Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: a-rih-veest, noun
Notes: We all probably have been one or know someone who has been one
The word scop is “a poet or minstrel”
Our word came into English in the late 800s
A very old word! I don’t think I’ve run across is anywhere before. It came from the Old English word scop (poet; minstrel). As noted yesterday, it looks like it should be pronounced “skop”, but the first pronunciation listed is “shop”.
Pronounced: shop (alt: skop), noun
Notes: I would not have guessed the first pronunciation
The word epistolary means
Our word came into English in the 1600s
If you think that our word looks related to “epistle”, you are right – it was formed from that word. I have run across the last meaning, but didn’t know our word could be used to describe it — the first chapter of the Lord Peter Wimsey novel Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers is written in an epistolary format; it is a collection of letters from various people, describing what has gone on thus far (from various points of view).
Pronounced: ih-PISS-tuh-ler-ee, adj
Notes: This word meant more than I thought it did
The word ye, as a definite article, means “the”. As a pronoun, it means “you”
The definite article came into English before the 1100s; the pronoun came into English before the 1200s
So much to say about such a short word! First, the definite article: our word is merely the archaic spelling of “the”. We normally see our word in before “old” (or “olde”), as in “Ye Olde Bookshoppe”. Even it was “The Old Bookshop”, most people would pronounced it “thee” (instead of “thuh”) because we’ve been instructed to say “thee” before a vowel sound in the following word, and “thuh” before a consonant sound in the following word: thus, “the (thuh) key” versus “the (thee) apple”. Surprisingly, this is not an actual rule in English, though it is often taught as a rule. I’m familiar with the pronoun “ye”, so I’ve been mispronouncing the definite article for a long time. And not for the pronoun: as you may know, in older English, there were separate words for the second person pronouns – “thou, thee, & thy” were singular, and “ye, you, & your” were plural. (These days, we just use “you” and hope the meaning is clear – or we add things, like “all of you” or “y’all” [some Southern speakers claim “y’all” is singular and “all y’all” is plural]). Did you know that when the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible was being translated, “thee, thou, & thy” were already no longer in use? The translators deliberately used these words so that readers would be able to tell when a passage was addressing a single person or multiple people. There are multiple places where singular and plural forms are mixed, and it makes for better understanding to note them. One examples is John 3:7, where Jesus says Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus (thus, the “thee”), but the messages is that Nicodemus and everyone (“ye”) must be born again.
Pronounced: thee (definite article), yee (pronoun)
Notes: I didn’t know about the different pronunciations; should be a good discussion tomorrow
The word weald is
Our word came into English before the mid-1100s
When I first saw our word, I saw “weal”, which I knew from the expression “for weal or woe” (through good times and bad times) that “weal” meant “good times” — and I thought our word might be related. But then, after seeing the definition, it sounded vaguely familiar to me. Our word comes from the Middle English word weeld, which came from the Old English word weald (forest). The equivalent German word is “Wald” – thus, “Schwarzwald” is the German name for the Black Forest (“Schwarz” [black] plus “Wald” [forest]). Back to English, a related word to weald is wold, which is an upland area that has no trees; that is, it is a plan or a stretch of rolling land.
Pronounced: WIELD, noun
Notes: I was thrown off by this word
The word nu, as an interjection, means “well” or “so. As a noun, it refers to the 13th letter of the Greek alphabet.
The interjection came into English in the late 1800s; the noun has been around since the early to mid-1400s
Our word is another case when I felt rather foolish after seeing the definition; I have studied a little Greek, and I had to learn the alphabet, so I should have known that meaning of the noun. However, I have run across the Yiddish phrase more recently, but I was a bit off on the meaning: I thought it meant something like “isn’t that right?”.
Pronounced: NEW (alt: nyoo), int/noun
Notes: A short word I kind of knew, but not well
The word causerie is
Our word first appeared in English in the early 1800s
I thought that our word should have three syllables (caw-suh-ree), so seeing the correct pronunciation was a surprise to me. Our word came from the French word causer (to chat), which came from the Latin word causa (cause; reason). The original meaning was an informal chat, but in the mid-1800s, a French literary critic published a column called Causeries du lundi (Monday chats). After that, the word came to also mean a brief, informal article.
Pronounced: koze-REE, noun
Notes: I may have run across this word in reading; it seems faintly familiar
The word aa is “lava having a rough surface”
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
Our word came from the Hawaiian word aa (to burn). And, yes, there is a word for lava with a smooth surface: “pahoehoe”.
Pronounced: AH-ah, noun
Notes: This is a word you either know or don’t know
The phrase golden handcuffs are “special benefits offered to an employee an an inducement to continue service”
Our phrase came into English in the 1970s
I have heard of a “golden parachute”, which refers to a very generous severance package, given to executives if they are let go before they choose to leave – usually because of a corporate merger or takeover. I have also heard the phrase “golden handshake”, which I thought was just an expression used for retirement, but apparently it is a tempting severance package to get people to retire early. However, our word is new to me, and is the opposite of a “golden handshake”, from which our word is derived.
Pronounced: As it sounds: GOHL-den HAN(D)-cuffs, noun
Notes: I’ve not run across this word; have you?
The word heimisch means “homely; unpretentious”
Our word came into English in the 1960s
Our word came from the Yiddish word heymish (domestic), which came from the Old High German word heim (home). Looking at the definition, I find it odd that in America, “homely” means “plain” or “unattractive” – and is thus not a compliment. However, in the UK, the word is used in a nice way to describe houses that have a home-like quality — what we would probably call “homey”.
Pronounced: HAY-mish (alt: HI-mish), adj
Notes: Also spelled heimish or haimish
The word lamster is “a fugitive; especially one from the law”
Our word came into English in the 1900s (1900-1910)
I should have figured out our word, as I’m familiar with the phrase “on the lam” for a guy running away from the law. Even though the nouns lam and lamster are relatively new, there is a verb lam that goes back to the 1500s and means “to beat soundly; to strike or thrash”.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day