Category Archives: word

Pronounced: IN-duh-gate, verb Notes: I’m a little surprised that I’ve not heard this word Yesterday’s word The word hypercathexis means “excessive concentration of mental energy on something” First usage A relatively recent word, coming into English in the 1920s Background / Comments I have experienced hypercathexis – sometimes at work, but also dealing with proxyContinue reading “indagate”

Pronounced: high-per-kuh-THEK-sis, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but I love it; I’ve love to find ways to slide this word into conversations Yesterday’s phrase The phrase de minimis means “lacking significance or importance; so minor as to merit disregard”. First usage This is a late phrase, coming into usage around 1950 Background /Continue reading “hypercathexis”

Pronounced: dee MIH-nuh-muss, adj Notes: I keep wanting to start the word “day” instead of “dee”. Also, this word makes me think of the phrase “de mortuis” (more about it tomorrow) Yesterday’s word The word bavardage means “chattering; gossip” First usage The word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments As I notedContinue reading “de minimis”

Pronounced: bah-vuhr-DAHZ, noun Notes: There is a similar word – “badinage” – that I thought might be related (but no) Yesterday’s word The word caducity means senility the quality of being transitory or perishable First usage Our word came into English in the mid- to late-1700s Background / Comments Our word came to us fromContinue reading “bavardage”

Pronounced: kuh-DOO-suh-tee, noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word Yesterday’s word The word aciniform means “shaped like a cluster of grapes” First usage This word came into English in the late 1700s Background / Comments Pretty straightforward… this word came from the Latin word acinus (grape, berry, seed).

Pronounced: uh-SIN-uh-form Notes: I would never have guessed this meaning (but you might if you know Latin) Yesterday’s word The word putative means commonly accepted or supposed assumed to exist of to have existed First usage This word has been around since the 1400s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word putatus,Continue reading “aciniform”

Pronounced: PYOO-tuh-tihv, adj Notes: I confused this word with punitive Yesterday’s word The word crackjaw means, as an adjective, “hard to pronounce”. As a noun, it refers to “a word or phrase that is hard to pronounce” First Usage This word has been around since the mid-1800s Background / Notes There are many ways toContinue reading “putative”

Pronounced: KRACK-jaw, adj/noun Notes: You might guess this word, and it has many synonyms Yesterday’s word The word egregious means “extraordinary in a bad way; conspicuously bad; flagrant” First Usage This word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I ran across this word in a comedy show (Yes,Continue reading “crackjaw”

Pronounced: ih-GREE-jus, adj Notes: I first ran across this in a comedy (see the Background / Comments in the next post) Yesterday’s word The word voluntourism is “tourism in which travelers do volunteer work” First usage This word is pretty recent; in came into English in the 1990s Background / Comments As you probably haveContinue reading “egregious”

Pronounced: vah-luhn-TOOR-ih-zuhm, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but you might be able to guess the definition Yesterday’s word The word epigone means “a follower; a disciple – also an inferior imitator” First usage This word came into English in the 1800s Background / Comments Well, I was distantly correct as to Greek origins.Continue reading “voluntourism”