US Search

Philoman's Home Page

Free Trial magazines

Main Page Philoman's Question Archive Philoman's Theorems
Suggested Sites Cool Facts Cool Words
Jokes Quotes Tips for Internet & Windows
Cool Words new 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

These are the words you could find on this page:
10-4, Agnathan, Albeit, Ambiance / Ambience, Barbecue / Barbeque, Beer, Belfry, Besot, Bowdlerize, Caltrop, Caustic, Chimera, Cipher, Cohort, Coin, Collagen, Contretemps, Coquetry, Creosote, Cytokine, Dundrearies, Dungeon, Earwig, Egg on, Eleemosynary, Enigma, Epitaxy, Eponym, Farrago, Frisson, Fritillary, Hello, Hurdy-gurdy, Infracaninophile, Jungle, Jury-rig, Mealy-mouthed, Mohair, Pamphlet, Parsnip, Pastiche, Periculant, Petroglyph, Pusillanimous, Quash, Round robin, Serendipity, Sesquipedalian, Shambles, Shibboleth, Sledge, Spoil, Symposium, Teetotaler, To the bitter end, Tomboy, Ullage, Viking, Vitiate, Zydeco

10-4 [n. TEN-four]
Borrowed from the lingo of truck drivers, police officers, and others communicating via radio, 10-4 means okay or affirmative. It is an acknowledgement used to convey that a message has been received.
This is just one of a series of ten codes, or aural brevity codes, used to save airtime and convey a precisely defined meaning. The word "10" is used before the code number to alert the listener that a code is about to be spoken.
Back To Top

Agnathan [adj. AG-nuh-thun]
If a creature is agnathan, then it lacks a jaw. The word is usually applied only to the primitive eel-like members of the class Agnatha, which includes hagfish and lampreys, plus various extinct creatures. Their relatives gave rise to all the other kinds of fish, including those that developed actual jaws.
To make this word, the Greek gnathos (jaw) gets the Greek prefix a- (without) and the suffix -an (of, relating to, or resembling). The same root that led to gnathos also evolved into these "jaw" words:
gnathic: relating to the jaw
gnathite: jaw-like appendage of an arthropod
-gnathous (suffix): relating to the jaw
chin: lower jaw, from Germanic kinnuz
genial [ji-NY-ul]: relating to the chin
The seemingly jaw-related words gnash and gnaw stem from different roots.
Back To Top

Albeit [conj. awl-BE-it]
Albeit is a conjunction used to qualify or reduce the strength of something that has just been said. Example: "She went on a relaxing, albeit brief vacation to a tropical island."
This conjunction can be used as a substitute for words like although and notwithstanding. It can also replace phrases such as even though, even if, admitting that, or conceding the fact that.
First seen in the Middle English of the 14th century, albeit is a shortened version of the phrase although it be that.
Back To Top

Ambiance / Ambience [n. AM-bee-uns]
Ambiance is environment or surroundings, the special mood or atmosphere created by a particular place: "We enjoyed the rustic ambiance of Dr. Franklin's cabin." The adjective form, ambient [adj. AM-bee-unt], has the sense of surrounding or encircling: "The sound of the roaring surf was an ambient presence, even indoors."
You may have heard of a modern art form called "ambient music," which consists of textures of sound, often without a beat. It's intended to be played at very low volumes, in order to become part of the ambiance.
Both words came from the French ambiant, from Latin ambiens, present participle of ambire (to surround). That's a compound of ambi- (around) and ire (to go). Something that is ambient "goes all around."
Here are more words about "going around":
amble: to stroll; to walk slowly
ambulate: to walk around
ambulacrum: area on the underside of a starfish where the tube feet
are extruded, allowing the animal to walk around
funambulist: one who walks on a tightrope or high wire

Back To Top

Barbecue / Barbeque [n. or v. BAR-be-kyoo]
In the late 1600s, Americans adopted this word from the Spanish, who in turn, had borrowed it from the Taino people of the West Indies. The Taino used barbacoa to describe wood platforms supported by stakes in the ground, which were used for grilling meat. Barbacoa were also wooden grids used for beds but this meaning has been lost over the years.
Today barbecue, which can also be spelled barbeque, has many meanings. The noun can describe the pieces of food roasted over open flame. It can also describe the grill, spit, or fireplace used to cook meat or vegetables. By the mid-1700s, barbecue had also come to mean a social entertainment, usually held outdoors, where food is cooked on a barbecue.
The verb form of barbecue is to broil or roast meat or vegetables over an open fire.

Back To Top

Beer [n. BIR]
Traditional beer is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting malt, flavored with the female flowers of hops vines. Nowadays, there are hundreds of kinds of beer including beers without alcohol, and beers made from all sorts of grains, roots, and other plant parts. What they all have in common is a foamy head and a rich flavor.
Until the 15th century all foamy, fermented beverages were known as ale, and a beer was almost any kind of drink. The original root was Late Latin bibere (to drink). In the 16th century, a distinction arose between beor, which was made with hops for flavoring, and ale, made without hops. Today, that distinction has faded.
More "drinking" words from bibere:
beverage: a drinkable fluid, but not usually water
bib: protective garment worn while eating; to drink heartily
bibulous: given to consuming alcoholic drinks; highly absorbent
imbibe: to drink; to absorb as if by drinking
Back To Top

Belfry [n. BEL-free]
A belfry is a bell tower, or the part of a tower or steeple where bells are hung. It might seem obvious that the word is related to bells, but actually its origin had nothing to do with them.
The original belfries were large wooden structures that were wheeled up to the walls of cities under attack. From the top of the structure, torches, missiles, and other projectiles were hurled into the city. In Old French these movable towers were called berfrei, from an ancient germanic compound root whose two parts mean "to protect" and "a place of safety."
The Old North French variant of this was belfrei. The meaning eventually extended to watch towers, which often contained bells. The word moved into English, and the original meaning was replaced because of the obvious-seeming connection between belfries and bells.

