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…).

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).