Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: EN-suh-form, adj
Notes: I wish I had known this word; it could be useful
The word passel means “a group of individuals or objects of an unspecified number”
This word came into English in the mid-1800s
The word is an alteration of the word “parcel”.
Pronounced: PASS-uhl, noun
Notes: I think I’ve run across this word, but I could not define it
The word ergophobia means “an abnormal fear or aversion to work”
This word goes back to the early 1900s
This word comes from Greek words; you probably recognized phobia (fear). The other word is ergon (work). I can’t say that I know anyone who is afraid of work; however, there are people who have an aversion to work.
Pronounced: er-guh-FOE-bee-uh, noun
Notes: When I ran across this word, I didn’t know what it meant, but I’ve learned it now
The word apatetic means “having colors and forms like camoflage”
This word came into English in the late 1800s
The word comes from a Greek word, apatētikos (fallacious; deceiving; misleading)
Pronounced: ap-uh-TET-ick, adj
Notes: Another interesting word that I’ve not heard before
The word robustious means
This word came into English in the mid-1500s
I knew the first meaning, because I could see, as you probably could also, “robust” in the word. I’m not really familiar with the other meanings. I suppose people who are strong and sturdy could be almost unknowingly be boisterous, rather like people in an apartment having a good time and not realizing how loud they might be getting until asked to tone it down. By even further extension, the strong are often thought to have little understanding or patience for social niceties, which could lead to the coarse/crude meaning. Our word hails from a Latin word robus (oak; strength).
Pronounced: roh-BUS-chuhs
Notes: I knew one of the meanings, but not the others
The word parapraxis, as I noted yesterday, means a Freudian slip; technically, “a slip of the tongue or pen that otherwise reveals true motivation”.
Our word is a relatively late one, coming into English in the 1930s
As you may have guessed from the “para”, this word is Greek. It is a combination of para- (alongside or beyond) and prâxis (act or action). Therefore, this word’s roots carry the idea that “alongside” of our actions may be hints as to our real feelings on the matter.
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).
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