Category Archives: word

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 of or relating to the kingfisher calm; peaceful happy; golden prosperous; affluent First usage Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1300s Background / Comment I knew the third definition above, but certainly notContinue reading “laissez-aller”

Pronounced: HAL-see-uhn, adj Notes: There are multiple definitions; I knew one of them Yesterday’s phrase The phrase de rigueur means “required by fashion, custom, or etiquette” First usage Our phrase came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments I know I have read this phrase; I think it was in one of the LordContinue reading “halcyon”

Pronounced: duh-ree-GURR, adj Notes: The phrase is familiar to me, but I didn’t know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word chin-wag means “conversation; chat” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments Our word is an informal British word (perhaps slang): I don’t believe I’ve heard or read itContinue reading “de rigueur”

Pronounced: (as it looks), noun Notes: This may be as easy one Yesterday’s word The word politesse means “formal politeness or courtesy” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1600s Background / Comments Like me, you may not be familiar with our word, but you could probably guess the meaning. It cameContinue reading “chin-wag”

Pronounced: pol-ih-TESS (alt: poe-lee-TESS), noun Notes: You might be able to guess the meaning of this word Yesterday’s word The word esemplastic means “shaping or having the power to shape disparate things into a unified whole” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments I was very surprised toContinue reading “politesse”

Pronounced: eh-sem-PLAS-tik, adj Notes: I thought this was a specialized type of plastic Yesterday’s word The word swidden is “an area of land cleared for farming by slashing and burning the vegetation” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments As noted, people with knowledge of farming may know ourContinue reading “esemplastic”

Pronounced: SWID-n, noun Notes: You might need special knowledge to get this word Yesterday’s word The word oneiric means “of or relating to dreams; dreamy” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments When I saw this word, I thought it might be related to wine (thinking of oenophile, IContinue reading “swidden”

Pronounced: oh-NIGH-rick, adj Notes: Not at all what I thought it meant Yesterday’s word The word turbid means unclear; opaque dark or dense (as smog or clouds) confused or muddled First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments I think I was confused (turbid) because of the somewhat similar “turgid”,Continue reading “oneiric”