Word of the Day - February

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Where do I get my information? Merriam-Webster's Dictionary. It's an app I have on my iPad. If I come across a word I do not know, I will let you know where I located the word.



Have you ever had one of those days?  Today was that for me.  As I was updating this page, all of the previous postings were deleted while I was using my iPad.  I guess I cannot update these pages on my iPad without losing everything that was already on it.  Sooooooo - that being said, now I have to remember what I had written before.

February 1 - February - I do recall having this here - I'm not sure which day, but I knew I wanted to know where the names of the months came from - especially this one because it has a strange spelling.

1. February is the second month in the Gregorian calendar. What does Gregorian mean? 
2. This was first used in the 12th century. The word origin was Middle English - Februarie, from Old English - februarius, from Latin for Februa - feast of the purification.
3. Gregorian - means having to do with Pope Gregory XIII or the Gregorian calendar - which was first used in 1592.
4. What I found interesting and something I tell my students is the story of where 12 months came from - The Roman calendar added two months - July and August - for Julius Augustus Caesar.

February 2 - groundhog - I know I wanted this one because this day was Groundhog's Day.

1. woodchuck - Groundhog is first used in the 1700s.
2. So what is a woodchuck? a grizzled thickset marmot chiefly found in Alaska, Canada, and the northeastern United States

Word Origin - by folk etymology - from the Algonquin; also the Narrangansett ockqutchaun - woodchuck.

The word was first used in 1674 - which makes sense since the Americas were settled in the 1600s.

February 3 - entailed - I love to watch Downton Abbey and this word is extremely important to the plot of the show - as the Earl of Grantham has no boys, so he the title and the lands must go to his nephew, Matthew, who is the proper heir.

1. to restrict property by limiting the inheritance to the owner's lineal descendents
2. to confer, assign, or transmit smething for an indefinitely long time
3. an entailed estate

Word origin: Middle English entailen, entaillen, from en + taile, taille - limitation

The word was first used in the 14th century.

February 4 - livery - I was writing my books and wondering where did this word come from.

1. the apportioning of provisions especially to servants - like an allowance
2. the distinctive clothing or badge formerly worn by the retainers of a person of rank
3. a servant's uniform
4. the members of British livery company
5. the act of delivering legal possession of property
6. a concern offering vehicles for rent

Word origin - Middle English, from Anglo-French liveree, livree - but literally from delivery - from liverer to deliver - from Latin - liberare - to free.

The word was first used in the 14th century.

February 5 - emolument - I saw this word while I was working on an article for another blog.

1. A wage or returns from being in that office 

Word origin: is from Middle English. The Latin word emolumentum - advantage, emolere - to produce by grinding (which makes no sense in the current use) 

The word was first use in the 15th century.

February 6 - provincial - usually when you read this word in a historical novel it has a negative connotation.

1. the superior of a province of a Roman Catholic religious order (not the one I was thinking)
2. one living in or coming from a province (still not the one I want)
3. a person of local or restricted interests or outlook (certainly closer to what I want)
4. a person lacking urban polish or refinement (THIS IS THE ONE I WANTED)

Word origin: from Middle English, Anglo-French - provincialis, from provincia or from Latin provincialis

The word was first used in the 14th century.

February 7 - bumpkin - an odd word to say the least - one of those where you think - who made this word up?  Doesn't it remind you of pumpkin?

1. an awkward and unsophisticated rustic

Word origin: from Dutch bommekijn - small cask, or from Middle Dutch - bomme cask

The word was first used in 1570.

February 8 - tattoo - Many of us think tattoos have been around for a long time, so imagine my surprise when I read the definitions.

1. a rapid rhythmic rapping
2. a call sounded shortly before taps as notice to go to quarters
3. outdoor military exercise given by troops as evening entertainment

Word origin: alteration of taptoo - from Dutch taptoe OR tap toe

The word was first used in 1627.

BUT - tattoo as a noun is different:

1. the act of tattooing
2. an indelible mark or figure fixed upon the body by insertion of pigment under the skin or by production of scars.

The word was first used this way in 1777.

