Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
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”.
Pronounced: LAM(P)-stir, noun
Notes: This is not a special kind of hamster…
The word acerbate means “to irritate; to aggravate”
Our word came into English in the mid-1600s
There are three similar words in English: acerbate (our word), exacerbate, and exasperate. Do you know the difference? Our word is apparently the beginning of irritation (and it does not take an object). However, if one “exacerbates” the situation, one is increasing the irritation (and, you’ll note that “exacerbate” needs an object). If one keeps going, one is exasperated, and that is a high decree of irritation (and, like our word, “exasperate” does not take an object). I think I’ve heard or read these words, but I don’t know if I realized “exacerbate” and “exasperate” were different words. Our word came from the Latin word acerbus (bitter) from which we get “acerbic”.
Pronounced: AS-uhr-bate, verb
Notes: You may know this word
The word bootless does NOT mean “not wearing a boot”, but “useless; unprofitable” (but see the comments below)
Our word came into English before 1000
Okay, our word has been used to mean “not wearing boots”, but our meaning is not related to something you wear on your feet: The boot part of our word came from the Old English word bōt (use; avail). We get the word “better” from this same Old English word.
Pronounced: It’s obvious — “BOOT” and “less”, adj
Notes: Not what I guessed
The word shicker, as a noun, means “a drunkard; alcoholic liquor”. As an adjective, it means “drunk”, and as a verb, it means “to drink; to get drunk”.
Our word came into English in the late 1800s
Our word came from the Yiddish word shiker, which came from the Hebrew word shikkor, which came from shakar (to be drunk).
Pronounced: SHICK-uhr, noun/adj/verb
Notes: I don’t think I’ve heard this word
The word lucubration is “laborious or intensive study” (it can also mean, especially when used in plural, the product of such study).
Our word came into English in the late 1500s
When I glanced at our word, it looked similar to “lubrication”, so I thought it might be related (as you can see, it isn’t at all like that word). A phrase that gives the idea of this word is “burning the midnight oil” – our word came from the Latin word lucubrare (to work by lamplight). You may notice the root lux (light) in the Latin word. When our word first came into English, it meant both night-time study and the written product of such study, but as time passed, it referred to any intensive study. If you see our word today, it is usually plural and refers to stuffy scholarly writing. I like the idea of dropping this word in the place of “burning the midnight oil”.
Pronounced: loo-kyuh-BRAY-shun, noun
Notes: Not at all what I thought (especially at a quick glance)
The word tummler is
Our word came into English in the 1930s
The second definition of our word would indicate that a synonym is “rabble-rouser”. Our word came from the Yiddish word tumler (one who makes a racket), which came from tumlen (to make a racket), which came from the German word tummeln (to stir). Resorts in the Catskill Mountains were popular with Jews in the 1900s, and tummlers were often found there.
Pronounced: TOOM-luhr, noun
Notes: A new word to me, and not pronounced how I thought (I though “tuhm-luhr”)
The word obnubilate means “to make cloudy or obscure”
Our word came into English in the late 1500s
Our word tends to be found in political circles (hmmm… I wonder why!? <grin>). Our word came from Latin roots, where ob- (in the way) is combined with nubes (cloud).
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day