Larry's Pretty Good Word of the Day

pseudonymuncle (soo-duh-NIM-uhnk-uhl) - (obs., rare) n., an insignificant person writing under a pseudonym.


A coinage from 1875 and only occasionally used since, from pseudonym, false + name + -uncle, diminutive suffix adapted from Latin -culus.

---L.

rumgumption (rum-GUMP-shuhn) or rumblergumption (rum-buhl-GUMP-shuhn) - (Scot. & N. Eng.) n., shrewdness, good sense, intelligence.


Somewhat dated, possibly enough that I should mark it as arch. Related term: rumgumptious, which means shrewd but also headstrong or forward in manner, so a bit of semantic drift there. Gumption, meaning good sense and boldness, is also related, as the root, but what the prefix means no one seems to know -- possibly it's just an intensifier?

---L.

scape (SKAYP) - n., (bot.) A leafless stalk growing directly out of a root or bulb; (zoo.) the shaft of an animal part, such as an antenna or feather; (arch.) the shaft of a column.


Also, although these are different words that just happen to be spelled and pronounced the same, short for escape and a combining form meaning scene (originally detached from landscape). The stem of a tulip flower seems to be the canonical example of a scape, so here's an amaryllis instead:


Thanks, WikiMedia!

Taken around 1600 from Latin scāpus, stem/stalk, from Doric Greek skâpos, from the same PIE root that gave English shaft.

---L.

tessitura (tes-i-TOOR-uh, tes-see-TOO-rah) - n., the average range of a vocal or instrumental part in a musical composition; the most comfortable range for a singer or musical instrument, in which they/it present their/its best-sounding timbre.


General dictionaries only mention the former, but musical glossaries focus on the latter, which is the sense I learned. Taken in the 1890s from Italian, literally meaning texture, from Latin textūra, texture, from the same root as texere, to weave.

---L.

minarchism (min-ar-KIZ-uhm) - n., a belief in the desirability and practicality of minimum government.


Coined in 1971 by libertarian writer Samuel Konkin, to describe what philosopher Robert Nozick proposed -- Konkin perferred what he called agorism, involving just a pure free market without any state. A minarchy is sometimes called a night-watchman state, typically described as having a military, a police, and courts, but few other functions. The coinage is from min(imal) + -archy in the sense of type of government.

---L.

filé (fi-LAY, FEE-lay) - n., a spicy herb seasoning made from the dried and ground leaves of the North American sassafras tree (Sassafras albidum).


Used in Louisiana Creole cooking, usually as a garnish added after cooking, especially to gumbo. I've never had it, but I can attest that young sassafras leaves are tasty and spicy. Sassafras is also used in another food: rootbeer is flavored using the bark of sassafras roots (or rather was, as the bark contains safrole, which is a possible carcinogen and so banned from commercial use). Filé is from French filé, past participle of filer, which has many meanings but the relevant sense is to turn into threads/become ropy -- filé is a thickener, useful when ocra is not in season.

---L.

curaçao (KOOR-uh-soh, kyoor-uh-SOW, and other permutations) - n., a liqueur flavored with the dried peel of the sour laraha orange.



Thanks, WikiMedia!

This came up in the definition of mai tai, as one of its ingredients, so finally explaining it. The laraha is a bitter orange, descended from Seville orange, which were introduced to the Caribbean island of Curaçao in the early 1500s. The island became a Dutch possession in 1627, and it became fashionable in 17th century Netherlands to create liquors from exotic flavorings from overseas, and Lukas Bols (1652–1719), then head of a family run distillery, used the aromatic oil from Curaçao oranges to make one -- normally colorless, he dyed it blue to make it even more exotic. Named after the island, of course, which is probably a Portuguese transcription of its name in a mainland Arawakan language such as Lokono (so it would have fit into that theme - ah well).

---L.

braise (BRAYZ) - v., to cook (meat or vegetables) by browning in fat then simmering in a small quantity of liquid in a covered container.


Also sometimes called pot-roasting, though sometimes a distinction is made between the two while admitting they're closely related processes. Can be thought of as stewing in very little liquid, though typically braising uses larger cuts of meat. From French braiser, to braise, from braise, live coals, from Old French brese, from Germanic origin probably via Old Dutch.


And that's a week of culinary terms -- back next week with the usual mixed greens.

---L.

mirepoix (mir-PWAH) - n., a mixture of diced vegetables, such as carrots, celery, and onions, plus herbs, and sometimes ham or bacon cooked at low heat in oil or butter.


Mirepoix is the flavor base for many dishes in French cooking (much as sauteed or stir-fried onions are in mine). It is named after Gaston-Pierre-Charles de Lévis-Lomagne, duc de Mirepoix (1699–1757), whose name is often shortened to Gaston de Lévis, duc de Mirepoix, an ambassador of Louis XV, but exactly what his connection is, dictionaries don't mention, and I'm too tired this morning to dig further.

---L.

A little while ago -- well, actually, probably at least four months ago, as that's how long my queue has been -- I read a story set in a culinary school, from which I picked up quite a few culinary terms. So, a theme week, starting with:


commis (kaw-MEE, kuh-MEE) - n., an assistant chef.


Often one who is still in training, either as part of an internship or as a new grad. (Formerly, also, a deputy or clerk for an official, but that's an obsolete sense.) Like most of this week, it's from French, from the past participle of commettre, to commit/entrust, from Latin committere, to commit in the senses of entrust/begin/perpetrate/pledge (but not imprison), from com-, together + mittere, send.

---L.