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.

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Yesterday’s word

The word habiliment means “the clothes worn by those of a certain profession”

First usage

This word goes back to the late 1300s or early 1400s

Background / Comments

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

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Yesterday’s word

The word campanile means “a bell tower; especially one detached from a main building such as a church”

First usage

The word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

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

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Yesterday’s word

The word isonomy means “the equality of political rights”

First usage

This word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

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

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Yesterday’s word

The word breviloquence means “speaking briefly and concisely”

First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

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

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Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase Garrison finish is “a finish in which the winner comes from behind at the end”

First usage

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.

Background / Comments

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.

Pronounced: GEH-ruh-sun FIN-ish, noun

Notes: I’ve never heard of this, but it is not that uncommon

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Yesterday’s word

The word exeleutherostomize means “to speak out freely”

First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Such a neat word, and timely! When I was in college, we talked about many subjects, and we all felt that we were free to exeleutherostomize. People on either side would say things like “I don’t agree with you, but I will strongly defend your right to say it”. Lately, however, people who dissent are “canceled” and their opinion is not allowed. It’s a sad change. Our word is Greek and comes from ex- (out) and elertheros (free) and stoma (mouth).

Pronounced: ex-uh-luth-uh-ROS-tuh-mize, verb

Notes: A nice fancy word that we could use

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Yesterday’s word

The word vitiate means

• to make faulty or defective; impair
• to debase in moral or aesthetic status
• to make ineffective

First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

Our word comes from the Latin word vitium (fault; vice). As I noted yesterday, I know one definition (the third one). The first definition is similar to the third, and the second definition probably grew out of the “vice” definition. I seem to recollect reading the word about some action or thing vitiating the nerve of a person, which is clearly the third definition.

Pronounced: VIH-she-ate, verb

Notes: I knew one of the three definitions; how about you?

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Yesterday’s word

The word corpocracy means

• corporate bureaucracy
• a society in which corporations control the government

First usage

This word came into English in the 1930s

Background / Comments

Our word originally referred to the first definition; however, it has changed (or expanded) to the second definition. One reference doesn’t even list the first definition. Anyway, the word is formed by combining (corp)oration with bureau(cracy).

Pronounced: kor-POCK-ruh-see, noun

Notes: This word has changed in meaning over time

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Yesterday’s word

The word nychthemeron means “a full period of a night and a day; 24 hours”

First usage

Well, this is a first; I cannot find any information about how long this has been a word; I found it defined with background in multiple places, but nothing on how long it’s been around.

Background / Notes

The word day can refer to just the daylight hours (“our porch light is off during the day”), or most of the daylight hours (“it’s been a long day at work”), or a full 24-hour period (“it will take a day to get the part”). There are the more common uses; there is a sense of “day” that refers to an era – something like “it was the day of the workers”. Because of its uncertainty, our word is definitely 24 hours. From the origin, it meant the night period followed by the day period, but it can be used to refer to any 24-hour continuous period of time. As I noted yesterday, a handy word to know if you want to be technical about a 24-hours period. The word comes from the Greek root nykt or nyx (night) combined with the Greek word hemera (day).

Pronounced: nik-THEH-muh-rahn, noun

Notes: A useful word

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Yesterday’s word

The word obdormition is what we call it when a limb goes to sleep (or falls asleep). More formally, it is “numbness in a limb, usually caused by pressure on a nerve”.

First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Most people have had something “fall asleep” – now we know there is a word for it. Our word comes from Latin obdormire (to fall asleep), which has as its root dormire (to sleep).