On Her Shelf worthwhile reading

provender • \PRAH-vun-der\ • noun

1  : dry food for domestic animals : feed

*2  : food, victuals

Example Sentence: “The ambrosial and essential part of the [huckleberry] fruit is lost with the bloom which is rubbed off in the market cart, and they become mere provender.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden)

Did you know?  When English speakers first chewed on the word “provender” around 1300, it referred to a stipend that a clergyman received from his cathedral or collegiate church, something also known as a “prebend.” A mere 25 years later, though, the word’s current meanings had developed. These days you’re most likely to encounter “provender” in articles written by food and travel writers. A few such writers confuse “provender” with “purveyor,” meaning “a person or business that sells or provides something,” but most of them keep the words straight, as Deidre Schipani does in this quote: “The kitchen remains true to its local roots. Buying from island farmers, fisherman, shrimpers, butchers and small local artisans keeps the provender and purveyors in alignment.” (The Post and Courier, September 3, 2009)

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

ukase • \yoo-KAYSS\ • noun

1  : a proclamation by a Russian emperor or government having the force of law

2 a : a proclamation having the force of law

* b : order, command

Example Sentence: “The professor’s first instruction to the [playwriting] class was a ukase: Never begin a play with a telephone ringing.” (Bruce McCabe, The Boston Globe, June 23, 2000)

Did you know?  English speakers adopted “ukase” more or less simultaneously from French (“ukase”) and Russian (“ukaz”) in the early 18th century. The word can be traced further back to the Russian verb “ukazat’,” meaning “to show” or “to order,” and its ultimate source is an ancient root that led to similar words in Latin, Sanskrit, and Old Church Slavic. A Russian ukase was a command from the highest levels of government that could not be disobeyed. But by the early 19th century, English speakers were also using “ukase” generally for any command that seemed to come from a higher authority, particularly one that was final or arbitrary.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

fiery • \FYE-uh-ree\ • adjective

1 a : consisting of or marked by fire

b : using or carried out with fire c: flammable

2  : hot or glowing like a fire

3  : red

4 *a : full of emotion or spirit

b : easily provoked : irritable

Example Sentence: “As the game ended, he gave a fiery pep talk to his linemen, and on a brutally tough day, they appreciated it.” (Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News, November 16, 2009)

Did you know?  If you find yourself tempted to spell today’s word “firey,” you’re relying on sound logic. “Fiery” was formed by combining the word “fire” and the “-y” suffix, so it is reasonable to expect that the result would be spelled “firey.” At the time that the adjective was coined in the 13th century, however, the spelling of the noun had not yet become standardized. One alternate spelling was “fier.” Presumably, it was this spelling that eventually led to English speakers settling on “fiery,” even as the lone surviving spelling of the noun turned out to be “fire.”

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.