inter alia

Pronounced: IN-tuhr AT-leeuh (alt: IN-tuhr AH-lee-uh), adv

Notes: I didn’t know this phrase, but it is useful

Yesterday’s word

The word tendentious means “marked by a tendency in favor of a particular point of view; biased”

First usage

Our word came into English around 1900

Background / Comment

After seeing the definition, it then looked obvious; basically, it’s “tendency” turned into an adjective. I like our word; it’s nice to have an alternative to “biased”. Other such words are “predisposed” and “partisan”. Our word came from the Medieval Latin word tendentia (tendency), with the adjective-making English suffix -ious added.

tendentious

Pronounced: ten-DEN(t)-shuhs, adj

Notes: I didn’t know the word when I saw it

Yesterday’s word

The word athwart, as an adverb, means “from side to side; crosswise”. As a preposition, it means “from side to side of; across”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1400s

Background / Comments

Our word is a combination of a- (on; into; toward) plus thwart, which came from the Old Norse word thvert, a neuter form of thverr (transverse).

athwart

Pronounced: uh-thwart, adv/prep

Notes: Not a word I’ve heard of; it may be useful

Yesterday’s word

The word prolegomenon means “prefatory remarks; specifically a formal essay or critical discussion serving to introduce and interpret an extended work

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Our word is a scholarly one; usually used to refer to the introduction to a word of scholarly analysis. Our word is singular; the correct plural is prolegomena. A more common word is the word “prologue”. Our word came from the Greek verb prolegein (to say beforehand).

prolegomenon

Pronounced: pro-lih-GAH-muh-nahn, noun

Notes: A word I don’t know

Yesterday’s word

The word wherewith means, as an adverb, “with which”. As a pronoun, it means “the thing(s) with which”. As a conjunction, it means “by means of which”

First usage

Our word came into English in the very early 1200s

Background / Comments

As I noted, I know the word ‘wherewithal’, but I didn’t think I knew our word. However, I have heard/read the sentence “My parents gave me the funds wherewitch I purchased my first car.” Our word is a combination of where- and with.

wherewith

Pronounced: where-WITH, adv/pronoun/conjunction

Notes: I am familiar with “wherewithal”, but not our word

Yesterday’s word

The word interlocutor is “one who takes part in dialogue or conversation”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1500s

Background / Comments

I have heard our word in old-time Jack Benny radio shows, and also in the film White Christmas (1954). In these usages, it comes from the minstrel show tradition, and refers to the man in the middle of a line of performers who banters with the end men. I was unaware of the more general definition of the word. Our word came from the Latin word interloqui (to speak between; to issue an interlocutory decree). [An interlocutory decree is a court judgment that comes in the middle of a case and is not decisive.] The Latin word is made up of inter- (between) and loqui (to speak).

interlocutor

Pronounced: in-turh-LAH-kyuh-tuhr, noun

Notes: Not what I thought

Yesterday’s word

The word constellate means “to gather or form a cluster”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

I thought this had to do with stars because I recognized the origins: Our word came from the Latin words con- (together) and stella (star). I thought it would have to do with stars; possibly because of the word “constellation”, which is a group of stars.

constellate

Pronounced: CON-stuh-late, verb

Notes: I was correct in the origins of the word, but not the meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word palimpsest is

  • writing material (such as a parchment) used after earlier writing has been erased
  • something having (usually) diverse layers or aspects
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Yesterday, I thought I remembered the word from a mystery story; Sherlock Holmes (by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) was on my mind, but I also thought it might be Lord Peter Wimsey (by Dorothy Sayers), as he dealt with old books. I went with the first thought and found I was correct: our word occurs in the story The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez – at the beginning of the story, it says that Holmes is “deciphering the remains of the original inscription upon a palimpsest“. When writing surfaces were rare, they were often re-used. Our word describes a document that was erased to make room for the new document. Such erasing did not entirely eradicate the old writing, so the original writing could still be worked out under the new writing. As Sherlock Holmes remarked, “It is trying work for the eyes.” Our word came from the Latin word palimpsēstus, which came from the Greek word palímpsēstos (rubbed again), which was comprised of pálin (again) and psēstós (scraped; rubbed).

palimpsest

Pronounced: PA-lum(p)-sest, noun

Notes: I have recollection of running across this word in a mystery story

Yesterday’s word

The word tellurian, as an adjective, refers to “relating to or inhabiting Earth”. As a noun, it means “an inhabitant of Earth”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

I’ve heard or read enough science fiction that I should have recognized our word. It came from the Latin word tellus (earth). Tellus (also called Terra) was the goddess of the earth in Roman mythology.

tellurian

Pronounced: teh-LOOR-ee-uhn, adj/noun

Notes: When I first saw this word, I didn’t know it

Yesterday’s word

The word whipsaw means “to beset with two or more adverse conditions or situations at once”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

I thought our word meant something like “to pull in two directions at once”. A whipsaw is a two-man tool (one man stands on or above the log being sawed, and the other below it) that dates back to the 1400s; but in the mid- to late 1800s, it started to be used in a figurative sense to refer to someone or something that is doubly hurt (“cut”). These days, the word is usually used to refer to financial crises or losses.

whipsaw

Pronounced: WHIP-saw, verb

Notes: This doesn’t mean what I thought it meant

Yesterday’s word

The word venery means

  • the practice or pursuit of lust or prurient feelings
  • hunting
First usage

The first definition came into English in the late 1400s; the second definition is earlier, coming into English in the mid-1300s

Background / Comments

As I noted yesterday, each definition has a different source: the first definition comes from the Latin word veneria, which came from venus (love/desire). As you probably know, Venus was the Roman goddess of love and beauty. It is after her that the planet is named. The second definition comes from the Old French word venerie (to hunt).