5 Words. What they mean, where they come from and relevant popular culture or literary references. Build your vocabulary by reading this all in one post.
1. brindled
adjective. gray or tawny with darker streaks or spots
Pronunciation: [brin-dld]
Related: brindle
Origin: “marked with streaks, streaked with a dark color,” 1670s, from Middle English brended (early 15c.), from bren “brown color” (13c.), noun made from past participle of brennen “burn”
In “Pied Beauty“, a sonnet by Gerard Manley Hopkins, one will find the following lines:
Glory be to God for dappled things – For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim; Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
2. retort
verb. to reply to, usually in a sharp or retaliatory way; reply in kind to
Pronunciation: [ri-tawrt]
Related: retorter, retorting
Origin: 1550s, “make return in kind” (especially of an injury), from Old French retort and directly from Latin retortus, past participle of retorquere “turn back, twist back, throw back”.
A retort is a glassware device used for distillation or dry distillation of substances. It consists of a spherical vessel with a long downward-pointing neck.
3. gist
noun. the point or substance of an argument, speech, etc. (law) the essential point of an action
Pronunciation: [jist]
Origin: 1711, “the real point” (of a law case, etc.), from Anglo-French legalese phrases such as cest action gist “this action lies,” from Old French gist en “it consists in, it lies in”.
Gist is a mountain in Antarctica. If you don’t find mountains interesting and beauty gets you hooked, Carole Gist was the first African American woman to win the Miss USA title when she won it in 1990.
4. miserly
adjective. of, like, or befitting a miser; penurious; stingy; niggardly.
Pronunciation: [mahy-zer-lee]
Related: miserliness, unmiserly
Origin: 1540s, “miserable person, wretch,” from Latin miser (adj.) “unhappy, wretched, pitiable, in distress,” of unknown origin. Original sense now obsolete; main modern meaning of “money-hoarding person” recorded 1560s, from presumed unhappiness of such people.
A scrooge is a miserly person. That reminds us of Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens who hates Christmas! Bah, humbug!
5. amenity
noun. an agreeable way or manner; courtesy; civility. any feature that provides comfort, convenience, or pleasure.
Pronunciation: [uh-men-i-tee]
Related: amenities
Origin: 14c., “quality of being pleasant or agreeable,” from Old French amenite, from Latin amoenitatem (nominative amoenitas) “delightfulness, pleasantness,” from amoenus “pleasant,” perhaps related to amare “to love”.
Investopedia defines amenity as: benefits of a property whose existence increase the value or desirability of that property. An amenity can be either tangible, such as a swimming pool or gym, or intangible, such as proximity to a local school or supermarket.
Sources:
Apart from Google search, the data in this series is taken from Dictionary.com, Online Etymology Dictionary and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
