apparatchik

Pronounced: ah-puh-RAH(T)-chik, noun

Notes: If you think this looks Russian, then… come back tomorrow and read about it

Yesterday’s word

The word mossback is “a very old-fashioned person or one holding extremely conservative views”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

You have heard the saying “a rolling stone gathers no moss”? Our word came from the idea that someone was so old and/or slow to change that moss could grow on his back. Note that some animals do, in fact, have a moss-like growth on them (some turtles). To clarify the definition: many Americans these days think of “extremely conservative” as meaning someone who hold extreme right-wing values, but that isn’t correct, and not what the phrase means in the above definition. Strictly speaking, a conservative is one who wants to preserve conditions or institutions the way they are.

mossback

Pronounced: MOSS-back, noun

Notes: I was pretty close to the meaning – you may know the word

Yesterday’s word

The word flaneur is “an idle man-about-town”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

I thought that I had read a book in which our word was used as the name of a character, but it is a pretty dim memory, and I cannot recall what book it may have been — in addition, I may have the wrong name. Our word came from the French word flâneur (idler). The female equivalent to our word is “flaneuse”

flaneur

Pronounced: flah-NUHR, noun

Notes: This word looks familiar, but I don’t recognize it

Yesterday’s word

The word puce, as a noun, is “a dark red or brown purple color”. As an adjective, it means “of this color”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1700s

Background / Comments

Like most people, I knew that this was a kind of color, but I didn’t actually know what color. My most vivid memory of this word is from Monsters, Inc where they use color-coded folders for certain departments (puce is one of the colors). What I didn’t know that our word is traced to an animal: it came from the French word puce (flea), which came from the Latin word pulex (flea).

puce

Pronounced: pyoos, noun/adj

Notes: I know that I’ve heard this word, but I could not properly define it

Yesterday’s word

The word philoprogenitive means

  • tending to produce offspring; prolific
  • of, relating to, or characterized by love of offspring
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Our word comes from two different languages – the prefix philo- came from the Greek word phílos (loving; dear) and the the second part from the Latin word progenitus (begot; begotten). People who read bumps on the head (it was considered to be an actual science in the 1800s) identified a philoprogenitive bump that was thought to be the seat of a parent’s instinctual love for his or her children.

philoprogenitive

Pronounced: fih-luh-pro-JEH-nuh-tihv, adj

Notes: Quite a word, but I didn’t know it

Yesterday’s word

The word canaille means “the common people; the masses; riffraff”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1600s

Background / Comments

I am pretty sure that I have run across our word somewhere, but I cannot recall it to mind. Our word came from the French word canaille (villain; rabble), which came from the Italian word canaglia (pack of dogs; rabble), which came from cane (dog), which came from the Latin word canis (dog).

canaille

Pronounced: kuh-NAIL (alt: kuh-NAH-yuh), noun

Notes: I didn’t know this word, but I think I’ve seen some related word in some reading

Yesterday’s word

The word sequacious means “intellectually servile”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Our word is rather insulting; it is akin to saying that someone “does not think for himself”. Our word came from the Latin word sequac- or sequax (inclined to follow). Originally, sequacious meant “inclined to follow; subservient”, but this meaning is archaic. Over time, the meaning of our word narrowed to the idea of someone who blindly adopts ideas without much thought.

sequacious

Pronounced: sih-KWAY-shuhs, adj

Notes: Not what I thought

Yesterday’s word

The word presentiment is “the sense that something is going to happen (especially something bad)”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

As I noted, I was pretty close to the meaning, just by breaking the word into pre- (before) and sentiment (feeling); thus, feeling before”. In fact, our word came from the French word pressentiment (premonition), which came from pressentir (to have a premonition), which came from the Latin words pre- (before) and sentire (to feel).

presentiment

Pronounced: prih-ZEN-tuh-ment, noun

Notes: Interesting word; I was close to the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word bijou (plural bijoux or bijous) is

  • a small, dainty (usually ornamental) piece of delicate workmanship; jewel
  • something delicate, elegant, or highly prized
First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1600s

Background / Comments

I had the impression that our word meant merely “small”. Our word came from French, and to French from the Breton word bizou (ring). Breton is a Celtic language, closely related to Welsh and Cornish, was used by the inhabitants of the Brittany region of northwest France. As an interesting side note, there are very few words that are still in English that derive from the Breton language.

bijou

Pronounced: BEE-zhoo, noun

Notes: I have come across this word is reading, but didn’t quite know it

Yesterday’s word

The word fungible means “interchangeable”

First usage

Our word first came into English in the mid-1700s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Latin word fungi (to perform in place).

fungible

Pronounced: FUN-juh-bull, adj

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

Yesterday’s word

The word styptic means “tending to contract or bind; astringent – especially tending to check bleeding”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1300s

Background / Comments

I have a distinct memory of reading the phrase “styptic pen” in various books, but I wasn’t quite sure of what it did. Our word came from the Greek word styptikos, which came from styphein (to contract).