Back To Top

Besot [v. bih-SOT]
If something besots you, then it has either inspired you with overwhelming love or it has made you stupid and muddled, as if you are drunk. Example: "How could I have known, on that glorious morning, that the lovely Lorelei would so besot me?"
Someone who is besotted might be called "drunk with love," but originally the sense was more of being just plain drunk. The word comes from the obsolete English sot (a habitual drunkard), from Old English sott (to stupify; a fool or a drunkard). The earlier source was probably Old French sot (foolish).
The transitive prefix be- was added by the mid 1500s, by which time the word had acquired the sense of love-drunkenness and the phrase "besotted lovers" entered English literature.
Back To Top

Bowdlerize [vt. BOHD-luh-rise or BAUD-luh-rise]
To bowdlerize something is to condense it or edit it by omitting or modifying the parts that are considered vulgar, indecent, or unsuitable. Example: "The script the students were given had been bowderlized by the hypersensitive parents committee."
The namesake of this word, Thomas Bowdler, was an English editor best known for his "The Family Shakespeare." He was trying to purify literature by releasing a sanitized version of William Shakespeare's works. The verb bowdlerize came into use in 1836.
Near synonyms include: expurgate, clean up, edit out, and censor.

Back To Top

Caltrop [n. KAL-trup]
There are several different kinds of plants called caltrop, all of which have fruits with sharp, projecting spikes. A a caltrop can also be a metal device with four sharp spikes arranged so that when it lands on the ground, one of the spikes always points straight up.
The metal caltrops are nasty little military weapons, strewn behind fleeing troops to interfere with pursuing horses or vehicles. The spiny-fruited plants are almost equally nasty, including a star thistle and the water caltrop, a water chestnut. The military device was named after the plants.
The word comes from Middle English calketrappe, from Medieval Latin calcatrippa (thistle; any plant that "catches the feet"). That word was a compound of calcare (to tread on) and trappa (trap), a word of Ancient Germanic origin that was also the root of Modern English trap.

Back To Top

Caustic [adj. or n. KAHS-tik]
When someone makes a bitter or critical comment about someone they are being caustic. A caustic remark is sharply sarcastic. Near synonyms include: cutting, scathing, and acrid. Example: "His caustic jokes always made Ruth uncomfortable but the others just laughed."
In a technical sense, caustic describes anything that is capable of eating away at something. A near synonym is corrosive. As a noun, caustic refers to a substance that destroys something by chemical action.
First used in the English language in the 14th century, the Middle English caustik can be traced back to the Latin causticus (to burn).

Back To Top

Chimera [n. kuh-MEER-uh / ky-MEER-uh]
A Chimera (capitalized c) is an imaginary monster made out of parts of several different creatures. A chimera (lower case c) is an actual, living creature that contains parts with different genetic information. Such creatures can be created by mutations in embryos, or by artificial grafting of embryonic cells.
There is also the adjective chimerical [kuh-MARE-ih-kul], used to describe something that is wildly improbable or impossibly weird.
The original Greek Khimaira was a mythical, fire-breathing beast with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a long serpent or dragon tail. However, a khimaira could also be simply a she-goat.
The Greek word was a condensed form of an expression meaning "female animal of one winter," from the ancient root ghei- (winter) that also led to our words hibernate and hibernation.
Back To Top

Cipher [n. SIGH-fur]
Cipher originally meant zero or the symbol representing nothing. Today, this is just one of its many meanings.
A cipher is a person who fills a place but has no real influence or worth. A near synonym would be nonentity.
It is also a method of concealing the meaning of a message through a transformation -- like replacing each letter with the previous one in the alphabet. (For example, with this cipher "IBM" would change to "HAL".) This sense comes from encoding method, used in the early 16th century, in which letters are replaced with numbers.
This noun can also mean a combination of letters or symbolic letters, such as the interwoven initials of a name. Example: "His cipher was embroidered on all of his clothes, his towels, and even his garage door."
In use since the 14th century, cipher is taken from the Middle French cifre which was a variant on the Middle Latin cifra. This in turn was derived from the Arabic sifr (empty, zero).
Back To Top

Cohort [n. KOH-hort]
A cohort originally meant one of 10 divisions of a Roman legion (made up of 300 to 600 soldiers). The meaning was later expanded to mean any group of soldiers or warriors. It was further extended to describe any group of companions or supporters.
Today this noun also describes a group of person sharing a particular statistical or demographic characteristic. Example: "The reporter was doing a story on the spending habits of the Generation Y cohort."
The latest meaning of the word cohort is companion, associate, accomplice, or colleague. Using cohort to signify a single individual has upset some language scholars but this use is now very common.
Cohort entered English from the Middle French cohorte in the early 1400s. It is originally from the Latin cohort from cohors from co- (together) and hors (akin to hortus, which is the source of horticulture, the study of gardens).
Back To Top

Coin [n., v. KOYN]
A coin is a small piece of metal, usually flat and round, that is authorized by a government to be used as money. It can also be the cornerstone of a building, and as a verb, to coin can be to stamp out coins from a metal sheet or to invent a new word or phrase.
In Latin, a cuneus was a wedge, and from that word came the name of the wedge-shaped script called cuneiform. The word passed into Old French as coing, and the meaning broadened to include various wedge-shaped objects, including the corner stone of a building.
One of the wedge-shaped objects was the die that was used to stamp out money. Eventually, the pieces of money themselves became known as coins. Meanwhile the verb sense evolved, and today inventing a new word is coining it, in the sense that a word is the "currency of communication."
Back To Top

