Category Archives: word

Pronounced: LOB-lol-ee, noun Notes: I didn’t know any of the meanings of this word Yesterday’s word The word vatic means “prophetic; oracular” First usage Our word came into English around 1600 Background / Comments Our word came from the Latin word vātēs (seer; prophet)

Pronounced: VAH-tik, adj Notes: A new word for me Yesterday’s word The word plutomania is “an obsession with money or wealth” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comment Our word comes from the Greek word pluto- (wealth) combined with the word -mania (excessive enthusiasm; craze).

Pronounced: ploo-tuh-MAY-nee-uh, noun Notes: I was on the right track for this word, but had the wrong meaning Yesterday’s word The word chiliad is a group of 1,000 a period of 1,000 years; especially one reckoned from the beginning of the Christian era First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s BackgroundContinue reading “plutomania”

Pronounced: KIH-lee-ad, noun Notes: I know a different word Yesterday’s word The word luftmensch is “an impractical dreamer” First usage Our word came into English in the 1900s (1900-1909) Background / Comments Our word came from the Yiddish words luft (air) and mensch (man; person).

Pronounced: LOOFT-mensh, noun Notes: Not a word I’m familiar with Yesterday’s phrase The phrase lord of misrule is “a master of Christmas revels in England especially in the 1400s and 1500s” First usage Our phrase came into English in the 1400s Background / Comments The tradition back in medieval England in the royal court, inContinue reading “luftmensch”

Pronounced: LORD of miss-RULE, noun Notes: Another phrase I think I’ve read, but I didn’t know the actual meaning Yesterday’s word The word dactyloscopy is “the analysis of fingerprints for identification of individuals” First usage Our word came into English in the 1900s (that is, 1900-1909) Background / Comments I normally hear and use theContinue reading “lord of misrule”

Pronounced: dak-tuh-LOS-kuh-pee, noun Notes: This is a fancy word for something else we knew Yesterday’s word The word élan means “vigorous spirit or enthusiasm” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I’ve run across this word in reading, but I could not recall theContinue reading “dactyloscopy”

Pronounced: ay-LAHN Notes: I’ve run across this word in reading, but I wasn’t sure of the meaning Yesterday’s word The word xerophilous means “adapted to a very dry or desert environment” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I recognized part of the word —Continue reading “élan”

Pronounced: zee-ROF-uh-luhs, adj Notes: Well, I recognized one part of this word, but it still didn’t help with the definition Yesterday’s word The word tergiversation means evasion of straightforward action or clear-cut statement; equivocation desertion of a cause, position, party, or faith First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / CommentsContinue reading “xerophilous”

Pronounced: ter-jih-ver-SAY-shun, noun Notes: This is a word I could use, if I can remember to use it Yesterday’s word The word teleology means the belief or the study or design or purpose in nature such design or purpose First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments As I noted,Continue reading “tergiversation”