and thus to prepare or to dress).
Pronounced: huh-BILL-uh-muhnt, noun
Notes: Not a word that can used as much in modern times
The word campanile means “a bell tower; especially one detached from a main building such as a church”
The word came into English in the mid-1600s
Personally, I would tend to use the second pronunciation of the word (see yesterday’s entry). Our word comes from the Italian word campana (bell), which came from the Latin word campana (bell).
Pronounced: kam-puh-NEE-lee (alternative kam-puh-NEEL)
Notes: I don’t know how well this word is known
The word isonomy means “the equality of political rights”
This word came into English in the late 1500s
The word comes from the Greek word isonomia, which comes from iso- (equal; same) and nomia (law). I recognized both base parts (iso and nomos), but that wasn’t quite enough to properly define the word: it shows how a word can take on a meaning that is not quite the same as the sum of its roots.
Pronounced: aye-SON-uh-mee, noun
Notes: I recognized parts of the word, but I couldn’t define it
The word breviloquence means “speaking briefly and concisely”
This word came into English in the mid-1600s
Our word comes from the Latin word breviloquentia, which comes from brevis (short) and loquentia (speaking). You would get the word right if you saw the words “brevity” and “loquaciousness” in our word.
Pronounced: brih-VILL-uh-kwens, noun
Notes: You might be able to guess this word’s meaning
The phrase Garrison finish is “a finish in which the winner comes from behind at the end”
I have conflicting reports; one said that this phrase came into being in the late 1800s or early 1900s. However, another source says that the phrase appeared in the 1930s.
Our phrase is named after Edward “Snapper” Garrison, who was a jockey for 16 years in the mid- to late 1800s and won may races in a spectacular, come-from-behind fashion. People began using our phrase to mean any come-from-behind win. I’ve never heard or read the phrase to the best of my memory.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day