prolix

Pronounced: pro-LICKS, adj

Notes: Not a word I know, but a useful one

Yesterday’s word

The word weft is “the threads that run across the width of a woven fabric and are interlaced through the warp (the threads that run lengthwise)”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 700s

Background / Comments

If you know about weaving, you probably recognized our word: I knew that that the two parts are the were the warp and weft (“weft” is also known as “woof”). Although I knew of the two parts, I often forget which are the “up and down” threads and which are the side-to-side threads. Our word comes from the Old English word wefta (weft).

weft

Pronounced: weft, noun

Notes: Some people may know this word

Yesterday’s word

The word apposite means “highly pertinent or appropriate; apt”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

Our word sounds just like “opposite”, and they do share a common Latin root: the word ponere (to put or place). With the prefix ad-, the word becomes apponere (to place near; to apply to), and that came to be our word. We got opposite by adding the prefix ob- to give opponere (to place against or opposite). There is also the prefix com-, giving componere (to put together), which came into English as “compound” and “composite”.

apposite

Pronounced: AH-puh-zuht, adj

Notes: I kind of knew this word

Yesterday’s word

The word moil, as a verb means

  • to word hard; to toil
  • to churn
  • to make wet or muddy

As a noun, it means

  • hard work
  • confusion; turmoil
First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

Our word comes from the Old French word moillier (to moisten), which came from the Latin word mollis (soft).

moil

Pronounced: MOYL, verb/noun

Notes: Not really a word I know

Yesterday’s word

The word demesne means

  • legal possession of land as one’s own
  • the land attached to an estate
  • realm; domain
First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1200s

Background / Comments

I was struck by the pronunciation; “dih-MANE” is pretty close to the pronunciation of domain (doe-MANE), and, in fact, share the same source. Our word comes from the Anglo-French word demeine (which was used in property law). Over time, the spelling changed to demesne (per the rules of French pronunciation, the ‘s’ is silent and the preceding vowel is long.

demesne

Pronounced: dih-MANE, noun

Notes: Interesting word

Yesterday’s word

The word dint, as a noun, means

  • force; power
  • a dent

As a verb, it means to make a dent or to drive in with force

First usage

Our word is very old; coming into English in the late 800s

Background / Comments

I am more used to the idea of our word meaning “force” or “power”. As a synonym for “dent”, it’s new to me. It comes from the Old English word dynt (blow).

dint

Pronounced: dint (well, duh), noun/verb

Notes: I think I’ve run across the word but couldn’t define it properly

Yesterday’s word

The word palaver means

  • a long discussion usually between persons of different cultures or levels of sophistication
  • idle talk
  • misleading or beguiling speech
First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1700s

Background / Comments

In the 1700s, Portuguese and English sailors often met during trading trips along the West African coast. The English borrowed the word Portuguese word palavra (speech; word), but was used by these Portuguese traders to specifically means “discussions with natives”. The Portuguese word comes from the Late Latin word parabola (speech; parable), which comes from the Greek word parabolē (juxtaposition; comparison). And now we see the tie-in with the teachings of Jesus Christ: Our word comes from the Greek word for “parable”, and the Bible tells us All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them… (Matt 13:34).

palaver

Pronounced: puh-LAH-ver, noun

Notes: Do you know what our word has to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ?

Yesterday’s word

The word antonomasia is

  • the use of an epithet or title for a proper name (like using “the Bard” for Shakespeare)
  • the use of the name of a person known for a particular quality to describe others (such as calling a good dancer a “Fred Astaire” or a smart person “an Einstein”
First usage

Our word came into English in the last 1500s

Background / Comments

I didn’t know our word, but I should have recognized parts of it. Our word came to us from Latin, but it came into Latin from the Greek word antonomazein (to name differently), composed of anti- (instead of) and onoma (name).

antonomasia

Pronounced: an-toe-no-MAY-zhuh, noun

Notes: This sounds like some kind of disease, but many of us have used what this word means

Yesterday’s word

The word yahoo is “a boorish, crass, or stupid person”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1700s

Background / Comments

If you knew our word, it’s probably because you know of its origin: It comes from Gulliver’s Travels (by Jonathan Swift), which was published in 1726. The Yahoos were a people Gulliver encountered on his fourth (and final) voyage and were a man-like race of brutes with plenty of human vices. So the word came into English to mean any particular human who was particularly unpleasant or unintelligent. I suspect that there is no connection to the search engine.

yahoo

Pronounced: YAY-who, noun

Notes: Not the search engine

Yesterday’s word

The word hogen-mogen means, as a noun, “a person having or affecting high power”. As an adjective, it means “powerful; grand”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

Our word is another word derived from the Dutch word hoogmogend (all powerful), which came from the phrase “Hooge en Mogende” (high and mighty), which is a honorific used when addressing the Netherlands States General (the legislature).

hogen-mogen

Pronounced: HOE-gun-moh-gun, noun/adj

Notes: This is not a word that I know

Yesterday’s word

The word redoubt means

  • a small (usually temporary) enclosed defensive word
  • a defended position; protective barrier
  • a secure retreat; stronghold
First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

I had a general idea of our word, having run across it in various computer games. Our word is not related to doubt and redoubtable. It came into English from the French word redoute, which came from the Italian word ridotto, which came from the Late Latin noun reductus (a refuge), which derives from the Latin verb redūcere (to lead back).