Collagen [n. KOL-uh-jun]
Collagen is the protein that holds most animal tissues together. It is one of the "cellular glues" that connect muscles to each other and to the skin and bones, and it even shapes the structures of the bones themselves.
The word comes from one of the original uses of this protein, which was to make glue by boiling the tendons and connective tissues of animals. The first part is from the Greek kolla (glue), which also gave us collage (art made by glueing cut-outs or other objects onto a surface) and collodion (a medical adhesive).
The suffix -gen is from the Greek -genes (to be born), so collagen is literally the protein from which glue is born (made). Here are more "birth" words:
generate: to bring into being or give rise to
oxygen: a gas that can take part in the formation (birth) of acids
androgen: a hormone that controls development of male characteristics
Back To Top

Contretemps [n. KON-tru-tan]
Accident, misadventure, mischance, mishap, and hitch are all near synonyms of contretemps. A contretemps is an unexpected mishap or unforeseen event that disrupts the normal course of things.
This French word can also mean an argument, dispute, or disagreement. Example: "Jim and Rob had a little contretemps at the game last night and still are not speaking."
Contretemps is a French word made up of contre (against) and temps (time) which is derived from the Latin tempus. This noun has been describing embarrassing accidents and awkward clashes since the late 1600s.
This word also has a specific meaning in dance terminology. It is a step danced on the unaccented portion of the beat, particularly in ballet.
Back To Top

Coquetry [n. KOE-kih-tree]
To engage in coquetry is to be flirtatious in actions or attitude. Example: "Jerry found Elaine's wit and elegance very appealing, and her playful coquetry drew him ever closer." To engage in coquetry is to coquet [v. koe-KET], and a woman who coquets is a coquette [n. koe-KET].
Today, these words are applied to women and girls, but in France in the 1600s the words more often described boldly flirtatious men. The root was the French coquet (flirtatious man), diminutive of coq (rooster), whose strutting and preening may have resembled the attention-seeking behavior of young male suitors. Today, such people might still be described as "cocky."
Once they were absorbed into English, these words lost the flavor of arrogance and promiscuity, became associated more with light, frivolous playfulness, and switched over to the female gender.
Back To Top

Creosote [n. KREE-uh-sote]
If you've walked on railroad tracks in the hot sun, you may have smelled the pungent aroma of creosote, a resinous liquid that is often used to preserve railroad ties, telephone poles, and other wooden objects exposed to weather. It's made by heating wood or coal tar and distilling the vapors that are produced.
After it was discovered in the 1830s, the most common use for creosote was as an antiseptic. The German kreosot was coined to describe the smelly liquid. It's a compound: the first part is derived from the Greek kreas (flesh), and the second is from Greek soter (savior, preserver). Other words from kreas include pancreas, and its Indo-European root also gave us crude, cruel, and raw.
There is also creosol, a compound that is a major component of creosote, and the creosote bush, an aromatic, yellow-flowered plant from the American southwest.
Back To Top

Cytokine [n. SY-toe-kyn]
A cytokine is a substance that causes living cells to grow and divide. Some cytokines are hormones that circulate in the blood, and others are released from individual cells, causing their neighbors to grow. If cytokines get out of control for some reason, they can contribute to conditions like cancer, in which cells grow without limit.
Like many scientific words, "cytokine" is a compound of Greek or Latin roots. "Cyto-" is a scientific prefix that means "of a cell," from the Greek kutos (hollow vessel). The second part, "-kine," is from the Greek kinein (to move). Another word that uses the same two roots is cytokinesis (the splitting of a cell during reproduction).
More "cellular" words:
cytology: the study of cells
cytoplasm: the living fluid that fills cells
cytolysis: the destruction of a cell
cytoskeleton: the internal protein framework of a cell
erythrocyte: a red blood cell

Back To Top

Dundrearies [n. DUN-drir-eez]
Dundrearies are long, flowing sideburns worn with a clean-shaven chin, similar to the shorter cut known as "mutton chops" or "burnsides." They were popular in England in the mid-1800's, where they were also known as "Picadilly weepers" or "Newgate knockers." The word is always plural, and it's often capitalized, since it originated as a proper name.
The name for this particular style of facial hair was introduced in a play, "Our American Cousin" by Tom Taylor, featuring a bumbling but good-natured character named Lord Dundreary, who sported the long, flowing sideburns. That play is perhaps best known as the one being watched by Abraham Lincoln when he was assassinated.
Back To Top

Dungeon [n. DUN-jun]
A dungeon is a dark chamber, usually underground, where prisoners are confined. Most dungeons are located underneath European castles.
The history of this word traces from the top of the castle to the bottom. From the Latin root dominus (master), came Vulgar Latin domnio (lord's tower), the most elevated part of the castle.
By the 14th century, in Old French a donjon could be the whole castle, but it could also be the keep (a secure structure that was often below the castle) as well as a prison cell in the keep. Today, the dungeon is usually in the deepest part of the castle, far below the lord's tower.
Here are more "masterful" words:
domain: controlled territory; area of activity or interest
dominion: control or exercise of control
demesne: manorial land retained by a lord
don: male title (Spanish); crime family leader
danger: exposure to harm or risk; power to harm (obsolete)

