chauvinism

Pronounced: SHOW-vuh-niz-uhm, noun

Notes: I was familiar with the word, but the background was interesting

Yesterday’s word

The word jocund means “marked by or suggestive of high spirits and lively mirthfulness”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1300s

Background / Comments

Our word came from the Middle English jocound, which came from the Late Latin word jocundus (agreeable; delightful), which came from the verb juvāre (to help). The word jocundus looks similar to jocus (joke), which is the origin of our word “joke”.

jocund

Pronounced: JAH-kuhnd, adj

Notes: This was a borderline case; I was a little familiar with the word

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase Paul Pry is “an excessively inquisitive person”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

I have a recollection of running across our word somewhere. For some reason, I think our word is more common in the UK; I am used to “nosy parker” in the US. Our word comes from the comedy play Paul Pry by John Poole.

Paul Pry

Pronounced: (like it looks)

Notes: I think I’ve run across the word somewhere

Yesterday’s word

The word controvertible means “capable of being disputed or opposed by reason”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

I find it interesting that the more common opposite word – incontrovertible – is the newer word. There are many words that are opposites, but one is far more common that another word; for example, “disgruntled” is better known than its opposite “gruntled”. Our word came from the English word controvert (to dispute or oppose by reasoning), which came from Anglo-French, which came from the Latin word controversus (disputable), which is made up of contro- (against) and versus, the past participle of vertere (to turn).

controvertible

Pronounced: KAHN-truh-ver-tuh-buhl, adj

Notes: I should have known the definition

Yesterday’s word

The word Lorelei is “a dangerously seductive woman”

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1800s

Background / Comments

I happen to know a teenager named Lorelei; she most certainly is nothing like her name definition. Our word came from German legends; Lorelei was a nymph who sat on a rock (also called Lorelei) on the Rhine river and lured sailors with her songs to their destruction on the rock.

Lorelei

Pronounced: LORE-uh-lie, noun

Notes: Not a word I know, but I do know a person with this name

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase big data is “an accumulation of data that is too large and complex for processing by traditional database management tools”

First usage

Our phrase came into English around 1980

Background / Comments

Our phrase is used in the computer industry to refer to very large sets of data that need special processing because they don’t fit into traditional databases. Our phrase is just the two words “big” and “data” put together.

big data

Pronounced: big DAY-tuh, noun

Notes: I wasn’t quite sure of the meaning of our phrase

Yesterday’s phrase

The phrase pro rata means, as an adverb, “proportionally”. As an adjective, it means “proportional”

First usage

Our phrase came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

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).

pro rata

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

Yesterday’s word

The word glom means

  • take; steal
  • seize; catch
  • to look at
First usage

Our word came into English in the very late 1800s

Background / Comments

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.

glom

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

Yesterday’s word

The word doryphore is “a pedantic or persistent critic”

First usage

Our word came into English in the 1950s

Background / Comments

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.

doryphore

Pronounced: DOR-uh-for, noun

Notes: I don’t recall seeing this word before this

Yesterday’s word

The word euphony means “a harmonious succession of words or sounds”

First usage

Our word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

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”.

euphony

Pronounced: YOU-fuh-nee, noun

Notes: I could trace the etymology of our word, but I wasn’t quite right with the definition

Yesterday’s word

The word ratty means

  • of, relating to, or full of rats
  • shabby
  • irritable; angry
First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

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).