Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: GRUHN-t(uh)l, verb
Notes: You may know this word (or be able to guess it), but it is interesting
The word bryology is “the branch of botany that deals with mosses, liverworts, and hornworts”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
I had no idea that there was such a specific word — it came from the Greek word bryo- (moss) combined with -ology (study).
Pronounced: bry-OL-uh-jee, noun
Notes: Clearly, a study of (something)…
The word ponderous means
Our word came into English around 1400
I knew the first two definition; however, the third one I didn’t know. Our word came from the Middle French word ponderos [alt: pondereuse] (heavy), which came from the Latin word pondus (weight). The Latin word is related to the source of “pound” (a measure of weight).
Pronounced: PAHN-druhs (alt: PAHN-duh-ruhs)
Notes: I did not know all the meanings of this word
The word cento is “a literary work (especially a poem) composed of parts taken from works of other authors”
Our word came into English in the early 1600s
Our word is new to me. It is probably not a word I can work into conversations, so I will probably forget it again. Our word came from the Latin word cento (patchwork).
Pronounced: SEN-to, noun
Notes: This word is new to me
The word divarication means
Our word came into English in the late 1500s
Our word originally had the literal definition of spreading apart (as two roads may do). Over time, the meaning spread to a metaphorical sense (as in the second definition above). I have found that the more one pins someone down to details on an option, the more the opinions will spread apart. Our word came from the Medieval Latin word divaricatio, which came from the verb divaricare (to spread apart), which came from the Latin verb varicare (to straddle).
Pronounced: die-ver-uh-KAY-shun, noun
Notes: I didn’t know there was a word for this thing
The word doggerel is
Our word came into English in the early 1400s
I am not sure how well known this word is; I have both read it and heard it (both UK sources). So, this is one of those rare words that I happen to know, but I don’t know how generally known it is, so I included it. It seems that our word is merely a diminutive of “dog” – words with dog are generally unfavorable: consider “dogsbody” or “a dog’s chance”.
Pronounced: DAH-guhr-uhl (alt: DOG-uhr-uhl), noun
Notes: I don’t know how well known this word is
The word convoke means “to call together to a meeting”
Our word came into English in the very late 1500s
I didn’t know our word, but when I saw the definition, I thought that it was the same as “convene”. And then I started thinking about the two words. Our word comes from con- (with; together) and the Latin verb vocare (to call) – the noun is vox (voice). So our word has the literal meaning given above, but I thought that was what “convene” meant; however, the second part of convene comes from venire (to come), so it is literally “to come together”. So, if people just gather of their own accord, that is properly to convene. When it is a called meeting, it is convoked. I always just used convene, not knowing our word. As I said yesterday – interesting.
Pronounced: kuhn-VOKE, verb
Notes: Interesting thoughts
The word epigram is “a short witty saying, often in verse”
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
I confused our word with “pangram”. A famous Benjamin Franklin epigram is “Little strokes/Fell great oaks”. Our word came from the Latin word epigramma, which came from the Greek word epigramma, which came from epigraphein (to write; inscribe), which is composed of epi- (upon; after) and graphein (to write).
Pronounced: EP-ih-gram, noun
Notes: I get this word confused with another word
The word prolix means
Our word came into English around 1400
I like having an alternative to “verbose” and “wordy”; in addition, I thought that this would be a great Scrabble word. It seems that our word has the idea of tedious and unreasonable dwelling on details; I’ve had people start telling me about an interesting thought they had and then get hung up on WHEN they had the thought – for example: “Yesterday while eating dinner around 6:30; or was it 6:00? Maybe it was 6:45? Actually, I thought of it first before dinner; not too long before, so probably about 5:45, assuming we had dinner at 6 o’clock, but I’m not sure that was the right time…” (and on on and so on). Our word came from the Latin word prolixus (extended; copious), which is a combination of pro- (forward) and the past participle of liquere (to be fluid) — quite appropriate, as words just seem to pour out of a prolix person.
Pronounced: PRO-licks, adj
Notes: An interesting word
The word clerihew is “a humorous, pseudo-biographical verse of four lines of uneven length, using the rhyming scheme AABB and with the first line containing the name of the subject”
Our word came into English in the 1920s
Our word came from the name of the man who originated this rather dubious art form – Edmund Clerihew Bentley. I expect you would welcome some examples; Mr Bentley’s most famous clerihew was this one:
Sir Christopher Wren
Said “I am going to dine with some men.
If anyone calls
Say I am designing St Paul’s.”
Another one of his:
George the Third
Ought never to have occurred.
One can only wonder
At so grotesque a blunder.
Here’s one by someone else:
Did Decartes
Depart
With the thought
“Therefore I’m not”?
Pronounced: KLER-uh-hyoo, noun
Notes: I save off words to use in these posts; this word I ran across nine years ago, and I don’t remember it at all.
The word depredate means
Our word came into English in the early 1600s
As I noted yesterday, I get our word confused with “deprecate” (I think of it as meaning “belittle”, but it has other meanings). When I read the meaning, it did sound familiar, so I may have run across it. I confess that I don’t really understand the shades of difference in the two meanings: what is the difference between “plundering” something and “engaging in plundering” something?). Our word came from the Latin verb praedari (to plunder). Our word is most commonly used to refer to nature, when a methodical – sort of automatic – destruction of life occurs.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day