Back To Top

Earwig [n. EER-wig]
An earwig is a small insect with prominent pincers (cerci) at the end of its abdomen, belonging to the order Dermaptera. Although they are actually harmless soil scavengers, there is a very old, persistent belief that earwigs crawl into people's ears, becoming deeply lodged there.
There is also a more recent verb sense: to earwig someone is to try to influence them by persistently whispering in their ear or communicating confidentially.
The Old English word for "insect" was wicga, which probably came from the ancient root wig-, source of Modern English wiggle. To the Anglo- Saxons, an earwig was an earwicga (ear-insect, or ear-wiggler).
The earwig's unearned reputation also contributed to its name in other languages; in French it is a perce-orielle (ear-piercer), in German it is an Ohrwurm (ear-worm) and in Russian it is an ukhovertka (ear- turner).
Back To Top

Egg on
To egg someone on is to encourage them, or to urge them further in some pursuit. "When Howard seemed hesitant, Jeff egged him on, shouting 'Go for it.'"
The phrase might bring to mind an image of pelting someone with eggs as a strange form of encouragement, or you might think of a British person calling someone "a good egg," but actually eggs had nothing to do with its origin.
A person who is being egged on is being edged in some particular direction. In Old Norse, the word was eggja (to urge), which is related to our word "edge." The original implication was that the edge of a sword was being applied as an incentive. A related word was the Old English eggment (incitement, instigation).
More "pointed" words from the same family:
ear: a spiky seed-head of grain
acute: sharp (as an angle), from Latin acus (needle)
acid: sour-tasting chemical, from Latin acere (to be sharp)
acme: the peak, highest point or perfection

Back To Top

Eleemosynary [adj. EL-uh-MAH-sun-air-ee]
That which is eleemosynary is charitable, has to do with charity, or is supported by charity. Example: "Doctor Benson regularly contributed to the Pediatric Foundation and other eleemosynary organizations."
This word first appeared in English in the 1600s, derived from Medieval Latin eleemosynarius (compassion, mercy), ultimately from Greek eleemosune (pity, alms).
Along the way, the Vulgar Latin alimosina (alms) split off and led to words in other languages with the same meaning, including French aumone, Italian limosina, German almosen, and Dutch aalmoes. Old English received the word as aelmesse, which became shortened to alms by the 1800s.
There is also almoner (medical social worker), which developed from aumoner (administrator of alms) in the 1800s. Originally, the aumoner was someone who worked at the aumonry (place of alms giving), receiving donations and distributing them to those in need.
Back To Top

Enigma [n. ih-NIG-muh or e-NIG-muh]
If you don't know what an enigma is don't worry. That's exactly what this mysterious word intends. An enigma is something perplexing and hard to explain. It can also be a person who is difficult to understand completely, someone whose behavior seems inexplicable. Example: "Willie Wonka was an enigma -- nobody ever saw him or any of his workers, yet his factory continued to produce truckloads of the best chocolate."
Enigma, an English word since the 15th century, comes from the Latin aenigma. This was derived from the Greek ainigma, from the Greek ainissesthai (to speak in riddles). Ainissesthai was a variant of ainos (fable).
Near synonyms include: puzzle, riddle, conundrum, brain-teaser, and mystery.

Back To Top

Epitaxy [n. EP-ih-tak-see]
Epitaxy is the growth of a crystal on the surface of a different kind of crystal so that the new crystal's molecular structure is aligned with the structure of the base crystal.
The word can refer to minerals deposited in nature, and it also applies to artificial techniques like "molecular beam epitaxy" (see today's Cool Fact, linked below).
Epitaxy literally means "surface arrangement." The word is a compound of epi- (on, upon) and -taxis, from the Greek tassein (to arrange).
More "on and upon" words:
epiphyte: plant that grows on another plant
epicuticle: outermost layer of an insect's exoskeleton
epidermis: outermost layer of skin
More "arrangement" words:
taxis: movement of an animal or plant in response to a stimulus
taxidermy: mounting (arrangement) of preserved animal skins
Back To Top

Eponym [n. EP-uh-nim]
An eponym is a person's name that has become part of the common language, and the word derived from the name is eponymous [adj. ih-PON-uh-mus]. For example, the eponym of the city of Rome is Romulus, the son of Mars in Roman mythology.
The Latin prefix epi- (to) and onoma (name) were combined to give us this word. There is also the similar word toponym (a place name that has become part of the common language), from the Greek topos (place).
There are many eponymous words in English, including these:
milquetoast: a shy, timid person (from Caspar Milquetoast, a character in a newspaper comic by H.T. Webster)
Washington: cities, a state, and other U.S. landmarks (from George Washington, first president of the United States)
napoleon: a rectangular bar of layered custard pastry (from Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France)
caesar salad: a tossed salad (from Caesar Cardini, a restauranteur in Tijuana, Mexico, who invented it in 1924)

Back To Top

Farrago [n. fuh-RAY-go, fuh-RAH-go]
A farrago is a mixed medley, a varied assortment. It's a slightly disparaging word that implies a haphazard, disorganized collection. Example: "Edwin's thesis was little more than a random farrago of hastily collected themes."
Our modern word is a direct descendent of the Latin farrago, which was a kind of mixed cattle feed, or more generally, any kind of mixture. The root was Latin far (spelt, a kind of hardy wheat), which also gave us farina (a mealy sort of breakfast cereal) and farinaceous (starchy, mealy, powdery).
When English adopted farrago the meaning broadened from a mixture of fodder to include any kind of mixture, even a mixture of ideas, as in "a farrago of nonsense," one of the most popular modern uses of the word.
More distant relatives from the same root include the grain called barley, and the place where it is stored, which is called the barn.

