Tag Archives: Ancient Word of the Day

Ancient word of the day: Cirrocumulus

Origin: 1650s. Cumulus ” a heap, pile, mass, surplus ” in Latin *keue “to swell” in Latin. Cirrocumulus are flocks of fleecy clouds that whisk past us on a glorious spring day. Often their appearance in the evening foretells of a stormy morning the following day. At least thats old shepherd’s wisdom. German Schäfchenwolken: LittleContinue reading “Ancient word of the day: Cirrocumulus”

Ancient Word of the Day: Crudelis

Crudelis: Latin To delight in blood and gore. Over time this word came to mean being vicious and cruel The word Crudelis comes from an even older word in Proto-Indo-European, simply Kru which means blood, gore and viscera. Kru words show up in the English language a lot in association with bloody and awful deaths.Continue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Crudelis”

Ancient Word of the Day: Khemeia

Khemeia: The extraction of juices for medicine, from Ancient Greek Related to the word Khumos meaning plant juice. This word khemeia travelled from Greece to the Medieval Arabic world where it came to mean al-khemeia or alchemy. The goal of alchemists was to bring a mystical fifth element known as the ‘quintessence’ from the divineContinue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Khemeia”

Ancient Word of the Day: Rema

Rema (Shetland Scots) The mirror-calm surface of the sea on a calm day. A body of water with a surface as smooth as cream. Comes from the Scots word “reyme”, meaning “cream”). Rjómalogn (Icelandic) Cream-calm, used to denote  profoundly tranquil weather or sea. Arafin (Welsh) Calm or slow weather in Welsh. blikkstille./ blekkstille (Norwegian) AContinue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Rema”

Ancient Word of the Day: Kawaakari

Kawaakari (Japanese) Kawaakari is a mystical Japanese word that means the glow of a river or stream in darkness or dusk, or the gleaming surface of a shadowed river (Japanese 川明かり). Kawaakari can also mean the reflection of the moonlight off flowing water. Obumbro (Latin) A similar word in Latin in Obumbro. To shadow overContinue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Kawaakari”

Ancient Word of the Day: Philoxenia

Philoxenia is a word that comes from Ancient Greek. This literally translates to be “friends with a stranger”. Philo – Friend, Xenia – Stranger. In Ancient Greece, hospitality in the same was held as a great virtue. Great honour was bestowed upon guests by the host. If a stranger was to appear on your doorstepContinue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Philoxenia”

Ancient Word of the Day: Emacitus

Emacitus: The desire to buy things from Latin. The English version of this word ‘Emacity’ fell out of use at the beginning of the 20th Century. This was replaced by less beautiful terms to describe the same thing, such as shopaholic, consumerism and retail therapy. Emacitus derives from the even older Proto-Indo-European word Em YouContinue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Emacitus”

Ancient Word of the Day: Vellichor

Noun: Vellichor from the Latin Vell (paper) and ichor (essence). An ethereal perfume that is extruded from the earth and infuses old book stores with mystery, wistfulness and nostalgia. Books are worlds unto themselves that reveal tiny and huge universes all co-existing side-by-side. The aroma of books is the smell of the passage of time.Continue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Vellichor”

Ancient Word of the Day: Dam

Dam: To Tame or domesticate from Proto-Indo-European Other words that originate from Dam are: Domesticate: Hunter gatherer tribes needed to be able to trust dogs to watch out for bears, wolves and other carnivores. They had to be safe to keep around children and become domesticated. Tame: The first wolves were domesticated and made tameContinue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Dam”