hummock

Pronounced: HUH-muck, noun

Notes: If you think this is just a misspelled “hammock”, you are right and wrong

Yesterday’s word

The word sorb means

  • to take up and hold by absorption
  • to take up and hold by adsorption
First usage

Our word came into English in the first decade of the 1900s

Background / Comments

If you think like me, when you saw the definition, you thought “what is adsorption?”. Most of us presumably know “absorption” – it’s what happens when you put a drop of water on a sponge. When we turn the ‘b’ around, we get “adsorption”, which is when a substance is merely deposited on the surface of another (think of a drop of water on a glass slide). Our word was created from absorb, which came from the Latin word absorbere, which is composed of ab- (away) and sorbere (to suck).

sorb

Pronounced: sorb, verb

Notes: A neat word, and the definition was educative also

Yesterday’s word

The word kvell means “to be extraordinarily proud”

First usage

It’s hard to tell for certain; it’s an Americanism, probably created in the mid-1900s; in 1952, a book of Jewish words and expressions was published that contained our word, but proof of earlier usage has been elusive.

Background / Comments

When I saw the “kv” in our word, I immediately thought that our word had a Yiddish origin, and that turns out to be correct. Our word came from the Yiddish word kveln (to be delighted), which came from the Middle High German word quellen (to well, gush, or swell).

kvell

Pronounced: kvel, verb

Notes: A new word to me

Yesterday’s word

The word connate means

  • congenial
  • congenital
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Latin word connasci (to be born with), which is composed of com- (with) and nasci (to be born). I had confused our word with “cognate”.

connate

Pronounced: CON-ate (alt: koh-NATE), adj

Notes: Not the word I was thinking of

Yesterday’s word

The word prehension means

  • the act of taking hold, seizing, or grasping
  • mental understanding; comprehension
  • apprehension by the senses
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

I should have been able to get to the meaning through the related word “prehensile”, which I think I knew from the phrase “prehensile tail”, but it didn’t occur to me. Our word came from the Latin word prehendere (to seize; to grasp). Other words from this root are “comprehend”, “apprehend”, and “prison”.

prehension

Pronounced: pree-HEN(t)-shuhn, noun

Notes: I should have been able to guess this one

Yesterday’s Word

The word white-livered means “cowardly”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

I am familiar with the term “lily-livered”, which is alternate word to our word. Our word comes from the belief that a lack of courage (or vigor) was caused by a deficiency of bile; this caused the liver to show as light-colored. So, a white liver would be the most cowardly; a lily-colored liver would also be quite pale in color.

prehension

Pronounced: pree-HEN(t)-shun, noun

Notes: I didn’t know this word, but I do know a related word

Yesterday’s word

The word white-livered means “cowardly”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

I didn’t plan to have two words in a row that both means “cowardly”; it’s just how the words happened to show up. Our word is also known as “lily-livered” and I do know that form of the word, even though I have not run across our word. It comes from the idea that a lack of courage was caused by a deficiency of bile which showed in a light-colored liver.

white-livered

Pronounced: white-LIVE-uhrd, adj

Notes: You may know this word; I found the origin interesting

Yesterday’s word

The word pusillanimous means “lacking courage and resolution; marked by contemptible timidity”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

I must have been thinking of ‘pugilism’ when I though of boxing. Our word came from the Latin word pusillus (very small) and animus (spirit). The combination thus means “a very small spirit”, which is a very accurate description of someone who is cowardly. In the 1970s, Spiro Agnew, when he was the Vice President of the United States used our word in the phrase “pusillanimous pussyfooting”.

pusillanimous

Pronounced: pyou-suh-LAH-nuh-muss, adj

Notes: I thought this word had to do with boxing, but I was wrong

Yesterday’s word

The word plutonian means

  • relating to the dwarf planet Pluto
  • relating to Pluto, the god of the underworld in Greek mythology
  • relating to the underworld
First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

All of the definitions make sense, but I couldn’t list all of them. Our word came from Latin, which came from the Greek word Plouton (Pluto, the god of the underworld).

plutonian

Pronounced: ploo-TOE-nee-uhn, adj

Notes: I didn’t know all of the meanings of this word, but each was logical

Yesterday’s word

The word mansuetude is “the quality of state of being gentle; meekness; tameness”

First usage

Our word came into English in the middle to late 1300s

Background / Comments

Of the definitions above, I find “gentle” and “meekness” to be praiseworthy traits; I am not so sure about “tameness”. Nevertheless, this word is a good one to know. Our word came from the Latin verb mansuescere (to tame), which came from the noun manus (hand) and the verb suescere (to accustom; to become accustomed).