Back To Top

Frisson [n. free-SONE]
A frisson is a brief moment of thrilling excitement, like a quick, emotional shudder. Example: "Jerry felt a sudden frisson of terror when the snorting bull turned to face him."
This word came into English through Old French, from fricon (shiver), which is pronounced the same as our English word. There's a connection with coldness, which is often the reason for shivers, and that connection had an influence on the evolution of the word. But the connection is a result of a lexical error.
The Old French fricon came from Latin frictio (friction). Normally, friction is associated with heat, not cold. But it was once thought that the root of frictio was Latin frigere (to be cold). Actually, the root was fricare (to rub). Through the false association of frictio and coldness, Old French fricon came to mean "shiver," and our word frisson arose with its current meaning.

Back To Top

Fritillary [n. FRIT-ul-air-ee]
A fritillary is either a kind of lily, or it is a butterfly. Both are quite showy, with orange, yellow, or brown checked or spotted patterns on the flowers or the wings, respectively. There are about a dozen kinds of fritillary butterflies in the US and Europe, in the family Nymphalidae. There are also several species of fritillary lilies.
They are not called fritillaries because they flit about, or because they fritter away their lives in idle showiness. The name refers to the colorful patterns. The original word was the Latin fritillus (a dice box). Roman dice boxes often had checked patterns on them.
Back To Top

Hello [interj. hu-LOW]
This is one of the most commonly spoken words in English. It's the salutation that begins almost every phone conversation, and it can also be an expression of surprise, especially in British English. Example: "When he uncovered a perfect trilobite fossil, Professor Bains exclaimed 'Hello! What a find!'"
As you might expect for such a common word, its origins are extremely ancient. In Chaucer's time, the word was hallow, and by the time of Shakespeare it was halloo. The root may have been a cry, holla (Stop!), which probably came from Old French hola (Ho there!), a compound of ho (ho!) and la (there).
The word was not nearly as popular before the invention of the telephone. With telephones and the customary telephone greeting spread across the entire planet, it is possible that "hello" is now the most widely recognized word in any language.
Back To Top

Hurdy-gurdy [n. HUR-dee GUR-dee]
A hurdy-gurdy is a musical instrument that is played by turning a crank. They aren't often seen today but there are still people who play these instruments around the world.
Hurdy-gurdies can be barrel organs or instruments in the shape of a lute or guitar. Musical notes are sounded by turning a crank that forces the revolution of a rosined wheel against the strings.
Hurdy-gurdy first entered the English language in the mid-18th century. It's a variation on the Scottish hirdy-girdy (uproar).

Back To Top

Infracaninophile [n. IN-fruh-kuh-NIN-uh-fyl]
An infracaninophile is a person who favors the underdog. Example: "Those infracaninophiles are always giving out money to the homeless people." This word, which is absent from many dictionaries, was coined by Christopher Morley, a novelist and poet who died in 1957.
The word has three parts. The Latin prefix infra- means "interior to, below, or beneath." Related words include under, inferior, and inferno. The middle part, -canino- is from the Latin canus (dog), and -phile is from the Greek philos (beloved, loving).
Inspired by Mr. Morley's example, we suggest that if there are infracaninophiles there might also be infracaninophobes (people who are afraid of underdogs) and ultracaninophiles (people who favor those who are in power).
Here are more ideas for new words along the same lines:
inframariphile: someone who likes to be under the ocean exospherophile: someone who likes to be in outer space
ultravelociphile: someone who likes to go very fast
Back To Top

Jungle [n. JUNG-gul]
A jungle is an area of land that is densely overgrown with tropical vegetation. More metaphorically, a jungle can also be something that is confusing or densely tangled, as in this example: "After three hours of study, Stew became frustrated by the dense jungle of tax rules."
Although today we usually think of jungles as moist places, the original jungles were dry. The oldest known root is Sanskrit jangalam (a dry wasteland, or any kind of uncultivated area). In Hindi, a jangal was still an area of wasteland, but with the additional sense of being overgrown with scrub. When the word moved into Anglo-Indian, it changed to almost its present meaning, referring to an area of dense forest.
Since entering English, the word has developed many new variants. Now there are concrete jungles (big cities), blackboard jungles (public schools), corporate jungles (big companies), and of course the globe-spanning digital jungle (the Internet).

Back To Top

Jury-rig [n. v. JOO-ree rig]
A jury-rig is a makeshift assembly that's just temporary, an emergency measure improvised out of available materials, and to make one is to jury-rig. Example: "The injured hiker jury-rigged a splint out of sticks and twine."
The most likely origin is from the Old French ajuri (help), from the Latin adiutare (aid). In this context, the word "jury" was originally a nautical term meaning "temporary," as in a "jury sail." This is distinct from the other meaning of "jury" (a group of persons sworn to judge and give a verdict), which comes from Latin iurare (to swear), from ius (law).
There is also a related expression, "jerry built" (built in a slipshod, haphazard way), which probably split off from "jury-rig" as it migrated into English, although some theories suggest it originated independently. One story relates "jerry built" to the Biblical story of the Prophet Jeremiah, whose lamentations might resemble the complaints of someone in a jerry-built house. Another mentions the city of Jericho, whose walls crumbled at the sound of a trumpet.

Back To Top

Mealy-mouthed [adj. MEE-lee mouthd]
To be mealy-mouthed is to speak in circles, to be unwilling to directly state facts or opinions. The phrase carries a strong sense of disapproval. Example: "Senator McBain's mealy-mouthed platitudes left us wondering if he had a point of view at all."
Some etymologists have linked this phrase with the Latin mel (honey). The connection may seem appropriate, since a mealy-mouthed person might also be called "honey-tongued."
The source of the phrase is actually more direct: a mealy-mouthed person is like someone whose mouth is full of meal (powdered grain), unable to speak clearly. There's a German expression, "Mehl im Maule behalten" (literally, to carry meal in one's mouth) that means "to speak indirectly." Our phrase most likely came from the German expression, or a similar one in another Germanic language.

