Pronounced: DEH-swih-tood, noun

Note: I think I’ve run across this word in reading

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Yesterday’s word

The word satisfice means “to satisfy the minimum requirements in a given situation”

First usage

This word came into being in 1956 (but see the comments below).

Background / Comments

There was a word satisfice that came into English in the mid-1500s. This word became obsolete, but our word was coined by Herbert A Simon as a blend of satisfy and suffice. The act of satisficing has a bit of controversy about it. Some people disparage this action as “taking the easy way out” or “just doing enough to get by”. However, when there is a lot to do and not a lot of time to get it all done, but doing just the minimum requirements can be a big help. Sometimes, too, people (engineers) can spend far too much time perfecting something that was certainly good enough for the situation. Or, if there are a lot of options, one can get stuck in “decision paralysis” – satificing can help with this by focusing on the really important criteria. In my career, I’ve seen both the good and the bad of satisficing; I remember an engineer who did an impressive amount of coding that seemed to work well. However, later analysis showed that he had removed a great number of functions that he just didn’t think were important without checking with anyone else. Did he satisfice? Certainly. But I’ve been on the receiving side of a request to satisfice: a supervisor cautioned us not to go overboard on features because the customer was “not paying us to build a Cadillac”

Pronounced: SAT-uhs-fys, verb

Notes: An interesting word and useful

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Yesterday’s word

The word frigorific means “causing cold; chilling”

First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Once I knew the definition, it seems obvious. The word comes from Latin frigorificus, the adjective form of frigus (frost, cold). This Latin root is related to the source for “frigid”, which you may have seen in the definition. Our word is deemed relatively unusual.

Pronounced: frih-guh-RIH-fik, adj

Notes: I should have been able to guess the correct meaning

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Yesterday’s word

The word scrouge means “to squeeze, press, or crowd”

First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1700s

Background / Comments

As I noted yesterday, I mis-read this word as “scourge”, which is entirely different. Our word was altered from the word scruze, which is a combination of screw and squeeze. I suspect that our word came from people mis-hearing scruze – perhaps making it an early “eggcorn” word?

Pronounced: skrowge, verb (alt pronunction: skrooge)

Notes: I confused this word with “scourge” (so I was really wrong)

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Yesterday’s word

The word longanimity means “a disposition to bear injuries patiently; forbearance”

First usage

Our word showed up in English in the 1400s

Background / Comments

My first guess was that it was a synonym of longevity, and wasn’t based on anything substantive. But when I tried to parse “long” with “animity”, I though of animus, and guess an long-standing argument or feud. Anyway, this word comes from the Late Latin word longanimis (patient; long-suffering). This word comes from Latin longus (long) combined with animus (soul).

Pronounced: lawng-guh-NIH-muh-tee, noun

Notes: Both of my guesses were wrong

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Yesterday’s word

The word senectitude simply means “old age”

First usage

This word came into English in the late 1700s

Background / Notes

Our word comes from the Latin word senectus (old age), which came from senex (old). “Old age” is a simpler word – only two syllables – so I’m not surprised it is not widely used.

Pronounced: sih-NECK-tih-tood (alternate ending -tyood)

Notes: A long word (an “inkhorn” word) for something simple

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Yesterday’s word

The word velar means

• formed with the back of the tongue touching or near the soft palate
• of, forming, or relating to a velum and especially the soft palate

The “g” sound in egg is said to be pronounced with a “voiced velar plosive”

First usage

The word came into English in the mid-1700s

Background / Notes

Our word comes from the Latin word velar (curtain). It came into English via New Latin as the word for the soft palate (the fold at the back of the hard palate that partially separates the mouth from the pharynx). In phonology, our word refers to the position of the tongue in relation to the soft palate when making certain sounds. Other “places of articulation” are palatal (tongue against the roof of the mouth – a ‘t’ sound when voiceless; a ‘d’ sound when voiced), dental (tongue against the upper teeth – the ‘th’ sound, when voiced, it is the ‘th’ in then; when voiceless, the ‘th’ in thistle), and alveolar (tongue against the inner surface of the gums of the upper front teeth – an ‘l’ sound, as in ‘love’ – this is voiced; I can’t think of a voiceless aveolar).

Pronounced: VEE-luhr, adj

Notes: I couldn’t remember the definition, but I think I’ve seen the word before

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Yesterday’s word

The word fabian means “avoiding direct confrontation; cautious; delaying”

First usage

This word goes back to the late 1500s

Background / Comments

This word is named after a real person, not someone in fiction; in this case, Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus. He used guerilla tactics (at least, that’s what we would call them today) by not engaging the enemy directly. Instead, he disrupted the enemy’s supply lines and other such tactics – what we call a war of attrition.

Pronounced: FAY-bee-uhn, adj

Notes: I was incorrectly thinking of Dickens, but I was incorrect

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Yesterday’s word

The word nepenthe is

• a potion used by the ancients to induce forgetfulness of pain or sorrow
• something capable of causing oblivion of grief or suffering

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1500s

Background / Comments

The term is an alteration of the Latin nepenthes, which comes from Greek nē (not) combined with penthos (grief; sorrow). Our word is popular with poets; the idea of a potion that allows one to forget pain or sorrow has a fascination.

Pronounced: nuh-PEN(t)-thee

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

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Yesterday’s word

The word hymeneal means, as an adjective “relating to a wedding or marriage”. As a noun, it means “a wedding song or poem”.

First usage

This word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

This word derives from the Greek god of marriage, Hymen. Many weddings I have been to have had songs; I don’t remember one that had a poem. However, either could have been called a hymeneal.

Rejected word

I ran across the word timorous, but I could define the word pretty accurately, so I declined to us it. I think I recognized part of the word from language classes.