tabula rasa

Pronounced: ta-byoo-luh-RAH-zuh, noun

Notes: Not a phrase I recognize

Yesterday’s word

The word deportment is “the manner in which one conducts oneself in public”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

As I noted, which I first came across this word, I didn’t really know the definition, but in the meantime between then and entering it, I have learned the word. I properly defined it when I saw it again. But it was a word I didn’t know, so I decided to include it anyway. Our word came from the French word déportement, which came from the Latin word deportare, which is composed of de- (away) and portare (carry).

deportment

Pronounced: dih-PORT-ment, noun

Notes: I didn’t know this word when I first saw it, but I have learned it by now – I’m including it nevertheless

Yesterday’s word

The word debouch means

  • to cause to emerge; discharge
  • to march out into open ground
  • emerge; issue
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

I think I have run across our word in describing Jonah and the “whale” (really identified merely as a “great fish” in the Bible). Anyway I’m pretty sure I read the Jonah was “debouched” on to land. Our word came from the French word déboucher, composed of dé- (away) and boucher, a verbal form of bouche (mouth) — and this latter word came from the Latin word bucca (cheek; jaw).

debouch

Pronounced: di-BOWCH, verb

Notes: This word I have read, but could not well define

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase a fortiori means “for an even stronger reason; even more so”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

Our word came from Latin, where is literally means “from the stronger”.

a fortiori

Pronounced: ah-fort-tee-OR-ee (alt: ay-for-shee-OR-eye), adv

Notes: Not a phrase I recognize

Yesterday’s word

The word erne means “eagle; especially a long-winged sea eagle witha short white wedge-shaped tail (Häliaetus albicilla)”

First usage

Our word came into English before 1000

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Middle English word ern/arn, which came from the Old English earn, which is related to the Old High German word arn/arne, which traces back to Greek órnīs (bird). Here are some bird names in Old English — the basic name is still the same over 1,000 years, even if the spelling has changed a bit: earn (erne), crāwe (crow), finc (finch), wrenna (wren), ūle (owl), spearwa (sparrow).

erne

Pronounced: urn, noun

Notes: A nice simple word, but I didn’t know it

Yesterday’s word

The word vouchsafe means

  • (transitive) to grant or give something as if as a favor
  • (intransitive) to condescend
First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1300s

Background / Comments

I think I was lead astray by the first part of our word (“vouch”), so I thought that our word meant something like “to swear to as true” or “to verify”. Our word comes to use from French, which came from the Latin word vocare (to call) combined with salvus (whole; intact).

vouchsafe

Pronounced: vouch-SAFE, verb

Notes: This word doesn’t mean what I thought it meant

Yesterday’s word

The word empyreal means

  • of or relating to the firmament; celestial
  • sublime
First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1400s

Background / Comments

When our word first came into English, it referred to things related to the “empyrean” – the highest heaven or outermost heavenly sphere of ancient and medieval cosmology (it was thought to contain or be composed of fire). In the words of Dante (Divine Comedy) and Milton (Paradise Lost), it was used to refer to their idea of the Christian paradise. These days, it is used in the broader sense of “celestial” or “sublime”. Our word came from the Late Latin word empyreus, a variant of empýrius, which came from the Greek word empyrios (fiery), which is made up of em- (in; within; inside) and pŷr (fire) and -ios (an adjectival suffix).

empyreal

Pronounced: em-pie-REE-uhl, adj

Notes: The pronunciation reminds me of sidereal

Yesterday’s word

The word disaffect means “to alienate the support of loyalty of someone”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

As I noted, I was exactly on the fence as to whether or not to use our word. I had a pretty good idea of the meaning, but I was not (and still am not) sure how well the word was known. I decided to go ahead and use it. Our word came from the Latin words dis- (away) and affectare (to aim at; to strive after) – the latter is made up of ad- (to) and facere (to do).

disaffect

Pronounced: dis-uh-FEKT, verb

Notes: This word was exactly on the border

Yesterday’s word

The word aperçu is

  • a brief survey or sketch; outline
  • an immediate impression; insight
First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1800s

Background / Comments

Our word was borrowed in its entirety from French – in French, the word aperçu is the past participle of the verb apercevoir (to perceive; to comprehend). It is also a noun meaning “glimpse; outline; general idea”.

aperçu

Pronounced: a-per-SUE, noun

Notes: I thought I’d previously used this word, but apparently not

Yesterday’s word

The word loblolly means

  • a thick gruel
  • mire; mudhole
  • an assistant to a ship’s surgeon
  • a pine tree with long needles and strong wood
  • an evergreen – loblolly-bay
First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

A pretty bewildering set of definitions, isn’t it? As strange as it may seem, they are all related to the origin, which came from lob (an onomatopoeic word representing the bubbling sound of something boiling) combined with lolly (an English dialectal word for broth or soup). Thus, we can see that the first definition is the bubbling sound that porridge or oatmeal may make while boiling. In the same way, some mudholes have the consistency of porridge. How about the surgeon’s assistant? He was usually the one who fed the doctor’s patience. The final two definitions came from the fact that these trees are usually found in swap lands.