Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: WAY-trahn, noun
Notes: I’m posting this word because it came up, and I didn’t know it, but I don’t like it (more about it tomorrow)
The word eldritch means “weird; supernatural; eerie”
The origin is not certain. One theory is that is comes from Old English elf + rice (realm).
This word goes back to the early 1500s.
Pronounced: EL-drich, adj
Notes: I had some vague ideas about what this may mean — all wrong.
The word interpellate means “to question (as a foreign minister) formally concerning an official action or policy or personal conduct”. It is a form of political challenge used in the congress or parliament of many nations throughout the world; in fact, in some cases, it is provided for in their constitution. In the United States Congress does not practice formal interpellation, so one tends to find this word in international news. Where is it practiced, it is usually the first step in ousting an appointed official or bringing to task an elected one. The word could be thought to be a mispronunciation of ‘interpolate’ (to insert words into a text or conversation).
The word comes from the Latin word interpellatus, the past participle of interpellare (to interrupt or disturb a person speaking). The ‘interrupt’ sense is now obsolete, even though it was once so used.
The word came into English in the late 1500s
Pronounced: in-tuhr-PEH-late, verb
Notes: It sounds a bit like interpolate, but interpolate is a different word.
The word divaricate means, as a verb, “to branch off or diverge”. The adjective means “branched off or diverging widely”.
Like many of the words I post, this word also comes from Latin. This time, it is from divaricare, which is composed of dis- (apart) and varicare (to straddle).
The word goes back to the early 1600s
Pronounced: die-VAR-uh-kate (verb), die-VAR-uh-kit (adj)
Notes: An odd word that changes pronunciation (but not spelling) depending upon the part of speech
The word fulgent means “dazzlingly bright: radiant”
This word comes from the Latin word fulgēre (to shine). It is related to the Latin flagrare (to burn).
This word dates back to the 1400s
Pronounced: FULL-juhnt, adj
Notes: Despite sounding like an Englishman after a large meal, it has nothing to do with that
The word chambrer means to warm up wine to room temperature.
The word comes from the French word chambre (room).
Rex Stout may have been one of the first people to use this word; the Nero Wolfe novel And Be a Villain was published in 1948, using this word. Most dictionaries have this entering English in the 1950s.
Pronounced: SHAWN-brare, verb
Notes: Ran across this in a Rex Stout book, and didn’t know it, so it showed up here
The word defile means “to march off in a line”
This word comes from French word défiler, a combination of dé- with filer (to move in a column). This French word is also the source of the noun defile, meaning “narrow passage or gorge”.
For those curious about the more common defile that means “to contaminate”, it is an older word, going back to the 1300s. It also comes from French, but its source is defoiller (“to trample”)
This word was first used in the early 1700s
Pronounced: dih-FILE (or dih-FIE-uhl), verb
Notes: If you’re thinking that I posted an easy word, this is not the word that means “to contaminate”. Although that word is spelled and pronounced the same, it has a different meaning and a different origin that today’s word. Do you know it?
The word velutinous means “soft and smooth like velvet”
Short and simple: the word is from the Latin word veluntum (velvet).
This word came into English in the mid-1800s
Pronounced: vuh-LOO-tuh-nuhs, adj
Notes: A word I could have known (had I studied the language from which it comes), but since I didn’t, I don’t!
The word zaibatsu is “a powerful and industrial conglomerate of Japan”
The word is Japanese; it is a compound word of zai (wealth or money) and batsu (clique or clan). It referred to large enterprises that sprang up in Japan after the Meiji Restoration of 1868. They expanded rapidly during World War I. Each zaibatsu was typically organized around a single family and controlled interests in multiple areas. During the Allied occupation of Japan after World War II, zaibatsus were dissolved, but the term has survived.
This world entered English after World War II (the mid- to late 1940s)
Pronounced: zigh-BAHT-soo, noun
Notes: I would think that many people can probably guess where this comes from, even if they don’t know the definition
The word impignorate means “to pledge, pawn, or mortgage”
The word comes from Latin impignorare (to pledge) from pignus (pledge, pawn, mortgage)
The word showed up in the mid-1600s
Pronounced: im-PIG-nuh-rate, verb
Notes: Well, my guess was to impersonate a pig (wrong!)
The word maffick means “to celebrate with boisterous rejoicing and hilarious behavior”
The word maffick is an alteration of Mafeking Night, the British celebration of the lifting of the siege of a British military outpost during the South African War (also called the Boer War – technically, the Second Boer War) at the town of Mafikeng (also spelled Mafeking) on 17 May 1900. The lifting of the siege of Mafikeng was a significant victory for the British because they held out for over 200 days against a superior force (the siege ended when British reinforcements arrived). There was great rejoicing in Britain, and it created our word. It was popular in journalistic circles, but is a relatively uncommon word today.
This word started to be used in the early 1900s
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day