Category Archives: word

Pronounced: UH-LIZH-uhn, noun Notes: I did not know that this was a word! Yesterday’s word The word hyperhidrosis means “a condition of excessive sweating” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments You probably recognized (as I did) the prefix hyper- (above; beyond). I didn’t know the rest of it,Continue reading “allision”

Pronounced: high-per-hih-DROH-sis, noun Notes: I didn’t know that a word for this existed Yesterday’s word The word unitasking means “doing one thing at a time” First usage This word showed up in the 1980s Background / Comments You may have guessed this word due to the similarity to “multitasking”; our word was patterned after “multitaking”,Continue reading “hyperhidrosis”

Pronounced: YOO-nih-tas-king, noun Notes: You can probably guess the definition; I’m adding it because I didn’t know this word existed. Yesterday’s word The word impolitic means “not politic [sigh-RL], judicious, expedient, or well-planned” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s. Background / Comments The definition makes me sigh; I recognized theContinue reading “unitasking”

Pronounced: ihm-PAHL-ih-tic, adj Notes: I’ve run across this word several times, but didn’t have a good grasp of the meaning Yesterday’s word The word niveous means “snowy or resembling snow” First usage The word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word niveus, from nix (snow).Continue reading “impolitic”

Pronounced: NIV-ee-uhs, adj Notes: You may know this one Yesterday’s word The word od means “a theoretical force believed to act throughout nature in magnetism, mesmerism, and chemical interaction” First usage This word came into usage in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word was coined by a German scientist: Karl van Reichenbach.

Pronounced: odd, noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word (how, uh, “odd” – heh) Yesterday’s word The word empyrean means relating to the highest heaven believed to contain pure light or fire relating to the sky; celestial sublime, elevated First usage This word came into English in the early 1500s Background /Continue reading “od”

Pronounced: em-PIR-ee-uhn (alt: em-pie-REE-uhn), adj Notes: I think I’ve run across this word, but was uncertain about the meaning Yesterday’s word The word quincunx is “five objects arranged like the five dots on a dice” – most often used of shrubs or sculptures in a yard. First usage This word came into English in theContinue reading “empyrean”

Pronounced: KWING-kuhngks (alt: KWIN-kuhngks), noun Notes: A neat word for something… it would be neat to find uses for this word Yesterday’s word The word lateritious means “resembling, made of, or the color of bricks” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I had noContinue reading “quincunx”

Pronounced: lat-uh-RISH-uhs, adj Notes: I didn’t know that there was a word for this Yesterday’s word The word gynarchy means “government by women” First usage The word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments Our word is a combination of the Greek word gynḗ (woman; female) and the suffix -archy (rule; government).Continue reading “lateritious”

Pronounced: JIN-er-kee (alt 1: GIE-ner-kee; alt 2: JIE-ner-kee), noun Notes: You may be able to get this one Yesterday’s word The word debunk means (as you probably know) “to expose the falseness of a claim, myth, belief, etc” First usage This word came into usage in the 1920s Background / Comments The background is whyContinue reading “gynarchy”