Category Archives: word

Pronounced: NOO-gate (alt: NYOO-gate), verb/noun Notes: This word is another one I didn’t know, but it made sense after I saw the origin Yesterday’s word The word rodomontade, as a noun, means “boasting, bragging or talking big”. As an adjective, it means “blustering and pretentious talk” First usage This word goes back to the earlyContinue reading “newgate”

Pronounced: rod-uh-mon-tayed (alt: -tahd), noun/adj Notes: I’ve run across this word in Rex Stout’s books with Nero Wolfe. Rex Stout had a very high IQ and often sprinkled the books with long words (such as this one) Yesterday’s word The word acerate means “needlelike” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s BackgroundContinue reading “rodomontade”

Pronounced: AS-uh-rate, adj Notes: I don’t think I’ve every run across this useful word Yesterday’s word The word psittacism means “chattering; parroting or mimicking; mechanical, repetitive, and meaningless speech” First usage This word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments When I read the definition, a memory kicked in – a memoryContinue reading “acerate”

Pronounced: SIT-uh-sihz-uhm, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but after seeing the definition, I was pretty sure I knew the origin Yesterday’s word The word vedette has a couple of varied meanings a leading state of film star a mounted sentry or a scouting boat posted in an advanced position to observe the movementsContinue reading “psittacism”

Pronounced: vuh-DEHT (alternatively, vih-DEHT), noun Notes: Another interesting history Yesterday’s word The word saturnine means “sluggish or gloomy; slow or listless as though suffering from lead poisoning” First usage Our word came into English in the early to mid-1400s Background / Comments Our word came into English from the Latin word sāturnīnus (Saturn-like). This isContinue reading “vedette”

Pronounced: SAT-uhr-nine, adj Notes: I have run across this word in literature, but I didn’t know the correct meaning Yesterday’s word The word parboil means “to cook partially by boiling” First usage This word came into English in the late 1300s Background / Comments I find the background of our word very interesting. It originatedContinue reading “saturnine”

Pronounced: PAR-boil, verb Notes: Cooks will know this word; it has an interesting history Yesterday’s word The word frangible means “easily broken; fragile and delicate” First usage This word came into English in the late 1300s or early 1400s Background / Comments Our word came into late Middle English from Old French, and into OldContinue reading “parboil”

Pronounced: FRAN-juh-bull, adj Notes: I didn’t know this word when I first ran across it Yesterday’s word The word Ruritanian means “relating to an imaginary place characterized by romance, adventure, and intrigue”. First usage This word began to be used in the late 1800s Background / Comments The book The Prisoner of Zenda by AnthonyContinue reading “frangible”

Pronounced: roor-ih-TAY-nee-uhn, adj Notes: I recognized the source of the word, but didn’t get the meaning right Yesterday’s word The word polemic, as a noun, means “someone or something that is controversial”. As an adjective, it means “something that is controversial, argumentative, or contrarian”. The form polemical can be used as the adjectival form. FirstContinue reading “Ruritanian”

Pronounced: puh-LEM-ick (alternatively, poh-), noun, adj Notes: I wasn’t quite right on this word Yesterday’s word The word ecotopia means “an ecologically ideal place” First usage This word came into English in the 1970s Background / Comments This word came from the title of a novel by Ernest Callenbach – Ecotopia. In the book, thisContinue reading “polemic”