Category Archives: word

Pronounced: huh-MOL-uh-gate (alt: hah-MOL-uh-gate), verb Notes: A kind of specialized word Yesterday’s phrase The phrase ne plus ultra means First usage Our phrase came into English in the late 1600s Background / Comments Our phrase came from the New Latin phrase ne plus ultra ([go] no more beyond). It is said the related phrase nonContinue reading “homologate”

Pronounced: nat-plus-UHL-truh, noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this phrase Yesterday’s word The word heterography means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1700s Background / Comments Our word came from two Greek words: hetero- (different) and -graphy (writing). As I noted, I could parse these two words, but itContinue reading “ne plus ultra”

Pronounced: het-uh-ROG-ruh-fee, noun Notes: I could parse the word, but it didn’t help me with the definitions Yesterday’s word The word fanfaronade is “empty boasting; bluster” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments The word seems slightly familiar to me, but I cannot place where I may have heardContinue reading “heterography”

Pronounced: fan-fer-uh-NADE, noun Notes: I wasn’t quite sure of the meaning of this word Yesterday’s word The word bokeh is “the blurred effect in a photograph (typically as a soft out-of-focus background) that results in a pleasing effect and helps to draw attention to the subject of the photograph. First usage Our word came intoContinue reading “fanfaronade”

Pronounced: BOH-kay (alt: BOH-kuh), noun Notes: I didn’t know that there was a word for this thing that most of us have seen Yesterday’s word The word panache means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I knew the second definition; however, the first definition is the original meaning.Continue reading “bokeh”

Pronounced: puh-NASH, noun Notes: I knew one of the meanings, but not the other one Yesterday’s word The word manducate means “to chew or eat” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments I know the word “masticate” means “to chew”, but I had never heard of or word.Continue reading “panache”

Pronounced: MAN-joo-kate, verb Notes: It looked to me like it was related to “matriculate” or “educate”, but it is not Yesterday’s word The word amphibology is “a sentence or phrase that can be interpreted in more than one way” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1300s Background / Comments Example 1 (thisContinue reading “manducate”

Pronounced: am-fuh-BAH-luh-jee (alt: amp-fuh-BAH-luh-jee), noun Notes: I didn’t know the word, but I’ve heard and used amphibologies Yesterday’s word The word polyphiloprogenitive means “extremely prolific” First usage Our word came into English in the 1910s (in a poem by T. S. Eliot) Background / Comments Our word came from a combination of three Latin words:Continue reading “amphibology”

Pronounced: pol-ee-fi-luh-pro-JEN-uh-tiv, adj Notes: My mind boggled at the word length, but you may be able to work out the meaning Yesterday’s word The word sibyl means First usage Our word came into English in the middle to late 1200s Background / Comments Many ancient cultures have various women through whom the gods spoke. IfContinue reading “polyphiloprogenitive”

Pronounced: SIH-bull, noun Notes: Sounds like a woman’s name, but I didn’t know the meanings Yesterday’s word The word scrutate means “to investigate” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments As much as I enjoy mystery/detective stories, I’m surprised that I have not run across our word. ItContinue reading “sibyl”