journeyman

Pronounced: JUHR-nee-muhn, noun

Notes: While I have heard the word, I could not properly define it

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase fata morgana means “mirage”

First usage

Our phrase came into English in the early 1800s

Background / Comments

Our phrase is the Italian name for Morgan le Fay (literally, “Morgan the Fairy”); the sister of the legendary King Arthur. She was reputed to have magical powers; some stories state that she can change shape. She was blamed for causing complex mirages in bodies of water, and the Straits of Messina in particular. Atmospheric conditions was the real cause of the optical illusions in the Straits, but the phrase fata morgana came to be another word for “mirage”.

fata morgana

Pronounced: fah-tuh more-GAH-nuh, noun

Notes: I think I’ve run across this phrase in reading, but I could not define it

Yesterday’s word

The word bruit means, as a noun

  • rumor
  • report
  • noise

As a verb, the word means

  • to report
  • to repeat
  • to spread a rumor
First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1400s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Anglo-Norman word bruire (to make a noise), which came from the Latin word brugere, which is a blend of rugire (to roar) and bragire (to bray). I seem to remember reading somewhere the phrase “it has been bruited about…” — but I have no idea where I read it.

bruit

Pronounced: broot, noun/verb

Notes: Another word I think I’ve run across, but wasn’t sure of the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word zoomorphic means

  • having the form of an animal
  • or, relating to, or being a deity conceived of in animal form or with animal attributes
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Our word came from two Greek words: zoo- (or zo-), which derives from the Greek word zōion (animal), and -morph, which came from the Greek word morphē (form).

zoomorphic

Pronounced: zoe-uh-MORE-fick, adj

Notes: I didn’t quite get the meaning correct

Yesterday’s word

The word gelt means “money”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

I think I’ve heard this word in a movie or in a TV show, but I cannot recall any details. Our word is from the Yiddish word gelt (money), which came from the German/Dutch word geld (money).

gelt

Pronounced: gelt, noun

Notes: I think I’ve run across the word, but I could not remember the meaning – do you?

Yesterday’s word

The word florilegium is “a volume of writings; anthology”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Well, it turns out that my instincts were not so far off: People who create florilegia (the plural of our word) are gathering the best of stories, much as one would gather a bouquet of good flowers. Our word came from a New Latin word that came from the Latin word florilegus (culling flowers). Our word was first a collection of flowers, and then a book about flowers, and finally a collection of the flowers of literature. Rather to my surprise, the word “anthology” has a similar origin, but instead of Latin, it traces back to a Greek word for “flower gathering”.

florilegium

Pronounced: floor-uh-LEE-juhm (alt: floor-uh-LEE-jee-uhm), noun

Notes: I didn’t know the meaning, but “flor…” made me think of flowers

Yesterday’s word

The word coventrate means “to devastate, such as by heavy bombing”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1940s

Background / Comments

Our word goes back to the bombing of Coventry in central England; it was devastated by German bombing in Nov 1940. The Germans coined a verb coventrieren, which came into English very quickly as coventrate.

coventrate

Pronounced: KOV-uhn-trate, verb

Notes: I didn’t know the meaning of this at first glance

Yesterday’s word

The word bouquiniste is “a dealer in secondhand books”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

When I read the origins of our word, it sounded familiar, so I did what I should have before I posted it — I checked, and I have already posted this word, but hadn’t remembered. If I forgot, I hope any readers have done so also, and won’t terribly mind a repeat. As you probably know, our word is French. Originally, there were books for sale along the river Seine in Paris. These were called bouquin in French. Booksellers were outlawed from selling on the bridge, and when they set up shop along the embankment, and were called boutquinistes, and from there the word passed into English.

bouquiniste

Pronounced: boo-key-NEEST, noun

Notes: My guess at the meaning was way off the mark

Yesterday’s word

The word myology is

  • the study of muscles
  • the muscular anatomy of a person or of an animal
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Clearly, the -ology ending of our word means “study”; the first part is myo-/my- (muscle), but it came from the Greek word mys (mouse; muscle). Interesting that the same word is used for “muscle” and “mouse” — it’s because some think that flexing a muscle (such as ones biceps) resembles the movement of a mouse.

myology

Pronounced: my-AH-luh-jee, noun

Notes: Not a word I’ve run across

Yesterday’s word

The word boondoggle is

  • a braided cord worn by Boy Scouts as a neckerchief slide, hatband, or ornament
  • a wasteful or impractical project or activity often involving graft
First usage

Our word came into English in the 1930s

Background / Comments

Some people say that the origin of our word is unknown, but others indicate that Robert Link, a scoutmaster in the 1920s, created the term for the braided leather cords made an worn by scouts. A boondoggle was presented to the Prince of Wales at the 1929 World Jamboree, and the word thereafter spread. It isn’t quite clear how the term came to be used in the second meeting. I have heard boondoggle used to describe unnecessary trips taken by politicians at the taxpayer’s expense. I’ve heard it used at work, where it seemed to be applied to trips taken on expense accounts that were not actually necessary.

boondoggle

Pronounced: BOON-dah-gull, noun

Notes: I’ve heard this word used, but I did not know the correct meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word unshirted means

  • serious; unmitigated
  • plain; undisguised
First usage

Our word came into English in the 1930s

Background / Comments

As noted yesterday, our word does not mean shirtless, which means “poor”. There is another word “shirty” that means “bad-tempered”. Our word is un- (not) combined with shirt, which comes from the Old English word scyrte.