Category Archives: word

Pronounced: aye-ren-ick (alt: aye-ree-nick), adj Notes: The “aye” above is supposed to be the long “i” sound (as in “time”). At one time, I worked for someone named “Irene”, and I just saw her name and could not guess the meaning Yesterday’s word The word zetetic means, as an adjective, “proceeding by inquiry, search, orContinue reading “irenic”

Pronounced: zuh-TET-ick, adj/noun Notes: An interesting word; I don’t think I’ve run across it Yesterday’s word The word stelliferous means “abounding or full with stars” First usage This word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments You did better than I if you saw “stellar” in the word. Our word comes fromContinue reading “zetetic”

Pronounced: steh-LIHF-er-us, adj Notes: Another word I couldn’t guess the meaning of, but after reading it, it makes sense Yesterday’s phrase The phrase mise en abyme means “self-reflection in a literary work, a work of art, etc” First usage A fairly recent word; it came into English in the 1960s Background / Comments As youContinue reading “stelliferous”

Pronounced: mee-zan-nah-BEEM, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word Yesterday’s word The word clinquant means, as an adjective, “glittering; decked out with tinsel of garish finery or jewelry”. As a noun, it means “imitation gold leaf; gold tinsel” First usage This word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments The word comesContinue reading “mise en abyme”

Pronounced: KLING-kuhnt, adj/noun Notes: Another word I have no recollection of reading Yesterday’s word The word untrack means “to remove from a track; change course” First usage This word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments Our word is a combination of English and French words. From English, the word un- (aContinue reading “clinquant”

Pronounced: uhn-TRACK, verb Notes: I don’t think I’ve every run across this word (aside from vocabulary lists) Yesterday’s word The word reify means “to convert something abstract into a concrete thing; to make a thought or wish into an action or object” – I think of it as “to make real” First usage This wordContinue reading “untrack”

Pronounced: REE-uh-fie (alt: RAY-uh-fie), verb Notes: I didn’t know this word Yesterday’s word The word mediocracy means “rule by the mediocre” (not the media, as I guessed) First usage This word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Given the definition, you can tell it is mediocre combined with -ocracy (rule). So, byContinue reading “reify”

Pronounced: mee-dee-AHK-ruh-see, noun Notes: I saw “media” in this word… and I was wrong (you probably know what it means) Yesterday’s word The word lacustrine means “of, or related to, a lake” First usage This word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments What a great word! I hope to have chancesContinue reading “mediocracy”

Pronounced: luh-KUHS-trin, adj Notes: A useful word Yesterday’s word The word chillax means “to calm down and relax” First usage A pretty recent word; it was created in the 1990s Background / Comments Our word is a combination of chill and relax. I think I’ve heard this word somewhere; I thought it was just madeContinue reading “lacustrine”

Pronounced: chi-LAX, verb Notes: I’ve not heard this word, but you may have Yesterday’s word The word ludic means “playful in a pointless, spontanious or aimless way” First usage This is another relatively recent word, coming into English in the 1940s Background / Comments Finally, we have a word that I didn’t feel guilty aboutContinue reading “chillax”