Category Archives: word

Pronounced: uh-man-yoo-EN-sis, noun Notes: I don’t think this word is well known, but I happen to know it Yesterday’s word The word organoleptic means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word came from the French word organoleptique — our spelling is an Anglicization of it — andContinue reading “amaneunsis”

Pronounced: or-guh-no-LEP-tick, adj Notes: Well, my guess was quite incorrect (it has nothing to do with playing organs) Yesterday’s word The word Malthusian means “relating to the view that population increases faster than its means of subsistence resulting in disaster, unless population is checked by natural calamities or by people deciding to have fewer children”Continue reading “organoleptic”

Pronounced: mal-THOO-zhuhn (alt: mal-THOO-zee-uhn), adj Notes: I didn’t know this word, and could not guess at a meaning Yesterday’s word The word corrigendum is “an error in a printed work discovered after printing and shown with its correction on a separate sheet” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / CommentsContinue reading “Malthusian”

Pronounced: core-uh-JEN-duhm, noun Notes: Not a word knew, but I have run across one (you may have, too) Yesterday’s word The word tontine is “a form of investment in which participants pool their money into a common fund and receive an annuity. Each person’s share increases as members die until the last survivor takes theContinue reading “corrigendum”

Pronounced: TON-teen (alt: ton-TEEN), noun Notes: I didn’t recognize the word, but after reading the definition, I have seen it in a book Yesterday’s word The word derogate means First usage Our word came into English around 1400 Background / Comments Our word is the verb form of the more common adjective “derogatory”; however, ourContinue reading “tontine”

Pronounced: DER-uh-gate, verb Notes: You may be able to guess the meaning of this word Yesterday’s word The word mazarine is “a deep, rich shade of blue” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1600s Background / Comments Our word is named after either Cardinal Jules Mazarin or his niece Duchess HortenseContinue reading “derogate”

Pronounced: maz-uh-REEN (alt: MAZ-uh-reen; MAX-uh-rin), adj Notes: A word I have not run across Yesterday’s word The word kanban is “a manufacturing strategy wherein parts are produced or delivered only as needed” (a “just-in-time” method) First usage Our word came into English in the 1970s Background / Comments Our word came from the Japanese wordContinue reading “mazarine”

Pronounced: CAN-ban, noun Notes: Not a word I’ve run across Yesterday’s word The word letimotif is “a recurrent theme in a piece of music or literature, situation, etc” First usage Our word came into English in the 1930s Background / Comments A humorist defined leitmotif (or leitmotiv) as “a signature tune”. Our word came fromContinue reading “kanban”

Pronounced: LIGHT-moh-teef, noun Notes: Also spelled “leitmotiv” Yesterday’s word The word verdure means First usage Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1200s Background / Comments I recognized the root of our word as “green”; however, I was unaware of the second meaning above. Our word came from the Latin word virereContinue reading “leitmotif”

Pronounced: VUHR-juhr, noun Notes: Another word you might be able to guess one of the definitions Yesterday’s word The word sitzkrieg is “a period of war marked by little or no active hostilities” First usage Our word came into English in the 1940s Background / Comments If you thought that the word was related toContinue reading “verdure”