calumny

Pronounced: KA-luhm-nee, noun

Notes: This is a word I kind of knew, but not precisely

Yesterday’s word

The word recreant, as an adjective, means

  • unfaithful to a cause, duty, person, belief, etc
  • cowardly

As a noun, it means

  • a disloyal person
  • a coward
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1300s

Background / Comments

I thought that our word was somehow a shortening of “recreation” (maybe a person who participates in recreational activities), but that was far short of the mark. Our word came from the Old French word recreant, which is the present participle of recroire (to yield; to surrender allegiance), which came from the Latin word recredere (to yield or pledge), made up of re- (again) and credere (to believe).

recreant

Pronounced: REK-ree-uhnt, adj/noun

Notes: Another word that my guess was way off

Yesterday’s word

The word mythomania is “an excessive or abnormal propensity for lying or exaggering”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1900s (1900-1909)

Background / Comments

I thought our word was someone very interested in myths. I don’t feel too bad for being off, because that is what the root parts imply: our word came from the Greek word mythos (myth) and the Late Latin word mania (uncontrolled excitement or emotion – almost to the point of insanity). Before our word, there was a near relative – “mythomaniac” that referred to someone passionate about myths.

mythomania

Pronounced: mih-thuh-MAY-nee-uh, noun

Notes: Not quite what I thought

Yesterday’s word

The word verbigerate means “to obsessively repeat meaningless words and phrases”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Our word is a great word. There are people who don’t seem to be able to help verbigerating; I have memories of managers that just spout phrases, and I knew a fellow from work who had memorized a few phrases and spouted them to impress others, but he really had no idea what he was talking about. I don’t know that our word applies to such cases because I don’t know how obsessive either of these instances are. Our word came from the Latin word verbigerare (to talk; to chat), which came from verbum (word) and gerere (to carry one).

verbigerate

Pronounced: vuhr-BIJ-uh-rate, verb

Notes: A great word to know

Yesterday’s word

The word twee means “affectedly or excessively dainty, delicate, cute, or quaint”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1900s (1900-1909)

Background / Comments

When I saw the word, I thought that “twee” was a shortening of “tween” that can refer to young people who are not teenagers, but no longer children (generally 8-12 years old). Our word came from baby talk — an alternation of “sweet”. It started off in the UK and originally was used as a term of affection. These days, it more often refers to things in the region of cloying. Other baby talk words that have entered our language are “dad”, “nanny”, and “buddy”.

twee

Pronounced: twee, adj

Notes: Again, not what I thought

Yesterday’s word

The word votive means “relating to a vow, wish, desire, etc”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Latin noun votum (vow), which came from the verb vovere (to vow). As a noun, our word can refer to the candle, from the more correct term “votive candle”, which is lit in hope of getting one’s desire. Tossing a coin into a wishing well is another example of a votive offering.

votive

Pronounced: VOH-tihv, adj

Notes: Not what I thought

Yesterday’s word

The word conundrum means

  • an intricate and difficult problem
  • a question or problem having only a conjectural answer
  • a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun
First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

According to my reference data, our word has been spelled “conimbrum”, “quonundrum”, “conucrum”, and “quadundrum.” I knew the first definition only. The origin of our word is not known for sure, but one theory is that it was a parody of Latin by students at Oxford University.

conundrum

Pronounced: kuh-NUN-drum, noun

Notes: I know one definition for sure, but the others I didn’t know

Yesterday’s word

The word toxophily is “the practice of, love of, or addiction to, archery”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1800s

Background / Comments

Our word came from Greek; it is a combination of toxon (bow) and -phily (love). As I noted yesterday, one part of the word was familiar, and that is the second part (-phily).

toxophily

Pronounced: tok-SAH-fuh-lee, noun

Notes: Some people may know this word; I didn’t, but recognized part of the word

Yesterday’s word

The word nidus is

  • a nest or breeding place
  • a place where something originates or develops
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1700s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Latin word nidus (nest). Related words are “nidification” (the process of building a nest) and “nidicolous” (reared in a nest). It is often used to refer to a place where bacteria lodge and breed, and thus our word has a somewhat negative connotation.

nidus

Pronounced: NIGH-duhs, noun

Notes: I couldn’t think of the meaning, but when I saw it, it rang a bell in my memory

Yesterday’s word

The word griselda is “a meek and patient woman”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1300s

Background / Comments

When I see our word, it reminds me of the Agatha Christie book The Murder at the Vicarage, (the first Miss Marple novel) in which Griselda is name of the wife of the vicar. She appears in a kind of cameo (by which I mean a brief, incidental mention) in the book The Body in the Library and – even more briefly – The 4.50 from Paddington. Our word came from the name Griselda, who is a woman in various medieval tales – she appears in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. In the tales, she suffers without complaining as her husband puts her through various tests. The actual name Griselda comes from Germaic roots and means “gray battle-maid”.

griselda

Pronounced: grih-ZEL-duh, noun

Notes: I know a character named this in a book, but it didn’t help with the definition

Yesterday’s word

The word yegg means “safecracker; robber”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1800s

Background / Comments

I enjoy mystery stories – especially older ones – so I’m surprised that I’ve not run across our word. The origin of the word is uncertain. There is a related word that developed later – “yeggman”.