Category Archives: word

Pronounced: AJ-uh-luh-tor-ee, adj Notes: You can probably figure this one out, but an interesting feature kept this on the list. Admin: I schedule these posts to go out each morning, but erred in the settings for today’s, so it is late Yesterday’s word The word edentulous means “having no teeth; toothless” First usage The wordContinue reading “adulatory”

Pronounced: ee-DEN-chuh-luhs, adj Notes: A more fancy word for a word we know better Yesterday’s word The word mondain, as a noun, is “a sophisticated man; a man belonging to fashionable society”. As an adjective, it means “wordly, fashionable” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments The word cameContinue reading “edentulous”

Pronounced: mon-DAIN, noun/adj Notes: I knew ‘mundane’ (similar sounding word) from my reading, but not this one Yesterday’s word The word ferrule is “a usually metal ring or cap that is placed around the end of a slender shaft or handle to strengthen it for for joining or binding one part to another” First usageContinue reading “mondain”

Pronounced: FAIR-uhl, noun Notes: I was trying so hard to parse this word to figure out the meaning that I forgot that I’ve run across it in reading. Yesterday’s word The word sillage is “the trail of scent that lingers behind from a perfume; also, the degree to which it lingers First usage This wordContinue reading “ferrule”

Pronounced: see-AHZ, noun Notes: Growing up on a farm, I know “silage”, but not this word with an extra ‘l’. Yesterday’s word The word adumbrate means to foreshadow vaguely; intimate to suggest, disclose, or outline partially to overshadow or obscure First usage This word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments TheContinue reading “sillage”

Pronounced: AH-duhm-brate, verb Notes: I recognized part of the word, but it didn’t help me with the definition Yesterday’s word The word androcracy means “a system ruled by men” First usage This word came about in the early 1900s Background / Notes I recognized andro from the Greek andros (male), and -cracy from the variousContinue reading “adumbrate”

Pronounced: an-DROK-ruh-see, noun Notes: This was a borderline case; I worked out this meaning — you probably can, too Yesterday’s word The word williwaw means a sudden violent gust of cold land air common along mountainous coasts of high latitudes a violent commotion First usage The word showed up in the mid-1800s Background / CommentsContinue reading “androcracy”

Pronounced: WIH-lih-waw, noun Notes: I’ve run across the word in reading an had an idea of the meaning from the context, but I found the origin interesting Yesterday’s word The word ailurophobia is “a fear of cats” First usage This word showed up in the first decade of the 1900s Background / Comments As withContinue reading “williwaw”

Pronounced: aye-loor-uh-FOE-bee-uh (alternative: ay-loor-uh-FOE-bee-uh), noun Notes: A fear of something, but I could not figure out the word Yesterday’s word The word chautauqua is “any of various traveling lectures and performances that flourished in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. First usage Came into usage in the mid-1800s Background /Continue reading “ailurophobia”

Pronounced: shuh-TAW-kwe, noun Notes: I think only US history buffs may get this one Yesterday’s word The word sitomania means “an abnormal craving for food” First usage The word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments This is another word from Greek: sito- (grain, food) plus -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze). BecauseContinue reading “chautauqua”