Category Archives: word

Pronounced: NOO-muhn, noun Notes: An odd word, I think Yesterday’s word The word handsel means, as a noun As a verb, it means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments Because our word makes me think of the fairy tale, I keep thinking that it would be fun toContinue reading “numen”

Pronounced: HAN-sel, noun/verb Notes: Also “hansel”; sounded like a character in a fairy tale to me Yesterday’s word The word provender is First usage Our word came into English around 1300 Background / Comments I think I’ve run across both meanings of the word; as I noted yesterday, I included this word because I foundContinue reading “handsel”

Pronounced: PRAH-vuhn-duhr, noun Notes: I kind of knew this word, but the origin was interesting enough to include it Yesterday’s word The word manumit means “to free from slavery” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I did not know that there was a wordContinue reading “provender”

Pronounced: man-yuh-MIT, verb Notes: I didn’t know that there was a word for this Yesterday’s word The word ailurophile means “a cat fancier; a lover of cats” First usage Our word came into English in the 1920s Background / Comments This is one of those words that I keep running across in books, look itContinue reading “manumit”

Pronounced: aye-LOOR-uh-file (alt: aye-LOOR-uh-fie-uhl) Notes: I keep running across this word and forgetting the meaning Yesterday’s word The word chiral refers to something that “cannot be superposed on its mirror image” (note the deliberate use of “superposed” instead of “superimposed”) First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments TheContinue reading “ailurophile”

Pronounced: KY-ruhl, adj Notes: I haven’t run across this word Yesterday’s word The word vapor means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Most of us would have known the first definition, from the noun “vapor” — but the second one was completely unknown to me. The secondContinue reading “chiral”

Pronounced: VAY-purr, verb Notes: I know what the noun means, but the verb had a surprise definition Yesterday’s word The word quinary means First usage Our word came into English in the very late 1500s Background / Comments Most of us know the words “primary” and “secondary”. Many probably know “tertiary”. I don’t know howContinue reading “vapor”

Pronounced: KWHY-nuh-ree Notes: You may be able to guess the meaning of this word Yesterday’s word The word tatterdemalion means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Originally, our word was written tatter-de-mallian. The origin of the word is uncertain, but is probably related to “tattered” or “ragged”.Continue reading “quinary”

Pronounced: ta-tuhr-di-MALE-yuhn, adj Notes: For some reason, this word makes me think of “dandelion” Yesterday’s word The word decant means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I knew one of the meanings — the first one. It may have been used in one orContinue reading “tatterdemalion”

Pronounced: dih-KANT, verb Notes: I knew one of the definitions Yesterday’s word The word issuable means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments While all of the definitions make sense, I thought of the second one listed above. When the word first came into English, it had the firstContinue reading “decant”