Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: DEE-d(uh)l, adj (the ‘uh’ is very lightly pronounced; almost non-existent)
Notes: I didn’t know this word
The word emesis means “the act of process of vomiting”
This word came into English in the late 1800s
The word comes from the Greek word emein (to vomit). As I noted yesterday, there are many slang words for 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
The word acedia means “apathy; boredom”
This word came into English in the early 1600s
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).
Pronounced: eh-SEE-dee-uh
Notes: Another handy word to know, but was a stranger to me
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.
This word came into English in the mid-1600s
This word comes from Greek: tauto- (same) — which is itself a contraction of to auto (the same) — plus -logy (word).
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
The word captious means
The word goes back to the late 1300s
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.
Pronounced: CAP-shuhs, adj
Notes: The word looks like it is related to ‘caption’ (but it isn’t)
The word fuliginous means “sooty; dusky; obscure”
The word came into English in the mid-1500s
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).
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.
Pronounced: fyoo-LIZ-uh-nuhs, adj
Notes: Another word that is new to me
The word welkin means
This is an old word; it goes back to the 1100s
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!”
Pronounced: WELL-kuhn, noun
Notes: This word has Christmas tie-in, but I’m not sure how many know it
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”
The word came into English in the mid-1600s
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).
Pronounced: lat-ih-TOOD-n-ar-ee-uhn, adj/noun
Notes: Something to do with surveying? (nope)
The word plangent means
The word came into English in the early 1800s
If you notice the meanings, they are not very close to each other, but this is because of the origin of the word: it traces back to the Latin verb plangere, which also has two meanings: “to strike or beat”. Latin speakers sometimes used the word when talking about someone striking one’s breast in grief, and the verb took on the second meaning “to lament”. This dual meaning carried into the Latin adjective (plangens) and from there into English with our two meanings above. The ‘pounding of waves’, the ‘throbbing of the heart’, and the ‘beat of wings’ have been described as plangent.
The word diurnal came up; I don’t know how many people know it, but I did (it is the opposite of nocturnal).
Pronounced: PLAN-juhnt, adj
Notes: This looks like a compressed form of Plantagenet, but it’s not
The word olid means “foul-smelling”
The word goes back to the late 1600s.
The word is from Latin olere (to smell). It’s amazing that such a useful short word is not more frequently in use.
Pronounced: OH-lid, adj
Notes: Another new word for me
The word anabasis is
The word came into English in the early 1700s
Strange definitions; practically opposites. The word comes from Greek – the prefix ana- (up) and bainein (to go). The word in Greek meant “inland march”, and this is the origin of the first definition. The second definition came from an anabasis gone wrong; in 401 BC, Greek mercenaries fighting for Cyrus the Younger marched into the Persian Empire and found themselves cut off hundreds of miles from home. As a result, they undertook an arduous and embattled retreat across unknown territories. A Greek historian, Xenophon, was with the mercenaries on the march and wrote the epic narrative Anabasis about the experience… and the word came to mean a dramatic retreat as well as an advance.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day