February 9 - kiosk - this word has always intrigued me. When you first read the work it's difficult to decipher its origin.  Let's see where it really comes from.

1. an open summerhouse or pavilion
2. a small structure with one or more open sides that is used to vend merchandise or services
3. a small stand-alone device providing information and services on a computer screen.

Word Origin: the word could have come from the Turkish kosk, or from Perisan kushk for portico.

The word was first used in 1625.

February 10 - machinations - You see the machine in this word which makes one wonder when it was first originated - thinking perhaps the Industrial Revolution.

1. the act of machinating (which means to plan or plot especially to do harm) OR to scheme or contrive to bring about
2. a scheming or crafty action or artful of design intended to accomplish some usually evil end

Word origin: Latin machinatus OR machinari, from machina - machine

The word was first used in the 15th century. Of course machinating was first used in 1602 (the 17th century).

February 11 - presumptive - I chose this word because when I was writing my post about Downton Abbey, I mentioned the heir presumptive dying on the Titanic.

1. based on probability or presumption
2. giving grounds for reasonable opinion or belief
3. being an embryonic precursor wit the potential for forming a particular structure or tissue in the normal course of development

Word origin: You have to look up presumption to find the word origin - Middle English - presumpcioun, From Anglo-French - presumption, from Latin - praesumption, praesumptio.

The word was first used in the 15th century.

February 12 - petticoat - Since women were forced to wear so many bizarre pieces of clothing back in the day, I thought - hmmm - when did these words first come into being = because of course that let's us know when they were first used as well.

1. a skirt worn by women, girls, or young children
2. an outer skirt formerly worn by women and small children
3. a fancy skirt made to show below a draped overskirt
4. an underskirt usually a little shorter than outer clothing and often made with a ruffled, pleated, or lace edge
5. the skirt of a woman's riding habit

Word origin: Middle English - petycote = short tunic, petticoat - pety - small + cote - coat.

The word was first used in the 15th century.

February 13 - troth - of course when you first see this word, you might thing trough - like something a pig eats from, but it is far from that.

1. loyal or pledged faithfulness
2. one's pledged word

Word origin: Middle English trouth from Old English - treowth - more at truth.

The word was first used in the 12th century.

February 14 - Valentine - Of course I have to do this word today.  No one thinks of anything else but Valentines on this day.

1. a sweetheart chosen or complemented on Valentine's Day
2. a gift or greeting sent or given especially to a sweetheart on Valentine's Day

Word origin - named after St. Valentine a holy priest who was executed by the Emperor Claudius II on February 14th, 270.

The word was first used in the 15th century.

February 15 - troubadour - I chose this word because when I saw it, I thought it had been around since Medieval times and I was wrong.

1. one of a class of lyric poets and poet-musicians often of knightly rank who flourished from the 11th to the end of the 13th century chiefly in the south of France and the north of Italy and whose major theme was courtly love

Word origin: French - trobador, from trobar to compose, from Latin - tropare - tropus trope

The word was first used in 1741 (which is strange if it refers to people who have been around since the 11th century).

February 16 - piracy - Have you ever wondered when piracy began and where the word came from?

1. an act of robbery on the high seas
2. robbery on the high seas
3. the unauthorized use of another's production, invention, or conception especially in infringement of a copyright.
4. the illicit accessing of broadcast signals

Word origin: Medieval Latin - piratia, from Late Greek  - peirateia - from Greek - peirates pirate.

The word was first used in 1537.

February 17 - chef - with my daughter being a chef, I wanted to see when the word came into being.

1. a skilled cook who manages the kitchen (as of a restaurant)
2. cook

Word origin French short for chef de cuisine = head of the kitchen

The word was first used in 1840.

February 18 - dormitory - of course we all know about the ones in college, but where did the word come from exactly?  From my years of taking French, I know dorm - means to sleep.

1. a room for sleeping; especially a large room containing numerous beds
2. a residence hall providing rooms for individuals or for groups usually without private baths.
3. a residential community inhabited chiefly by commuters

Word origin: Middle English, from Latin dormitorium, from dormire

The word was first used in the 15th century.

