Category Archives: word

Pronounced: pick-uh-ROON noun/verb Notes: Not a word I’ve run across Yesterday’s word The word bibelot is “a small household ornament or decorative object; trinket” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word came from French, where it is composed of bibel (bauble) plus the -ot suffix, which makesContinue reading “picaroon”

Pronounced: BEE-buh-low, noun Notes: My guesses were of the meaning were wide of the mark Yesterday’s word An arroyo is “a narrow, steep-sided watercourse, usually dry except after rain” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word came from the Spanish word arroyo, which came from the LatinContinue reading “bibelot”

Pronounced: uh-ROY-oh, noun Notes: I’ve run across this word in some reading, but I was not sure of the meaning Yesterday’s word The word esplanade is “a level open stretch of paved or grassy ground — especially one designed for walking or driving along a shore” First usage Our word came into English in theContinue reading “arroyo”

Pronounced: ES-pluh-nod, noun Notes: I wasn’t sure of the meaning, and I didn’t know how to pronounce this word Yesterday’s word The word pungle means “to make a payment; to shell out” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word came from non-Spanish people pronouncing the Spanish wordContinue reading “esplanade”

Pronounced: PUNG-uhl Notes: Another word I have no recollection of running across Yesterday’s word The word chatoyant means “having a changeable luster or color with an undulating narrow band of white light” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1700s Background / Comments You may recognize the first four letters of ourContinue reading “pungle”

Pronounced: shuh-TOI-unt, adj Notes: Interesting word; you may recognize part of it Yesterday’s word The word camarilla is “a group of confidential scheming advisors” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments If you didn’t guess, our word came from the Spanish; it is a diminutive of cámara (chamber), whichContinue reading “chatoyant”

Pronounced: kam-uh-RIL-uh (alt: kah-mah-REE-yah), noun Notes: This word rings absolutely no bells in my memory Yesterday’s word The word bemuse means to make confused; puzzle; bewilder to occupy the attention of; distract; absorb to cause to have feelings of wry or tolerant amusement First usage Our word came into English around 1700 Background / CommentsContinue reading “camarilla”

Pronounced: bih-MYOOZ, verb Notes: This word has some different meanings; I’m not sure I knew all of them Yesterday’s word The word votary means, as an adjective, “bound by a vow or relating to a vow”. As a noun, it means one who is devoted to an activity, person, institution, etc one who has takenContinue reading “bemuse”

Pronounced: VOH-tuh-ree, noun/adj Notes: Nothing to do with voting (which is what I thought) Yesterday’s word The word clerihew is “a light verse quatrain rhyming a-a-b-b and usually dealing with a person named in the initial line” First usage Our word came into English in the 1920s Background / Comments I don’t have any memoryContinue reading “votary”

Pronounced: KLER-ih-hyoo, noun Notes: I have not heard of our word Yesterday’s word The word plutarchy means rule by the wealthy a wealthy ruling class First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments I thought our word was related to Pluto, from Roman mythology, but that is wrong. I’ve neverContinue reading “clerihew”