yichus

Pronounced: YEEKH-uhs, noun

Notes: I could guess at the origin, but not the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word mugwump is

  • a Republican that did not support his party’s candidate in the 1884 election
  • a person who is independent (as in politics) or who remains undecided or neutral
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

I enjoy learning about US Presidents, and the 1884 election is a fascinating one to me. To summarize, the incumbent Chester Arthur did not wish a second term, as his health was declining. The Republicans had won the Presidency ever since 1856 and nominated James Blaine, who had severed as Secretary of State. The Democrats nominated New York governor Grover Cleveland. The campaign was bitter, with accusations leveled at each candidate: James Blaine was accused of corruption, having sold his influence in Congress when he served there. Grover Cleveland was accused of having fathered a child out of wedlock. The Mugwumps were Republicans that were strongly anti-corruption and refused to support James Blaine, switching their vote to Grover Cleveland, who became the first Democrat to win the Presidency, and would remain so until the 1912 election. Grover Cleveland also won the popular vote in three elections in a row, but lost the electoral vote in the middle one, so he was the first man to have non-successive presidential terms. Our word came from mugquomp, an anglicization of the Massachusett Indian word muggumquomp (war leader).

mugwump

Pronounced: MUG-wuhmp, noun

Notes: I have heard this word, but I only had vague ideas of the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word yahoo, as a noun, is “a person who is boorish, loud, disruptive, etc”. As an interjection, it means “expressing excitement, delight, or triumph”.

First usage

The noun form came into English in the mid-1700s; the interjection form came into English in the 1970s

Background / Comments

The noun definition came from Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift – published in 1726. In the book, the Yahoos were a race of brutish creatures. The origin of the interjection is not known, but it thought to be of echoic origin. I am also skeptical of the first usage being in the 1970s; I seem to recall that the Rankin/Bass Christmas show Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a character named Yukon Cornelius who was wont to shout “yahoo!”. This show came out in the mid-1960s, so perhaps the first usage above is incorrect. Note that I believe he shouted “yahoo!”, but I need to watch the show to verify that memory.

yahoo

Pronounced: YAH-hoo, noun; yah-HOO, interjection

Notes: One of a few words whose pronunciation changes the meaning (and type of speech)

Yesterday’s word

The word canorous means “pleasant sounding; melodious”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Latin verb canere (to sing). Our word is used of something that is pleasant to listen to.

canorous

Pronounced: kuh-NOR-us, adj

Notes: I didn’t know the meaning, but after seeing it, it made sense

Yesterday’s word

The word rostrum is

  • a platform, stage, dais, etc, for public speaking
  • a beaklike projection on a warship, used for ramming another ship
  • a snout, beak, or bill of an animal
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

As I noted yesterday, I knew the first definition above, but the others were strange to me. In ancient Rome, a speaking platform was decorated with the beaks of captured ships… and thus, the first definition. The word comes from the Latin word rostrum (snout; bill; beak), from came from rodere (to gnaw), which explains the other meanings.

rostrum

Pronounced: ROS-truhm (alt: RO-struhm), noun

Notes: I thought I knew this word, but it had meanings I did not know

Yesterday’s word

The word zydeco is “popular music of southern Louisiana that combines elements of French and Caribbean music and the blues and that features guitar, washboard, and accordion”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1960s

Background / Comments

There is a legend concerning the origin of this word: that our word came from the lyrics of a popular Cajun dance tune (Les Haricots Sont Pas Sales) — roughly speaking, this is translated as “the beans are not salty”. When spoken in French Creole, “Les Haricots” sounds a bit like “zydeco” and zydeco began to be used for this kind of music.

zydeco

Pronounced: ZIE-duh-koh, noun

Notes: Some people may know this word; it is new to me

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase Queenborough mayor is “a position involving pomp and show, but not real power or authority”

First usage

Our phrase came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

It is, perhaps, more common to use the word “figurehead” instead of our phrase. Our phrase came from a 1620 play by Thomas Middleton called Hengist, King of Kent, or The Mayor of Quinborough. In the play, Simon the tanner becomes the mayor of Queenborough — by the way, Queenborough is a real town (a small one), located in the UK county of Kent.

Queenborough mayor

Pronounced: QUEEN-buh-row may-uhr, noun

Notes: I have not heard this phrase, but it is a useful one

Yesterday’s word

The word orchidaceous means

  • of, relating to, or resembling the orchids
  • showy, ostentatious
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Our word literally means “belonging to the Orchidaceae” (the name of the orchid family). The first definition was relatively obvious; the other meaning, although it makes sense with hindsight, didn’t spring to mind immediately. An interesting fact about orchids is that there is no such thing as a typical orchid. Orchids may be very tiny flowers to large showy flowers, and this is how the second definition arose. For me, orchids are also tied to the fictional detective Nero Wolfe (in books by Rex Stout) – Nero Wolfe created a greenhouse on the top floor of his New York brownstone and worked with orchids there.

orchidaceous

Pronounced: or-kuh-DAY-shus, adj

Notes: This was a borderline word; I correctly knew a definition (you probably can as well), but there is another definition that is not quite as clear

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase Kentish Fire is “prolonged cheering”

First usage

Our phrase came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

In 1828-1829, a bill was proposed to remove discrimination against Catholics — called the Catholic Relief Bill. There were meetings held in which the proposed bill was read; in Kent, there was prolonged derisive “cheering” to show opposition to the bill. Not too many years after this, our word came into being.

Kentish fire

Pronounced: KEN-tish fire, noun

Notes: I have not heard this phrase

Yesterday’s word

The word saponaceous means “resembling or having the qualities of soap”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1700s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the New Latin word saponaceus (soapy), which came from the Latin word sapon, which is a stem of sapo (soap). The original meaning was for soapy things found in nature, such as aloe gel. In the 1800s, our word began to be used to describe people having a slippery, evasive, or elusive characters.

saponaceous

Pronounced: sa-puh-NAY-shuhs

Notes: Neat word, but probably of limited use

Yesterday’s word

The word autokinesy means “self-propelled or self-directed motion or energy”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1600s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Greek words auto- (self) and kinein (to move). I recognized the auto- prefix when I saw the word, but I did not recognize the other part when I first saw our word. I should have recognized the second part – the same source as our word “kinetic”.