acephalous

Pronounced: ay-SEH-fuh-lush, adj

Notes: (The initial syllable is a long “a”). This is a word I should have been able to figure out, and I was annoyed with myself for not doing so.

Yesterday’s word

The word assize refers to “a session of court or a verdict or an inquiry made at such a session”

Background / Comments

The word comes from Old French asseoir (to seat), which came from Latin assidere (to sit). As I noted yesterday, in my reading of Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and others), and Dorothy Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey), I’ve run across the phrase “referred to the Assizes”. Parliament abolished the Assizes in 1972; prior to that (as I understand it), the Assizes were a kind of traveling court in England and Wales that heard the most serious cases, typically referred to them by local county courts called “quarter sessions”. Minor offenses were dealt with by the local justice of the peace (a “magistrate’s court”).

First usage

This goes way back to the late 1200s.

assize

Pronounced: uh-SIZE, noun

Notes: From my reading, I see this word capitalized and pluralized (Assizes), but I only had a general idea of the meaning. Research into this word provided good insight (more tomorrow)

Yesterday’s word

A toxophilite is “a person fond of or expert at archery”

Background / Comments

This word is a bit rare these days; it comes from two Greek words: toxon (referring to both a bow and arrow) and philos (loving). If you thought that this word might be someone who enjoyed poison, you are very clever at seeing the part of a word – give yourself a pat on the back! The word toxic comes from Latin toxicum (poison), but the Latin word originally meant “poison for arrows” and derives from the first part of today’s word.

First usage

This word came into English in the late 1700s.

toxophilite

Pronounced: tahk-SAH-fuh-lite, noun

Notes: I know of at least one recent high-school graduate who should know this word… do you?

Yesterday’s word

An unperson is “a person regarded as nonexistent”

Background / Comments

This comes from George Orwell’s book “1984”; he coined this word as a noun. A much more common synonym is nonperson.

First usage

Although the verb form goes way back to the mid-1600s (meaning “to depersonalize”), it was first used as a noun in 1949.

unperson

Pronounced: UHN-puhr-suhn, noun

Notes: I thought that this word was a verb; nonetheless, I was close to the meaning (however, I did not know the background)

Yesterday’s word

The word manqué means “short of or frustrated in the fulfillment of one’s aspirations or talents”

Background / Comments

This word is usually used post-positively (that is, after the noun it is modifying): thus, a poet manqué, or (to hit closer to home), a software lead manqué. The word came directly from French, but ultimately from the Latin manco (having either hand crippled). Somewhere along the way, it picked up a bias against left-handed people: the Italian word mancino means “left-handed; dishonest”. There is a sprinkling of English words that show a bias against left-handed people: besides our word, sinister with its origin of “on the left hand” and awkward with its origin of “left-handed; turned the wrong way” are some other examples.

First usage

This word showed up in the early 1800s

manqué

Pronounced: mah(n)-KAY, adj (the ‘n’ is barely pronounced)

Notes: I wish I’d known this word; there are people I’ve met over the course of my life that this word fits well.

Yesterday’s word

In addition to the usual plant/food meanings, the word cabbage can mean, as a noun:

  • money, especially in the form of bills
  • a stupid or mentally impaired person
  • a term of endearment
  • scraps remaining from a fabric that has been used to make a garment

As a verb, cabbage can mean:

  • to get intoxicated
  • to steal of pilfer
  • to plagiarize
Background / Comments

(I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t care for this word as a term of endearment, especially given the other meanings.) There are two different origins; most of the definitions come originally from Latin caput (head) and then to Anglo-Norman kabouche (head). The other definitions (the noun “scraps” meaning and the “steal/pilfer” and “plagiarize” verb definitions are uncertain, but are thought to be an alteration of “garbage”.

First usage

The noun meaning of “scraps” and the verb meanings of “steal/pilfer” and “plagiarize” showed up in the early 1700s; the other uses go back to the late 1300s

cabbage

Pronounced: KAB-ij, noun/verb

Notes: I don’t mean the plant or the food; it has other meanings that surprised me. Do you know them?

