yips

Pronounced: YIPS, plural noun

Notes: Some people with specialized knowledge may know this word

Yesterday’s word

The word mullion is “a piece of stone, wood, metal, etc, dividing a window or other opening

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

I have often heard about “mullioned windows”, but I thought it meant something other than the simple definition above. I prefer to look out of windows and find that mullions tend to block the view somewhat. Our word came from some people transposing sounds in the Middle English word moniel, which came from the Anglo-Norman word moynel, which came from the Latin word medius (middle).

mullion

Pronounced: MULL-yuhn, noun

Notes: I have often heard this word, but I didn’t know the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word eldritch means “weird; eerie”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1500s

Background / Comments

For some reason, I thought our word was some kind of tree (I may have been confusing it with the “Ellcrys”, a tree featured in the book The Elfstones of Shannara, which I read a long time ago). Our word is believed to have come from the Middle English word elfriche (fairyland), which is made up of the Old English words œlf (elf) and rīce (kingdom).

eldritch

Pronounced: EL-drich, adj

Notes: This word seemed familiar to me, but I had the definition completely wrong

Yesterday’s word

The word charon is “a ferryman”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1500s

Background / Comments

I have previously mentioned that long ago I used to read Greek mythology: thus, i “knew” the word because I remembered the character “Charon”, who was an old man who transported the souls of the dead across the rivers Styx and Acheron to Hades. It was a tradition (in some places) to put a coin in the mouth of the dead person to pay for the ferry ride. However, I did “not know” the word because I did not know the correct meaning.

charon

Pronounced: KER-uhn, noun

Notes: This is a word I both knew and didn’t know

Yesterday’s word

The word brummagem means “not genuine; spurious; cheaply showy; tawdry”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1600s

Background / Comments

Our word is an alteration of the UK city “Birmingham”. When the word first appeared, Birmingham was notorious for the counterfeit coins, so our word originally referred to forgeries or inauthentic things. In the 1800s, the city of Birmingham was a place where cheap trinkets and gilt jewelry, and our word meant something that looked showy, but was really of poor quality.

brummagen

Pronounced: BRUH-mih-jem, adj

Notes: This word seemed familiar – but I haven’t used it in this blog. I may have used it for the year I did this on Facebook, or perhaps at work (but maybe I’m just not remembering correctly)

Yesterday’s word

The word dragoman is “an interpreter or guide”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1300s

Background / Comments

I think I’ve run across this word; my first impression was something from Dorothy Sayers or Agatha Christie. I don’t remember any specific instance, but upon reflection, this is also the kind of word that Rex Stout uses. In any event, it’s a nice alternative word to drop into conversation. Our word has quite a history: it came from the French word dragoman, which came from the Italian word dragomanno, which came from the Arabic word tarjuman. It also came from Aramaic, which came from the Akkadian word targumanu (interpreter). Akkadian was (it is no longer in use) a cuneiform Semitic language from ancient Mesopotamia.

dragoman

Pronounced: DRAG-uh-man, noun

Notes: This word stirs a faint memory; I think I’ve run across it, but I don’t know the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word pungle means “to make a payment of contribution of money (usually used with “up”)

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Our word originally had a similar meaning to “ante up” – it came from the Spanish word pongale (put it down), which came from poner (to put; to place; to contribute money). Our word has been used in Huckberry Finn — I thought I’ve read it, but I don’t remember our word.

pungle

Pronounced: PUNG-gull, verb

Notes: This word is supposed to be more common in the western part of the United States

Yesterday’s word

The word hendiadys is “a figure of speech in which two words joined by a conjunction are used to convey a single idea instead of using a word and it’s modifier” (examples in the Comments are)

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

Our word is another technical language-based word. One example of our word is using “pleasant and warm” instead of “pleasantly warm” – but to me, these expressions have different meanings: “pleasantly warm” is only about the temperature, saying that it is not too hot – it is a bearable, enjoyable temperature. However, “pleasant and warm” indicates (to me) two different things: it is warm and it is a pleasant day – that is, not stormy. Our word came from the Latin word hendiadys, which came from the Greek phrase hen dia duoin (one by two).

hendiadys

Pronounced: hen-DIE-uh-diss, noun

Notes: This word has nothing to do with chickens

Yesterday’s word

The word vanward means “located in the vanguard; advanced”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1800s

Background / Comments

I have heard of “vanguard,” which arrived long before our word (the late 1400s). I didn’t realize that “vanguard” was shortened to “van” in the 1600s — and then, finally, -ward (is situated in; in the direction of) was added to get our word. As a side note, -ward is an interesting adjectival suffix. We mostly see it today only in “toward” – literally “in the direction of ‘to’; that is coming closer to the referenced object”. But there used to other uses: froward and God-ward. Maybe we should have a “ward” renaissance. We already have (but don’t use that often) “homeward” – maybe we should start using “work-ward” or “church-ward” or “shopping-ward”.

vanward

Pronounced: VAN-word, adj

Notes: You might know the meaning; I didn’t

Yesterday’s word

The word epanalepsis is “a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is repeated after intervening text”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

There is a Bible phrase that I believe fits our word: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. One of the examples given is “The king is dead; long live the king!” Our word came from the Greek word epanalepsis, which is made of epi- (upon) and ana- (back) and lepsis (taking hold).

epanalepsis

Pronounced: ep-uh-nuh-LEP-sis, noun

Notes: I didn’t know the meaning, but I have run across this

Yesterday’s word

The word mawkish means

  • lacking flavor or having an unpleasant taste
  • exaggeratedly or childishly emotional
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Gross… our word’s background opens up a can of… maggots! Our word came from the Middle English word mawke (maggot), which came from the Old Norse word maathkr (maggot). There are still dialects of British English in which “mawk” means “maggot”. However, the meaning has softened a bit. I was unaware of the first meaning; I knew the second definition; however, an online source has a definition that is slightly more in line with what I was thinking: “characterized by sickly sentimentality; weakly emotional; maudlin”.