molochize

Pronounced: MOL-uh-kize, verb

Notes: I was close to the meaning, but not fully correct

Yesterday’s word

The word chawbacon means “bumpkin; hick”

First usage

This word came into English in the 1500s

Background / Comments

I readily recognized chaw (an alteration of “chew”) and bacon, but I did not know what the combination word meant. Bacon was a staple in some (many?) rural people’s diets in time past, so this word was created to refer to (supposedly uncultured) country folk. The word isn’t used much these days, especially as consuming bacon is not limited to rural folk.

chawbacon

Pronounced: CHAW-bay-kuhn, noun

Notes: I can see the two words that make up the word, but that didn’t help with the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word hooverize means “to be sparing in the use of something, especially food”

First usage

(see the Background) This word came into usage during World War I

Background / Comments

The word was named for Herbert Hoover – before he was President, he was the head of the US Food Administration during World War I. He encouraged citizens to eat less and thus save food for soldiers. The verb hoover (to vacuum or, metaphorically, to devour or consume) is named after the Hoover brand of vacuum cleaner – the brand name came from William Hoover, and American industrialist.

hooverize

Pronounced: HOO-vuh-rize, verb

Notes: I thought this word was an alternate form of “to hoover”, but it is not

Yesterday’s word

The word daedal means

  • skillful, artistic; intricate
  • adorned with many things
First usage

Our word goes back to the 1500s

Background / Comments

You may know (as I did) the Greek myth of Daedalus; he fashioned wings of feathers and wax to escape from the island of Crete along with his son, Icarus. Icarus flew too close to the sun, the wax melted, and he fell to his death. He designed a labyrinth for King Minos, and it was this artistic word that gave him his name. Daedalus (from the Greek daidalos) is Latin for “skillfully wrought”. From Latin we have our English word. The word Daedalian (alt: Daedalean) is a synonym of our word.

daedal

Pronounced: DEE-d(uh)l, adj (the ‘uh’ is very lightly pronounced; almost non-existent)

Notes: I didn’t know this word

Yesterday’s word

The word emesis means “the act of process of vomiting”

First usage

This word came into English in the late 1800s

Background / Comments

The word comes from the Greek word emein (to vomit). As I noted yesterday, there are many slang words for emesis.

emesis

Pronounced: EM-uh-sis

Notes: This is a word for which we have a LOT of slang words, but I didn’t know this word

Yesterday’s word

The word acedia means “apathy; boredom”

First usage

This word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

This word is a Greek compound word; a- (not) with kēdos (care; concern; grief). The Greek word akēdeia became acedia in Late Latin, and it is that spelling that transferred into English. Originally, acedia referred to the ‘deadly sin’ of sloth. Although this sense is rare, there can be a hint of laziness in the word. As an interesting side node, the word “apathy” used in the definition above has a similar Greek background: a- (not) with pathos (feeling; sympathy).

acedia

Pronounced: eh-SEE-dee-uh

Notes: Another handy word to know, but was a stranger to me

Yesterday’s word

The word tautologous means “involving unnecessary repetition of an idea, especially in different words. As an example, “a good-looking beautiful woman” is a tautologous expression.

First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

This word comes from Greek: tauto- (same) — which is itself a contraction of to auto (the same) — plus -logy (word).

tautologous

Pronounced: taw-TAWL-uh-guhs, adj

Notes: I’ve run across “tautological”, which I assume to be similar, but I didn’t know the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word captious means

  • marked by an often ill-natured inclination to stress faults and raise objections
  • calculated to confuse, entrap, or entangle in argument
First usage

The word goes back to the late 1300s

Background / Comments

Our word comes from the Latin word captio (a taking), which came from capere (to take). Captious arguments entrap through subtly deceptive reasoning or trifling points. A captious individual is a kind of carping, censorious critic; one who is ready to point out minor faults or raise objections on trivial grounds.

captious

Pronounced: CAP-shuhs, adj

Notes: The word looks like it is related to ‘caption’ (but it isn’t)

Yesterday’s word

The word fuliginous means “sooty; dusky; obscure”

First usage

The word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

I don’t think I’ve run across this word, but it seems to be a good word to use. It comes from Latin fuligo (soot).

Rejected word

The word cloying came up, but I know it – it means distasteful by reason of excess, or something excessively sweet or sentimental. While some people enjoy It’s A Wonderful Life, others pronounce it a cloying.

fuliginous

Pronounced: fyoo-LIZ-uh-nuhs, adj

Notes: Another word that is new to me

Yesterday’s word

The word welkin means

  • the vault of the sky; firmament; heaven
  • the upper atmosphere
First usage

This is an old word; it goes back to the 1100s

Background / Comments

The word comes from an Old English word that meant “cloud”. Although I’ve not seen this word, it is often paired with “ring” to suggest a loud noise in such statements as “the welkin rang with the sound of the orchestra”. I mentioned a Christmas connection — it is the Christmas carol “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”. The original words of the carol were “Hark, how all the welkin ring!”

welkin

Pronounced: WELL-kuhn, noun

Notes: This word has Christmas tie-in, but I’m not sure how many know it

Yesterday’s word

The word latitudinarian, as an adjective means “holding broad and tolerant views, especially in matters of religion”. As a noun, it is “one who is broadminded and tolerant, especially concerning religion”

First usage

The word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Religious beliefs tend to be strongly held, so one would think that latitudinarians would be rare among them. I know several people with very strongly held beliefs; however, they are all tolerant people; they don’t and won’t agree that another person’s beliefs are right, but they respect their right to believe that way. The word comes from the Latin word latitudo (breadth), which came from latus (broad).