Category Archives: word

Pronounced: BAH-bit, noun Notes: I’ve not run across this word Yesterday’s word The word valence means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1400s Background / Comments I remember from school discussions of “valence electrons”, and they are closely related to the first definition above. The second definition is new to me.Continue reading “Babbitt”

Pronounced: VAY-luhns, noun Notes: I was somewhat familiar with this word as an adjective, but was uncertain of what it meant as a noun Yesterday’s word The word trenchant means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1200s or early 1300s Background / Comments I have run across the word “trencherman” inContinue reading “valence”

Pronounced: TREN-chunt, adj Notes: I was in the area of the correct meaning with our word Yesterday’s word The word demotic, as an adjective, means “relating to common people; popular”. As a noun, it means “Modern Greek”. First usage Our word came into English in the late 1700s Background / Comments Our word comes fromContinue reading “trenchant”

Pronounced: dih-MOT-ik, adj/noun Notes: I had an idea of the meaning of the adjective, but not of the noun Yesterday’s word The word recondite means First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments I had an idea of the first and third definitions, but not the second one. OurContinue reading “demotic”

Pronounced: REH-kuhn-dite, adj Notes: I knew this word a bit Yesterday’s word The word piacular means “making or requiring atonement” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word piare (to appease).

Pronounced: pie-ACK-yuh-luhr, adj Notes: I don’t think I’ve heard of this word Yesterday’s word The word liminal means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments As I noted, I should have been able to work out the meaning our of word because of the well-known word subliminal, whichContinue reading “piacular”

Pronounced: LIH-muh-n’l, adj Notes: I should have worked out the definition of this word Yesterday’s word The word frontispiece is First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments This word is another one that was created in error; it was a corruption of the French word frontispice because itContinue reading “liminal”

Pronounced: FRUN-tih-spees, noun Notes: I think I’ve seen this word, or a word close to it Yesterday’s phrase The phrase banyan day is “a day on which no meat is served to the crew of a ship” First usage I haven’t been able to find out when our phrase came into English Background / CommentsContinue reading “frontispiece”

Pronounced: BAN-yuhn day, noun Notes: I’ve seen banyan trees, but I don’t know this word Yesterday’s word The word messuage means “a residential building with outbuildings and the attached land” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1400s Background / Comments I like the origin story of our word. The word cameContinue reading “banyan day”

Pronounced: MESS-wij, noun Notes: I like the origin story for this word (it’s not pronounced as I would think) Yesterday’s word The word parlous means “full of danger or risk; hazardous” First usage Our word came into English in the 1300s Background / Comments If you think “the definition seems like the definition for perilous”,Continue reading “messuage”