Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: lep-tuh-DAK-tuh-luhs, adj
Notes: Interesting word that I didn’t know, but could use
The word eurytopic means “tolerant of wide variation in one or more environmental factors”
Our word came into English in the 1930s
Our word came from Greek words eurys (broad; wide) and topos (place). There is an opposite to our word — “stenotopic”, which are things that only exist in a small area.
Pronounced: yore-ih-TAH-pik, adj
Notes: I’ve not run across this word (and I don’t think I can use it very much)
The word borstal is “a reformatory for young offenders”
Our word came into English in the 1900s (1900-1910)
I have either read this word somewhere, or perhaps heard it while watching a television show. Our word is named after the village Borstal, which is located in Kent in the UK.
Pronounced: BORE-stuhl, noun
Notes: I’ve run across this word, but I didn’t really know the definition
The word decussate means “to intersect or cross”
Our word came into English in the mid-1600s
Our word is mostly found in scientific contexts; it came from the Latin word decussatus (divided in the form of an X), which (supposedly) is a combination of decem (ten) and ass- (a unit of weight — a copper coin cut to a half ounce). The number 10 in the Roman numeral system is “X”, which is an intersection of two lines.
Pronounced: DEH-kuh-sate, verb
Notes: Another of the words I haven’t seen before
The word vardy means “judgment or opinion”
Our word came into English in the mid-1700s
Our word is a from a dialect variant of verdit, which is from verdict, which is from the Anglo-Normal words ver (true) and dit (statement; speech), which is from dicere (to say).
Pronounced: VAR-dee, noun
Notes: A useful word, but not one I know
The word extenuate means
Our word came into English in the early to mid-1500s
As I noted, I have heard the term “extenuating circumstances” — they are, properly, circumstances that mitigate an event. Our word came from the Latin word extenuatus, which is the past participle of the verb extenuare, which is made up of ex- (out of; from; utterly; thoroughly) and tenuare (to make thin). Early definitions (now obsolete) of our word were “to make light of” and “to make thin or emaciated”.
Pronounced: ick-STEN-yuh-wait, verb
Notes: You probably know the phrase “extenuating circumstances” (as I do), but do you know the meaning of the verb?
The word noctilucent means “shining at night”
Our word came into English in the late 1600s
After reading the definition, I felt a little foolish for not knowing the meaning. Our word came from the Latin words nocti- (night) and lucent (shining).
Pronounced: nok-tuh-LOO-sunt, adj
Notes: I didn’t know this word, but I should have been able to figure it out
The word doch-an-dorris is “a parting drink”
It is not clear when our word came into English
Our word is more common in Scotland and Ireland. In American English, we tend to use the phrase “stirrup cup”. In Scottish Gaelic, our word is spelled deoch an doruis. In Irish, it is spelled deoch an dorais. Both of these phrases literally mean “a drink at the door”. It is a long-standing practice of sharing a parting drink with the host(s) or guests. In English, a phrase with a similar meaning is “stirrup cup” – this was originally a small drink of wine (or something) before a rider about to leave on horseback. Another phrase that is commonly heard for this practice is “one for the road”.
Pronounced: dak-un-DOOR-us, noun
Notes: Not a word I’ve ever run across
The word caesious means “bluish or grayish green”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
Our word came from the Latin word caesius, which is thought to come from caelum (sky). Keen-eyed readers will note that this is another word with the vowels in order.
Pronounced: SEE-zee-uhs, adj
Notes: A word I didn’t know, and probably won’t use
The word plumply means “in a wholehearted manner and without hesitation or circumlocution; forthrightly”
Our word came into English in the mid-1700s
In the 1300s, the word “plump” was used to refer to the sound of something dropping into water (today, we use the word “plop” for this sound). The, in Middle English, this noun “plump” also became a verb meaning “to drop”. The verb gained a noun with the meaning “a sudden drop or fall”, and then an adverb definition was added: “directly, without qualification”. The adverb plump change to the more standard form of plumply. As I was researching the history, I wonder if when the adverb form of “plump” that meant “directly” was misheard and gave rise to the word “plumb” (such as in the statement “plumb empty” or “plumb out of luck”).
Pronounced: PLUM-plee, adv
Notes: This word has nothing to do with being fat
The word airling is “a carefree, thoughtless person”
Our word came into English in the early 1600s
An interesting word to drop into conversation, but I don’t know that I’ve ever heard it. It came from a combination of air (which came from the Latin word aer [air]) in combination with -ling (small; young; inferior).
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