Category Archives: word

Pronounced: REK-uhn-dite (alt: rih-KON-dite), adj Notes: The word is familiar to me (meaning I’ve read it more than once), but I couldn’t define it Yesterday’s word The word ovine means “of, relating to, or resembling, sheep” First usage This word came into English in the late 1600s Background / Comments This word is ‘bovine’ withContinue reading “recondite”

Pronounced: OH-vine, adj Notes: Looks like “bovine” misspelled, but it isn’t Yesterday’s word The word logophile is “a lover of words” First usage Oddly enough, this word only seems to go back to the 1920s. Background / Comments I do love words (and learning), and that’s why I do this blog, even if it neverContinue reading “ovine”

Pronounced: LAW-guh-file (alt: LOG-uh-file), noun Notes: I originally looked at this word hastily and thought that it may be a lover of sawmills or logging… I should have paid closer attention; perhaps you know it? Yesterday’s word The word mythomania means “an abnormal tendency to exaggerate or lie” First usage This word came into EnglishContinue reading “logophile”

Pronounced: mith-uh-MAY-nee-uh, noun Notes: Parsing this word, I thought it was an obsession with myths, but that’s not it. Yesterday’s word The word saporific means “that which produces flavor or taste” First usage The word is relatively old – coming into English in the late 1600s Background / Comments Our word is only one letterContinue reading “mythomania”

Pronounced: sap-uh-RIFF-ick, adj Notes: It is very close in spelling to soporific, which is a different word Yesterday’s word The word kayfabe means “portrayal of staged events as real, especially in professional wrestling” First usage This word is a relatively recent word and came into English in the 1980s Background / Comments The origin ofContinue reading “saporific”

Pronounced: KAY-fayb, noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve every run across this word Yesterday’s word The word hortatory means “urging some course of positive action; encouraging” First usage The word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I confess that I’ve frequently mispronounced this word; I thought it was HOAR-uh-tore-ee, and IContinue reading “kayfabe”

Pronounced: HAWR-tuh-tawr-ee (alt: HAWR-tuh-tore-ee), adj Notes: I’ve been mis-pronouncing this word, and possible also misspelling it… I think I’ve been influenced by hearing others mis-pronounce it (see tomorrow’s comments) Yesterday’s word The word whataboutery is “the practice of responding to an accusation by making a counter-accusation, real or imaginary, relevant or irrelevant” First usage ThisContinue reading “hortatory”

Pronounced: what-uh-BOUT-uhr-ee, noun Notes: This word makes me laugh… a bit. Most of us have experienced whataboutery Yesterday’s word The word Panglossian means “having extreme optimism, despite ongoing hardship, difficulty, or adversity” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments I thought for sure I would know this, since IContinue reading “whataboutery”

Pronounced: pan-GLOSS-ee-uhn (alt: pan-GLAW-see-uhn) Notes: Not at all what I thought (more on this tomorrow) Yesterday’s phrase The phrase bush league, as a noun, is “a minor league of a professional sport”; most frequently used of baseball. As an adjective, it means “second-rate; unpolished; or amateurish” First usage Our phrase dates back to the earlyContinue reading “Panglossian”

Pronounced: bush leeg, noun/adj Notes: I almost didn’t include this, but decided to do so Yesterday’s word The word empyreal means “of, or relating to, the sky or heavens; celestial” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1400s Background / Comments I tend to use the first first of the four pronunciations.Continue reading “bush league”