Category Archives: word

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”

Pronounced: SITS-kreeg, noun Notes: Your guess at the meaning may be correct Yesterday’s word The word parietal means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments The second definition above is the one that was utterly unknown to me. As for the first definition, my understanding of the wordContinue reading “sitzkrieg”

Pronounced: puh-RYE-uh-t(uh)l, adj Notes: I was our of date on one definition, and didn’t know the other Yesterday’s word The word optics means First usage The first meaning came about in the mid-1500s; the second meaning in from the 1970s (quite a spread!) Background / Comments The first meaning I suspect most people know, butContinue reading “parietal”

Pronounced: OP-ticks, noun Notes: This word has a meaning of which I was unaware Yesterday’s word The word anthophilous means “feeding upon or living among flowers” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word is certainly an interesting one and may be worth dropping into a conversation. ItContinue reading “optics”