Pronounced: AJ-uh-luh-tor-ee, adj

Notes: You can probably figure this one out, but an interesting feature kept this on the list.

Admin: I schedule these posts to go out each morning, but erred in the settings for today’s, so it is late

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Yesterday’s word

The word edentulous means “having no teeth; toothless”

First usage

The word came into English in the late 1700s

Background / Comments

This is a great alternative word for “toothless” that makes one sound erudite. It came into English from the Latin word edentulus, which is made up of e- (missing, absent) and the root dent- (tooth). A similar word is the somewhat uncommon edentate, referring to an order of mammals that have few or no teeth. In fact, edentate can be used as a synonym for our word.

Pronounced: ee-DEN-chuh-luhs, adj

Notes: A more fancy word for a word we know better

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Yesterday’s word

The word mondain, as a noun, is “a sophisticated man; a man belonging to fashionable society”. As an adjective, it means “wordly, fashionable”

First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

The word came from the French word mondain (socialite); this came from the Latin word mundus (world). As I noted yesterday, this word sounds very close to ‘mundane’ (a word I’ve known since grade school); I’m pretty sure that mundane also has the same Latin word for its root.

Pronounced: mon-DAIN, noun/adj

Notes: I knew ‘mundane’ (similar sounding word) from my reading, but not this one

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Yesterday’s word

The word ferrule is “a usually metal ring or cap that is placed around the end of a slender shaft or handle to strengthen it for for joining or binding one part to another”

First usage

This word came into the language in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

The metal ring that holds the eraser in a pencil is a ferrule; so is a metal band around a cane. This versatile word can refer to the cap at the end of a cane or crutch or chair or table leg; it is also the point or knob at the hub of an umbrella. It also binds a paintbrush handle to the brushes. In Middle English, it was called a verrel, which were bands or rings of iron to prevent splitting or wear of the wooden shafts of implements. The word came into Middle English from Middle French virelle, which came from Old French virol, which came from Latin viriola (small bracelet). Somewhere along the way in English, the initial ‘v’ became an ‘f’; possible influenced by ferrum (iron).

Pronounced: FAIR-uhl, noun

Notes: I was trying so hard to parse this word to figure out the meaning that I forgot that I’ve run across it in reading.

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Yesterday’s word

The word sillage is “the trail of scent that lingers behind from a perfume; also, the degree to which it lingers

First usage

This word came into English in the early 1800s

Background / Comments

The word comes from the French word sillage (wake, trail). I’ve run into sillage quite a bit, but I didn’t know that there was a word for it.

Pronounced: see-AHZ, noun

Notes: Growing up on a farm, I know “silage”, but not this word with an extra ‘l’.

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Yesterday’s word

The word adumbrate means

• to foreshadow vaguely; intimate
• to suggest, disclose, or outline partially
• to overshadow or obscure

First usage

This word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

The reason for the idea of “shadow” in the word is because the root word is the Latin word umbra (shadow). The word actually comes from the Latin verb adumbrare. This word often appears on lists of words one should know, but, so far, the word has never really caught on.

Pronounced: AH-duhm-brate, verb

Notes: I recognized part of the word, but it didn’t help me with the definition

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Yesterday’s word

The word androcracy means “a system ruled by men”

First usage

This word came about in the early 1900s

Background / Notes

I recognized andro from the Greek andros (male), and -cracy from the various types of ruling, so I was able to guess the meaning. However, even though I recognized andro, it actually comes from Latin andro- (male), not Greek. The word -cracy is also Latin, meaning “rule”.

Pronounced: an-DROK-ruh-see, noun

Notes: This was a borderline case; I worked out this meaning — you probably can, too

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Yesterday’s word

The word williwaw means

• a sudden violent gust of cold land air common along mountainous coasts of high latitudes
• a violent commotion

First usage

The word showed up in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Our word is interesting because it just appeared in the year above, and the origin is a mystery. It was first used to name fierce winds in the Strait of Magellan. The writers were British, so it is theorized that they learned the word from British sailors and/or seal hunters. I ran across the word in a story I read in high school that used the word to describe a storm on Attu, part of the Aleutians. I could tell from the context that it was a kind of storm, but I didn’t look up the exact meaning.

Pronounced: WIH-lih-waw, noun

Notes: I’ve run across the word in reading an had an idea of the meaning from the context, but I found the origin interesting

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Yesterday’s word

The word ailurophobia is “a fear of cats”

First usage

This word showed up in the first decade of the 1900s

Background / Comments

As with many of the “phobia” words, the source is Greek; the combination of ailuro- (cat) and phobia (fear).

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

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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.

Pronounced: shuh-TAW-kwe, noun

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

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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).