Category Archives: word

Pronounced: TIN-horn, noun/adj Notes: I’ve heard this word as an adjective, and was pretty close, but I don’t think I’ve heard it as a noun Yesterday’s word The word vilipend means to hold or teat as of little worth or account; contemn to express a low opinion of; disparage First usage Our word came intoContinue reading “tinhorn”

Pronounced: VIH-luh-pend, verb Notes: I didn’t know this word, but it makes me think of “villain” Yesterday’s word The word hyponym is “a more specific term in a general class” First usage Our word came into English in the 1960s Background / Comments Examples are useful: “blue” is a hyponym of “color”. Oddly enough, IContinue reading “vilipend”

Pronounced: HI-puh-nim, noun Notes: A neat word that I didn’t know Yesterday’s word The word lodestar means “one that serves as an inspiration, model, or guide” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1300s (but see Comments below) Background / Comments The literal meaning of our word is “a star that leads orContinue reading “hyponym”

Pronounced: LOAD-star Notes: Not what I thought Yesterday’s word The word henotheism is “belief in or worship of one god without denying the possibility of others” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments The definition of our word confuses me. If one believes in one God, then it seemsContinue reading “lodestar”

Pronounced: HEN-uh-thee-iz-uhm, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, and I find the meaning strange Yesterday’s phrase The phrase Potemkin village is “an impressive facade or show designed to hide an undesirable fact or condition” First usage Our phrase came into English in the 1930s Background / Comments Our word (as you may guess fromContinue reading “henotheism”

Pronounced: puh-TEM(P)-kuhn-VIH-lij, noun Notes: This word didn’t mean what I thought Yesterday’s word The word aischrolatreia means “excessive devotion to filth or obscenity” First usage Our word came into English in the 1910s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, an unpleasant word. It came from the Greek word aischro- (shameful; ugly) and -latreia (worship).

Pronounced: eye-scroh-luh-TREE-uh, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word; it is rather unpleasant Yesterday’s word The word polyonymous means “having or known by various names” First usage Our word came into English in the late mid-1600s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I saw the Greek roots in this word: poly- (many) and -onymous,Continue reading “aischrolatreia”

Pronounced: pah-lee-AH-nuh-muhs, adj Notes: I didn’t know this word, but my guess was correct (that’s rare!) Yesterday’s word The word lithophone is “any of various musical instruments in which sound is produced by striking pieces of stone” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments You probably got theContinue reading “polyonymous”

Pronounced: LITH-uh-phone, noun Notes: If you guess at the meaning, you may be right Yesterday’s word The word extremophile is “an organism that lives under extreme environmental conditions (such as in a hot spring or ice cap)” First usage Our word came into English in the 1980s Background / Comments If you parsed the word,Continue reading “lithophone”

Pronounced: ik-STREE-muh-file (alt: ik-STREE-muh-fie-uhl), noun Notes: You may be able to guess the meaning Yesterday’s word The word Niagara is “an outpouring; a deluge” First usage Our word came into English around 1800 Background / Comments As you may guess, our word comes from the Niagara river, not the Niagara Falls (the Niagara river formsContinue reading “extremophile”