struldbrug

Pronounced: STROOLED-bruhg, noun

Notes: I don’t remember every running across this word

Yesterday’s word

The word conclave means

  • a meeting of Roman Catholic cardinals secluded continuously while choosing a pope
  • a usually private gathering of a group or association
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1300s

Background / Comments

I am familiar with our word as used in its Roman Catholic meaning; I was not aware of the second definition above. I did recognize both parts of our word: con- (with) and clave (key)… thus, the Latin word meant “a room with key” and therefore the privacy of seclusion referred to in both definitions.

conclave

Pronounced: KAHN-klave, noun

Notes: Many people probably know one definition of our word

Yesterday’s word

The word shirttail means, as a noun

  • the part of a shirt reaching below he waist, especially in the back
  • a brief item added at the end of a newspaper article
  • something small or unimportant

As an adjective, it means

  • very young or immature
  • very small or trivial
  • distantly related
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

As I noted, I knew the first meaning as a noun, but I didn’t have any idea of any of the adjective meanings. I assume that the first noun definition was the original definition, and that the second and third definitions grew out of the first — as the shirttail is at the end of the shirt (thus #2); and then, #1 and #2 together could create #3. The only related adjective meaning is #2; I have no idea how #1 and #3 came about. Our word came from the Old English words scyrte (shirt) and teogl (tail).

shirttail

Pronounced: SHURT-tale, noun/adj

Notes: Yes, this is the bottom part of the shirt that reaches below the waist, but what then does the adjective mean?

Yesterday’s word

The word gadarene means “without pause or deliberation; headlong; precipitate”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1920s

Background / Comments

I was astonished when I read that the origin of our word came from the Bible: when I saw the word, it did remind me of the Bible story about the “maniac of Gadara”, but I had no idea that it was actually the origin of the word. What happened is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke… Jesus cast demons out of some men who lived in Gadara (a town southeast of the Sea of Galilee) – the demons went into a herd of pigs that dashed down a steep place into the sea and were drowned. Our word came from that headlong dash, and is sometimes capitalized as Gadarene.

gadarene

Pronounced: GA-duh-reen, adj

Notes: I didn’t know the word, but I was amazed at the background

Yesterday’s word

The word balk (baulk), as a verb, means

  • to stop, hesitate, or refuse to proceed
  • to thwart or hinder

As a noun, it means

  • a check or hindrance
  • a defeat or disappointment
  • a beam or rafter
  • a ridge; an unplowed strip of land between furrows
First usage

Our word came into English as a noun in the late 800s; as a verb, it came into English in the late 1300s

Background / Comments

I am used to balk having the idea of heading off or stopping something; to hinder it, which covers most of the meaning. The third and fourth noun definitions above are unknown to me. Our word came from the Old English word balca (ridge; bank).

balk

Pronounced: bawk, noun/verb

Notes: Also spelled “baulk”; there is one definition of this word that I did not know

Yesterday’s word

The word delectation means “delight; enjoyment”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1300s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Middle English word delectacioun, which came from the Latin word delectation (delight). Synonyms of our word are pleasure, delight, and enjoyment, but the words have different shades of meaning: “pleasure” is gratification or satisfaction of the senses; “delight” is a kind of mental enjoyment of pleasure, and may not last as long as the sense from “pleasure”. The word “enjoyment” implies a deep pleasure that can be temporary or a deep-seated happiness. Our word – delectation – is more of a reaction (usually amusement or diversion) to a pleasurable experience.

delectation

Pronounced: dee-lek-TAY-shun, noun

Notes: A nice, useful word to add to one’s vocabulary

Yesterday’s word

The word consanguineous means “related by blood; having a common ancestor”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Latin word consanguineus, which is made up of con- (with) and sanguineus (bloody), which came from sanguis (blood). By the way, this is another word that contains every usual vowel.

consanguineous

Pronounced: kon-sang-GWIN-ee-uhs, adj

Notes: You may be able to figure out the meaning of this word

Yesterday’s word

The word fulminate means “to complain loudly or angrily; to send forth censures or invectives”

First usage

Our word came into English around 1400 (either in the late 1300s or the early 1400s)

Background / Comments

I think I confused our word with “fulsome”. Our word came from the late Middle English word fulminaten, which came from the Latin word fulminatus, which is the past participle of fulminare (to hurl thunderbolts; thunder), which comes from fulmen (thunderbolt; lightning).

fulminate

Pronounced: full-muh-nate, verb

Notes: I think I confused this word with another word

Yesterday’s word

The word yichus means “prestige, social status, or pedigree”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1800s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Yiddish word yichus/yikhus (pedigree), which came from the Hebrew word yihus (pedigree). I suspected Yiddish as the source, as you may have.

yichus

Pronounced: YEEKH-uhs, noun

Notes: I could guess at the origin, but not the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word mugwump is

  • a Republican that did not support his party’s candidate in the 1884 election
  • a person who is independent (as in politics) or who remains undecided or neutral
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

I enjoy learning about US Presidents, and the 1884 election is a fascinating one to me. To summarize, the incumbent Chester Arthur did not wish a second term, as his health was declining. The Republicans had won the Presidency ever since 1856 and nominated James Blaine, who had severed as Secretary of State. The Democrats nominated New York governor Grover Cleveland. The campaign was bitter, with accusations leveled at each candidate: James Blaine was accused of corruption, having sold his influence in Congress when he served there. Grover Cleveland was accused of having fathered a child out of wedlock. The Mugwumps were Republicans that were strongly anti-corruption and refused to support James Blaine, switching their vote to Grover Cleveland, who became the first Democrat to win the Presidency, and would remain so until the 1912 election. Grover Cleveland also won the popular vote in three elections in a row, but lost the electoral vote in the middle one, so he was the first man to have non-successive presidential terms. Our word came from mugquomp, an anglicization of the Massachusett Indian word muggumquomp (war leader).

mugwump

Pronounced: MUG-wuhmp, noun

Notes: I have heard this word, but I only had vague ideas of the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word yahoo, as a noun, is “a person who is boorish, loud, disruptive, etc”. As an interjection, it means “expressing excitement, delight, or triumph”.

First usage

The noun form came into English in the mid-1700s; the interjection form came into English in the 1970s

Background / Comments

The noun definition came from Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift – published in 1726. In the book, the Yahoos were a race of brutish creatures. The origin of the interjection is not known, but it thought to be of echoic origin. I am also skeptical of the first usage being in the 1970s; I seem to recall that the Rankin/Bass Christmas show Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a character named Yukon Cornelius who was wont to shout “yahoo!”. This show came out in the mid-1960s, so perhaps the first usage above is incorrect. Note that I believe he shouted “yahoo!”, but I need to watch the show to verify that memory.