Words this month:
31 March 2013
pusillanimous
[pyoo-suh-lan-uh-muhs]
adjective
1. lacking courage or resolution; cowardly; faint-hearted; timid.
2. proceeding from or indicating a cowardly spirit.
Origin:
1580–90; < Late Latin pusillanimis petty-spirited, equivalent to Latin pusill ( us ) very small, petty + -anim ( is ) -spirited, -minded ( anim ( us ) spirit + -is adj. suffix); see -ous
Related forms
pu·sil·lan·i·mous·ly, adverb
Synonyms
1. timorous, fearful, frightened.
30 March 2013
loquacity
[loh-kwas-i-tee]
noun, plural lo·quac·i·ties.
1. the state of being loquacious; talkativeness; garrulity.
2. an instance of talkativeness or garrulity; a loquacious flow of talk: The sherry increased my loquacity.
Origin:
1595–1605; < Latin loquācitās talkativeness, equivalent to loquāci-, stem of loquāx talkative (derivative of loquī to speak; cf. eloquent) + -tās -ty2
29 March 2013
beadledom
[beed-l-duhm]
noun
– a stupid or officious display or exercise of authority, as by petty officials.
Origin:
1855–60; beadle + -dom
28 March 2013
maundy
[mawn-dee]
noun
1. the ceremony of washing the feet of the poor, especially commemorating Jesus’ washing of His disciples’ feet on Maundy Thursday.
2. Also called maundy money. money distributed as alms in conjunction with the ceremony of maundy or on Maundy Thursday.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English maunde < Old French mande < Latin mandātum command, mandate (from the opening phrase novum mandātum (Vulgate) of Jesus’ words to the disciples after He had washed their feet). See mandate
27 March 2013
discursive
[dih-skur-siv]
adjective
1. passing aimlessly from one subject to another; digressive; rambling.
2. proceeding by reasoning or argument rather than intuition.
Origin:
1590–1600; < Medieval Latin discursīvus. See discourse, -ive
Example sentence
If a style of writing is discursive, it includes a lot of facts or opinions that are not necessarily relevant.
26 March 2013
morass
[muh-ras]
noun
1. a tract of low, soft, wet ground.
2. a marsh or bog.
3. marshy ground.
4. any confusing or troublesome situation, especially one from which it is difficult to free oneself; entanglement.
Origin:
1645–55; < Dutch moeras, alteration (by association with moer marsh; cf. moor1 ) of Middle Dutch maras < Old French mareis < Germanic. See marsh
25 March 2013
serpentine
[sur-puhn-teen, -tahyn]
adjective, noun, verb, serpentined, serpentining.
adjective
1. of, characteristic of, or resembling a serpent, as in form or movement.
2. having a winding course, as a road; sinuous.
3. shrewd, wily, or cunning.
noun
4. a device on a harquebus lock for holding the match.
5. a cannon having any of various bore sizes, used from the 15th to the 17th century.
6. Skating. a school figure made by skating two figure eights that share one loop.
24 March 2013
soliloquy
[suh-lil-uh-kwee]
noun, plural so·lil·o·quies.
1. an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to himself or herself or is disregardful of or oblivious to any hearers present (often used as a device in drama to disclose a character’s innermost thoughts): Hamlet’s soliloquy begins with “To be or not to be.”
2. the act of talking while or as if alone.
Origin:
1595–1605; < Late Latin sōliloquium a talking to oneself, soliloquy, equivalent to sōli- soli-1 + loqu ( ī ) to speak + -ium -ium; see -y3
23 March 2013
auspicious
[aw-spish-uhs]
adjective
1. promising success; propitious; opportune; favorable: an auspicious occasion.
2. favored by fortune; prosperous; fortunate.
Origin:
1600–10; < Latin auspici ( um ) auspice + -ous
Related forms
aus·pi·cious·ly, adverb
aus·pi·cious·ness, noun
un·aus·pi·cious, adjective
un·aus·pi·cious·ly, adverb
22 March 2013
desiderata
[dih-sid-uh-rey-tuh, -rah-, -zid-]
plural noun, singular de·sid·er·a·tum.
– things wanted or needed;
the plural of desideratum: “Happily-ever-after” and “eternal love” appear to be the desiderata of the current generation; to whom “fat chance” say those of us who are older, wiser, and more curmudgeonly.
Synonyms: essentials, necessities, requisites, sine qua nons.
