Category Archives: word

Pronounced: sib-uh-RIT-ick, adj Notes: I have run across this word in reading (but I don’t remember where), but I didn’t know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word imprest means “a loan or advance of money” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments It is thought that our word, aContinue reading “sybaritic”

Pronounced: IHM-prest, noun Notes: A useful word, but I don’t think I’ve ever run across this word before Yesterday’s word The word cramoisy means, as an adjective, “of a crimson color”. As a noun, it is “crimson cloth” First usage This is an old word, going back to the early 1400s Background / Comments OurContinue reading “imprest”

Pronounced: KRAM-oy-zee (alt: kruh-MOY-zee), adj/noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word Yesterday’s word The word chuffed is British slang for “pleased or delighted”; oddly enough, it can also mean the opposite: “annoyed or displeased” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments I’ve only heard this usedContinue reading “cramoisy”

Pronounced: [like it sounds] Notes: You may know this word; I’ve run across it quite a bit in recent months Yesterday’s word The word orphic means melodious; entrancing mystical; occult First usage This word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments I have taken a course in Western music, and one part ofContinue reading “chuffed”

Pronounced: OR-fick, adj Notes: I am happy that I knew the origin, but even with that, I didn’t know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word cornice means a mass of snow or ice built up along a mountain ridge the uppermost horizontal edge of a wall and its decorative treatment First usage Our word cameContinue reading “orphic”

Pronounced: CORE-niss, noun Notes: I knew one of the definitions, but not the other – do you know either definition? Yesterday’s word The word oxymoron means “a figure of speech in which the two contradictory term appear together for emphasis” – here’s a good one: accurate estimate First usage This word came into English inContinue reading “cornice”

Pronounced: ok-see-MORE-on, noun Notes: I think everyone knows this word, but I find the plural form interesting, as well as the background Yesterday’s word The word quoin is “one of the keystones forming a wall; a cornerstone” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I didn’t recognize this wordContinue reading “oxymoron”

Pronounced: coin (alt: kwoin), noun Notes: This is a pretty short word to contain neither an ‘a’ or an ‘e’. Yesterday’s word The word bourgeois, as a noun means a member of the middle class one who exhibits behavior in conformity to the conventions of the middle class a member of the capitalist class (inContinue reading “quoin”

Pronounced: boor-ZHWAH (alt: BOOT-zhwah), noun/adj Notes: You may think you know this word, but it has some definitions that I had to examine again. Interesting note: the plural has the same spelling and pronunciation Yesterday’s word The word aleatory means “of, or relating to, accidental change, good luck, or happenstance occurrences; unpredictable” First usage ThisContinue reading “bourgeois”

Pronounced: AY-lee-uh-tawr-ee (alt 1: AY-lee-uh-tore-ee; alt 2: AL-ee-uh-tawr-ee; alt 3: AL-ee-uh-tore-ee) Notes: Lots of ways to pronounce this word; I didn’t know the meaning Yesterday’s phrase The phrase tour de force means “a feat of strength, skill, or ingenuity: an exceptional performance or achievement” First usage The phrase came into English in the early 1800sContinue reading “aleatory”