Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: FAK-toyd, noun
Notes: I didn’t know both definitions
The word mythomane means, as a noun, “one having a tendency to exaggerate or lie”. As an adjective, it means “having a tendency to exaggerate of lie”.
Our word came into English in the 1950s
Our word came from two Greek words: mythos (myth) and -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze).
Pronounced: MYTH-uh-mane, noun/adj
Notes: Another word I didn’t recognize
The word Pecksniffian means “unctuously hypocritical; sanctimonious”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
As I noted yesterday, I recognized our word; I knew it came from a character created by Charles Dickens — but that’s all I knew. The character (Seth Pecksniff) comes from the novel Martin Chuzzlewit (published in 1843): he would brag about his virtue and preach morality, but he was a selfish, deceptive scoundrel. It didn’t take long after the novel was out before the word started being used as a synonym of “hypocrite”. I especially like the phrase “unctuously hypocritical” in the definition above.
Pronounced: peck-SNIH-fee-uhn, adj
Notes: I recognized the word, but couldn’t properly define it
The word ultracrepidarian means, as an adjective, “giving opinions beyond one’s area of expertise”. As a noun, it means “one who gives opinions beyond one’s area of expertise”
Our word came into English in the early 1800s
Our word has an interesting story behind the word. Our word came from the Latin words ultra (beyond) and crepidarious (shoemaker), which came from crepida (sandal). How did a shoemaker get into our word? Thus the story: In ancient Greece, a famous painter named Apelles would display his paintings and then hide behind them to listen to the comments. One day a cobbler came by and noted that the sole of a shoe was not painted correctly. Apelles heard this and corrected the painting; the cobbler was emboldened by this and begin to comment on other parts of the painting, but the artist stopped him by stating “Ne sutor ultra crepidam” [Shoemaker, not above the sandal], meaning he should stick to what he knew. There is a temptation in all of us to be an ultracrepidarian.
Pronounced: utl-truh-krep-ih-DAYR-ee-uhn, adj/noun
Notes: Quite the long word!
The word ruly means “obedient; orderly”
Our word came into English in the mid-to-late 1300s
You probably guessed the correct meaning if you thought of “unruly”. In fact, “unruly” is the older word, and our word is what is called a “back-formation”. Our word came from the Middle English word reuly (disciplined), which came from the Middle English word reule, from which we get “rule”.
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).
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day