Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: PUH-kuh, adj
Notes: I’ve run across this word in reading, and had an idea of the meaning, but I also found the background interesting. Do you know the meaning?
The word subduct means “to push or move below something”
The word comes from Latin subducere (to draw up, withdraw, remove); the word is made up of sub- (below) and ducere (to draw, lead)
The word goes back to the mid-1500s
Pronounced: suhb-DUCT, verb
Notes: I found it hard to define this word
The word logy means “marked by sluggishness and lack of vitality; groggy”
The origins of logy (sometimes spelled loggy) are uncertain (but it is NOT related to “groggy” except in meaning). It is thought to come from the Dutch word log (heavy).
This word first showed up in the mid-1800s
Pronounced: LOW-gee, adj
Notes: I’m not sure why such a short, useful word is not better known
The word rowel, as a verb means “to prick; to vex”. As a noun, it is the small spiked wheel on the end of a spur attached behind the shoes of a horse rider. They are used to goad a horse.
It is pretty straightforward; this word came from Old French roele, which came from Latin rotella (small wheel). Not being familiar with all of the equipment used in horse riding, I thought that rowels were the spurs.
The word came into English in the late 1200s
Pronounced: ROU-uhl, noun/verb
Notes: Some people may know this word
The word argosy means
Although it looks like it, argosy is not related to argonaut. Argosy comes from Ragusa, which is the Italian name for the city which is not Dubrovnik in Croatia. Over time, Ragusa mutated into ragusea, the word for the laden merchant ships that sailed from Ragusa. As time went on the spelling changed to argosy. In addition, as is the case with many words, the meaning broadened to mean any merchant vessel or rich store.
The word came into English in the late 1500s
Pronounced: ARE-guh-see, noun
Notes: I had no idea of the meaning of this word
The word cutpurse means “a thief, especially one who steals from people’s pockets”
Before clothing had pockets, people carried their money in a pouch (purse) that hung from a girdle (a belt, cord, sash, or the like worn about the waist). A thief would cut off the purse: hence, “cutpurse”. Eventually, pouches were sewn onto one’s clothing and called “pockets”, and the word evolved into “pickpocket”. I seem to recall reading of cutpurses in books set in the pre-pocket days. Incidentally, there is also a word “pickpurse”.
The word came into usage in the mid 1300s. For comparison, pickpocket showed up in the late 1500s and pickpurse showed up in the late 1300s.
Pronounced: CUT-purse, noun
Notes: If you watch shows set in the past, you may know this one
The word rapporteur means “a person who gives reports (as at a meeting of a learned society)
To me, this word is just a fancy one for “secretary”. As you may expect, this word comes from French; specifically, from the Middle French word rapporter (to bring back, report, or refer). A more common descendant from this word is rapport.
This word entered the language in the early 1500s
Pronounced: ra-pour-TUHR, noun
Notes: This seems to be a fancy word for which we have a simpler one
The word scapegrace means “a scoundrel; a mischievous person”
This word was coined to describe a person who had “escaped” the “grace” of God.
This word showed up in the early 1800s
Pronounced: SKAPE-grace, noun
Notes: You may be able to guess the meaning (if you don’t know it)
The word transpontine means “situated on the farther side of a bridge”. This word also has a British meaning “situated on the south side of the Thames”.
The word comes from trans- (across) and Latin pons (bridge) — and the bridge was any London bridge that crossed the Thames. Originally, usage referred to the less respectable theaters on the south side of the Thames. The more respectable north side of the river was the cispontine, meaning “situated on the North side of the Thames”. As the usage of these words spread, the meaning became more generalized to the far side/near side meanings.
This word came into usage in the mid-1800s.
Pronounced: tran(t)s-PAHN-tine, adj
Notes: This is an interesting word (in addition to the regular meaning, there is a British meaning)
The word catchpenny means, as a noun, “something that’s designed to sell quickly”. As an adjective, it means “relating to something designed to sell quickly: cheap, flashy, or sensationalistic”
I thought that this word referred to a miser or miserly. It is a shortening of the phrase “catch a penny”. It is another tosspot word.
This word began to be used in the mid-1700s
Pronounced: KATCH-pen-ee, adj/noun
Notes: I had the meaning of this word confused
The word brackish has a couple of meanings:
I knew that brackish meant “somewhat salty”, but I was unaware of the “repulsive” definition. The word comes from the Dutch word brak (salty). This was the original meaning of the word; because salt water is undrinkable, the idea of distasteful arose over time.
This word showed up in the 1500s.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day