tenebrous

Pronounced: TEN-uh-bruss, adj

Notes: A handy word, but not one I knew

Yesterday’s word

The word demiurge is “one that is an autonomous creative force or decisive power”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

In the Platonic school of philosophy, the Demiurge is a deity who fashions the physical world in the light of external ideas. In the Timaeus, Plato credits the Demiurge with taking preexisting materials of chaos and arranging them in accorance with the models of eternal forms. Today, our word refers to the individual or group chiefly responsible for a creative idea. Our word came from Late Latin, and into there from the Greek word dēmiourgos (artisan; one with special skill), which is made up of demi- (from dēmos [people]) and ergon (worker).

demiurge

Pronounced: DEH-me-urge, noun

Notes: Not what I thought

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase Jerusalem syndrome is “a phenomenon in which a visitor to a holy place suffers from religious psychosis, such as believing himself or herself to be a messiah”.

First usage

Surprisingly, our phrase came into English in the 1980s

Background / Comments

The phenomenon described in the definition was first described by the psychiatrist Heinz Herman in the Israel city Jerusalem.

Jerusalem syndrome

Pronounced: jih-ROOS-uh-luhm SIN-drome, noun

Notes: I have never heard this phrase

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase vade mecum means

  • a book for ready reference; manual
  • something regularly carried about by a person
First usage

Our phrase came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Our phrase came from the Latin phrase vade mecum (go with me). It has long been used to refer to manuals or guidebooks that could be carried about. It is also used to refer to things that are carried by a person – money, medication, word of wisdom. The most common usage today refers to a work that serves as a one-stop reference or guide to a particular subject. I ran across this word in one of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels by Dorothy Sayers (I’m not sure which one).

vade mecum

Pronounced: vay-dee-ME-kuhm, noun

Notes: I’ve come across this word in reading and didn’t pronounce it correctly; in addition, I wasn’t sure of the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word spaniel, of course, refers to the dog, but it also means “a submissive or fawning person”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1300s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Old French word espaignol/espaigneul (Spanish dog), which came from Hispaniolus (Spanish), which came from Hispania (Spain).

spaniel

Pronounced: SPAN-yull, noun

Notes: This word has another meaning besides the dog breed – do you know it?

Yesterday’s word

The word antimacassar is “a piece of covering placed over the back or arms of a seat to protect from hair oil, dirt, etc”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

As I noted, I recognized this word; I thought of the Mrs Pollifax books by Dorothy Gilman, and so I checked. I was correct; it is used early in the first book (The Unexpected Mrs Pollifax), but (to my shame), I didn’t look up the word. From the context, it is clear that is a some crocheted thing, but I didn’t know exactly what… now I do. Our word came from anti- (against) and Macassar oil (a hair oil, supposedly made from ingredients from Macassar). The city is now spelled Makassar; it is a city in Indonesia.

antimacassar

Pronounced: an-tih-mus-KASS-suhr, noun

Notes: I recognize our word, but not meaning (more tomorrow)

Yesterday’s word

The word luciferin is “any of various organic substances that upon oxidation produce a virtually heatless light” (such as the light fireflies produce).

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1800s

Background / Comments

Many people know that Lucifer is a name for the devil; however, it is a Latin word meaning “light-bearing”. It means this because it is made up of luc- (light) and -fer (bearing; producing).

luciferin

Pronounced: loo-SIH-fruhn (alt: loo-SIH-fuh-run), noun

Notes: This word has nothing to do with the devil

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase mala fide means “in bad faith”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

As I noted yesterday, I was aware of the phrase bona fides (in good faith), but I didn’t know that this phrase existed. It came from the Latin phrase mala fide, made of maus (bad) and fides (faith).

mala fide

Pronounced: MAL-uh FIE-dee, adv/adj

Notes: I didn’t know this phrase existed, but perhaps you can work out the meaning?

Yesterday’s word

The word thew means

  • muscular power or development
  • strength, vitality
  • muscle, sinew (usually used in plural)
First usage

Our word came into English before 900

Background / Comments

I have a recollection of reading the phrase “smote (maybe ‘smite’) thew and sinew”, but I cannot recall where I ran across it. It is possible that my recollection is amiss. In any event, our word came from Middle English, where it could means “custom; habit; personal quality; or virtue”. Our word was falling out of fashion in the 1500s, but it acquired the meaning of physical strength, which changed to refer to the muscles that create physical strength. I’m told that it often paired with “sinew”, so perhaps I did read it somewhere.

thew

Pronounced: thoo, noun

Notes: I didn’t recognize this word by itself

Yesterday’s word

The word eviscerate means

  • to remove the entrails; to disembowel
  • to deprive of essential parts; to weaken or to destroy
First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

I seem to remember reading or hearing the word in some mystery story (or show); it may have been a Sherlock Holmes, but I think it one of the shows about Jack the Ripper, with a theoretical explanation. After reading the definition, I think I have run across the second definition, which clearly is a metaphorical extension of the first definition. Our word came from the Latin word eviscerare (to disembowel), which is made of ex- (out) and viscera (internal organs); the latter is the plural of the Latin word viscus (flesh; internal organ).

eviscerate

Pronounced: ih-VIS-uh-rate, verb

Notes: I kind of knew this word

Yesterday’s word

The word balletoname is “a devotee of ballet”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1930s

Background / Comments

Because the word’s pronunciation begins “bah-LEH-tuh” and not “bahl-AYE”, I didn’t think of it being related to the ballet. I had guessed it might be related to “ballot”, but that was wrong. If you ignored the pronunciation and saw “ballet” and “mania” in our word, you’d be pretty close. The pronunciation is probably due the fact that our word came from the Russian word baletoman, which is a combination of balet (ballet) and -man — from maniya (mania). Oddly enough, neither “ballet” or “mania” came from Russian; “ballet” came from French, and into French from the Italian word balleto. The word “mania” came from Latin, which came from Greek. One more oddity about our word is the ending: most words for “lover of” use the suffix “-phile”.