Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day
Words that I do not know
Pronounced: ARE-gus, noun
Notes: This was a close one; you may know this word. I was close
The word lutestring is “a glossy silk fabric”
Our word came into English in the mid-1600s
Our word has nothing to do with strings for the instrument called a lute. It turns out to be people mis-hearing (and thus corrupting) the French word lustrine, which came from the Italian word lustrino, which came from the Latin word lustrare (to make bright).
Pronounced: LOOT-string
Notes: An interesting word; I’ve not heard it before
The word tchotchke means “knickknack; trinket”
Our word came into English in the 1960s
Our word is an Americanism; it came from the Yiddish word tshatshke, which came from an obsolete Polish word czaczko (knickknack). Our word joins several other words meaning “nondescript junk”.
Pronounced: CHAHCH-kuh, noun
Notes: I don’t think I’ve every run across this word
The word Addisonian means “having clarity and elegance”
Our word came into English in the late 1700s
Our word was named after Joseph Addison, an English essayist and poet.
Pronounced: add-uh-SO-nee-uhn, adj
Notes: Another new word to me
The word challah is “egg-rich yeast-leavened bread that is usually braided or twisted before baking”
It’s not clear when this word came into English
Challah is a type of bread traditionally baked to celebrate the Jewish sabbath. Our word came to English from Yiddish, but originally came from the Hebrew word hallāh. Note that when our word first showed up, there were multiple variant spellings: challa, challoth, challot, hallah, halloth, and hallot. The reference material I have indicates that the the spellings still in common use are challah, challa, and hallah (I think I’ve run across hallah).
Pronounced: KAH-luh (the “K” is a like the throat-clearing sound in the German word “ach”)
Notes: Some people probably know this word
The word Gongorism refers to “an affected literary style marked by intricate language and elaborate figures of speech”
Our word came into English in the early 1800s
I think a lot of Victorian literature would fit our word; it’s is usually described as “flowery”, but from the examples I’ve seen, it would fit our word. Our word is named after the Spanish poet Luis de Góngora y Argote.
Pronounced: GONG-uh-riz-uhm, noun
Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word
The word gest means
Our word came into English early: in the mid 1200s
I knew of “jest”, but our word is unknown to me. It comes from the Old French word geste (action; exploit) which came from the Latin word gesta (exploits), which is the neuter plural past participle of gerere (to carry on; to perform). Our word tends to be used with medieval times – knights and heroes. The word is used in Shakespeare’s Anthony and Cleopatra.
Pronounced: jest, noun
Notes: This is a different word than “jest”, even though they are pronounced the same
The word guy, as a noun, means
As a verb, it means
The first definitions above came into English in the mid-1800s. The second definitions are older and came into English in the late 1300s
Let’s start with the second definitions first: I have heard the term “guy wire”, but I was unaware of the verb meaning. The second definitions comes from the Old French word guie (guide), which comes from guier (to guide). As for the first definitions, I don’t think I’ve every run across the verb meaning (to make fun of; ridicule). I have long thought that the word came from the Hebrew / Yiddish word “goy” (stranger; non-Jew; Gentile), with the vowel sound “oi” changing to a long “i’). But according to the vocabulary reference, it comes from Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up the English Parliament in 1605.
Pronounced: guy (well, duh!), noun/verb
Notes: There is more depth to the word than you might think, and I confess to a disappointment
The word genial means
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
I am most familiar with the second meaning describing someone as friendly. But I also have read it used in the first sense as in “genial surroundings”. The third meaning is completely new to me. Our word has an interesting history; it came from the Latin adjective genialis (connected with marriage), and when our word first appeared in English it meant “of or relating to marriage” (now obsolete). The Latin adjective genialis comes from the Latin noun genius (a person’s disposition or inclination) and the suffix -alis (of, relating to, or characterized by). Our word “genius” comes from the Latin noun, and it is thought that this kinship gave rise to the third definition above… possibly also influenced by the German language; in German genial means “genius”.
Pronounced: GEE-nyuhl, adj
Notes: I tend to mispronounced this word with three syllables. I know two of the three definitions
The word Maecenas is “a generous patron, especially of art, music, or literature”
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
As you may have guessed by the capitalized word, our word came from a person; in this case, Gaius Cilnius Maecenas, who was a patron of Horace and Virgil.
Pronounced: mee-SEE-nuss (alt: mih-SEE-nuss), noun
Notes: I’ve not heard of this word
The word gibbous means
Our word came into English in the late 1300s
Our word comes from the Late Latin adjective gibbosus (humpbacked), which came from the Latin noun gibbus (hump). The most common usage these days is referring to phases of the moon. A “crescent” moon is the state between a new moon and a half-moon while gibbous refers to the state between a half moon and a full moon. This astronomical meaning is the one that I knew; I was unaware of the “humpbacked” meaning.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day