Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: big DAY-tuh, noun
Notes: I wasn’t quite sure of the meaning of our phrase
The phrase pro rata means, as an adverb, “proportionally”. As an adjective, it means “proportional”
Our phrase came into English in the late 1500s
As I noted, I’ve run across the phrase, and while I had an idea of the meaning, I wasn’t fully sure of the meaning. Our phrase came from the Latin phrase pro rata (according to the calculated share).
Pronounced: pro RAY-tuh (alt: pro-RAH-tuh), adv/adj
Notes: This is one of the words that I’ve run across, but wasn’t completely sure of the definition
The word glom means
Our word came into English in the very late 1800s
This entry was odd. I ran across our word in the Nero Wolfe novella This Won’t Kill You by Rex Stout (originally called This Will Kill You). In the book, Archie Goodwin (Nero Wolfe’s assistant) uses our word in relation to a good-looking woman; from the context, it clearly means “to look at”. Imagine my surprise when the reference material for this entry only listed two meanings (the first and the second one above), with no hint of the third meaning — and the third meaning doesn’t seem related at all to the other meanings. Extra research dug up the third meaning. Our word is primarily found in America. It came from the Scots word glaum (alt: glam). Originally, it just meant “steal” as a purse-snatcher, but the meaning expanded over time. Instead of “stealing a few hours for oneself”, one could say “glom a few hours for oneself”, or one can “glom on to an opinion”. I’m not sure where the “look at” definition came from, unless it has the idea of catching something with one’s eye” – but that seems a bit farfetched.
Pronounced: GLAHM, verb
Notes: I’m puzzled by the definition I have for the word; it doesn’t match the usage I have run across
The word doryphore is “a pedantic or persistent critic”
Our word came into English in the 1950s
Frankly, I don’t quite understand the background of our word: it came from the French word doryphore (Colorado beetle – a potato pest), which came from the Greek word doruphoros (spear carrier). I’m told that it was the author Harold Nicolson that used the word per the definition above… but how that usage relates to the background isn’t obvious to me.
Pronounced: DOR-uh-for, noun
Notes: I don’t recall seeing this word before this
The word euphony means “a harmonious succession of words or sounds”
Our word came into English in the early 1600s
In college, I briefly studied Greek, so I recognized the two parts of our word: eu- (good; well) and phōnē (sound; voice), so I assumed that our word went our word meant “good sounds”, which isn’t quite right. Our word came into English from the French word euphonie, which came from the Late Latin word euphonia, which came from the Greek word euphōnos, which is composed of the aforementioned parts. In the field of linguistics, our word can mean “a preference for words that are easy to pronounce”.
Pronounced: YOU-fuh-nee, noun
Notes: I could trace the etymology of our word, but I wasn’t quite right with the definition
The word ratty means
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
The first definition is obvious; however, in the course of my reading, I’ve run across both of the other meanings, but – to my recollection – the third meaning is one I more often find in books written by English authors; I don’t think I’ve heard it or read it in America. The word came from the Old English word raet (rat).
Pronounced: RAT-ee, adj
Notes: Do you know all of the definitions?
The word undulant means
Our word came into English in the early 1800s
I am familiar with the verb undulate (to form or move in waves). I did not know that it was also used as an adjective in the early to mid-1600s, but it isn’t used much today; our word is used instead. I was aware of the first definition (due to my familiarity with the verb form), but the second definition was unknown to me.
Pronounced: UN-juh-lunt, adj
Notes: I knew one of the definitions
The word Rosinate is “an old, worn-out horse”
Our word came into English in the mid-1600s
Although I have not read Don Quixote, I have a general knowledge of the story, but our word was new to me – it came from the name of Don Quixote’s horse: Rocinante. The name comes from the Spanish word rocin (an old horse; nag or hack) combined with ante (before; in front of).
Pronounced: roz-uh-NAN-tee
Notes: Literary types may know this word (I didn’t)
The word fissile means
Our word came into English in the mid-1600s (but see below)
The first definition above is the earlier one; in those days, atoms were thought to be the smallest particles of matter – they could not be split. When nuclear fission became a reality in the 1930s, the definition of this word expanded to the second definition. The word goes back to the Latin word findere (to split).
Pronounced: FIH-suhl, adj
Notes: I knew one definition, but not the other
The word Lothario refers to “a man who indiscriminately seduces women”
Our word came into English in the mid-1700s
Although I knew the word, the origin surprised me. The word became popular from the play The Fair Penitent, in which Lothario was a character. The play was first performed in 1703. However, I was surprised to learn that Lothario first appeared in Don Quixote.
Pronounced: low-THAR-ee-oh, noun
Notes: I knew this word, but the background surprised me
The word poutine is “a dish of French fries covered with brown gravy and cheese curds” (mostly found/used in Canada)
Our word came into English in the 1980s
The dish was apparently created in the 1950s. It is not clear if poutine originally came with gravy, or if the gravy was added later. In addition, the origin of our word is uncertain; we know that the English word came from the French Canadian word. It it theorized that our word comes from the English word “pudding”. Another theory is that is came from a Quebec slang word meaning “mess”. The dish has begun to spread into the United States.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day