Category Archives: word

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”

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”