Pronounced: will-uh-the-WISP, noun

Notes: Do you know both the literal and figurative meanings?

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Yesterday’s word

The word sansculotte (alternately spelled sans-culotte) is “a radical or revolutionary”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1700s

Background / Comments

You probably knew this word if you have studied much about the French Revolution. Our word came from (as you might think) French, where is literally means “without knee breeches” from sans- (without) and culotte (knee breeches). During the French Revolution, the aristocrats used this term contemptuously to refer the the poorly dressed volunteers of the Revolution army: they rejected knee breeches as a symbol of the upper class, and wore pantaloons instead. The revolutionaries proudly adopted the epithet and used it proudly — and that practice is not that unusual: consider Anabaptist/Baptist or Yankee.

Pronounced: sanz-kyoo-LOT, noun

Notes: I pretty much knew this word, but I don’t know how commonly known it is

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Yesterday’s word

The word camarilla is “a group of unofficial – often secret and scheming – advisors; cabal”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Spanish word camarilla (small room), which is a diminutive of cámara (room), which came from the Latin Latin word camera (room). Political cronies and plotters are likely to meet behind closed doors in small rooms, and thus the word took on that meeting when it entered English. It is a bit rare to run across our word.

Pronounced: ka-muh-RIH-luh, noun

Notes: Not a word I know

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Yesterday’s word

The word redshirt means, as a noun, “a college student who practices with the team, but does not take part in official games”. As a verb, it means

• to extend eligibility by a year by making an athlete practice, but not participate, in official games
• to delay enrolling a child by a year to avoid their being one of the youngest in the class

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1950s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the fact that such athletes typically wore a red jersey. The second definition of the verb is one with which that I was unfamiliar. The other meanings I have heard referenced in college football. Despite the definition, at least in college football, a redshirt player is allowed to play in a limited number of official games. While I didn’t know the word, I was nearly redshited myself: when I was in grade school, my family moved, and due to changed admittance rules in the new school, I would be the youngest in the class, and there was a serious discussion of holding me back a year. In the end, they did not do so.

Pronounced: nope, not giving such obvious pronunciation, noun/verb

Notes: I enjoy watching football, and I’ve heard this term, but didn’t know precisely what it meant (and it has a definition of which I was unware)

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Yesterday’s word

The word orphic means

• of or relating to Orpheus or the rites and doctrines ascribed to him (capitalized for this meaning)
• mystic; oracular
• fascinating; entrancing

First usage

Our word came into English in the late mid-1600s [N.B.: not a typo; I mean the ending part of the “mid” range, which I defined as XX25-XX75 – if you don’t know N.B. (or NB), look up “nota bene”]

Background / Comments

Our word came from Greek mythology; Orpheus was a man with the best musical ability, bar none. When he played his lyre, even rocks and trees would be affected. On his wedding day, his beloved bride-to-be (Eurydice) was bitten by a snake and died. Orpheus was heartbroken, and traveled to the underworld to plead for her release. His music touched even the cold heart of Hades himself, who agreed to release her, but Orpheus had to lead; Eurydice would follow, but he could not look back until they were out of the underworld. When Orpheus escaped the underworld, he looked back in joy, but she was not out yet, and was thus lost to him forever. After Orpheus’s death, an “oracle of Orpheus” was created that rivaled the oracle of Delphi. Thus, we see all three meanings; the first relating to Orpheus himself; the second from his oracle; and the third from his music-making skill.

Pronounced: OR-fik, adj

Notes: You may know one of the meanings

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Yesterday’s word

The word rort means

• a fraudulent scheme or practice
• a wild party

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1920s

Background / Comments

Our word is another back-formation from rorty (boisterous; lively; jolly) – rorty is around 60 years older than our word, and its origin is uncertain. I’ve never heard of rorty or rort (maybe because I don’t go to those kind of parties).

Pronounced: rort, noun

Notes: A word I didn’t know at all

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Yesterday’s word

The word gust means “keen delight”

First usage

Our word came into English in the first half of the 1400s

Background / Comments

I knew the word “gust” that refers to wind, but even though that word and our word are spelled the same in English, they have different origins. The windy “gust” came from (it is thought) the Old Norse word gustr. Our word came from Middle English, which came from the Latin word gustus (taste). The word “gusto” comes from the same source as our word.

Pronounced: GUHST, noun

Notes: This word is NOT the meaning of a strong wind. Do you know it?

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Yesterday’s word

The word swashbuckle means “to swagger, bluster, behave recklessly, etc”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1800s

Background / Comments

Our word is another back-formation. Well over 300 years earlier than our word was the noun “swashbuckler” (one who makes a noise by striking a sword on a shield). That word came from swash (from the sound of a sword swishing through the air) and buckler (a small, round shield). The word buckler came from boucle (a boss on a shield), which came from the Latin word buccula, which is a diminutive of bucca (cheek).

Pronounced: SWASH-buhkl, verb

Notes: You probably know (or can guess) the meaning; however, the background is interesting

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Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase dragon’s teeth means

• seeds of strife
• wedge-shaped concrete antitank barriers laid in multiple rows

First usage

Our phrase came into English in the late 1600s

Background / Comments

Our phrase comes from the legend of Cadmus, who supposedly invented the alphabet and founded Thebes. Per the legend, Cadmus killed a dragon and planted its teeth in the ground. Each tooth grew into a fierce armed man, and they fought one another until only five were left. These five founded the noble families of Thebes and helped to build its citadel.

Pronounced: (probably not needed) DRA-guns-teeth, noun

Notes: I didn’t know the meaning, but the background was somewhat familiar to me

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Yesterday’s word

The word onymous means “bearing the author’s name; named”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1700s

Background / Comments

Our word is what’s called a “back-formation”; I presume most of us know the anonymous. Well, our word was created from the older (over 150 years older) word “anonymous” by removing the “an-” (not), leaving onymous, which came from the Greek word onyma (name). This is a clear illustration of a back-formation.

Pronounced: AHN-uh-muhs, adj

Notes: I was quite interested to read about the origin of this word that is unknown to me

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Yesterday’s word

The word schlemiel is “an unlucky bungler; chump”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1800s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Yiddish word shlemil. It is thought to come from Peter Schlemihl, the hero of a story about an unlucky man who wold his shadow to the devil. The word may come from Shelumiel, who is mentioned is the Bible in Numbers 1:6. The Talmud describes him as a man whose behavior earned derision. Our word is often paired with another Yiddish word: “schlimazel” (an unlucky or bungling person). It has been said that a schlemiel is someone who spills his soup, and a “schlimazel” is the person it lands on. As I noted yesterday, I remember hearing our word: in the opening of the 1970s sitcom Laverne & Shirley, both schlemiel (and “schlimazel”) are used.