Back To Top

Mohair [n. MO-hair]
Mohair is the long, silky hair of an angora goat, and it's both the yarn and the fabric made from that hair. It is valued because it's about three times as strong as wool, and mohair fabric is very durable.
Is mohair the hair of a mo? No, this tricky word, which contains "hair" and names a kind of hair, has its source in a word that is not at all related to the English hair.
The original word in Arabic was mukhayyar (choice, select), which was used to describe the very best yarn produced from angora goats, and the finest fabric produced from that yarn. In Italian, it was mocaiaro, and in Old English it was mocayere. Through "folk etymology," in which words assume pronunciations or spellings that seem to make more sense, the word became mohair.

Back To Top

Pamphlet [n. PAM-flit]
A pamphlet is a small publication, usually unbound and with a paper cover, and a pamphleteer [n. pam-fli-TEER] is someone who publishes or distributes pamphlets.
Some etymologists have been stumped by this word. With its second syllable "-let" it seems to be a diminutive like "booklet," but the apparent root "pamph" does not make sense. Did our word come from the Spanish papeleta (slip, card)? Is there a link with the Egyptian papyrus (paper made from pressed rushes)?
Actually, our word traces back to a very popular love poem from the twelfth century. It was called "Pamphilus, seu de Amore" (Pamphilus, or on love). The main character's name, Pamphilus, means "beloved by all," from pan- (all) and philos (beloved).
The poem was widely reproduced, and its title entered common usage. By the 14th century, a pamphlet was any unbound text shorter than a book.
Back To Top

Parsnip [n. PAR-snip]
A parsnip is a strongly scented plant (Pastinaca sativa) whose long, fleshy, white root is edible. The root, also known as a parsnip, is one of the most nutritious vegetables.
The name of this vegetable started out as the name of the tool used to harvest it. The ancient Romans used a two-pronged dibble (pointed digging tool) called a pastinum to dig parsnips and carrots out of the ground. Their collective word for both kinds of vegetables was pastinaca.
In Old French, the word was pasnaie, and it applied only to parsnips. When the word moved into English, the ending changed to -nip by association with a similar-looking but unrelated vegetable, the turnip.

Back To Top

Pastiche [n. pass-TEESH or pahs-TEESH]
A piece of literature, music, or art that consists of material from several different sources is a pastiche. A pastiche is usually done intentionally as an homage or it can be done as an exercise to learn the techniques of others.
Pastiche is a French word for parody or literary imitation and was derived from the Italian pasticcio in the late 1800s. Pasticcio comes from the vulgar Latin pasticium, which derives from the Latin pasta (dough).
Near synonyms include: medley, jumble, potpourri, and hodgepodge. Example: "His latest release is a pastiche of at least a dozen earlier recording artists."

Back To Top

Periculant [adj. per-IK-you-lunt]
To be periculant is to be exposed to danger under difficult conditions. "The periculant survivors of the shipwreck crawled ashore on the cold, windswept island."
This seldom-used word is a direct offspring of the Latin periculum (trial, danger), and a close relative of peril (danger). It comes ultimately from the ancient root per-, which had a meaning something like "to lead over" or "to press forward," with a sense of trial or risk.
More words from the same ancient root:
fear: emotion that implies danger is near
pirate: one who emperils (endangers) others in order to gain wealth
experiment: to learn by deliberate trials
experience: apprehension of sensory information
expert: one who knows much about a particular field

Back To Top

Petroglyph [n. PET-ruh-glif]
Throughout the American southwest there are art works carved by Native Americans into the dark-colored "rock varnish" that forms on stone surfaces in the desert. These are petroglyphs, images carved into the surfaces of stones. (If an image was painted on a rock, then it is a pictograph [n. PIK-tuh-graf].)
The word is a compound from the Latin petra (stone) and the Greek gluphe (carving). Both of these are from roots that gave us many English words.
More "stony" words:
petroleum: oil (oleum, in Latin) that comes from rocks
petrify: turn to stone
saltpetre: potassium or sodium nitrate, "salt of the rock"
Back To Top

Pusillanimous [adj. PYOO-suh-LAN-ih-mus]
Someone who is pusillanimous is timid or cowardly, lacking conviction of mind, unable to muster the courage to take a stand. Etymologically, such a person is "weak-spirited."
In Latin the animus was the reasoning mind or the spirit that enlivens, and pusillus (weak) was the diminutive of pullus (a young animal). Together, they formed Late Latin pusillanimis (weak- spirited; weak-minded).
Through various paths, other words related to youth have emerged from the same ancient root that led to pullus:
pullet: a young hen pony: a small horse
pool: stakes, booty, or funds, from French poule (hen, stakes, booty)
puerile: childish, juvenile, immature

Back To Top

Quash [v. KWASH]
To quash is to annul or set aside by a judicial act, or it is to completely suppress by force. Example: "The General's army quashed the rebellion without difficulty."
The two meanings of this word came into English through slightly different paths, both through Old French from Medieval Latin quassare (to shatter or shake to pieces). The sense "quash by annulment" was influenced by Latin cassare (to empty), from cassus (empty, void). A judicial quash renders its subject empty and void.
The other meaning, "quash through overwhelming force," came through the same path, but more strongly influenced by the source of "quassare," which was quatere (to shake, to strike). The related word "squash" also came from the same root, through a Vulgar Latin derivative, exquassare (to shatter or shake extremely).
Other words in the same family include these:
concussion: a violent jarring or shock (a striking together) percussion: a striking together
rescue: to save or set free (by shaking off or driving away enemies)

