Category Archives: word

Pronounced: ZEE-nee-uhl, adj Notes: I had a few guesses, but none of them were quite right Yesterday’s word The word peformative means “relating to a statement that functions as an action by the fact of its being uttered” First usage Our word came into English in the 1920s Background / Comments If the definition aboveContinue reading “xenial”

Pronounced: purr-FOR-muh-tiv, adj Notes: This is a new word to me Yesterday’s word The word langue means “language viewed abstractly as a system of forms and conventions used for communication” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1900s, as far as I can tell Background / Comments Originally, our word came intoContinue reading “performative”

Pronounced: lah(n)g, noun Notes: I didn’t know the word, but it looked (relatively) modern Yesterday’s word The word stridulate means “to make a shrill creaking noise by rubbing body parts together” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Crickets stridulate, as do many insects. When I saw the word,Continue reading “langue”

Pronounced: STRIJ-uh-late, verb Notes: I was close(-ish) to the correct meaning Yesterday’s word The word natant means “swimming or floating in the water” First usage Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1400s Background / Comment When I saw our word, I thought of “natale”, which means “birth” – thus ‘neo-natal’ andContinue reading “stridulate”

Pronounced: NAY-t(uh)nt, adj Notes: Another word that I guessed incorrectly (very much so!) Yesterday’s word The word pathography is “a biography that focuses on the negative” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments I tried to be smart when trying to figure out what our word meant: I knowContinue reading “natant”

Pronounced: puh-THOG-ruh-fee, noun Notes: Not what I thought it was Yesterday’s word The word usufruct is First usage Our word came into English in the early to mid-1600s Background / Comments I wrote yesterday that we have “kind of” seen this word before because the word of the day for 18 Oct 2023 was fructuousContinue reading “pathography”

Pronounced: YOU-zuh-frukt, noun Notes: We’ve seen this before (kind of) Yesterday’s word The word sinecure is “a position in which one is paid for little or no work” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments When I was in high school (a long time ago), I subscribed to ElleryContinue reading “usufruct”

Pronounced: SIGH-ni-kyoor (alt: SIN-ih-kyoor), noun Notes: I’ve read this word, and got a general idea from context. Do you know it? Yesterday’s word The word effulgence means “radiant splendor; brilliance” First usage Our word came into English in the 1600s Background / Comments When I first glanced at our word, I swapped the “u” andContinue reading “sinecure”

Pronounced: ih-FULL-gen(t)s, noun Notes: I transposed a couple of letters and had the totally wrong meaning Yesterday’s word The word laissez-aller means “unrestrained freedom” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments I believe that unrestrained freedom is a very bad thing; we need some kind of check on ourContinue reading “effulgence”

Pronounced: less-ay-ah-LAY, noun Notes: Also spelled laisser-aller; a new word to me Yesterday’s word The word halcyon means First usage Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1300s Background / Comment I knew the third definition above, but certainly not the first one. However, the background of the word makes sense: InContinue reading “laissez-aller”