Category Archives: word

Pronounced: ahb-NEW-buh-late, verb Notes: I didn’t know this word, but I like it – it’s fun to say and can be used Yesterday’s word The word gunsel is First usage Our word came into English in the 1910s Background / Comments Every time I hear our word, it brings up memories of the classic filmContinue reading “obnubilate”

Pronounced: GUN-suhl, noun Notes: You may think you know this word, but… (see tomorrow) Yesterday’s word The word insuperable means “incapable of begin surmounted, overcome, passed over, or solved” First usage Our word came into English in the early to mid-1300s Background / Comments I have heard or read this word, but I think itContinue reading “gunsel”

Pronounced: in-SOO-pruh-bull (alt: in-SOO-puh-ruh-bull), adj Notes: A borderline word Yesterday’s word The word shadchan is “a matchmaker or a marriage-broker” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments I laughed… and then I wondered. If you looked at the pronunciation yesterday, our word sounds very much like “shotgun” …Continue reading “insuperable”

Pronounced: SHAHT-kuhn, noun Notes: Not a word I knew, but some people may know it Yesterday’s word The word presentiment is “a feeling that something will or is about to happen; premonition” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1700s Background / Comments I should have been able to get very close,Continue reading “shadchan”

Pronounced: prih-ZEN-tuh-muhnt, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but should have guessed better – it’s not that hard to work out Yesterday’s word The word futilitarian means, as an adjective It has similar meanings as a noun: First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word sounded toContinue reading “presentiment”

Pronounced: fyoo-til-ih-TARE-ee-uhn, adj/noun Notes: I haven’t seen this word, but you may be able to guess the meaning Yesterday’s word The word xenial means “of, relating to, or constituting hospitality or relations between host and guest” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1700s Background / Comments Our word looked to meContinue reading “futilitarian”

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”