Category Archives: word

Pronounced: PROD-nose, verb/noun Notes: Another word I don’t think I’ve every run across Yesterday’s word The word xanthic means “yellowish in color” First usage This word goes back to the early 1800s Background / Comments Our word comes from the French word xanthique. The root word is xantho- (yellow).

Pronounced: ZAN-thick, adj Notes: Another word that is a stranger to me Yesterday’s word The word satrap is a governor of a province in ancient Persia a subordinate ruler or official First usage The word came into English in the late 1300s Background / Comments This is quite a traveled word: It came from theContinue reading “xanthic”

Pronounced: SAY-trap (alt: SAT-rap), noun Notes: It looks like a trap for a system administrator (an SA, as we call them), but I’m pretty sure that’s not right Yesterday’s word The word mishpocha is “the entire family network; the full extended family” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / CommentsContinue reading “satrap”

Pronounced: mish-PAW-khuh (alt: mish-POOKH-uh), noun Notes: This word looks vaguely Indian (from India, not America) Yesterday’s word The word pasha is “a person of high rank or importance” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments I should have recognized part of this word. It comes from the Turkish wordContinue reading “mishpocha”

Pronounced: PA-shuh (alt 1: PASH-uh; alt 2: puh-SHAH), noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word Yesterday’s word The word falcate means “narrow and curved in shape like a scythe or sickle” First usage This word came into English in the early or mid-1800s Background / Comments A synonym is falciform. Our wordContinue reading “pasha”

Pronounced: FAL-kate, adj Notes: I got this word from a vocabulary calendar, and this entry happened to have an error; they printed the pronunciation of some other word instead of our word Yesterday’s word The word repugn means to oppose, resist, or right First usage This word came into English in the late 1300s BackgroundContinue reading “falcate”

Pronounced: rih-PYOON, verb Notes: I parsed the word incorrectly and thus had the meaning wrong Yesterday’s word The word layette is “garments, clothing, or bedding for a newborn baby” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments I think I have run across this word, and get about 50-75% ofContinue reading “repugn”

Pronounced: lay-ET, noun Notes: I’ve run across this word in reading, but couldn’t properly define it, but I’m sure some readers will know it Yesterday’s phrase The phrase pro se means “on one’s own behalf”; it tends to be used in law when referring to someone who represents himself in court First usage The phraseContinue reading “layette”

Pronounced: pro say Notes: I don’t know this phrase, but if I were better at languages, I could probably work it out Yesterday’s word The word boniface is “an innkeeper or landlord, usually of a kind nature” First usage The word goes back to the mid-1700s Background / Comments Despite the actual year it cameContinue reading “pro se”

Pronounced: BON-uh-face (alt: BON-uh-fiss), noun Notes: Maybe you know this word; I did not (depends on what you read, I think) Yesterday’s word The word depose means to remove from a high office or throne suddenly and forcefully to examine under oath to give testimony First usage The word goes back to around 1300 BackgroundContinue reading “boniface”