mawkish

Pronounced: MAW-kish, adj

Notes: I (pretty much) knew one of the definitions

Yesterday’s word

The word synecdoche is “a figure of speech in which a part stands for the whole (or vice verse).

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1300s

Background / Comments

I am pretty sure that I have used this word before, but not in this blog. In the year before I did this blog, I posted vocabulary words to Facebook, and for a few years before that, I would use the internal chat system at work and put a word in my status. I think I posted this at work because it seems familiar to me. In the sentence “The orphanage had too many mouths to feed”, “mouth” refers to “people” and is thus a synechoche. Our word came from the Latin word synekdoche, which came from the Greek word synekdokhe, which is made up of syn- (together) and ekdokhe (interpretation).

synecdoche

Pronounced: sih-NEK-duh-kee, noun

Notes: This word seemed familiar to me – see tomorrow’s comments

Yesterday’s word

The word banausic means “relating to or concerned with earning a living (used pejoratively); utilitarian; practical”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Our word goes back to Greek society – the considered that the ideal life was a life of contemplation. Those who had to work for a living were looked down upon (because they could not spend their time in intellectual pursuits), and that the the send of our word. It came from the Greek (duh!) word banausikos (of an artisan), which was derived from baunos (furnace; forge).

banausic

Pronounced: buh-NAW-sik, adj

Notes: Interesting word I didn’t know

Yesterday’s word

The word zeugma is “the use of a word to refer to two or more words, especially in different senses” (example in the comments)

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

In the sentence “We have been in the states of Kansas, Nebraska, and confusion”, the word state is a zeugma, because is it used in the sense of a US state as well as a condition. Another zeugma is “He caught a fish and a cold”. Our word came from the Latin word zeugma, which came from the Greek word zeugma (a joinging).

zeugma

Pronounced: ZOOG-muh, noun

Notes: Familiarity: 0% – a new word for me

Yesterday’s word

The word yawp means

  • to make a raucous noise; squawk
  • clamor; complain
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1300s

Background / Comments

The background of our word is interesting to me. There was a Middle English verb yelpen (to boast; call out; yelp) whose past participle is yolpen, from which our word is derived. Reading the origin reminded me of the verb “help”, which used to have a past participle of “holpen”, which occurs a few times in the Authorized Version of the Bible. Our word can also be a noun, but it didn’t occur until around 400 years after the verb came into being. A final note: some references say that the second definition above is slang.

yawp

Pronounced: YAWP, verb

Notes: I didn’t really know the meaning of this word

Yesterday’s word

The word antimetabole is “a repetition of words or an idea in a reverse order” (an example is “to fail to plan is to plan to fail”).

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

Another antimetabole is “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence”. Our word came from the Greek word antimetabole, which is made up of anti- (opposite) and metabole (change); the latter is made up of meta- (after; along) and bole (a throw).

antimetabole

Pronounced: AN-tih-muh-TAB-uh-lee, noun

Notes: A mouthful! Whether or not you know the definition, you’ve run across them

Yesterday’s word

The word repine means

  • to feel or express dejection or discontent; complain
  • to long for something [but see Comments below]
First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1500s

Background / Comment

As noted, I have heard this word in a rather obscure song. As I imagine you are, I am more familiar with “pining for <something>” instead of “repining over <something>”. So what’s the difference? Repine contains the idea of being discontent. When one pines for something, it can merely be longing for something one once knew. At the very least, however, our word is a nice fancy word for “complain”. Our word came from the Old English word pinian (to suffer), which (it is thought) came from the Latin word poena (punishment).

repine

Pronounced: rih-PINE, verb

Notes: I think I’ve only run across this word in a song

Yesterday’s word

The word gemeinschaft is “social relationships based on personal ties, affection, kinship, etc”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1930s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the German word Gemeinschaft (community), which is made up of gemein (common) and schaft (-ship). There is a word that is a counterpart: “Gesellschaft”, which is a social relationship marked by impersonal ties, such as duty to a society or organization.

gemeinschaft

Pronounced: guh-MYN-shaft, noun

Notes: I don’t think I’ve ever run across this word

Yesterday’s word

The word protean means

  • of or resembling Proteus in having a varied nature or ability to assume different forms
  • displaying great diversity or variety; versatile
First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

Our word came from Greek mythology (when I was in school I read a lot of Greek and Roman mythology, but I don’t remember this guy): Proteus was the shepherd of Poseidon’s sea creatures – he had the gift of prophecy, but he didn’t care to share his knowledge. When people came to talk with Proteus, he would change his shape. Supposedly, to get an answer from him, one would have to sneak up on him and take hold of him — and keep holding on while Proteus changed from shape to shape. Eventually, he would give up and then answer the question. Our word came to mean anyone or anything that is changeable or adaptable as the mythological Proteus.

protean

Pronounced: PRO-tee-uhn, adj

Notes: I think I may have seen this word somewhere, but I didn’t know the definition

Yesterday’s word

The word gleichschaltung means “the forced standardization of political, economic, and cultural institutions, as in an authoritarian state”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1930s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the German word gleichschalten (to bring into line), from gleich (same) and schalten (to switch; to turn). The term was used by the Nazis for totalitarian control.

gleichschaltung

Pronounced: GLICK-shalt-toong, noun

Notes: Not a word I know; it seems a bit limited for general use

Yesterday’s word

The word Cockaigne is “an imaginary land of great luxury and ease”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1200s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Middle French phrase pais de cocaigne (the land of plenty). There was a French poem in the 1200s called (in English) The Land of Cockaigne. Among other things, the shops supplied good for free. The history of our word before the poem is not clear.