Category Archives: word

Pronounced: ih-KISS-tiks, noun Notes: Not much to say; not a word I knew Yesterday’s word The word kittel is “a white cotton or linen robe worm by Orthodox Jews on holidays such as Rosh Hashanah and also used as a burial shroud” First usage I couldn’t find information about when this word first showed upContinue reading “ekistics”

Pronounced: KIH-tuhl, noun Notes: I think I should have known this word; it may be familiar to some readers Yesterday’s word The word booboisie means “ignorant or uncultured people regarded as a class” First usage This word goes back to the 1920s Background / Comments The word was coined by H. L. Mencken. It isContinue reading “kittel”

Pronounced: boo-bwa-ZEE, noun Notes: Hopefully, we don’t have to use this word too often Yesterday’s word The word infrangible means not capable of being broken or separated into parts not to be infringed or violated First usage This word appeared in English in the 1500s Background / Comments The word came to English from MiddleContinue reading “booboisie”

Pronounced: in-FRAN-juh-buhl, adj Notes: I recognize “in” as a negation, so “not frangible” — whatever that is Yesterday’s word The word adhocracy means a flexible, adaptable organization that lacks a formal structure an organization characterized by lack of planning, responding to problems as they emerge rather than anticipating and avoiding them First usage A relativelyContinue reading “infrangible”

Pronounced: ah-HAWK-ruh-see, noun Notes: You might get close to the meaning… my reference shows two definitions, one more positive than the other Yesterday’s word The word argot means “an often more or less secret vocabulary and idiom peculiar to a particular group” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / CommentsContinue reading “adhocracy”

Pronounced: AR-guht, noun Notes: I have a vague memory that I’ve run across this word somewhere, but it didn’t help me with the definition Yesterday’s word The word arctophile is “someone who is very fond of teddy bears or collects them” First usage This word showed up in the 1970s Background / Comments The wordContinue reading “argot”

Pronounced: ARK-tuh-file, noun Notes: I thought that maybe this was someone who liked the cold (but no) Yesterday’s word The word bouquiniste is “a dealer in secondhand books” First usage The word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments This word is French, and was created in French in the mid-1700s to describeContinue reading “arctophile”

Pronounced: boo-kee-NEEST, noun Notes: Fancy word for something Yesterday’s word The word pinetum means “an arboretum of coniferous trees (such as pines)” First usage The word came into usage in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Where I grew up, we didn’t have an arboretum, but there was one area in which pine trees grew. MyContinue reading “bouquiniste”

Pronounced: pie-NEE-tuhm, noun Notes: Your guess may be right Yesterday’s word The word autochthonous means indigenous, native formed or originating in the place where found First usage This word showed up in the late 1700s Background / Comments Our word in usually used in scientific and academic writings these days. In ancient Athens, their wordContinue reading “pinetum”

Pronounced: aw-TAHK-thuh-nuhs, adj Notes: I’ve run into this word someplace, but I couldn’t define it Yesterday’s word The word Hobbesian means of or relating to Thomas Hobbes or his ideas grim, selfish, unrestrained, etc First usage This word came into usage in the late 1700s Background / Comments This word was named after English philosopherContinue reading “autochthonous”