Category Archives: word

Pronounced: an-tih-mus-KASS-suhr, noun Notes: I recognize our word, but not meaning (more tomorrow) Yesterday’s word The word luciferin is “any of various organic substances that upon oxidation produce a virtually heatless light” (such as the light fireflies produce). First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments Many people knowContinue reading “antimacassar”

Pronounced: loo-SIH-fruhn (alt: loo-SIH-fuh-run), noun Notes: This word has nothing to do with the devil Yesterday’s phrase The phrase mala fide means “in bad faith” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, I was aware of the phrase bona fides (in good faith), but I didn’tContinue reading “luciferin”

Pronounced: MAL-uh FIE-dee, adv/adj Notes: I didn’t know this phrase existed, but perhaps you can work out the meaning? Yesterday’s word The word thew means First usage Our word came into English before 900 Background / Comments I have a recollection of reading the phrase “smote (maybe ‘smite’) thew and sinew”, but I cannot recallContinue reading “mala fide”

Pronounced: thoo, noun Notes: I didn’t recognize this word by itself Yesterday’s word The word eviscerate means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments I seem to remember reading or hearing the word in some mystery story (or show); it may have been a Sherlock Holmes, but IContinue reading “thew”

Pronounced: ih-VIS-uh-rate, verb Notes: I kind of knew this word Yesterday’s word The word balletoname is “a devotee of ballet” First usage Our word came into English in the 1930s Background / Comments Because the word’s pronunciation begins “bah-LEH-tuh” and not “bahl-AYE”, I didn’t think of it being related to the ballet. I had guessedContinue reading “eviscerate”

Pronounced: bah-LEH-tuh-mane, noun Notes: Not what I thought after seeing the pronunciation Yesterday’s word The word enervate means, as a verb, “to deprive of strength or vitality”. As an adjective, it means “deprived of strength; weakened” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments For a long time, IContinue reading “balletomane”

Pronounced: EN-uhr-vate, verb; ih-NURR-vit, adj Notes: One of those words in which the two parts of speech are pronounced differently Yesterday’s word The word meliorism is “the belief that the world tends to improve and that humans can aid its betterment” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / CommentsContinue reading “enervate”

Pronounced: MEEL-yuh-rih-zuhm, noun Notes: An interesting word, but I didn’t know it Yesterday’s word The word oppugn means “to call in question; to contradict; to dispute” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments I had a kind of sense of the meaning, so my idea of “run down (asContinue reading “meliorism”

Pronounced: uh-PYOON, verb Notes: I was pretty close to the meaning Yesterday’s word The word sockdolager is First usage Our word came into English in the early to mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word is an Americanism; the theory is that it comes from the word sock (to punch) and a corruption of the wordContinue reading “oppugn”

Pronounced: sock-DAH-lih-juhr, noun Notes: This is a word I know of, but I didn’t know the definition – do you know it? Yesterday’s word The word precipitous means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments I am familiar with the third definition (as in the phrase ‘let’s not takeContinue reading “sockdolager”