Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: bal-nee-AH-luh-jee, noun
Notes: With the “-ology” ending, it means the study or science of “something”
The word fissiparous means
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
Rather a fun word to use instead of “fragile”, isn’t it? Our word came from the Latin word fissi- (cleft) and -parous (bearing; producing).
Pronounced: fih-SIP-uh-russ, adj
Notes: Interesting word that I didn’t know; I didn’t know the proper pronunciation
The word hie means
Our word came into English sometime before around 900
After I read the definition, I seem to remember the line something like “I guess I better hie me to <something>” — however, I might be getting it confused with the line from Hamlet: “get thee to a nunnery”. In any event, our word came from the Middle English word hien/hyen, which came from the Old English word hīgian (to strive), which is considered to be related to the Dutch word hijgen (to pant), the Greek word kíein (to go), and the Latin word ciēre (to cause to go).
Pronounced: HI, verb
Notes: I did recognized this word until after I read the definition
The word lief, as an adverb, means “willingly; gladly; readily”. As as adjective, it means
Our word came into English in the late 800s
Our word is one of the oldest words that have been posted. Our word came from the Old English word leof (dear).
Pronounced: LEEF, adv/adj
Notes: I have run across this word, but I could not properly define it
The word etiolate means
Our word first came into English in the late 1700s
Our word came from the French word étioler — it was originally used to depriving growing celery of light. The French word came from the Old French word for “straw”, which is related to the Latin word stipula (straw; stalk). In our times, the concept of growing vegetables as pale as straw is usually “blanch” — our word tends to be an undesirable deprivation of light so that they look sickly, pale and spindly. Not too long after our word appeared, the second (more figurative) usage showed up.
Pronounced: EE-tee-uh-late, verb
Notes: A new word to me; I don’t believe I’ve ever run across it
The word orgulous means “haughty”
Our word came into English in the late 1200s
I didn’t know our word existed; it would be fun to drop it into conversation when the word “haughty” is needed. Our word came from the Old French word orguill (pride).
Pronounced: OR-gyuh-luhs, adj
Notes: I (incorrectly) thought this word may be related to ogres
The word aerie is
Our word came into English in the late-1500s
I think the place where I found the word has an incorrect pronunciation; the Internet has “AIR-ee” or “EAR-ee”, whereas in yesterday’s post I had “ER-ee”. I am familiar with the first definition; the second was probably derived from the first. Our word came from Anglo-French, which came from Old French word airie, an alternate spelling of aire, which came from the Latin word ager (field) – thought to mean “nest” in Vulgar Latin.
Pronounced: ER-ee, noun
Notes: You probably know this word; I included it for the pronunciation
The word cimmerian means “very dark or gloomy”
Our word came into English in the late 1500s
Our word came from Homer’s Odyssey; the Cimmerians, who were a mythical people who lived in perpetual darkness at the entrance of Hades. Note: there are also a real people named “Cimmerians” — dwellers in Crimea, but they are unrelated to our word (except, of course, for the spelling being the same).
Pronounced: sih-MIR-ee-uhn, adj
Notes: I have no memory of running across this word
The word moiety is
Our word came into English in around the mid-1400s
Our word came from the Anglo-French word moité (a half; part of something), which came from the Late Latin word medietat- (half), which came from the Latin word medius (middle).
Pronounced: MOT-uh-tee, noun
Notes: I didn’t know this at all
The word lubricious means
Our word came into English in the late 1500s
Our word came from the Latin word lubricus (slippery; smooth). I guess this is why the word looked like “lubricant” to me.
Pronounced: loo-BRISH-uhs, adj
Notes: Another word that doesn’t mean what I thought
The word netsuke is “a small and often intricately carved toggle (wood, ivory, or metal, for example) used to fasten a small container to a kimono sash”
Our word came into English in the late 1800s
A netsuke is traditionally part of a Japanese man’s kimono; they would often attach a medicine box, pipe, or tobacco pouch to the sash (obi). In old days, people below the rank of samurai were not permitted to wear jewelry, they used a netsuke. At the end of the Tokugawa regime, the dress code was changed, and the netsuke became obsolete — even though obsolete, they still were made for tourists. Note that the plural of our word can either be “netsuke” or “netsukes”.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day