Word of the Day #117: Oubliette

In a French class this morning, my students and I learned the French word for forget: oublier. We spent a few minutes talking about the word.  Oublier, the French verb, comes from the Latin verb meaning the same thing, obliviscor.  Forgetful, in Latin, is oblitus....

Word of the Day #116: Apanthropy

Raining hard in Tennessee today.  On days like this my apanthropy usually kicks in. Apanthropy is the desire to be alone, a love of solitude.  Apanthropy comes from two Greek words.  The preposition ἀπό (apo) means “away from”.   Ἄνφροπος (anthropos), which you may...

Word of the Day #115: Fiancée

Someone once said, “English is a German language with a Latin vocabulary.” We can see the truth of that statement in the word fiancée.  This word came up this morning in a French class I teach. In French, a fiancée is a woman who has promised to marry. ...

Word of the Day #110: Calendar

Calendar: a system for measuring the days and months of the year. Calendar comes from the only word in Latin that uses the letter K, Kalendae.  The Kalendae, to the Romas, was the first day of the month.  It was also the day debts were due and accounts were reckoned....

Word of the Day #109: December

December: the twelfth and final month of the year December comes from the same root word that gives us the English decade (a period of ten years), decennial (occurring every ten years), decimal (to the tenth place), and dime (ten cents). December means: the tenth...

Word of the Day #99: Ultracrepidarian

Ultracrepidarian: someone giving opinions on something beyond their knowledge.    The habit of talking constantly about subjects you know little or nothing about. From the Latin word ultra (beyond) and crepida (slipper, or sandal). According to legends, a famous Greek...