Yesterday’s word

The word plenipotentiary means

  • invested with full power
  • of or relating to a person invested fully to transact any business
Background / Comments

The word derives from two Latin roots: plenus (full) and potens (powerful). It is sometimes used in diplomatic titles: an ambassador plenipotentiary, or an envoy plenipotentiary; such people are not only concerned with foreign affairs, but have full power to act on behalf of the sending government. Sometimes “extraordinary” (in its more literal meaning) is also added: an “Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary” is an agent with full power, but assigned to a particular (not ordinary; extra-ordinary) mission.

First usage

This word showed up in the mid-1600s

Rejected Words

The word shambles was a borderline word. We normally use the word today to mean “a mess”, but it also means “a place of great slaughter”. Even though I knew both meanings, the origin was interesting: The word started in Latin as scamillum (little bench); in Old English, this became sceamol (a footstool; a table used for counting money or exhibiting goods). In Middle English, this became shamele with a more specific meaning (a table for the exhibition of meat for sale). In the 1400s, it became pluralized to shambles and meant “meat market” (this is the sense used in the New Testament). In the 1500s, it meant “slaughterhouse”, and then “a place of terrible slaughter or bloodshed”. Because such a scene can be messy, we get the modern meaning of “mess” or “a state of great confusion”.

plenipotentiary

Pronounced: pleh-nuh-puh-TEN-shuh-ree (also pleh-nuh-puh-TEN-shree), adj

Notes: Today’s word is long, but I’ve run across it in reading

Yesterday’s word

The word baragnosis means “loss of the ability to sense weight”

Background / Comments

Even after reading the definition, I’m was uncertain of what it meant: did it mean unaware of one’s own weight? (the sample sentence I found seemed to imply this meaning). Perhaps it meant not being able to tell the weight of something when holding it? Some additional research indicated that the latter definition is meant. I’ve never heard of anyone with this problem. The word comes from three Greek words: baros (weight), a- (not) and gnosis (knowing). As a side note, we get the word “agnostic” from the second two words.

First usage

This showed up in the early 1900s

baragnosis

Pronounced: bar-ag-NO-sis or ba-RAG-no-sis, noun

Notes: I recognized part of the word, but I had no idea of the meaning… and even after reading the definition, I’m not sure I really understand the word.

Yesterday’s word

The word meme means

  • an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture
  • an interesting or amusing item spread widely online (especially through social media)
Background / Comments

I think most of us are familiar with the second meaning of the word, but it actually predates the popular use of the Internet. Richard Dawkins coined this word in his book The Selfish Gene. It caught on rapidly (like, well, a “meme”). The word was constructed as mimeme, from Greek mim- (mime or mimic), combined with the English suffix -eme (a distinctive unit of language structure). Mr Dawkins rejected mimeme; he wanted a one-syllable word and thus abbreviated it to meme.

First usage

This word was coined in 1976

meme

Pronounced: meem, noun

Notes: I think a lot of people know at least one meaning; the word has an interesting background

Yesterday’s word

The word louche means “not reputable or decent”

Background / Comments

I have heard the phrase (or thought I heard) “loose morals” or “loose living” for many years, but now I’m wondering if I’ve been mishearing the phrase: perhaps the speaker was saying “louche living”? I know I’ve seen it written “loose living”, but I suspect that this was some kind of error. It’s just something I wondered when I read the pronunciation of this word. Anyway, the word started with Latin luscus (blind in one eye; having poor sight). It then came into French as louche (squinting; cross-eyed). It also developed a figurative meaning on the idea of a squinting look of “shady” or “devious”. When the word came into English, only the figurative meaning was used.

First usage

This word showed up in English in the 1800s

louche

Pronounced: loosh, adj

Notes: I didn’t know this word, but it made me wonder about a few things (see tomorrow’s comments)

Yesterday’s word

The word bathophobia is “a fear of depths or of falling from a height”

Background / Comments

As you may have figured out, this is a Greek-based word; a combination of bathos (depth) and phobia (fear). The depth meaning makes sense; it is odd to see the falling from a height meaning as part of this word. I suspect that most people who say that they are afraid of heights may really be afraid of falling from them.

First usage

This is a relatively recent word, showing up in the early 1900s