refractory

Pronounced: rih-FRAK-tree (alt: rih-FRAK-tuh-ree), adj

Notes: I thought this was related to the refraction of light (I was wrong)

Yesterday’s word

The word girn means, as a verb, “to snarl, grimace, or complain”. As a noun, it means “a grimace or snarl”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1400s

Background / Comments

I said yesterday that it looked like a misspelling of “grin” and, as it turns out, that it does come from transposition of the letters “r” and “i” in “grin” — the definition is different from “grin”, but it comes from the Old English word grennian (to show teeth).

girn

Pronounced: GURN, verb/noun

Notes: Looks like a misspelled “grin”

Yesterday’s word

The word tweep is “a person who uses Twitter (for anyone who doesn’t know, Twitter is a online messaging service – it’s now called “X”).

First usage

Our word came into English in the first decade of the 2000s

Background / Comments

I am not really a Twitter (X) user, so I have not heard the our word. I do know that the messages are called “tweets”. Our word is what is known as a portmanteau word: a combination of tweet and peeps (slang for “people”).

tweep

Pronounced: TWEEP, noun

Notes: This word is specialized; some people may know this word (I didn’t)

Yesterday’s word

The word sprattle means, as a noun, “a scramble or struggle”. As a verb it means “to scramble or struggle”

First usage

Our word came into English around 1500

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Scottish word sprattle, which came from switching the sounds in the word spartle (to scatter).

sprattle

Pronounced: SPRAT-uhl, noun/verb

Notes: It doesn’t mean to talk pointlessly with a lisp (heh)

Yesterday’s word

The word yips is “a state of nervous tension affecting an athlete (such as a golfer) in the performance of a crucial action”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1960s

Background / Comments

I don’t watch golf, where our word is usually used. The normal phrase I’ve heard in similar situations is “to fail in a clutch situation”. The origin is not certain — not even if our word has any relationship with “yip” (the quick bark of a dog).

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.