Category Archives: word

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”

Pronounced: EE-koh-toe-pee-uh (alternatively, EK-oh-toe-pee-uh), noun Notes: I didn’t know the word, but it made sense later Yesterday’s word The word espy means “to see at a distance; catch sight of” First usage This word goes back to the late 1100s or early 1200s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I might have had theContinue reading “ecotopia”

Notes: If I had paid attention to the pronunciation, I would have known this word Pronounced: ih-SPY, verb Yesterday’s word The word ensiform means “shaped like a sword or a sword blade” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, this is a handy word toContinue reading “espy”

Pronounced: EN-suh-form, adj Notes: I wish I had known this word; it could be useful Yesterday’s word The word passel means “a group of individuals or objects of an unspecified number” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments The word is an alteration of the word “parcel”.