Back To Top

Round robin
A round robin is a sports tournament in which each contestant is matched with every other contestant. It's also a petition in which the signatures are arranged in a circle, like spokes of a wheel, in order to conceal the order of signing.
A round robin has nothing to do with red-breasted birds. The name is probably based on the French ruban (ribbon). In the seventeenth century, French monarchs sometimes ordered the death of the first person who signed a petition that displeased the Crown. In order to disguise the order of signing, the names were written on an endless, circular ribbon, and no one could be identified as the instigator of the petition.
Later, sailors in the British Navy modified the round robin, using the wheel spoke pattern to hide the order of signing. It was not until the late 1800s that "round robin" was applied to sports tournaments.
Back To Top

Serendipity [n. SER-un-DIP-uh-tee]
Serendipity is the ability to make fortunate discoveries by accident, without expecting them. Example: "The uncovering of the ancient inscribed stones was pure serendipity, since I was actually digging a hole for a fencepost."
This word was coined in 1754 by a British author, Horace Walpole, who said he based it on an old Persian fairy tale called "The Three Princes Of Serendip." In this story, the three princes were always making happy, unexpected discoveries.
In Old Persian, Sarandib was the name of the island we now call Sri Lanka. The Persian name was a corruption of the Sanskrit Sinhaladvipa (island of lions), which was also the source of the name of the Sri Lankan language, Sinhalese.

Back To Top

Sesquipedalian [n., adj. SES-kwi-puh-DAYL-yun]
This is a word that both names and describes itself. A sesquipedalian is a long word, and such a word (as well as someone who uses such words) is sesquipedalian. The implied sense is that such a long word is needlessly pompous when shorter words would do.
This word's use in English came from the Roman poet Horace's phrase "sesquipedalia verba" (words a foot and a half long), which carried the same implication of needless pomposity.
The prefix sesqui- (one and a half) also appears in sesquicentennial (an anniversary at 150 years) and is a derivative of semi- (half). The suffix -pedalian is from the Latin pes (foot), which gave us many "foot" words including these:
foot: walking and standing appendage at the end of the leg
pedal: a pad on which the foot presses to control something
impede: to retard or obstruct (originally, in a snare or trap)
pedestrian: person walking on the street
centipede: "hundred footed" creature
millipede: "thousand footed" creature

Back To Top

Shambles [n. SHAM-bulz]
A shambles (the noun is always singular, despite the seemingly plural ending) is a scene of great disorder or chaos, and to shamble is to walk with an unsteady, shuffling gait.
Although the two words seem to have unrelated meanings, they actually emerged from the same root. Both stemmed originally from the Latin scamnum (a stool or bench for the feet), and its diminutive, scamillum (a low stool).
Old English had sceamol (a stool, bench, or table), which became Middle English shamel (a place where meat is butchered or sold), presumably in connection with the distinctive tables used in such a place. A slaughterhouse became known as a shamelhouse, and a "shambles" was at first a place where there was great bloodshed or carnage. Only in the early 20th century did the sense lighten to "great disorder," losing the bloody quality.
As for "shamble," the word seems to have originally been a reference to the rickety, bent or bowed legs of the tables in the shamelhouses. To shamble was to walk with bowed, unsteady legs.

Back To Top

Shibboleth [n. SHIH-buh-leth]
A shibboleth is a word or phrase that can be used to identify people from different cultures or classes, or it can be a "catchword" or phrase identified with one group. It can also be a practice or custom that shows one is an outsider to a particular group.
All these meanings are about comparing the way people express themselves. This has nothing to do with the original meaning of the word, but reflects the way it was used as a "test word" in biblical times.
In Hebrew, a shibbolet was a torrent or stream of water. According to the Book Of Judges (12:4-6), after the Gileadites defeated the Ephraimites, they used the soldier's pronunciation of "shibbolet" to identify Ephraimites posing as Gileadites. The impostors were unable to pronounce the initial "sh" of the word.
Today, similar "test words" are still sometimes used by military forces to identify people from different ethnic or cultural backgrounds.
Back To Top

Sledge [n. SLEJ]
There are two kinds of sledge. The first is a vehicle with runners for use in the snow, and the second is a heavy hammer, usually called a sledgehammer. The two meanings are unrelated.
In Middle Dutch, the snow vehicle was originally a sleedse. This word, which changed into Dutch slee (which gave us English sleigh), came from the Prehistoric Germanic root slid-, which was also the source of English slide and related words. From the same root came other snow vehicle names, like Middle Low German sledde, which gave us English sled.
"Sledgehammer" is actually redundant. In Old English such a large hammer was simply called a slecg, and was originally a war weapon. The word goes back to prehistoric Germanic slakh- (to hit), which also led to the English words slay and slaughter.

Back To Top

Spoil [n., v. SPOYL]
To spoil something is to render it unfit for use, or to seriously impair its quality or beauty. To spoil can also be to harm someone's character (especially a child) through excessive praise or overindulgence. There is also the noun form (usually plural): goods or property seized from a victim after a conflict.
Originally, Latin spolium was the hide stripped from a killed animal. The ancient root of this was spel- (split, burst), which also led to German spalten (to split) and Modern English spill and split.
The meaning drifted over the centuries to "weapons taken from a slain enemy" and eventually any sort of booty or plunder. Thus we have the modern expression "the spoils of war."
Meanwhile, the verb form evolved from the original meaning of the word, in recognition that a dead animal that has been spoiled (stripped of its skin) is essentially worthless. The most recent meaning, to harm someone's character through overindulgence, arose in the 17th century.

