Category Archives: word

Pronounced: pree-HEN(t)-shun, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but I do know a related word Yesterday’s word The word white-livered means “cowardly” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I didn’t plan to have two words in a row that both means “cowardly”; it’s just how the wordsContinue reading “prehension”

Pronounced: white-LIVE-uhrd, adj Notes: You may know this word; I found the origin interesting Yesterday’s word The word pusillanimous means “lacking courage and resolution; marked by contemptible timidity” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I must have been thinking of ‘pugilism’ when I though of boxing. OurContinue reading “white-livered”

Pronounced: pyou-suh-LAH-nuh-muss, adj Notes: I thought this word had to do with boxing, but I was wrong Yesterday’s word The word plutonian means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments All of the definitions make sense, but I couldn’t list all of them. Our word came from Latin,Continue reading “pusillanimous”

Pronounced: ploo-TOE-nee-uhn, adj Notes: I didn’t know all of the meanings of this word, but each was logical Yesterday’s word The word mansuetude is “the quality of state of being gentle; meekness; tameness” First usage Our word came into English in the middle to late 1300s Background / Comments Of the definitions above, I findContinue reading “plutonian”

Pronounced: MAN(T)-swih-tood, noun Notes: This word sounds familiar, but I don’t remember running across it Yesterday’s word The word double-dome means “an intellectual” First usage Our word came into English in the 1930s Background / Comments It’s nice to have an alternative word for “intellectual”. Our word was merely a combination of double (two) andContinue reading “mansuetude”

Pronounced: (duh) double-dome, noun Notes: I have not heard this term – have you? Yesterday’s word The word schadenfreude is “enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments Our word came (as you probably guessed) from the German word Schadenfreude, which isContinue reading “double-dome”

Pronounced: SHAW-d(uh)n-froy-duh, noun Notes: The word is familiar, but I was not sure of the definition Yesterday’s word The word blackleg means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1700s Background / Comments I was a bit curious about the first definition; I thought such a person was called a “scan”; itContinue reading “schadenfreude”

Pronounced: BLACK-leg, noun Notes: I have no memory of this word Yesterday’s word The word meed is “a fitting return or recompense” First usage Our word goes back a long way; it was in use before 900 Background / Comments People aren’t sure how old our word is; an Old English form appeared in Beowulf.Continue reading “blackleg”

Pronounced: meed, noun Notes: Such a short word, yet I did not know it Yesterday’s word The word longhair is First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments The second definition is the only one I really knew; I have heard classical music referred to as “longhair” music, butContinue reading “meed”

Pronounced: LONG-hair (duh), noun Notes: I knew one of the definition; some of the others are obvious Yesterday’s word The word eristic means “characterized by disputatious and often subtle and specious reasoning” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments Our word can also take the form “eristical”, although thisContinue reading “longhair”