futurity

Pronounced: fyoo-TUR-eh-tee, noun

Notes: Although you may be able to guess the definition, I didn’t know that this word existed

Yesterday’s word

The word refection is

  • refreshment with food or drink
  • a light meal
  • The reingesting of fecal pellets, as practiced by rabbits
First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1300s

Background / Comments

Our word came from French — and into French from the Latin word reficere (to renew; to restore), made up of re- (back; again) and facere (to make). If it weren’t for the third definition, this would be a great word to use to refer to a light meal in casual conversation.

refection

Pronounced: rih-FECK-shun, noun

Notes: This is not a misspelling of “reflection”, but a different word entirely

Yesterday’s word

The word totem is

  • an animal or plant serving as the emblem of a family or clan
  • a revered emblem or symbol; a person or thing that represents an idea
First usage

Our word came into English in

Background / Comments

I thought our word was just short for a “totem pole”, but clearly that isn’t the case. After reading the definition, it is clear that a totem pole is merely a pole containing totems. As most people associate totem poles with American Indians, you might think that the word comes from there — and you’d be correct. Our word comes from Ojibwa, a language of the Algonquian people who lived in the regions around Lake Superior. The root Ojibwa word is ote (to dwell in), but most English speakers heard the word ototeman (his totem) or nintotem (my totem). These words became totem.

totem

Pronounced: TOE-tum, noun

Notes: I thought I knew the meaning of this word, but I didn’t

Yesterday’s word

The word tegular means “relating to, resembling, or arranged like tiles”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Latin word tegula (tile), which came from tegere (to cover). There isn’t much to say about our word other than what I said yesterday.

tegular

Pronounced: TEG-yuh-luhr, adj

Notes: Not what I thought (and NOT a misspelling of “regular”)

Yesterday’s word

The word biannual means

  • occurring twice a year
  • occurring once every two years
First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1800s

Background / Comments

Just like “biweekly”, our word can have different meanings. Some people teach that “semiannual” should be used for things that occur twice a year, and our word for things occurring every two years; however, this practice is not followed by everyone. A clear word for something that occurs every two years is “biennial”. Our word came from Latin – the second part came from annu (yearly). The first part is bi- (twice; two) and this is the source of the confusion: it could mean “twice yearly” or “two years”.

biannual

Pronounced: by-AN-yuhl (alt: by-AN-yuh-wuhl), adj

Notes: I was not aware of both pronunciations; I use the second one

Yesterday’s word

The word cordate means “heart-shaped”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

After reading the definition, I realized that I could have guessed the meaning. Our word came from the Latin word cor (heart).

cordate

Pronounced: cordate

Notes: I didn’t correctly guess the meaning, but you may be able to

Yesterday’s word

The word aggress means “to make an attack; to act aggressively”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

The words “aggressive” and “aggression” are much more familiar (I didn’t know that there was a verb form). Our word came from the Latin verb aggredī (to approach; to attack; to undertake). When our word first entered English, it could also mean “to approach”, but this usage is now obsolete.

aggress

Pronounced: uh-GRESS, verb

Notes: I didn’t know this word existed, but you can probably guess the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word amaneunsis is “a person employed to take dictation or to copy manuscripts”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

I happen to know the word from some reading, but I don’t know how well known it is. Our word came from the Latin phrase servus a manu (slave at handwriting).

amaneunsis

Pronounced: uh-man-yoo-EN-sis, noun

Notes: I don’t think this word is well known, but I happen to know it

Yesterday’s word

The word organoleptic means

  • relating to the sensual qualities (taste, color, smell) of substances (such as food or drugs)
  • involving use of the sense organs
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the French word organoleptique — our spelling is an Anglicization of it — and it came from the words organ and the Greek word lēptikos (disposed to take or accept).

organoleptic

Pronounced: or-guh-no-LEP-tick, adj

Notes: Well, my guess was quite incorrect (it has nothing to do with playing organs)

Yesterday’s word

The word Malthusian means “relating to the view that population increases faster than its means of subsistence resulting in disaster, unless population is checked by natural calamities or by people deciding to have fewer children”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1800s

Background / Comments

I saw “mal” at the beginning of the word and thought that might be a prefix meaning “bad”, but that is not the case: our word came from the name of the economist and clergyman who was a proponent of this idea – Thomas Robert Malthus.

Malthusian

Pronounced: mal-THOO-zhuhn (alt: mal-THOO-zee-uhn), adj

Notes: I didn’t know this word, and could not guess at a meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word corrigendum is “an error in a printed work discovered after printing and shown with its correction on a separate sheet”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

I have books and instruction manuals in which errors were caught after printing and an “errata” page has been inserted in the printed work. These would be corrigenda (the plural of our word) – but I didn’t know that there was a word for it; I just called in “a page of errors” or “errata”. If you thought that our word may be related to “correct” (I didn’t), you are correct: our word came from the Latin verb corrigere (to correct).