sophrosyne

Pronounced: suh-FROZE-uh-nee, noun

Notes: Strange pronunciation for a word I didn’t know

Yesterday’s word

The word palliate means

  • to cover by excuses and apologies
  • to moderate the intensity of
First usage

This word traces back to the 1400s

Background / Comments

We go back to Roman times for this word. The Romans had a cloak they called a toga. They called the cloak that the Greeks word a pallium. This word became palliatus in Late Latin and it came from that word into English. However, in English, the word never meant a physical cloak, but was used the figurative sense for “protection”. The early meaning of the word was “to lessen the intensity of a disease”, with the idea that the symptoms would be eased, without curing the underlying disease. As with many words, the meaning became more generalized and now has a meaning similar to gloss or whitewash (disguising something bad).

palliate

Pronounced: PAH-lee-ate, verb

Notes: I’ve run across this word in reading

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase black dog means “depression”

First usage

This word showed up (with this meaning) in the mid-1600s

Background / Notes

As you might expect, this word was originally used for a canine of dark complexion. People started using the expression for counterfeit coin — it is thought because a coin made of some base metal other than silver or gold would turn black over time. Eventually, the term came to be applied to depression. Samuel Johnson used in that way in his famous diary. Winston Churchill often used the expression also, and it became popular because of his usage. I thought that the famous preacher, Charles H Spurgeon, also used the term; while it is true that he suffered from depression, I didn’t find easy proof that he used this term.

black dog

Pronounced: as it sounds, noun

Notes: Even if you know the word, it has an interesting history

Yesterday’s word

The word antonomasia means “the use of a proper name to designate a member of a class; also: the use of an epithet or title in place of a proper name

First usage

This word has been around sine the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

It came into English from Latin, but the word traces back to Greek; specifically from antonomazein (to call by a new name), which has as its base onoma (name). In sports, the second part of the definition is pretty common: “The Refrigerator” or “The Great One” are some of them. The first part would be more like calling someone a “Beau Brummell” or something along those lines.

antonomasia

Pronounced: an-tuh-no-MAY-zhuh (alt: an-tun-no-MAY-zhee-uh), noun

Notes: A good word to know; this kind of thing is relatively common

Yesterday’s word

The word gobemouche is “a gullible or credulous person”

First usage

This word came into English in the early 1800s

Background / Comments

The word comes from French gobe-mouche (flycatcher, sucker), from gober (to suck or swallow) with mouche (fly).

gobemouche

Pronounced: GOB-moosh, noun

Notes: I don’t remember ever running across this word

Yesterday’s word

The word commove means

  • to move violently; agitate
  • to rouse intense feeling in; excite to passion
First usage

This word goes back to the 1300s

Background / Comments

This is a rare word; Samuel Johnson declared the word “not in use”; that was in the 1700s, but it was still used in through the texts in the 1800s. Sir Walter Scott and George Eliot used the word. It came into Middle English as commeven from Anglo-French (commoveir), and to Anglo-French from Middle French (commovoir), and to Middle French from Latin (commovēre).

commove

Pronounced: kuh-MOVE, verb

Notes: I could not guess the meaning of this word

Yesterday’s word

The word ikistics means “the study of human settlements, drawing on such disciplines as city planning, architecture, sociology, etc.”

First usage

The word goes back to the 1960s

Background / Comments

The word was coined by Constantinos A Doxiadis, Greek architect and urban planner. It comes from (naturally) Greek oikistikos (of settlement), which comes from oikizein (to settle), which comes from oikos (house).

ekistics

Pronounced: ih-KISS-tiks, noun

Notes: Not much to say; not a word I knew

Yesterday’s word

The word kittel is “a white cotton or linen robe worm by Orthodox Jews on holidays such as Rosh Hashanah and also used as a burial shroud”

First usage

I couldn’t find information about when this word first showed up

Background / Comments

Our word comes from Yiddish and then from Middle High German kietel (cotton or hempen outer garment). Further history is hard to trace, but is seems to go back to the Arabic word qutn (cotton). Cotton can be traced directly from the same word, which is interesting considering that kittels used to be made of cotton. I also find it interesting that the etymology of our word, which is a Jewish garment traces back to both German and Arabic.

kittel

Pronounced: KIH-tuhl, noun

Notes: I think I should have known this word; it may be familiar to some readers

Yesterday’s word

The word booboisie means “ignorant or uncultured people regarded as a class”

First usage

This word goes back to the 1920s

Background / Comments

The word was coined by H. L. Mencken. It is from the word boob (a stupid person) combined with bourgeoisie (the middle class). Bourgeoisie comes from the French word bourgeois, which comes from Latin burgus (fortress or fortified town).

booboisie

Pronounced: boo-bwa-ZEE, noun

Notes: Hopefully, we don’t have to use this word too often

Yesterday’s word

The word infrangible means

  • not capable of being broken or separated into parts
  • not to be infringed or violated
First usage

This word appeared in English in the 1500s

Background / Comments

The word came to English from Middle French, and to Middle French from the Late Latin infrangibilis, which is made of in- (not) and frangere (to break). [As a side note, our word “break” comes from the same ancestor as frangere.] Its first meaning was literal: “impossible to break”, and over time it came to have a metaphorical meaning.

infrangible

Pronounced: in-FRAN-juh-buhl, adj

Notes: I recognize “in” as a negation, so “not frangible” — whatever that is

Yesterday’s word

The word adhocracy means

  • a flexible, adaptable organization that lacks a formal structure
  • an organization characterized by lack of planning, responding to problems as they emerge rather than anticipating and avoiding them
First usage

A relatively recent word; it showed up in the 1960s

Background / Comments

The word was coined by Warren Bennis and Philip Slater in the book The Temporary Society. The source is Latin ad hoc (literally ‘for this’; that is, ‘for a particular purpose only’) and -cracy (rule). The first definition seems more flattering than the second, mostly due to phrase “lack of planning” in the definition. However, there is probably a happy medium – one can do general planning and then handle issues as they occur. Some people/groups seem to spend far too much time and energy trying to cover every possible contingency instead of getting their main task done.

Rejected words

I have a backlog of words; a few years back, I added mouthfeel because I didn’t know it. However, in the time since then, I’ve seen some cooking shows and have heard the word several times. I thought it was a very recent word, but it actually goes back to the 1950s.