Category Archives: word

Pronounced: KAHK-urh, verb/noun Notes: I thought of the idiom “according to Cocker”, but that has nothing to do with this word Yesterday’s word The word Svengali is “a person who manipulates or exerts excessive control over another” First usage Our word came into English in the 1910s Background / Comments Our word came from aContinue reading “cocker”

Pronounced: sven-GAH-lee, noun Notes: I thought this was a country (it’s not) Yesterday’s word The word inspissate means “to thicken or condense” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word came from the Latin word inspissare (to thicken), which came from spissus (thick). I assume one couldContinue reading “Svengali”

Pronounced: in-SPIS-ate, verb Notes: I did not know this word (making it fit for these posts) Yesterday’s word The word gloss means to provide a short explanation or definition for; explain; define to interpret to dispose of by false or perverse interpretation First usage Our word came into English in the mid-to-late 1200s Background /Continue reading “inspissate”

Pronounced: glahs, verb Notes: I know the phrase “gloss over” and the noun “gloss”, but not the verb Yesterday’s word The word prow means, as a noun the front of ship or boat above the water; the bow the projecting front part of something (as a building) As an adjective, it means “valiant” First usageContinue reading “gloss”

Pronounced: prow, noun/adj Notes: Another word that I know one of the meanings – but do you know the meaning when used as an adjective? Yesterday’s word The word phreaker is “one who gains illegal access to a telephone system” (note that some references claim that this word is slang) First usage Our word cameContinue reading “prow”

Pronunciation: FREE-kuhr, noun Notes: A word I happen to know (probably getting obsolete) Yesterday’s word The word rote means a mechanical or unthinking way of doing something the sound of surf a medieval stringed instrument of Celtic origin (also called crwth or crowd) First usage The first and third definitions came into English in theContinue reading “phreaker”

Pronounced: rote, noun Notes: I know only one of the definitions – how many do you know? Yesterday’s word The word peregrination is “an excursion especially on foot or to a foreign county; journey” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments Our word goes back to the Latin wordContinue reading “rote”

Pronounced: per-uh-gruh-NAY-shun, noun Notes: Another word I think I’ve run across, but I didn’t quite know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word levee (are you ready?) means an embankment made to prevent flooding an embankment around a field that is to be irrigated a landing place; a quay a formal reception First usage The lastContinue reading “peregrination”

Pronounced: LEV-ee Notes: I only knew one of the definitions, and one was surprising Yesterday’s word The word thimblerig means “to cheat by trickery” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments I suspect most of us have heard of “the shell game” — in which a seed isContinue reading “levee”

Pronounced: THIM-bull-rig, verb Notes: I’ve run across this word somewhere, but wasn’t sure of the meaning Yesterday’s word The word prorogue means to discontinue a session of something (such as a parliament) to defer to to postpone First usage Our word came into English in the early 1400s Background / Comments Our word came fromContinue reading “thimblerig”