laissez-aller

Pronounced: less-ay-ah-LAY, noun

Notes: Also spelled laisser-aller; a new word to me

Yesterday’s word

The word halcyon means

  • of or relating to the kingfisher
  • calm; peaceful
  • happy; golden
  • prosperous; affluent
First usage

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

Background / Comment

I knew the third definition above, but certainly not the first one. However, the background of the word makes sense: In Greek mythology, Alkyone, a daughter of the god of the winds, was very upset when her husband was killed in a shipwreck. So was so distraught that she threw herself into the sea and was changed into a kingfisher. The Greeks called these birds alkyon (or halkyon). Legends say that the birds built floating nests on the sea, where they were able to charm the wind god so that unusual calm would last until the eggs hatched. Thus, the word referred to the kingfisher, and then to the calm, and then spread to the other meanings.

halcyon

Pronounced: HAL-see-uhn, adj

Notes: There are multiple definitions; I knew one of them

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase de rigueur means “required by fashion, custom, or etiquette”

First usage

Our phrase came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

I know I have read this phrase; I think it was in one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories by Dorothy Sayers, but I could not begin to guess at which novel. I had a very general sense of the phrase from the context, but I don’t know that I could define it properly. Our phrase (as you might guess) came from the French phrase de rigueur (“of strictness”), which came from the Latin word rigor.

de rigueur

Pronounced: duh-ree-GURR, adj

Notes: The phrase is familiar to me, but I didn’t know the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word chin-wag means “conversation; chat”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1800s

Background / Comments

Our word is an informal British word (perhaps slang): I don’t believe I’ve heard or read it in America. I did read it in the Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey books, which were written between the first and second World War. I thought that the word was obsolete, but then – rather to my surprise – I was watching a British show in which the presenter used our word. Thus, it is apparently still in use (although I’ve not heard it used anytime I was staying in Yorkshire). Similar words and phrases are “chinfest” (chat), “chin music” (idle talk; chatter), and “chin” (as either a verb [to chat] or a noun [a chat]).

chin-wag

Pronounced: (as it looks), noun

Notes: This may be as easy one

Yesterday’s word

The word politesse means “formal politeness or courtesy”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1600s

Background / Comments

Like me, you may not be familiar with our word, but you could probably guess the meaning. It came from the Old French word politesse (cleanness; polished state), which came from the Italian word politezza (polish; smoothness), which came from the Latin word polire (to polish).

politesse

Pronounced: pol-ih-TESS (alt: poe-lee-TESS), noun

Notes: You might be able to guess the meaning of this word

Yesterday’s word

The word esemplastic means “shaping or having the power to shape disparate things into a unified whole”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1800s

Background / Comments

I was very surprised to see the early date of this word, as I was under the impression that plastic was invented after World War II (incidentally, I was wrong). However, the word plastic predates (by a long way) the invention of plastic. Our word was coined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It was a combination of the Greek phrase es hen (into one) with plastic (capable of being molded), which came from the Latin word plasticus (that which may be molded) which came from the Greek word plastikós.

esemplastic

Pronounced: eh-sem-PLAS-tik, adj

Notes: I thought this was a specialized type of plastic

Yesterday’s word

The word swidden is “an area of land cleared for farming by slashing and burning the vegetation”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

As noted, people with knowledge of farming may know our word. I’ve heard of the practice, but our word is new to me. It came from a Northen England dialect swithen (to burn), which came from the Old Norse word svithna (to be singed).

swidden

Pronounced: SWID-n, noun

Notes: You might need special knowledge to get this word

Yesterday’s word

The word oneiric means “of or relating to dreams; dreamy”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

When I saw this word, I thought it might be related to wine (thinking of oenophile, I guess). It came from the Greek word óneiros (dream) with -ic added to make it on adjective. Interestingly enough, in the early 1600s, the following related words referring to dream interpreters or interpretation were in use: “oneirocriticism”, “oneirocritical”, and “oneirocritic”. About that time, there was an interest by English scholars in a book called Oneirocritica, which is about dream interpretation by a Greek soothsayer named Artemidorus Daldianus, which may be the origin of these words.

oneiric

Pronounced: oh-NIGH-rick, adj

Notes: Not at all what I thought it meant

Yesterday’s word

The word turbid means

  • unclear; opaque
  • dark or dense (as smog or clouds)
  • confused or muddled
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

I think I was confused (turbid) because of the somewhat similar “turgid”, which has a different meaning. Our word came from the Latin word turba (turmoil; crowd).

turbid

Pronounced: TURR-bid, adj

Notes: I’m pretty sure I’ve read this word, but I wasn’t sure of the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word ketzenjammer means

  • hangover
  • distress
  • a discordant clamor
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Our word was originally used to describe hangovers or other distressing inner states. Over time, the idea of distress caused by outer commotion was added. Our word is made up of two German words Katze (cat) and Jammer (distress), so it pretty accurately described any state in which you can related to a cat wailing. There was a comic strip called Katzenjammer Kids that was the longest running comic strip ever (it ran from 1897 to 2006).

katzenjammer

Pronounced: KAT-suhn-jah-muhr, noun

Notes: A longish word, but I don’t know it

Yesterday’s word

The word tenebrous means “dark, gloomy, or obscure”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1400s

Background / Comments

It’s a nice word to use as a substitute. Our word came from the Old French tenebreus, which came from the Latin word tenebrosus (dark), which came from tenebrae (darkness).