ailurophobia

Pronounced: aye-loor-uh-FOE-bee-uh (alternative: ay-loor-uh-FOE-bee-uh), noun

Notes: A fear of something, but I could not figure out the word

Yesterday’s word

The word chautauqua is “any of various traveling lectures and performances that flourished in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

First usage

Came into usage in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

The original Chautauqua was started just after the US Civil War at Chautauqua Lake in New York State as an assembly for training church workers. After a while, the program was broadened to include lectures on a wide variety of subjects, as well as entertainment. The event proved so successful that it spawned other chautauquas throughout the US, each offering a mix of education, entertainment, and religion. Chautauquas reached their peak in the 1920s but greatly dwindled by the 1940s. The original institution at Chautauqua Lake still offers an annual program of performances and lectures. I was unaware of this bit of US history, but just after I used this word, I ran across it in an article about a man; he was a speaker at an chautauqua.

chautauqua

Pronounced: shuh-TAW-kwe, noun

Notes: I think only US history buffs may get this one

Yesterday’s word

The word sitomania means “an abnormal craving for food”

First usage

The word came into English in the late 1800s

Background / Comments

This is another word from Greek: sito- (grain, food) plus -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze). Because of the word ‘abnormal’ in the definition, I’m not certain if this word is appropriate for pregnancy cravings. Note that there is an opposite — sitophobia (a morbid aversion to food).

sitomania

Pronounced: sy-tuh-MAY-nee-uh, noun

Notes: A word I didn’t know, but I is something we could use

Yesterday’s word

The word lickerish means “greedy; desirous” or “lecherous”

First usage

This word showed up in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

This word came into English twice; the background is the Anglo-French word lecher (to lick; to live in debauchery). In the 1300s when it first came over, it was lickerous, but by the 1600s, this word wasn’t used, and the variant lickerish was used to describe both a person who is fond of good food and the tempting food itself. Then the word was extended and because a synonym of “greedy” and “desirous”. Its use extended again to describe people and things having or suggesting lustful desires, and thus we have the current meaning.

lickerish

Pronounced: LIH-krish (alt LIK-kuh-rish), adj

Notes: Not what I thought

Yesterday’s word

The word monophobia means (as you may have figured out) “fear of being alone”

First usage

The word came into being in the late 1800s

Background / Comments

The word comes from two pretty well-known Greek words: mono- (one) and -phobia (fear). This sounds like a pretty terrible phobia, as most people are alone at some point in their lives.

monophobia

Pronounced: mon-uh-FOE-bee-uh, noun

Notes: I almost didn’t use this one; I think it’s guessable

Yesterday’s word

The word quantal means “of, relating to, or having only two experimental alternatives (such as dead or alive, all or none)”. It can also refer to something that relates to a quantum.

First usage

This word is relatively recent, coming about in the 1930s

Background / Comments

The word comes from Latin, from the word quanti, which is the plural of quantus (how much?). We also get the word “quantity” from the same root.

quantal

Pronounced: KWAHN-tuhl, adj (the “uh” is barely pronounced)

Notes: Interesting word

Yesterday’s word

The word segue means (as a verb) “to make a smooth transition from once section or topic to another, in conversation, music, film, etc. As a noun, it refers to such a transition.

First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1700s

Background / Comments

The word comes from Italian segue (there follows), which is the third-person singular present of seguire (to follow), which came from Latin sequi (to follow).

segue

Pronounced: SEG-way (alternatively, SAY-gway), verb/noun

Notes: This is a word I know in pronunciation (you probably do, too), but I wasn’t aware of the correct spelling

Yesterday’s word

The word sprachgefühl means “an intuitive sense of what is linguistically appropriate”

First usage

This word came into English in the late 1800s

Background / Comments

As you can probably guess, this word comes from German: spache (language, speech) plus gefühl (feeling). It’s a great capability to have, but the word is relatively rare.

Rejected word

The word allusion (an indirect reference to something – as in literature) was rejected because I knew the meaning. I actually enjoying sprinkling my speech with allusions (some easier to figure out than others).

sprachgefühl

Pronounced: SPRACK-guh-fuel, noun

Notes: This is a great word to know

Yesterday’s word

The word sophrosyne means “soundness of mind, as expressed in moderation, self-control, and prudence

First usage

This word goes back to the late 1800s

Background / Comments

The word comes from the Greek word sophrosyne which comes from sophon (of sound mind, prudent). As I noted yesterday, the pronunciation is a bit unusual.

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.