Pronounced: WHIFF-tea, adj

Notes: Another word that I have not heard about

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Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase dead hand means

• the stifling influence of something, especially of the past on the present
• the perpetual ownership of property by institutions, such as churches

First usage

Our phrase came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

I knew the first definition from reading; it is used in the original Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov. I think I have run across it elsewhere; I have an idea I’ve run across it discussing a controlling will or trust account. The other definition is not one that I knew about. Our word is a literal translation of the term “mortmain” (which also looked a bit familiar to me).

Pronounced: (as it looks), noun

Notes: Another word of which I knew one of the definitions

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Yesterday’s word

The word perseverate means

• to repeat or recur persistently
• to go back over previously covered ground

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1910s

Background / Comments

Our word looks like a form of persevere (and they do trace to the same source), but these days the meanings are different. Our verb was created from the noun perseveration, which has been around since the 1500s, but started to be used in the early 1900s to refer to repetitious behavior.

Pronounced: puhr-SEH-vuh-rate, verb

Notes: Another word I’ve not run across

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Yesterday’s word

The word grinagog is “one who is always grinning”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Old English word grennian (to show the teeth in pain or anger) combined with (it is thought) -agogue (bringer).

Pronounced: GRIN-uh-gog, noun

Notes: You may be able to guess the meaning, but I’ve never run across this word

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Yesterday’s word

The word apotheosis means

• the perfect form or example of something; quintessence
• the highest or best part of something
• elevation to divine status; deification

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

I was aware of the third definition; I’ve run across it somewhere or other using that definition. As it happens, the third definition is the original one; it came from the Greek word apotheosis (making into a god), which came from two Greek word apo- (completely; quite) and theos (god). People would elevate someone to god status. This concept has rather died out in modern times, but that sense still survives in the idea of placing someone upon a high pedestal. The other definition arose over time.

Pronounced: uh-pah-thee-OH-suhs, noun

Notes: Interesting definitions

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Yesterday’s word

The word pot-valor is “boldness or courage induced by the consumption of alcohol”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

I have heard the alternate phrases “liquid courage” and “Dutch courage”, but our word was new to me. It is simply a combination of pot (that is, a drinking pot) combined with valor (boldness), which came from the Latin noun valor (worth), which came from verb valere (to be well; be of worth).

Pronounced: POT-val-uhr, noun

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

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Yesterday’s word

The word ratiocination is

• the process of exact thinking; reasoning
• a reasoned train of thought

First usage

Our word came into English in the early to mid-1500s

Background / Comments

Our word seems to fit the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Edgar Allen Poe used our word to describe his first book – The Murders in the Rue Morgue. The word actually appears in the sequel (The Mystery of Marie Roget). Our word traces back to the Latin root word ratio (reason; computation).

Pronounced: rah-tee-oh-suh-NAY-shun, noun

Notes: I saw “ratio” in the word and mispronounced it

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Yesterday’s word

The word gazunder means “to reduce the amount of an offer after it has been accepted by the seller”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1980s

Background / Comments

As I noted, I’ve never run across this word; on the other hand, it is a relatively new word. It seems immoral to me to change the price after it has been agreed upon, no matter which side (buyer or seller) does it. When the seller raises the price after it has been agreed upon, it is called “gazump”, which came into English in the 1920s. Our word is a combination of “gazump” and “under”.

Pronounced: guh-ZUHN-duhr, verb

Notes: I have not heard this word before

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Yesterday’s word

The word bricolage is “construction or something constructed by using whatever comes to hand”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1960s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the French word bricolage (do-it-yourself), which came from bricoler (to do odd jobs or small chores; to putter about), which came from the Middle French word bicoler (to zigzag; to bounce off), which came from the Old French word bricole (a trifle). Today, it can be used in cooking, as in the creative use of leftovers (“culinary bricolage”) or when cobbling together of various computer parts (“technical bricolage”).

Pronounced: bree-koh-LAHZH, noun

Notes: I’ve never run across this word

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Yesterday’s word

The word traject, as a verb, means “to transport; to transmit”. As a noun, it means “transport; transmission; passage”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s (for the noun) and the early 1600s (for the verb).

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Latin word traicere (to throw across), which is made up of trans- (across) and jacere (to throw).

Pronounced: truh-JEKT, verb/noun

Notes: I know “trajectory”, but not this word

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Yesterday’s word

The word colloquy means

• conversation; dialogue
• a high-level serious discussion; conference

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

If you thought of “colloquial”, you did well: “colloquial” came a couple of hundred years after colloquy. Our word came from the Latin word loqui (so speak) combined with col- (with).