Category Archives: word

Pronounced: tour duh FORS, noun Notes: The plural is tours de force. You may know this phrase Yesterday’s word The word cavil means, as a verb, “to raise irritating, inconsequential, or bogus objections”. As a noun, it refers to those type of objections. First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background /Continue reading “tour de force”

Pronounced: KAV-uhl, verb/noun Notes: I’ve definitely run across this word, but had the wrong idea (probably from the context) Yesterday’s word The word gesamtkunstwerk is “a word of art that makes use of many different art forms” First usage This word came into English in the 1930s Background / Comments As you no doubt know,Continue reading “cavil”

Pronounced: guh-ZAHMT-koonst-vuhrk Notes: Pretty obvious origin, but I only recognized part of this word Yesterday’s word The word spang means “directly or exactly on target” First usage This word came into usage in the mid-1800s Background / Comments I remember reading this word, but I’m not sure where. I think it was an English novel;Continue reading “gesamtkunstwerk”

Pronounced: spang, adv Notes: I don’t often hear this word; most people use an alternative Yesterday’s word The word krummholz means “stunted trees near the timber line on a mountain” First usage This word came into English in the 1900s (by which I mean 1900-1909) Background / Comments Another word of German origin; it isContinue reading “spang”

Pronounced: KROOM-holts, noun Notes: I’ve seen these, but didn’t know the name for it Yesterday’s word The word eolian means “of, caused, affected, or related to, wind” First usage The word showed up in English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word has an alternate spelling (aeolian), which is a clue to itsContinue reading “krummholz”

Pronounced: ee-OH-lee-uhn, adj Notes: Another new word for me Yesterday’s word The word gesellschaft means “social relations based on impersonal ties, such as obligations to an institution or society” First usage This word came about in the 1960s Background / Comments Our word comes from the German word Gesellschaft (society; company; party), which is madeContinue reading “eolian”

Pronounced: guh-ZEL-shaft, noun Notes: There is a tie-in with Sherlock Holmes (who knows it?); I missed the tie-in at first, but even had I remembered it immediately, it wouldn’t have helped me with the meaning Yesterday’s word The word melliferous means “of, or relating to, that which gives or produces honey” First usage The wordContinue reading “gesellschaft”

Pronounced: muh-LIFF-er-uhs, adj Notes: I thought this word was a synonym for melodious, but it’s not Yesterday’s word The word anschauung means intuition outlook, attitude, opinion, etc First usage The word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments As you probably guessed, our word is Germanic in origin. It comes from theContinue reading “melliferous”

Pronounced: AHN-shou-uhng, noun Notes: I think this is another word that I confused with another one Yesterday’s word The word allochthonous means “not formed in the region of locate where something ultimately is located” – it is normally used of rocks or minerals. First usage This word came into English in the 1910s Background /Continue reading “anschauung”

Pronounced: uh-LOCK-thuh-nuhs, adj Notes: Quite a mouthful; I didn’t know that there was a word that meant what this word means Yesterday’s word The word gemutlich means “cozy; comfortable; pleasant; friendly” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments If you thought that this word looked German, you were right:Continue reading “allochthonous”