distrait

Pronounced: dih-STRAY, adj

Notes: I’ve been running into this word a lot lately; it’s a useful word to know, with an interesting history

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase secret of Polichinelle is “a supposed secret that’s widely known; an open secret”

First usage

Our phrase came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Our phrase came to us from the French phrase secret de Polichinelle. “Polichinelle” is a classic character in the Italian commedia dell’arte, which it is called “Pulcinella”. In English, this character is called “Punchinello” — sometimes shortened to “Punch”.

secret of Polichinelle

Pronounced: SEE-krit of po-LISH-ih-nel, noun

Notes: This phrase is new to me

Yesterday’s word

The word superficies means

  • a surface of a body or a region of space
  • the external aspects or appearance of a thing
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

I thought that this word referred to things sticking out of an object; something like spikes or knobs. Interestingly, although our word ends with s, it is both singular and plural. In addition, it comes from the same source as “surface”, although “surface” came to us via Middle French. In addition, our word is older than “surface”. Our word came straight from the Latin word superficies (surface). It is composed of super- (on top) and facies (face; aspect).

superficies

Pronounced: su-puhr-FIH-sheez, noun

Notes: I had a rough idea of the meaning

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase silk-stocking district is “a part of a city that is inhabited by the rich and powerful”

First usage

Our phrase came into English in the late 1800s

Background / Comments

I think I’ve run across this phrase in older writing; possibly in a Sherlock Holmes story; possibly in a Lord Peter Wimsey story. The concept is that only the wealthy could afford expensive silk hosiery.

silk-stocking district

Pronounced: silk-STOCK-ing dis-trikt, noun

Notes: You can probably guess the meaning of this phrase, even if you don’t know it

Yesterday’s word

The word pasquinade is

  • a lampoon posted in a public place
  • satirical writing; satire
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Our word has an interesting history: in 1501, a ancient marble statue was unearthed in Rome and was set up near that city’s Piazza Navona. The statue was that of a man and was named “Pasquino” by the Romans (some sources think this may be after a local shopkeeper). It became a tradition to dress up the statue on St Mark’s Day (25 April), and, in its honor, professors and/or students would write Latin verses on it. After a short time, these verses were replaced with satires: the Pasquino statue because a common location to post anonymous and bitingly critical lampoons. When these postings were made known to the English, they were called pasquinades from the Italian pasquinata. Over time, the meaning has become more generalized to mean any satirical writing.

pasquinade

Pronounced: pa-skwuh-NADE, noun [note: The ‘pa’ in NOT pronounced like the shortcut word for father (that would be ‘pah’ – the ‘a’ is short as in ‘mat’]

Notes: This sounds like something I ought to recognize, but I didn’t

Yesterday’s word

The word arrant means “complete; thorough”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1300s

Background / Comments

I was a little misleading yesterday — the reason that our word sounds like ‘errant’ is that it came from errant (with both spelling and meaning changes). Although I’m used to ‘errant’ meaning “straying from the right course”, the root meaning is “wandering” and was used that way: an “arrant thief” or “arrant knave” would wander about. Over time, our word was used as an intensifier, so an “arrant fool” is not so much “wandering” as a thorough-going fool. Our word came into English from French, which came from the Latin word iterare (to journey).

arrant

Pronounced: AR-uhnt, adj

Notes: This word sound like errant, but has a different meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word malapert means “impudently bold; saucy”

First usage

Our word came into English around 1400

Background / Comments

You probably (as I did) recognized the mal- prefix (bad; badly), which came from the Latin word malus. The second half of our word came from the Middle English word apert (open; frank), which came from the Latin word apertus (open). Thus our word is something that is open or frank in a bad way: bold or rude.

malapert

Pronounced: ma-luh-PUHRT, adj

Notes: I see a kind of opposite to “expert” in this word (but I’m wrong)

Yesterday’s word

The word ambage means “ambiguity; circumlocution”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1300s

Background / Comments

A shortcut word for “ambiguous”. Our word came from the Middle English word ambages (equivocation); our word – the singular – was coined from it. It came from the Latin word ambages, which is made up of ambi- (both; around) and agere (to drive).

ambage

Pronounced: AM-bij, noun

Notes: A new word for me

Yesterday’s word

The word sententious means

  • given to or abounding in aphoristic expression or excessive moralizing
  • terse in expression in the manner of an aphorism
First usage

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

Background / Comments

As I noted yesterday, I thought our word was spelled “sentitious” and pronounced “sen-TIH-shuhs”. To compound that issue, I thought our word meant “false” or “lying”. Just in case there was a similar word, I checked, and there is no such word as “sentitious”. These days, our word is mostly used in a unflattering sense, implying oversimplification and excessive moralizing. [As an aside, there are times when things are oversimplified, but it is also used falsely; sometimes things really ARE simply, and we prefer to complicate them for our own purposes]. When our word first showed up, it had the idea of “full of meaning”. Our word came from the Latin word sententiosus, which came from sententia (sentence; maxim).

sententious

Pronounced: sen-TEN(T)-shuhs, adj

Notes: I had the spelling and the meaning incorrect

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase royal road is “an easy way to achieve something”

First usage

Our phrase came into English in the late 1700s

Background / Comments

This is a neat phrase that I would love to drop into conversations as the need arises. There was an actual Royal Road (a highway) in ancient Persia. There are references in the Bible to paths called “The King’s Highway”, which I assume is similar. However, our phrase traces back to a story about Euclid told by the philosopher Proclus. King Ptolemy had asked for an easy way to learn geometry, and Euclid responded that there is no royal road to geometry.

royal road

Pronounced: ROY-uhl road, noun

Notes: I’ve not run across this phrase

Yesterday’s word

The word jackanapes is

  • an impudent or conceited fellow
  • a saucy or mischievous child
  • monkey; ape
First usage

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

Background / Comments

When I run across our word, I saw it used in the second definition above. Our word came from an unflattering nickname for William de la Pole, the Duke of Suffolk. While he was Duke, England lost its possessions in the north of France. He became unpopular and was nicknamed “Jack Napis” because his coat of arms contained an image of a collar and chain that was commonly used to least pet monkeys, which were known as jackanapes. After the nickname was assigned, the first definition came about, and, finally, the second definition.