straiten

Pronounced: STRAYT-n, verb

Notes: I’ve run across this word and thought it was merely an old-fashioned spelling of “straighten” – but it is not

Yesterday’s word

The word sciolism means “a superficial show of learning”

First usage

This word came into English in the early 1800s

Background / Comments

The word comes from Late Latin sciolus (smatterer, or one who speaks with spotty or superficial knowledge). The Late Latin word is a diminutive of the Latin scius (knowing). In the course of my work, I have met a couple of people who bring this word immediately to mind. I won’t say anything more, except that neither person worked for the same company as I did — that is, neither of these people were co-workers of mine.

sciolism

Pronounced: SIGH-uh-lih-zuhm, noun

Notes: I wish I had known this word; I could have used it a few times in the course of my career

Yesterday’s word

The word elutriate means “to purify or separate, especially by washing or straining”

First usage

This came into usage in the mid-1700s

Background / Comments

It comes from Latin elutriare (to wash out). This word takes me back to childhood on the farm with our big garden. We didn’t use this word, but we did purify produce from the garden.

elutriate

Pronounced: ih-LOO-tree-ate, verb (first syllable can also be ‘ee-‘ or ‘uh-‘)

Notes: It looks a bit like elucidate, but that’s not the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word lief means “soon, gladly”

First usage

The word first appeared in the 1200s

Background / Comments

The word was lēof in Old English, and started in Bewulf as an adjective meaning “dear” or “beloved”. The adverb appeared later. The word is not used much today; some consider it to be archaic. If it is used, it shows up in a phrase like “would as lief”.

lief

Pronounced: leef, adv

Notes: We don’t often get adverbs listed!

Yesterday’s word

The word emolument means “payment, salary, or fees from an office or employment”

First usage

This word goes back to the late 1400s

Background / Comments

I think I’ve read this word in the US Constitution. It comes from Latin emolumentum (profit, advantage), a combination of ex- (out) and molere (to grind).

emolument

Pronounced: ih-MOLL-yuh-muhnt, noun

Notes: This is a word I’ve run across in reading, but never looked up, so I wasn’t sure what it meant

Yesterday’s word

The word tare means “a deduction from the gross weight of a substance made in allowance for the weight of the container; also, the weight of the container

First usage

This word goes back to the late 1400s

Background / Comments

I have seen kitchen scales that have a “tare” setting; I’ve always called this function a “zero” setting (since when you press the button, the weight goes to zero). The origination of the word has traveled… It came to English from Middle French, and to Middle French from the Old Italian word tara. The Old Italian word came from the Arabic word tarha (that which is removed). One definition of net weight is “weight excluding all tare”. Note that the word tare for the plant (mentioned in the Bible) is a completely different word with a different origin.

tare

Pronounced: tehr, noun

Notes: Sounds like “tear” (a rip) to me. I’ve run across this word, and kind of knew the meaning from the association, but not fully, and I didn’t know the background.

Yesterday’s word

The word circumvallate means “to surround by a defensive structure, such a a rampart”

First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

I recognized the circum- part of the word (it’s Latin for “around”), but not the second part; it turns out that vallum is Latin for “rampart”. However, given the definition, it seems to me that creating a moat around a castle would qualify as a circumvallating.

circumvallate

Pronounced: sir-kuhm-VAL-ate, verb

Notes: Well, I knew part of the word, but not the whole thing

Yesterday’s word

The word amaranthine means

  • of or relating to an amaranth (ANNOYING definition!!)
  • not fading or dying: immortal
  • being dark reddish purple
First usage

This word showed up in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

I don’t like it when the definition of a word uses a different form of that word (like in the first definition above). A long time ago, poets had the idea of a flower that never faded and called it amaranth, from the Greek words amarantos (immortal, unfading) and anthos (flower). Thus, our word came to be the adjective that described this imaginary flower. By extension, it came to mean anything that has an undying quality. Oddly enough, there is now a real plant called an amaranth; it is a herb that some consider a weed and others grow on purpose because of it’s colorful leaves and spikes of flowers. In chemistry, an amaranth is also a purplish red water-soluble powder that can be used an an azo dye; thus, our word (the adjective) can refer to something of this color.

amaranthine

Pronounced: a-muh-RAN(T)-thuhn, adj

Notes: Quite a mouthful, with one particularly annoying definition

Yesterday’s word

The word malfeasance is probably well known; the meaning is “an illegal action, especially by a public official”.

First usage

It’s not new; it goes back to the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

The word comes from Anglo-Norman malfaisance (wrongdoing), which in turn came from Latin malefacere (to do wrong), from mal- (bad) and facere (to do). I recognized the ‘mal’ part of the word, but didn’t realize that the word is normally used about public officials. As for the similar-looking words I mentioned yesterday, nonfeasance (which I’ve heard of) means “a failure to act when there is an obligation to” and misfeasance (which I did not know before) means “an unlawful exercise of a lawful act” — think of it as “abusing one’s authority”. Come to think of it, misfeasance may have been a better choice… oh, well… hindsight.

malfeasance

Pronounced: mal-FEE-zuhns, noun

Notes: I was pretty close with this one, but I decided to add it to write about the similar-looking words “misfeasance” and “nonfeasance”

Yesterday’s word

The word carrefour means

  • crossroads
  • square, plaza
First usage

This word came into English in the 1400s

Background / Comments

Even though we see the word ‘four’ in the word (and the word originally meant an intersection of “four” roads at a single point – a crossroads); it is the first have that has the meaning of “four”: the word came to English via Middle French from Late Latin quadrifurcus (having four forks). It is a combination of quadri- (four) and furca (fork). The word’s meaning expanded to refer to any public square or plaza.

carrefour

Pronounced: kah-ruh-FOUR, noun

Notes: I couldn’t even begin to guess at the meaning of this word

Yesterday’s word

The word inscape refers to “the unique essence of a person, place, or thing (especially as expressed in a word of art such as a poem)”

First usage

The word came into being in the mid-1800s.

Background / Comments

This word was coined by a poet (well, that explains the definition) and priest named Gerald Manley Hopkins; it is said that he was inspired by the philosopher Duns Scotus.