February 19 - narwhal - I used to think this was a made up creature when I saw it in children's books, but now I know differently.  I was looking up a different word when I found this.

1. an arctic cetacean about 20 feet long with the male having a long twisted ivory tusk

Word origin: Norwegian & Dan narhval & Swedish narval, probably a modification of Icelandic narhvalur, from Old Norse - nahvair, from nar - corpse + hvair whale; from its color

The word was first used in 1646.

February 20 - conundrum - I was writing a post today and used this word. Hmm, here's a great word to look up.

1. a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun
2. a question or problem having only a conjectural answer
3. an intricate and difficult problem

Word origin: origin unknown - well this did not help in the least, did it?

The word was first used in 1645. (by whom I would like to know).

February 21 - romance - I'm not sure why I did not choose this word sooner.  It is the month of
                    February - the month of Cupid and Valentine's Day, so of course romance should be                                    
                    researched.

1. a medieval tale based on legend, chivalric love and adventure, or the supernatural
2. a narrative prose treating imaginary characters involved in events remote in time or place and usually heroic, adventurous, or mysterious.
3. a love story especially in the form of a novel
4. a class of such literature
5. something that lacks basis in fact
6. an emotional attraction or aura belonging to an especially heroic era, adventure, or activity
7. love affair

Word origin: Middle English romauns, from Anglo-French romanz French

The word was first used in the 14th century.

February 22 - queue - Usually when you see this word, you think of a line - when people are waiting in line.  Of course if you write historicals, you know it has another meaning.

1. a braid of hair usually worn hanging down the back of the head
2. a waiting line especially of persons of vehicles
3. a sequence of messages or jobs held in temporary storage awaiting transmission or processing
4. a data structure that consists of a list of records such that records are added at one end and removed from the other.

Word origin: French - tail - from Old French, cue, coe, Latin cauda, coda

The word was first used in 1748.

February 23 - pelisse - I like to have my heroine's wear these.

1. a long cloak or coat made of fur or lined or trimmed with fur
2. a woman's loose lightweight cloak with wide collar and fur trimming

Word origin: French from pelice, from Late Latin pellica, - made of skin - Latin - pellis

The word was first used in 1717.

February 24 - broadcloth - It's always hard to write about what characters are wearing because it's so important to be accurate.

1. a twilled napped woolen or worsted fabric with smooth lustrous face and dense texture
2. a fabric usually of cotton, silk, or rayon made in plain and rib weaves with soft semigloss finish

The word was first used in the 15th century.

There was no origin for the word - but if one looks up the different parts of the word - broad - is from Middle English - brood, from Old English brad and was first seen in the 12th century.  The other word - cloth - also comes from Middle English - clath which means garment.

February 25 - peeved - You know how some words seemed old?  This word I was certain was an older word.  I looked up peeved and discovered I really needed to look up peevish.

1. querulous in temperament or mood
2. perversely obstinate
3. marked by ill temper

Word origin: Middle English - pevish - spiteful

The word was first used in 1530.  Keep in mind that peeved was first used in 1910.  This is quite a difference.

February 26 - risque - I heard this word while watching Downton Abbey, and wondered how long the word had been in use.

1. verging on impropriety or indecency

Word origin: French from risquer - to risk

The word was first used in 1867.

February 27 - waistcoat - I usually think of a vest when I think of a waistcoat.

1. an ornamental garment worn under a doublet. A doublet is a man's close-fitting jacket worn in Europe especially during the Renaissance; (first used in the 14th century).
2. British term for vest

Word origin:  unknown

The word was first used in 1519.

February 28 - fencing - one of my characters takes fencing lessons.

1. the art or practice of attack and defense with the foil, epee, or saber

Word origin: Middle English - fens - short for defens - defense.

The word was first used in 1578.

February 29 - Hessian boot - well enjoy this day - it only comes around every 4 years (mostly years that are divisible by 4).

1. a high boot that extends to just below the knee and is commonly ornamented with a tassel and that was introduced into England by the Hessians in the early 19th century.
2. the word hessian - was a native of Hesse or a German mercenary serving in the British forces during the American Revolution. In this case, it was first seen in 1710.

The word was first used in 1809.