Category Archives: word

Pronounced: BOH-gart, verb Notes: Yes, this is after the actor Humphrey Bogart, but do you know the meaning? Yesterday’s word The word derogate means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1500s Background / Comments I am familiar with the adjective ‘derogatory’, but not the verb form (our word). It comes fromContinue reading “bogart”

Pronounced: DER-uh-gate, verb Notes: You may have an idea of the meaning of this word Yesterday’s word The word funicular is “a cable railway ascending a mountain” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1900s Background / Comments Our word started as an adjective meaning “relating to a cord under tension” andContinue reading “derogate”

Pronounced: fyoo-NIH-kyuh-luhr, noun Notes: I have heard this word, but I couldn’t define it on seeing it Yesterday’s word The word chicane means, as a verb, “to trick or deceive”. As a noun, it means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments Our word comes from the French wordContinue reading “funicular”

Pronounced: shi-CANE, verb/noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve ever run across this word Yesterday’s word The word stolid means “having or expressing little or no sensibility : unemotional” First usage Our word came into English in around 1600 (sort of; see Background below) Background / Comments When our word first came into English, it describedContinue reading “chicane”

Pronounced: STAH-luhd, adj Notes: I look at this word and see “solid”, which is a kind of a hint Yesterday’s word The word brio means “vigor or vivacity” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments Our word is a nice, useful word — I hope I can bring itContinue reading “stolid”

Pronounced: BREE-oh, noun Notes: I don’t know this word, but it looks like an incomplete word Yesterday’s word The word rescript has multiple meanings, some of which you’d probably guess: First usage Our word came into English in the early-to-mid 1500s Background / Comments In the order of the definitions above, one can see howContinue reading “brio”

Pronounced: REE-script, noun Notes: You might be able to guess this meaning Yesterday’s word The word popinjay is “someone who indulges in vain and empty chatter” First usage Our word is old; it came into English in the early 1300s Background / Comments Once again, I’m going by a memory that may or may notContinue reading “rescript”

Pronounced: POP-in-jay, noun Notes: I think I’ve heard the word, but I couldn’t define it well Yesterday’s word The word Brobdingnagian means “marked by tremendous size” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments I think I read this word in CS Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia — possibly inContinue reading “popinjay”

Pronounced: brab-ding-NAH-gee-uhn, adj Notes: People who know this word are better read than I am Yesterday’s word The word starets is “a religious teacher or adviser” First usage Our word came into English in the 1920s Background / Comments People familiar with the Eastern Orthodox Church (also known as Greek Orthodox) may know this word.Continue reading “Brobdingnagian”

Pronounced: STAR-its (alt: STAR-yits), noun Notes: The plural is interesting (“startsy”). Another word I’ve not run across (I don’t think I read the right kind of books to run across the word) Yesterday’s word The word denegation means “denial” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1400s Background / Comments If youContinue reading “starets”