maffick

Pronounced: MA-fick, verb

Notes: I don’t want to give away too much of the origin until tomorrow, but I have run across, in British literature, the term from which this word comes (“Mafeking Night”). In the context of reading, I assumed it was some British holiday that I was unaware of; moreover, I had not run across this word. Given the association, some may be able to guess the meaning.

Yesterday’s word

The word parley means (as a verb) “to have a discussion, especially with an opposing party”. As a noun, it refers to such a discussion. I thought that it meant a truce for the purpose of having a discussion with an opposing party, so I was close, but not quite right.

Background

People with some foreign language may recognize the roots. It came to English from the French word parler (to talk). The French word came from Latin parabolare (to speak or talk). The Spanish word palabra (word) has the same roots.

First usage

The word came into English in the late 1400s.

parley

Pronounced: PAR-lee, verb or noun

Notes: This is another word I thought I knew until I read the definition

Yesterday’s word

The word coeval means “of the same age, antiquity, or duration”

Background

This word comes from Latin coaevus (of the same age), which is itself made up of co- (in or to the same degree) and aevum (age or lifetime). As a side note, aevum is also the source of longevity and primeval. Coeval is usually referred to things that have existed together for a long time – for example, the planets in our solar system, or it can refer to things that co-existed a long(ish) time ago: manuscripts can be described as “coeval”.

First usage

This word began to be used around 1600

coeval

Pronounced: koh-EE-vuhl, adj

Notes: With the pronunciation, it sounds as if it were somehow evil, but it isn’t.

Yesterday’s word

The word trombenik means “a lazy or a boastful person”

Background

The word comes from Yiddish tromba (trumpet, horn) [see, I was close with my guess of trombone-RL] combined with -nik, a suffix that denotes a person associated with a particular quality, group, etc… such as a neatnik. Getting back to trombenik, it is the equivalent of the phrase tooting one own’s horn.

First usage

This is a (relatively) more recent word, first showing up in the early 1930s

trombenik

Pronounced: TROM-buh-nick, noun

Notes: The word is also spelled trombenick. I see ‘trombone’ in this word, and that’s not quite right

Yesterday’s word

The word Antaean means

  • mammoth
  • having superhuman strength
Background

The word Antaean comes from Greek mythology. Antaeus was the gigantic and powerful son of Gaea (the earth goddess) and Poseidon (the sea god). Antaeus was a wrestler, and whenever he touched the earth, his strength was renewed. No one ever beat him until Hercules faced him. Hercules discovered the secret of the giant’s strength and defeated him by not letting him touch the ground. I remember reading the story of the battle between Antaeus and Hercules in grade school, during a time I had an interest in Greek mythology, but I had forgotten the name Antaeus, which is why I both knew and did not know this word.

First usage

This word entered English in the 1700s, being used by the English poet William Mason

Antaean

Pronounced: an-TEE-uhn, adj

Notes: This is a word I both knew and didn’t know. I explain this comment tomorrow.

Yesterday’s word

The word fiddlesticks (plural) is pretty well known as an interjection meaning “nonsense”. The singular, fiddlestick, also has a meaning you’d expect: “the bow with which the fiddle is played”. However, there is another meaning I didn’t know: “something insignificant”.

Background

Both fiddle and stick come from Old English; fiddle was then “fithele” and stick was “sticca”

First usage

This word showed up in the 1400s

fiddlestick

Pronounced: FIH-dull-stick, noun and interjection

Notes: The interjection is well known, and one meaning is straightforward, but there is a meaning I didn’t know

Yesterday’s word

The word bespoke means

  • custom-made
  • dealing in or producing custom-made articles
Background

In old English, the verb bespeak meant (among other things), “to speak”, “to accuse”, and “to complain”. It acquired another meaning (see the date below): “to order or arrange in advance”, and this meaning is what gives us the adjective bespoke. The word usually refers to clothes and other things that are ordered before they are made.

First usage

This word came into used in the 1500s.

flapdoodle

Pronounced: FLAP-doo-dull, noun

Notes: You can probably guess this word, but I couldn’t admit that I knew it, so it’s been added

Yesterday’s word

The word Beltane is the Celtic May Day festival

Background

This word has been spelled “beltene”, “belltaine”, and “beltine”: it’s earliest mention was in an old Irish dictionary, attributed to Cormac, a king a bishop. Per my notes, the ancient Celts, this was a critical time when the boundaries between the human and supernatural worlds blurred and people took special measures to protect themselves against enchantments. There is a Beltane fire festival that derives from a spring ritual in which cattle were herded between two bonfires to protect them against evil and disease.

First usage

This word goes back to around the year 1000.

Beltane

Pronounced: BELL-tane, noun

Notes: I knew a little about this word, but could not properly define it.

Yesterdays’ word

The word quaquaversal means “sloping downward from a center in all directions”

Background

It comes from Latin: quaqua (in all directions). Note that quaqua comes from qua (in what direction). To quaqua is added versus (towards).

First used

The word came into English in the late 1600s