Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: KLAY-mant (alt: KLAM-uhnt), adj
Notes: Looks like “claimant” with a letter missing
The word evanescent means “tending to vanish like vapor”
Our word came into English in the 1700s
I think I’ve run across our word in reading, but I could properly define it. Also, the first usage was quite broad. Our word came from the Latin verb evanescere (to fade away; to disappear). It used to have a meaning of “very small”.
Pronounced: eh-vuh-NEH-s(uh)nt (the “uh” in the final syllable is lightly pronounced), adj
Notes: I’ve run across this word, but did not have the definition exactly correct
The word raffish means
Our word came into English in the late 1700s
Our word came from the word raff (rubbish), which is also the source of the word “riffraff”.
Pronounced: RAF-ish, adj
Notes: Another new one to me
The word opusculum is “a minor work (such as literature) – the word is usually used in the plural
Our word came into English in the early 1600s
Our word is usually used in the plural form (opuscula); it is a diminutive form of “opus” (work). The word opus is usually used for a piece of music, but it can refer to any literary or artistic work. Being the diminutive, our word is a short or minor work, but where “opus” is often used to refer to music, our word tends to be used for literary works. Incidentally, the Latin plural of “opus” is “opera”, which we use for a musical production which consists mainly of vocal pieces performed with orchestral accompaniment.
Pronounced: oh-PUH-skyuh-lum, noun
Notes: Another of many words I’ve not run across
The phrase Roman holiday is “an entertainment event where pleasure is derived from watching gore and barbarism”
Our word came into English in the early 1800s
Our word came from the gladiatorial contests held in ancient Rome.
Pronounced: ROH-muhn HOL-ih-day, noun
Notes: Not what I thought it meant
The phrase viva voce means “by word of mouth; orally”
Our phrase came into English in the mid-1500s
Our phrase came from the Medieval Latin phrase viva voce, which literally means “with the living voice”. I’ve just read the book Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers and our phrase is used of the oral examinations at Oxford University. I only know the word from this book, so I thought it may not be well known.
Pronounced: vaye-vuh-VOH-see (alt: vee-vuh-VOH-chay), adverb
Notes: I happen to know this word, but I don’t think it is well-known
The word aquabib means
Our word came into English in the mid-1700s
Our word came from the Latin words aqua (water) and bibere (to drink). After seeing the origin, it makes perfect sense.
Pronounced: AK-wuh-bib, noun
Notes: I didn’t know the word, but it made sense after seeing the definition
The word syllabub is “milk or cream that is curdled with a acid beverage (like cider or wine) – usually sweetened and served as a drink or dessert”
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
While the origin is our word is not really known, there are a LOT of variants: solybubbe, sullabub, sullibib, sellibub, sallibube, sillie bube, sillybob (and I’m not sure this is all of the variants). These days, it is unlikely to find it on a menu – it’s much more likely to be used in a historical novel.
Pronounced: SIH-luh-buhb, noun
Notes: Our word differs from syllabus by one letter, but the meaning are not related
The word contrafactum is “a composition that makes use of an existing piece of music with different lyrics”
Our word came into English in the 1940s
I have said “same tune, different words”, not knowing that there was a word for it. I first thought of the song “The Master Hath Come” which is a contrafactum of “The Ash Grove”, and then I thought of “My Country ‘Tis Of Thee”, which shares a tune with “God Save The King” (the UK national anthem). Our word comes from the Latin word contrafacere (to counterfeit), which is made up of contra- (against) and facere (to make; to do). The plural of our word is contrafacta.
Pronounced: KON-truh-fak-tuhm, noun
Notes: I incorrectly thought it was something against the facts
The word catchpole means “a sheriff’s deputy – especially one who makes an arrest for failure to pay a debt”
Our word came into English before the mid-1000s
Our word came from the Middle English word caccepol, which came from Old English caecephol, which came from Medieval Latin cachepollus (tax-collector – literally a chicken-chaser). You can imagine that chasing down someone who owes you money is as difficult as trying to catch a chicken in a barnyard. Matthew – the disciple – was originally a catchpole (in the language of the day) before he became a follower of Jesus Christ.
Pronounced: KACH-pole, noun
Notes: Another new word to me
The phrase Grand Guignol as a noun, is “an event, entertainment, etc of a sensational or horrific nature”. As an adjective, it means “gruesome, grotesque, or horrifying”.
Our phrase came into English in the 1900s (1900-1909)
If the nasal pronunciation of the first word of our phrase didn’t give away the country of origin, our phrase came from Paris, where there was a theater called “Le Grand Guignol” (the Great Puppet) that was especially known for such entertainment.
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