Udometer Udom-e-ter Noun A device for measuring rainfall, a rain gauge A bucket with a yardstick on the porch makes a rudimentary udometer. Gee, never guess where this one comes from…yep, Latin again. We slapped “meter” on the end of the Latin uvidus, or udus (meaning damp, moist and wet).
Word of the Week
My Word! March 20
by Betsey Ellis •
Tenebrific ten·e·brif·ic Adjective Gloomy Causing gloom or darkness Soldiers from World War I recounted the horrors of spending months on end in the tenebrific trenches on the Western front. The first documented use of the word was in 1785 when the word was politely borrowed from the New Latin word Tenebrae, meaning darkness.
Word of the Week
My Word! February 20
by Betsey Ellis •
Perlaceous Per-la-ceous Adjective Resembling pearl; pearly Come on, after opalescent last week how could I pass on perlaceous? We took this one from Medieval Latin perla (pearl) and added the English “aceous”.
States Well Stated
Minnesota – Land of …Wait. There Must be More than The Mall of America Here…
by Betsey Ellis •
Yeah, it’s taken a long time to get Minnesota written up, I admit it. But then again Minnesota took a long time to become Minnesota. On May 11, 1858 Minnesota became the 38th State, but they took their own sweet time before adopting a State flag. The flag (which is rather dull to…
Word of the Week
My Word! January 9
by Betsey Ellis •
Jejune Ji-jun Adjective devoid of significance or interest, dull juvenile or puerile lacking nutritive value Rice cakes, even with chocolate frosting, may be filling, but they still make for a jejune meal. This one made its way into English sometime in the 1600s, coming from the Latin word jejunus, which means “empty of…
Word of the Week
My Word! December 19
by Betsey Ellis •
Gibbous Gib-bous Adjective marked by convexity or swelling of the moon or a planet : seen with more than half but not all of the apparent disk illuminated having a hump Camels are gibbous. The adjective gibbous has its origins in the Latin noun gibbus, meaning “hump.” It was adopted into Middle English to describe rounded, convex things. While it…
Word of the Week
My Word! November 7
by Betsey Ellis •
Aioli Ai-o-li Noun A mayonnaise flavored with garlic and sometimes other flavors as well. Aioli seems to have become the new salsa in the condiment world. While this one can be traced to 1846 coming from the Occitan words ai (garlic) and oli ( oil).
States Well Stated
Has Hugh Jackman Ever Visited the Wolverine State?
by Betsey Ellis •
Let’s get the really mundane stuff out of the way off the top. Michigan became the 26th State on January 26, 1837. The original capitol was Detroit, but it was moved to Lansing in 1847 to provide better defense against the British in nearby Canada. I am not quite sure why this was an issue…
Word of the Week
My Word! August 15
by Betsey Ellis •
Oneiromancy one·iro·man·cy Noun Divination by means of dreams, or the interpretation of dreams. Joseph gained favor with the Pharaoh by means of oneiromancy and helped avert the effects of famine in the land. People have been trying to interpret dreams for quite some time now since this word first was used in English in 1652. …
Word of the Week
My Word! August 8
by Betsey Ellis •
Niccolic Nic-colic Adjective Composed of, or pertaining to, nickel We all know that pennies are no longer 100% copper, but are nickels still niccolic? As nickel goes back a long time, so does the word about things being made of nickel. Yep, it’s from the Latin word niccolum (meaning nickel) with the English “ic” on…