Category Archives: word

Pronounced: trah-tuh-REE-uh, noun Notes: This word seems a bit familiar to me, but I don’t remember running across it Yesterday’s word The word dotterel is First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1400s Background / Comments I have not heard our word, and had no idea it referred to a bird. Supposedly, theContinue reading “trattoria”

Pronounced: DOT-uhr-uhl, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word, but it turns out I did know some of the background Yesterday’s word The word cognizable means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1600s Background / Comments I knew the second definition above, but that turns out to be the less commonContinue reading “dotterel”

Pronounced: KAHG-nuh-zuh-bell, adj Notes: I knew one of the definitions Yesterday’s word The word gannet is First usage Our word came into English before 1000 Background / Comments Apparently, the first meaning was the original one. These birds had a reputation for being greedy (but it was not a deserved reputation). Nevertheless, that reputation isContinue reading “cognizable”

Pronounced: GAN-it, noun Notes: Interesting word Yesterday’s word The word prolix means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1300s to early 1400s Background / Comments Between prolix, verbose, wordy, and redundant, I tend to prefer “verbose”. However, our word carries with it the idea of unreasonable and tedious dwelling upon details.Continue reading “gannet”

Pronounced: pro-LICKS, adj Notes: Not a word I know, but a useful one Yesterday’s word The word weft is “the threads that run across the width of a woven fabric and are interlaced through the warp (the threads that run lengthwise)” First usage Our word came into English in the early 700s Background / CommentsContinue reading “prolix”

Pronounced: weft, noun Notes: Some people may know this word Yesterday’s word The word apposite means “highly pertinent or appropriate; apt” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word sounds just like “opposite”, and they do share a common Latin root: the word ponere (to put orContinue reading “weft”

Pronounced: AH-puh-zuht, adj Notes: I kind of knew this word Yesterday’s word The word moil, as a verb means As a noun, it means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Old French word moillier (to moisten), which came from the Latin wordContinue reading “apposite”

Pronounced: MOYL, verb/noun Notes: Not really a word I know Yesterday’s word The word demesne means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1200s Background / Comments I was struck by the pronunciation; “dih-MANE” is pretty close to the pronunciation of domain (doe-MANE), and, in fact, share the same source. Our wordContinue reading “moil”

Pronounced: dih-MANE, noun Notes: Interesting word Yesterday’s word The word dint, as a noun, means As a verb, it means to make a dent or to drive in with force First usage Our word is very old; coming into English in the late 800s Background / Comments I am more used to the idea ofContinue reading “demesne”

Pronounced: dint (well, duh), noun/verb Notes: I think I’ve run across the word but couldn’t define it properly Yesterday’s word The word palaver means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1700s Background / Comments In the 1700s, Portuguese and English sailors often met during trading trips along the West African coast.Continue reading “dint”