Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: ROO-lee, adj
Notes: You may be able to guess the meaning of this word
The word pregustator is “a person whose job is to taste food or drink before it is served; a taste tester
Our word came into English in the mid-1600s
I have heard of a taste tester, but I have not heard of our word, which came from the Latin words pre- (before) and gustare (to taste).
Pronounced: prih-guh-STAY-tuhr, noun
Notes: A fancy word for something we know
The word calaboose means “jail; especially a local jail”
Our word came into English in the late 1700s
Our word came from the Spanish word calabozo (dungeon). In the same way, we get the word “hoosegow” from the Spanish word “jusgado”.
Pronounced: KAH-luh-boos, noun
Notes: You may know this word
The word arenicolous means “living, growing, or burrowing in sand”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
I assume that if one lives near a desert, our word may be more familiar. Our word came from the Latin words harena or arena (sand) combined with colere (to inhabit).
Pronounced: are-uh-NICK-uh-luhs, adj
Notes: I have not run across this word
The word epistemic means “of or relating to knowledge or knowing; cognative”
Our word came into English in the 1920s
Our word is newer than I thought. I didn’t have a clue to the meaning: I thought of the word “epidemic” – it caused me to mispronounce our word (“steh” instead of “stee” in the third syllable); in addition, I thought that with the similarity, our word may have something to do with disease. Nevertheless, I’m fond of our word, since I prize knowledge. Our word came from the Greek word epistēmē (knowledge) and is formed from epi- (upon; attached to) and histanai (to cause to stand).
Pronounced: eh-puh-STEE-mick, adj
Notes: Not what I thought
The word logomaniac is “one who is obsessively interested in words”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
I consider myself interested in words, but not “obsessively” interested in them… but maybe this blog may be proof that I am a logomaniac. Our word comes from two Greek words: logo- (word) and -mania (excessive enthusiasm; craze).
Pronounced: lo-guh-MAY-nee-ack, noun
Notes: An interesting word
The word diplopia means “double vision: a vision disorder in which two images of a single object are seen because of unequal action of the eye muscles”
Our word came into English in the early 1800s
Our word comes from two New Latin words: dipl- (double) and opia (vision).
Pronounced: dih-PLOH-pee-uh, noun
Notes: This is a fancy word for something you’ve probably heard of
The word parthenogenesis is “reproduction without fertilization”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
Our word came from two Greek words: partheno- (virgin; without fertilization) and -genesis (beginning; creation).
Pronounced: par-thuh-no-JEN-uh-sis, noun
Notes: You may know this word
The word salient means
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
I was aware of the third definition, but not the other two; I’m used to hearing our word in the phrase “the salient points of the article”. When our word first came into English, is was used as a heraldic term meaning “rampant but leaning forward as if leaping”. As time passed, it acquired the first meaning above. Today, the third definition prevails; in addition to the figurative meaning to which I’ve already alluded, it can also be something physically prominent, such as salient ears or a salient nose. Our word came from the Latin verb salire (to leap).
Pronounced: SAY-lyent, adj
Notes: I thought I knew this definition
The word preternatural means “beyond what is natural or normal”
Our word came into English in the late 1500s
Our word came from the Latin words praeter- (beyond; past) and naturam (nature), so it still has the literal meaning of its two components. When I saw the definition, I thought it sounded a lot like “supernatural” and wondered what the difference between the two words is. They do share similarities, but our word focuses on the “beyond” part of the definition. The word “supernatural” can be used in the same way (beyond nature), but the “super-” prefix means “above” and can refer therefore to God or some deity or to things outside nature like ghosts or goblins. It can refer to the occult as well. It is interesting to me that our word, being less well known, has stuck to its definition, while “supernatural” has spread into multiple meanings.
Pronounced: pree-tuhr-NATCH-uh-ruhl (alt: prih-tuhr-NATCH-uh-ruhl), adj
Notes: An interesting word (see the discussion tomorrow)
The word extirpate means
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
When our word first came into English, it meant “to clear of stumps” or “to pull something up by the root”. A plant (or weed) thus pulled is wiped out, and thus the first meaning above came into existence. Our word came from the Latin prefix ex- (out) and the Latin noun stirps (trunk; root).
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day