Category Archives: word

Pronounced: ECK-spee-ate, verb Notes: My guess was close to the correct meaning Yesterday’s word The word exungulate means “to pare nails, claws, etc” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Great word! How much more fun to say I was exungulating this morning instead of the rather prosaicContinue reading “expiate”

Pronounced: ek-SUNG-uh-late, verb Notes: Great word! (but not at all what I thought) Yesterday’s word The word fustian is First usage Our word came into English in two phases: the first definition arrived around 1200, but the second one didn’t come about until the 1500s. Background / Comments An early documented usage of the secondContinue reading “exungulate”

Pronounced: FUSS-chun, noun Notes: I think of “fussy” when I see this word, but that’s not the meaning Yesterday’s word The word leviathan is “something large and powerful” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1300s Background / Comments I thought that our word referred to some kind of sea creature; mainlyContinue reading “fustian”

Pronounced: lih-VIE-uh-thuhn, noun Notes: I thought I knew the word, but my definition was a bit off Yesterday’s word The word stanch means First usage Our word came into English around 1300 Background / Comments It turns out that “stanch” and “staunch” are not quite as separated as I thought; our word is a verb,Continue reading “leviathan”

Pronounced: stawnch, verb Notes: I have to confess that I confuse this word with “staunch”, but they are separate words Yesterday’s word The word tohobohu is “chaos; confusion” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments What a great word to use for chaos! Our word came from HebrewContinue reading “stanch”

Pronounced: TOE-hoo-boh-hoo, noun Notes: A new word to me, but it is useful (it is a thing we encounter) Yesterday’s word The word callithump is “a noisy boisterous band or parade” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word is primarily used in America. In the 1800s, thereContinue reading “tohubohu”

Pronounced: KAH-luh-thump, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but the definition makes sense Yesterday’s word The word stygian means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I normally run across this word in the phrase “stygian darkness”, so I thought it meant especially black, which kind of fitsContinue reading “callithump”

Pronounced: stygian, adj Notes: Again a word I’ve run across, but didn’t properly know the definition, but I do have a related funny short tale. Yesterday’s word The word gelid means “extremely cold; icy” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I was not aware that this wordContinue reading “stygian”

Pronounced: JEH-luhd, adj Notes: Not quite what I thought it meant… Yesterday’s word A Cerberus is “a powerful, hostile guard” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1300s Background / Comments As I recently noted, when I was young, I had an interest in Greek and Roman mythology. I knew about Cerberus,Continue reading “gelid”

Pronounced: SIR-burr-us, noun Notes: Another word for which I know the etymology, but didn’t know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word vagary is “an erratic, unpredictable, or extravagant manifestation, action, or notion” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I am used to coming across our word in theContinue reading “Cerberus”