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In a January long ago, I sent out the first “Tip of the Week”.   One of the benefits of doing the same thing over and over again for a long time is this.  You begin to develop a reputation.  Back when I started doing this, I had to come up with my own tips.   These...

Last year I wrote a book on goal setting.  I am now in the process of editing that book.  As I edit, I will post excerpts here on my blog.  This is from chapter four: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Why...

Exhaust: to drain; to deplete. This morning, in a Latin class, we came across the Latin verb exhaurire.  Exhaurire is Latin for drawing out, emptying, or draining.  Exhaurire itself is a combination of the preposition ex, meaning 'out of' and haurire, meaning to draw...

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.  All during the season of Christmas, we celebrate the most famous birthday of them all, the birthday of Jesus Christ. The question is, did it really happen?  Did the son of the Creator come to our planet?  Did he live, die, and then live...

Snow: small, soft, white flakes of ice falling from the sky. This word has been in our language since the beginning.  In Old English, snow was snaw. English is a Germanic language.  Finding similar words in the Germanic languages, then, comes as no surprise. German:...

Santa Claus: the legendary patron saint of children The name Santa Claus first shows up in American English in 1773.  Before then, Santa Claus was known as Sante Klaas, which itself comes from the old Dutch name for the saint: Sinter Niklaas.  Today, in Holland, he is...

In my never-ending quest for alternatives to college, I recently discovered the No Degree podcast. In the podcast, the host interviews people who opted out of college, and found success.   If you decide to check it out, I recommend this episode...

Advent An awaited arrival; an important arrival. The season or period of the Christian calendar between Advent Sunday and Christmas. The word advent comes from the Latin word adventus.  Adventus, in Latin, is an arrival, an approach, a visit, or an appearance....

Last year I wrote a book on goal setting.  I am now in the process of editing that book.  As I edit, I will post excerpts here on my blog.  This is from chapter four: _______________________________________________________________________________________________...

This week, in a French class I attend, another student wanted to know how to say "cookie" in French. I expected the teacher to respond with le biscuit.  Instead, he responded with le petit gateau.  In French, the word for cake is gateau.  A cookie, then, is a little...

Last year I wrote a book on goal setting.  I am now in the process of editing that book.  As I edit, I will post excerpts here on my blog.  This is from chapter four: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ What...

Not long ago, in a German class, we learned the German word for iron, Eisen. Railroad, for example, in German is Eisenbahn.  Eisenbahn, a combination of Eisen (iron) and Bahn (road, or way) is the iron road. I thought of the name of one of our former presidents,...

Confetti: small pieces of paper thrown into the air during celebrations. This word came up in a Latin class this morning.  A student wanted to know if confetti came from confitieri, the Latin word for confession.  It does not. Instead, confetti comes from the Italian...

Today, in America, we celebrate Thanksgiving, a time we use to reflect upon all the blessings in our lives.  Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude. Gratitude: thankfulness; a feeling of appreciation. The word came to English via Medieval Latin.  The word for...

Quixotic: Idealistic, yet impractical.  Visionary. Quixotic comes from the name Don Quixote in the famous tale by Miguel Cervantes. I try to post a word a day on my site and on Facebook.  Judging by my record, this may be a quixotic goal on my part.  Oh well. ...

Like most of you, I love learning.  I spend much of my free time learning. Over the years, I have subscribed to the site formerly known as The Great Courses.  These days, the site goes by the name Wondrium.  I still call the site, The Great Courses. Honestly, the...

It's been a while since I've posted a word of the day. Back.  At least for today. This morning, in a Latin class, we learned the word Vita.  Vita, in Latin, means life. From vita, English gleans multiple words.  A bunch of them showed up in Word up: Volume 2. This...

Recently, I discovered the book, The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz.  I recommend the book. Among many other good suggestions, Mr. Schwartz recommended taking college classes for the rest of you life.  Schedule it in.  Plan on taking at least one class a...

Just found out today that the Old English/Anglo-Saxon work for wealth and prosperity is... thrift. From now on, I refer to thrift stores as wealth stores. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Almost every...

Not long ago, I finished reading Your Money or Your Life by Vicky Robin and Joe Dominguez. For years, I have read financial books.  Not sure how I missed this one.  The authors published it years ago. These days, during times of high inflation, we need all the help we...

Words change over time.  We know that.  Sententious is one of those words. Sententious once meant full of wisdom.  These days, it kind of means full of it.  (Hint.  The it in full of it is not wisdom.) In Latin sententiosus meant full of meaning.  This word came from...

I read a lot.   Comes with the territory, I suppose.  During the school year, I try to focus on Latin, German, Greek, French, and Spanish.  But, I often get distracted by English. To combat this, I divide the day by languages.  In the morning, I focus on French and...

I recently finished writing a book about working online.  In it, I hope to show other teachers how to make a living online. While writing the book, I researched dozens of paths. I have been earning my living online since 2011. After all this time, I believe one of the...

Cheeseparing - Saving via extreme frugality If someone cuts for you a rather thin piece of cheese, they are cheeseparing.  Perhaps because they are frugal. Cheeseparing comes from the Old English word for cheese (case) and the Old French word for trimming, parer.  Not...

Triskaidekaphobia - Irrational fear of the number thirteen Triskaidekaphobia is a combination of multiple Greek words. Τρεῖς (tres) three, χαί (kai), δέχα (deka) ten and, or course φόβος (phobos) fear. This word came up in a Greek class this morning, as we were...

Disremember: to forget. I ran across this word in The Wright Brothers, by David McCullough.  A book I enjoyed immensely, by the way.  If you are looking for a book capable of inspiring you to work incredibly hard, this may be the book for you. While testing their...