Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: WOOD-shed, noun/verb
Notes: I could name only a few of the definitions
The word bolide is “a large meteor; especially on that explodes; fireball”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
A meteor that trails sparks can be called a bolide. Our word came from the French word bolide, which came from the Latin word bolis, which came from the Greek word bolis (missile; javelin), which came from the bolē (throw; stroke).
Pronounced: BOH-lide, noun
Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word
The word yarborough (sometimes spelled Yarborough) is “a weak hand in a card name; especially one in which no card is higher than a nine”
Our word came into English in the 1900s (1900-1910)
Our word is named after Charles Anderson Worsley; so where does Yarborough come from? He was the 2nd Earl of Yarborough. He supposedly bet 1000 to 1 against getting such a hand (mathematicians tell us that the actual odds are 1827 to 1, so his was either a relatively safe bet, or a foolish one).
Pronounced: YAHR-bur-oh (alt: YAHR-bur-uh), noun
Notes: I didn’t know this word, but some of you may
The word scarify means
Our word came into English in the first half of the 1400s
Our word came from the Middle English word scarifien, which came from the Middle French word scarifier, which came from the Late Latin word scarificare, which is an alteration of the Latin scariphare (scratch; to make scratches), which came from the Greek word skariphasthai (to sketch), which is a derivative of skariphos (stylus). Although I said yesterday that our word is not related to “scare”, it turns out that in the late 1700s, a homograph (scarify) was created by combing “scare” with “terrify”, so there is a meaning that DOES relate to “scare” — it means “to scare; to frighten”.
Pronounced: SKER-uh-fie, verb
Notes: Not related to “scare” (which is what I thought)
The word Laputan means “absurdly fanciful or impractical”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
If you have read Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, published in 1726, you may know our word: it comes from a floating island in the book called “Laputa”. The residents of the island were absorbed with music, math, technology, and astronomy – so much so that they tended to ignore practical matters. Something interesting about the book: in the story, the people of Laputa discovered two moons of Mars; it was 150 years before the two moons Deimos and Phobos were discovered. In honor of the book, Deimos has a crater named “Swift”, and geographic places on Phobos are named after places in Gulliver’s Travels.
Pronounced: luh-PYOOT-n, adj
Notes: I didn’t know this word, but it made me think of another word, whose origin is the same as this word (quite odd, eh?)
The word tontine is “a joint financial arrangement whereby the participants contribute equally to a prize that is awarded entirely to the particpant who survives all the others”
Our word came into English in the mid-1700s
As I noted yesterday, I happen to know our word; tontine is used in at least one mystery story by Agatha Christie. Although no particular title springs to mind, I do remember the word, and the fact that it was defined that the death of one of a group increased the holdings of the others; I think it was in relation to an inheritance. Such a usage may or may not be correct. Anyway, our word came from the name of the man who created them – Lorenzo Tonti, a Neapolitan banker. In some places, tontines were banned due to the temptation for an evil member of a tontine to kill off their fellow investors.
Pronounced: TAHN-teen, noun
Notes: I do happen to know this word (more tomorrow), but I don’t think it is generally known
The word pensum is “a task given, especially as punishment”
Our word came into English in the mid-1600s
Our word came from the Latin word pensum, which came from the Latin verb pendere (to hang; to weigh). Originally, a pensum was an amount of wool to be spun. Over time, the usage of the word shifted to a more generic meaning of any piece of work or task. It then changed again to refer to a task given as punishment – especially in schools.
Pronounced: PEN-sum, noun
Notes: My guess was an alternative of “pension” (but that’s wrong)
The word schwarmerei means “excessive or unwholesome sentiment”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
As you might think, our word came from the German noun Schwärmerei, which came from the German verb schwärmen (to be enthusiastic; to swarm) – this verb was used of bees; not only do they swarm, but they seem to be fanatically enthusiastic when swarming. When our word first came into English, it was considered to be “untranslatable, because the thing itself is un-English”.
Pronounced: shver-muh-ree, noun
Notes: I don’t think I have run across this word
The word shonda means
Our word came into English in the 1960s
Our word came from the Yiddish word shande (shame; disgrace), which came from the German word Schande (disgrace).
Pronounced: SHOWN-duh (alt: SHAHN-duh), noun
Notes: I have not run across this word
The word farouche means
Our word came into English in the mid-1700s
Our word came from the French word farouche (wild; shy), which came from the Old French word forasche, which came from the Late Latin word forasticus (living outside), which came from the Latin word foras (outdoors). The idea seems to be (when brought into English) that a socially awkward person would be one who was an outsider to the group – perhaps from living outdoors.
Pronounced: fuh-ROOSH, adj
Notes: I’m rather surprised that I have not run across this word
The word Poplarism is “the policy of giving generous compensation, benefits, unemployment relief, etc”
Our word came into English in the 1920s
Our word came from a district in London called Poplar; in 1921 the mayor, George Lansbury, along with the council decided that instead of sending the tax money to London, they would use it to provide relief to the poor. They were subsequently imprisoned for contempt of court. This incident was called the “Poplar Rates Rebellion”, and our word came about shortly thereafter.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day