(Pronounced: conundrum)
Meaning: A noun, conundrum means a difficult problem. It also means a problem that has only a conjectural or hypothetical answer.
Origin: While the word was first used in 1645, the origin of the word is not known.
Usage: Ensuring water supply throughout the year in the kingdom was one of the biggest conundrums the king faced.
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(Pronounced stai.mee)
Meaning: As a verb, “stymie” means to hinder the progress of or to stop someone from doing something. As a noun, the term means a situation presenting such difficulties as to deter any attempt to deal with it.
Origin: Of uncertain origin, it perhaps came from the Scottish “stymie” meaning “person who cannot see well.” The word “stymie” entered English in the 19th Century as a noun referring to a golfing situation in which one players ball lies between another ball and the hole on the green, thereby blocking the line of play. Later, it came to be used as a verb in the present sense and also in non-golf contexts.
Usage: Faced with financial constraints, the company is putting a stymie on spending.
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(pronounced i.naw.gruhl)
Meaning: The word inaugural marks the beginning of an institution, activity, or period of office.
Origin: In use since the 1680s, the word is derived from French inaugural, which has been around since the 17th Century. The French word is from inaugurer “to inaugurate”, which is from Latin inaugurare, of the same meaning. The noun meaning “an inaugural address” has been in use from 1832.
Following a spike in usage from the 1850s to the 1900s, the usage of the word has remained fairly even.
Usage: The inaugural Women’s Premier League auction saw some of the top international women players end up with fat pay cheques.
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(Pronounced tsuk.ket.to.)
Meaning: This noun refers to a Roman Catholic cleric’s skullcap with different colours for different ranks – black for a priest, purple for a bishop, red for a cardinal, and white for the Pope.
Origin: This word has its origin in the Italian word zucca, meaning gourd, head, in reference to its shape. This is, in turn, from Late Latin cucutia, meaning gourd, probably from Latin cucurbita, meaning pumpkin or squash.
Example: The wind swept away the Pope’s zucchetto.
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Pronounced as: ga-muht
Meaning: A noun, "gamut" means an entire range or series
Origin: Its origin is considered to be a contraction of "gamma ut', a Latin expression in the Middle Ages for "the full range of notes in music," Its first known was in the 15th Century.
Usage: When it was time to perform for the first time on stage, she experienced an entire gamut of emotions.
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(Pronounced reverie)
Meaning: This noun refers to a state of having pleasant dream-like thoughts.
Origin: It comes from the Old French word "reverie" which means 'wildness" or "delirium."
Example: I was lost in reverie and did not realise my flight was boarding until it was almost too late.
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