contumely

Pronounced: kahn-TOO-muh-lee, noun

Notes: I have run across this word (or a close relative), but I couldn’t properly define it

Yesterday’s word

The word winkle means, as a noun, “a periwinkle, any of various mollusks with a spiral shell”. As a verb, it means “to extract with difficulty”.

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

As I noted yesterday, I have run across our word as a verb, but the noun was not known. In a similar vein, the background of the noun is not known. The verb comes from the process of extracting a periwinkle from its shell with a pin for eating its meat.

winkle

Pronounced: WING-kuhl, noun/verb

Notes: I knew the verb meaning, but not the noun

Yesterday’s word

The word presage means

  • to give an omen or warning of; foreshadow
  • foretell; predict
  • to make or utter a prediction
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1300s

Background / Comments

Our word – the verb presage – was predated by a noun presage (omen). Our word comes from the Latin prefix prae- and the adjective sagus (prophetic).

presage

Pronounced: PREH-sij, verb

Notes: Another word I don’t recall having seen (and my guess was way off)

Yesterday’s word

The word pullulate means

  • to sprout or breed
  • to swarm or teem
  • to increase rapidly
First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Latin word pullulare (to sprout), which came from pullulus, which is a diminutive of pullus (chicken; young animal), which came from pullus (young animal).

pullulate

Pronounced: PULL-yuh-late, verb

Notes: A new word for me

Yesterday’s word

The word fructuous means “fruitful”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1300s

Background / Comments

I had the meaning wrong because when I saw our word, I saw a similarity to the word “fractious”; had I thought of the word “fructose”, I would have been on the proper track to the right definition. Our word came from the Latin word fructus (fruit; enjoyment; use). The word fructose does comes from this root, as does usufruct (the right to use or enjoy something).

fructuous

Pronounced: FREK-chuh-wuhs, adj

Notes: I didn’t get this word right; you may know it

Yesterday’s word

The word magpie means

  • any of various birds, typically having a long tail and black-and-white plumage (also used of other birds that resemble a magpie)
  • a chatterer
  • a person who indiscriminately collects things (especially things of little value)
First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

I knew of the bird definition; I also knew of the collector meaning (a more widely used synonym is “packrat”); however, the second meaning was unknown to me. Both the second and third meanings came about because of a supposed reputation of magpies for chattering and for hoarding. Our word actually comes from Mag (short for Margaret) combined with pie, which came from the Latin word pica (magpie). I’ve no idea why Margaret was used (perhaps is was a very common name when the word was being formed)…the idea was the stereotypical notion that women chatter. Thus the name came to be attached to the bird; it had a reputation as a chatterer, and thus the second meaning came into being – seems rather like circular reasoning to me.

magpie

Pronounced: MAG-pie

Notes: I knew some of the meanings, but not all of them

Yesterday’s word

The word trattoria means “a restaurant; specifically a usually small Italian restaurant”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

In thinking about our word, I don’t think I have run across it – the reason it seemed familiar is that in the Nero Wolfe book Some Buried Caesar, there is a chain of restaurants called “prattorias”, and this is why I thought our word was familiar. In Italian, trattore is the word for an innkeeper or restaurant owner. That word comes from the Old French verb traitier (to treat); it comes from the Latin word tractare (to drag about; handle; deal with). In addition to our word, there are other words that refer to a special eatery: brasserie (from French in the mid-1800s), bistro (from French in the 1920s), and taqueria (from Mexican Spanish in the 1980s).

trattoria

Pronounced: trah-tuh-REE-uh, noun

Notes: This word seems a bit familiar to me, but I don’t remember running across it

Yesterday’s word

The word dotterel is

  • any of the various plovers (birds) breeding in mountainous areas
  • someone who is easily duped
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1400s

Background / Comments

I have not heard our word, and had no idea it referred to a bird. Supposedly, the word has a very unsuspecting nature, and that is the origin of the second meaning. Our word comes from the word dote (to be weak-minded from old age), which comes from the Middle English word doten (to be foolish) combined with -rel (a diminutive or pejorative suffix). As I noted yesterday, I know a related word: the word “dotage”, which comes from the word dote.

dotterel

Pronounced: DOT-uhr-uhl, noun

Notes: I didn’t know this word, but it turns out I did know some of the background

Yesterday’s word

The word cognizable means

  • capable of being judicially heard and determined
  • capable of being known
First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1600s

Background / Comments

I knew the second definition above, but that turns out to be the less common usage. From its beginning through today, the first definition – the legal one – is the more common sense of the word. Our word has the prefix cogni-, which traces back to the Latin word cognoscere (to know).

cognizable

Pronounced: KAHG-nuh-zuh-bell, adj

Notes: I knew one of the definitions

Yesterday’s word

The word gannet is

  • a large seabird known for catching fish by diving from a height
  • a greedy person
First usage

Our word came into English before 1000

Background / Comments

Apparently, the first meaning was the original one. These birds had a reputation for being greedy (but it was not a deserved reputation). Nevertheless, that reputation is what gave rise to the second definition. Our word came from the Old English word ganot.

gannet

Pronounced: GAN-it, noun

Notes: Interesting word

Yesterday’s word

The word prolix means

  • unduly prolonged or drawn out; too long
  • marked by or using an excess of words
First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1300s to early 1400s

Background / Comments

Between prolix, verbose, wordy, and redundant, I tend to prefer “verbose”. However, our word carries with it the idea of unreasonable and tedious dwelling upon details. Our word comes from the Latin word prolixus (extended; copious), which is a combination of pro- (forward) and the past participle of the verb liquēre (to be fluid). If you think of the origin of the word, our word is akin to something that flows on and on (and on…).