Back To Top

Symposium [n. sim-POH-zee-um]
A symposium is a party, social gathering, or formal meeting where there is a free exchange of ideas, or it can be a collection of opinions on a subject, especially one that is published. Example: "Dr. Drake attended the physics symposium, where he spoke at length about his new theories."
Today, a symposium is most often a formal gathering, with a scheduled list of speakers and discussions. In ancient Greece, the first symposia were more like drinking parties than intellectual meetings. Their word was sumposion, from sumpinein, a compound of sum- (together) and pinein (to drink).
Until the 18th century, a symposium was a Greek drinking party. The more sober sense of the word appeared when British intellectuals began meeting for drinks and conversation, bringing a sense of dignified, English propriety to their symposia.

Back To Top

Teetotaler [n. TEE-toet-ul-ur]
A teetotaler is a person who abstains completely from all alcoholic drinks. Such a person practices teetotalism, and is a teetotal person.
Is a teetotaler someone who "totally drinks tea?" Actually, the original root form had nothing to do with drinking.
As far back as the early 1800s, "tee-totally" was an emphatic form of "totally." This use shows the true origin of the teetotal family as a result of reduplication, a lexical phenomenon where the initial letter of a word is repeated for emphasis.
Most sources agree that the first application of "teetotal" to drinking was in a speech by Richard Turner, a member of the British Temperance Society, in 1833, in which he urged everyone to abstain tee-totally from all forms of alcohol.
Back To Top

To the bitter end
If you hang on to the bitter end, you are extending your efforts without giving up, even if it means you keep trying until you ultimately fail. Example: "Although he was limping on a sprained ankle and last in the race, Hugh kept running right to the bitter end."
Although the end of one's efforts may be bitter, the original phrase was a nautical expression that had nothing to do with bitterness.
On a ship, the bollards (posts) on which cables are wound are called bitts, a bitter is one turn of the cable around the bitt, and the bitter end is the last loop of cable. If a cable is let out to the bitter end, then there is no more slack, and the ship could be damaged by a large swell or rough weather. On a ship, it's best not to go to the bitter end.
Back To Top

Tomboy [n. TOM-boi]
Originally, a tomboy was a boy or girl who acted rudely or boisterously, but over time the meaning has shifted and now the word is exclusively applied to a girl who acts like a boisterous boy.
In 1605, English author Richard Verstegen defined a tomboy as "a wench that skippeth as a boy." Although Verstegen claimed the word derived from Old English tumbian (to dance), source of modern English tumbler (acrobat), the actual source is simpler.
This is one of several words in which "tom" is a way of showing maleness. We also have tomcat (a male cat), "tom turkey" (a male turkey), tomtit (a cheeky, bold little bird) and "every Tom, Dick and Harry," a general way of saying "just about everyone," with an included sense of maleness that is not always enforced. There is also tomfoolery (from "Tom Fool," a generic name for a crazy man) and "Tom Thumb," which is sometimes used as a derogatory label for a very small man.

Back To Top

Ullage [n. UL-ij]
When a cask or barrel is filled with liquid, it can only be filled as far as the bung-hole. The amount of space that is left unfilled is the ullage. It is also the space between the top of the liquid and the bottom of the cork in a bottle of wine.
This word traces to the Latin word for the bung-hole, which was oculus (metaphorically, an eye). The word passed into Old French as oeil, and from that came the verb ouiller (to fill up a barrel to the bung-hole). The ouillage was the remaining space. The word passed into Anglo-Norman, and then into English.
Here are more "eye" words from oculus:
oculist: an eye doctor
ocular: relating to the eye
ocellus: a small simple eye (as on an insect); an eyelike marking
pinochle: card game in which "two-eyed" face cards have special meaning
monocle: a seeing lens for one eye
Back To Top

Viking [n. VY-king]
The Vikings were a seafaring race who plundered the coasts of northern Europe from the eighth to the tenth centuries. They were Norse adventurers who had a huge effect on the early history of England.
Although it may be tempting to think that a Viking is some kind of "sea king," the word stems from a different root.
Most sources explain that the word traces back to Old Norse vikingr, from the tenth century. If this is a correct derivation, then it was probably based on Old Norse vik (inlet, river mouth), and the Vikings were literally "those who went upriver in boats."
However, earlier traces of the word exist in Old English from the eighth century, before the arrival of the Norsemen. This suggests a different root, in Old English wic- (campground), which was the root of the today's English place names ending in -wich. By this theory, the Norse invaders would have gotten their name from the habit of camping out on English shores.

Back To Top

Vitiate [v. VISH-ee-ayt]
To vitiate is to impair by making defective, ineffective, or faulty, or to debase morally or aesthetically. Example: "Although the work was done by skilled mechanics, the repair was vitiated by the poor quality of the components."
The Latin root of this word is vitiare (to fault), from vitium (defect, fault, offense). It's part of a family of words having to do with fault or vice, including vituperate (scold, criticize harshly), vicious (evil, immoral, depraved, spiteful, or malicious), and vice (an evil, immoral or depraved act or habit).
Words that may seem related but are not include vicissitude (constantly occurring change, especially in fortune or condition), from Latin vicis (turn or change); and villain (wicked or evil person), from Vulgar Latin villanus (feudal serf), from Latin villa (country house).
Back To Top

Zydeco [n. ZY-duh-koe]
In southern Louisiana, there is a musical style that combines French, Caribbean, and blues, called zydeco. It's foot-stompin' music that might include fiddles, accordions, and even a washboard or two.
Until the 1950s, this musical style was known as "la la music." But then came a very popular tune called "Les Haricots Sont Pas Sale" (The Beans Are Not Salty), a snappy tune about how tough the times were when there was not even salt for the beans. The song was made popular by Clifton Chenier, the "King of Zydeco."
How do beans relate to zydeco? The first two words "Les Haricots" (The Beans) when pronounced with a strong French Creole accent, sound quite a bit like "zydeco." So, from unsalted beans came a musical genre's name.
Back To Top