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”.

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).