Category Archives: word

Pronounced: [as it looks], noun Notes: Not the meaning I thought Yesterday’s word The word kenning is “a figurative, usually compound, expression used to describe something. As an example, the use of “whale road” to mean an ocean. First usage Our word came into English in the early 1300s Background / Comments Our word comesContinue reading “dead hand”

Pronounced: KEN-ing, noun Notes: This word is not what I thought it was Yesterday’s word The word withy means First usage Our word came into English before the year 1000 Background / Comments In read the definition of our word, I learned a new word – that word is “osier”, and it refers to aContinue reading “kenning”

Pronounced: WIH-thee, noun Notes: Another word I’ve never run across Yesterday’s word The capriole means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments Our word came either from the Middle French word capriole (caper) or the Italian word capriola (leap). They came from the Latin word capreolus (goat), whichContinue reading “withy”

Pronounced: CAP-ree-ol, noun Notes: I did not know this word Yesterday’s word The word contumely is “harsh language or treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1300s Background / Comments If you know Shakespeare well, you may have known our word. It occurs in the famousContinue reading “capriole”

Pronounced: kahn-TOO-muh-lee, noun Notes: I have run across this word (or a close relative), but I couldn’t properly define it Yesterday’s word The word winkle means, as a noun, “a periwinkle, any of various mollusks with a spiral shell”. As a verb, it means “to extract with difficulty”. First usage Our word came into EnglishContinue reading “contumely”

Pronounced: WING-kuhl, noun/verb Notes: I knew the verb meaning, but not the noun Yesterday’s word The word presage means First usage Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1300s Background / Comments Our word – the verb presage – was predated by a noun presage (omen). Our word comes from the LatinContinue reading “winkle”

Pronounced: PREH-sij, verb Notes: Another word I don’t recall having seen (and my guess was way off) Yesterday’s word The word pullulate means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word came from the Latin word pullulare (to sprout), which came from pullulus, which is a diminutiveContinue reading “presage”

Pronounced: PULL-yuh-late, verb Notes: A new word for me Yesterday’s word The word fructuous means “fruitful” First usage Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1300s Background / Comments I had the meaning wrong because when I saw our word, I saw a similarity to the word “fractious”; had I thought ofContinue reading “pullulate”

Pronounced: FREK-chuh-wuhs, adj Notes: I didn’t get this word right; you may know it Yesterday’s word The word magpie means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I knew of the bird definition; I also knew of the collector meaning (a more widely used synonym is “packrat”); however,Continue reading “fructuous”

Pronounced: MAG-pie Notes: I knew some of the meanings, but not all of them Yesterday’s word The word trattoria means “a restaurant; specifically a usually small Italian restaurant” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments In thinking about our word, I don’t think I have run across it –Continue reading “magpie”