Klipspringer klip·spring·er Noun A small African antelope found from Cape Colony to Somaliland. “The Zoo” recently featured an episode about the relocation of a herd of klipspringer that I enjoyed. Probably not found in English before we found then cute little guys (and they are cute).
Word of the Week
An unusual word is taught every week, complete with pronunciation and definition.
Word of the Week
My Word! – July 15
by Betsey Ellis •
Jiffy Jif-fy Noun Believe it or not there is an actual definition beyond a small amount of time. A jiffy is 1/100th of a second. No one can get their grocery shopping done in a jiffy on the day before Thanksgiving. While the origin is unknown it traces back to 1779, maybe attached to the…
Word of the Week
My Word! – July 8
by Betsey Ellis •
Ichthyotoxism ich·thyo·tox·ism Noun Poisoning from fish or fish venom Improper handling of puffer fish can result in ichthyotoxism. Again Merriam-Webster was no help in tracking down how long we have had a word for the problem, but I am certain Latin and/or Greek were involved.
Word of the Week
My Word! July 1
by Betsey Ellis •
Hebephrenia he·be·phre·nia Noun a form of schizophrenia characterized especially by incoherence, delusions lacking an underlying theme, and affect that is usually flat, inappropriate, or silly a form of dementia occurring at puberty Joaquim Phoenix received the Best Actor award in part for how well he depicted hebephrenia in “The Joker”. This one comes from…
Word of the Week
My Word! – June 24
by Betsey Ellis •
Giaour Adjective that I have no idea how to pronounce One outside of the Islamic faith; infidel Since he was born well before Mohammed, Nero was definitely a giaour. This one harkens back to 1564, and does not come from Latin. In fact it comes from French, who got it from Italian…
Word of the Week
My Word! – June 17
by Betsey Ellis •
Fructivorous fruc·tiv·o·rous Adjective Feeding on fruit Monkeys are have a mainly fructivorous diet. Probably from Latin, but Merriam-Webster was pretty silent on the subject.
Word of the Week
My Word! – June 10
by Betsey Ellis •
Epizeuxis ep·i·zeux·is Noun the immediate repetition of a word or phrase for rhetorical or poetic effect “War is hell, hell” the major muttered as he looked over the field of casualties. Could not find when this word first appeared but for a change it goes back to LATE Latin, who stole it…
Word of the Week
My Word! – June 3
by Betsey Ellis •
Diestrus di-es-trus Noun A period of sexual inactivity or quiescence that intervenes between two periods of estrus. First seen in English in 1942 because before that life was obviously one long orgy. Yes, blame Latin again.
Word of the Week
My Word! May 27
by Betsey Ellis •
Callipygian Cal – i – pidgeon (Adjective) Having well-shaped buttocks My grandmother liked to go to high school track meets to ogle the callipygian race-walkers.
Word of the Week
My Word! – May 20
by Betsey Ellis •
Bibliomania Bib-lio-ma-nia Noun an extreme preoccupation with the collecting of books a craze for books or reading Some say that Shirley has a touch of bibliomania. This one comes from French and is traced back to the letters of French physician Guy Patin and a letter from 1652. It is first used in…