Category Archives: word

Pronounced: veh-LEE-uh-tee, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but it is a word I could use Yesterday’s word The word heterophemy is “the use of a word different than the one intended” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments Some people have this habit of accidentally usingContinue reading “velleity”

Pronounced: HET-uh-ruh-fee-mee, noun Notes: I didn’t know that this word existed Yesterday’s word The word spindrift is First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments Of the three kinds of spindrift in the definition, I am most familiar with snow; growing up in the Midwest, I remember being outsideContinue reading “heterophemy”

Pronounced: SPIN-drift, noun Notes: I don’t have any memory of running across this word Yesterday’s word The word flatfooted means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments I knew three of the definitions – how did you do? I knew the phrase “to be caught flatfooted” (unprepared, #3Continue reading “spindrift”

Pronounced: flat-FOOT-id, adj Notes: I know some of the definitions; how many do you know? Yesterday’s word The word wimple means First usage Our word came into English early; sometime before 1100. Background / Comments As probably most of us know, the noun wimple is a covering worn over the head and around the neckContinue reading “flatfooted”

Pronounced: WIHM-pull, verb Notes: I knew the meaning of our word as a noun, but not so much as a verb Yesterday’s word The word autotelic means “having a purpose, motivation, or meaning in itself — not driven by external factors. First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments OurContinue reading “wimple”

Pronounced: ah-toe-TEH-lick, adj Notes: A good word to know (but I didn’t know it) Yesterday’s word The word wahine is First usage The references I checked are not clear; one says that our word came into English in the late 1700s; another one has the mid-1800s (but also see the Comments below). Background / CommentsContinue reading “autotelic”

Pronounced: wah-HEE-nee, noun Notes: Another word that I don’t know Yesterday’s word The word acedious means “characterized by apathy, boredom, or sloth” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments What a great word to drop into conversation! It came from the Latin word acedia, which came from theContinue reading “wahine”

Pronounced: uh-SEE-dee-uhs, adj Notes: A good word to know Yesterday’s word The word putsch is “a secretly plotted and suddenly executed attempt to overthrow a government” First usage Our word came into English in the 1910s Background / Comments If you enjoy history, or have studied about World War II, you are probably familiar withContinue reading “acedious”

Pronounced: puhch, noun Notes: You may know the meaning, or may get a clue from history Yesterday’s word The word polygyny is “the practice of having two or more wives” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1700s Background / Comments If, like me, you thought “I thought that was the definitionContinue reading “putsch”

Pronounced: puh-LIH-juh-nee, noun Notes: You may know this word Yesterday’s word The word deliquesce means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments Our word came from de- (from; down; away) and the Latin word liquēre (to be fluid). The first definition may be used in a figurative manner (suchContinue reading “polygyny”