Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: IH-shoo-uh-buhl, adj
Notes: I knew one of the definitions
The word edacity means “greediness; good appetite”
Our word came into English in the mid-1600s
Our word came from the Latin word edere (to eat). I was trying to see “city” or “edict” in the world, but that was just wrong.
Pronounced: ih-DAS-ih-tee, noun
Notes: I could not break down this word so as to guess the meaning
The word cabbage means “to take or appropriate without right; steal; filch”
Our word came into English in the early 1600s
It turns out that our word, although spelled the same as the leafy vegetable, it is not related to it. Originally, our word referred to a practice of tailors to keep the pieces of cloth left over after creating a garment for a client. It is thought that the word was originally “carbage”, which may have been a variant of “garbage”. Another theory is that the word came from the Middle French word cabas (cheating; theft).
Pronounced: KA-bihj, verb
Notes: So, I know what this is as a noun, but I don’t know what this means as a verb
The word euchre, as a noun, is “a card game for two to four players played with 32 cards”. As a verb, it means “to cheat; trick; outwit”.
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
The origin of our word is not certain: something that it came from the Alsatian game of Juckerspiel (in which the top two trumps are Jucker [jack]). The verb sense came about because a failure to win three tricks is referred to as being “euchered” (and the opponent scores two points).
Pronounced: YOU-kuhr, verb/noun
Notes: I suspect many know the meaning of the noun, but I did not know the meaning of the verb
The word oracular means “of, relating to, or suggesting an oracle”
Our word came into English in the mid-1600s
I confused our word with “ocular”, and thought it was related to the eyes. After reading the definition, “oracle” is pretty clear. Our word came to use from the Latin word oraculum, which came from the Latin verb orare (to speak). The concept of an oracle goes back to the ancient Greeks –the famous one being the oracle at Delphi. An oracle was supposed to provide an answer from the gods. The word “oracle” can refer to the answer itself, or to the shrine at which the question(s) was(were) asked, or to the person through whom the gods communicated. In modern times, an oracle is an authoritative pronouncement, or the person who makes it.
Pronounced: ah-RA-kyuh-uhr, adj
Notes: I confused this word with another one
The word sciolism is “pretentious display of superficial knowledge”
Our word came into English in the early 1800s
I have known several people who thought they knew something, but were wrong. However, I’ve only run across one person who exhibited our word: he had read some manuals and learned some terms, but he had no understanding of the system whatsoever. His use of terms impressed supervisors because it sounded good, but to those who created the system, what he said was clearly nonsense. Our word came from the Latin Latin word sciolus (smatterer), which is a diminutive of the Latin word scius (knowing), which came from the Latin verb scire (to know).
Pronounced: SY-uh-liz-uhm, noun
Notes: I ran across this unknown word is two different reference areas, only days apart
The word anodyne means
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
Although the word came into English as noted above, the second definition came about in the 1930s. Our word came from the Latin word anōdynus, which came from the Greek word anṓdynos (without pain).
Pronounced: A-nuh-dine, noun (initial syllable is “a” as in map)
Notes: I could not remember the definition of this word, but I think I used to know it
The word desuetude means “a state of disuse”
Our word came into English in the early 1600s
Our word is kind of a long one for “a disused state”, but it’s fun to have various words to drop into conversation. Our word came from the Latin combination of de- (away) and suescere (to become accustomed).
Pronounced: DES-wih-tood (alt: DES-wih-tyood), noun
Notes: My guess at the meaning was just… wrong
The word squib is
Our word came into English in the early 1500s
I think most of the reading in which I’ve run across this word has been English, and it usually seems to refer to the third definition above. I am not familiar with either of the first two definition. The origin in not really known; it is thought that “squib” imitates an explosive sound, as would short satirical works or firecrackers. It can also refer to things that aren’t quite worth the expense (money or time), such as news fillers or broken fireworks; a squib can be a firework that fizzes more than it goes bang. Finally, note that the British expression “damp squib” refer to something that fails to live up to expectations.
Pronounced: skwib, noun
Notes: I knew one definition (the reference has three)
The word acuity means “sharpness; keenness”
Our word came into English around 1400
I have read the phrase “visual acuity” somewhere, and thought it meant “excellent”, so I was close. Our word came from French, which came from the Latin word acuere (to sharpen).
Pronounced: uh-KYOO-ih-tee, noun
Notes: I was close to the meaning
The word distrait means “apprehensively divided or withdrawn in attention; distracted”
Our word came into English twice; first in the 1400s and again in the mid-1700s (see the comments below)
Our word came from the Anglo-French word distrait, which came from the Latin adjective distractus. When our word first came into English, it had a meaning very much like “distraught” (deeply agitated or troubled). Apparently, it fell out of use because it came into English a second time — this time meaning “preoccupied; distracted”. Unlike other words from the French language, our word still clings to the French origin: the final ‘t’ is silent, and there is a feminine variant (distraite). These days, our word usually means “mentally remote”, but it can suggest agitation. Once I found this word, I keep running across it in reading, even in stories I’ve read before. I think I (incorrectly) assumed that it was an alternate spelling of “distraught”.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day