21 March 2013
in toto
[in toh-toh]
adverb Latin
– in all; completely; entirely; wholly.
Example sentence
1. Such proposals should be subject to specific criticisms, rather than rejected in toto.
2. Bobby Kimball was in Toto, then ex Toto, then in Toto.
3. Dorothy realising she was no longer in Kansas, nor anywhere in the known world in toto, put her trust in Toto to keep her safe and lead her home in toto.
20 March 2013
antipodes
[an-tip-uh-deez]
plural noun
1. places diametrically opposite each other on the globe. Usually Australia/New Zealand (often used by Britons).
2. those who dwell there.
3. things which are the exact opposite of each other.
Example sentence:
1. Captain James Cook set sail from England in 1768, on his first voyage to explore the antipodes.
2. The newly married couple epitomised the saying that opposites attract, as they were the antipodes of each other.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek ( hoi ) antípodes literally, (those) with the feet opposite (plural of antípous ), equivalent to anti- anti- + -podes, nominative plural of poûs foot
Related forms
an·tip·o·de·an [an-tip-uh-dee-uhn] Show IPA , adjective, noun
19 March 2013
frisson
[free-sohn; French free-sawn]
noun, plural fris·sons [-sohnz; French -sawn]
– a sudden, passing sensation of excitement; a shudder of emotion; thrill: The movie offers the viewer the occasional frisson of seeing a character in mortal danger.
Origin:
1770–80; < French: shiver, shudder, Old French friçons (plural) < Late Latin frictiōnem, accusative of frictiō shiver (taken as derivative of frīgēre to be cold), Latin: massage, friction
18 March 2013
inure
[in-yoor, ih-noor]
verb, in·ured, in·ur·ing.
verb (used with object)
1. to accustom to hardship, difficulty, pain, etc.; toughen or harden; habituate (usually followed by to ): inured to cold.
verb (used without object)
2. to come into use; take or have effect.
3. to become beneficial or advantageous.
17 March 2013
compunction
[kuhm-puhngk-shuhn]
noun
1. a feeling of uneasiness or anxiety of the conscience caused by regret for doing wrong or causing pain; contrition; remorse.
2. any uneasiness or hesitation about the rightness of an action.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English compunccion (< Anglo-French ) < Late Latin compūnctiōn- (stem of compūnctiō ), equivalent to Latin compūnct ( us ), past participle of compungere to prick severely ( com- com- + pungere to prick; cf. point) + -iōn- -ion
Related forms
com·punc·tion·less, adjective
Example sentence:
‘Robin Hood had no compunction about robbing from greedy and corrupt noblemen’.
15 March 2013
backronym
noun
[portmanteau of back + acronym]
Whereas an acronym is created from a the letters of a phrase, a backronym is a reverse acronym, in that a phrase is created to fit the letters of an acronym. For example, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), COLBERT (Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill – this was created by NASA in recognition of comedian Stephen Colbert’s attempts to have a space module named after him).
14 March 2013
pena ajena
from Mexican Spanish
[PAY-nah ah-HAY-na]
– the embarrassment felt watching someone else’s humiliation.
Example:
I squirmed with pena ajena watching him crash and burn on TV.
13 March 2013
pochemuchka
Russian
[poh-chay-MOOCH-ka, почемучка]
noun
– a person who asks too many questions, who always wants to know the reason or meaning of things, who is extremely inquisitive.
From the Russian children’s book, Alyosha Pochemuchka, in which the title character is an extremely inquisitive 5 year old boy.
Derived from the Russian word ‘pochemu’ (почему), meaning ‘why’.
Example sentence
‘Because of the highly disruptive pochemuchka in the front row, the professor failed to finish the lecture in the allocated time’.
12 March 2013
onomasticon
[on-uh-mas-ti-kon, -kuhn]
noun
1. a list or collection of proper names.
2. a list or collection of specialized terms, as those used in a particular field or subject area.
Origin:
1700–10; < Greek onomastikòn ( bíblion ) vocabulary arranged by subjects; see onomastic
11 March 2013
visceral
[vis-er-uhl]
adjective
1. of or pertaining to the viscera (the abdominal cavity).
2. affecting the viscera.
3. of the nature of or resembling viscera.
4. characterized by or proceeding from instinct rather than intellect: a visceral reaction (a gut reaction).
5. characterized by or dealing with coarse or base emotions; earthy; crude: a visceral literary style.
10 March 2013
malapropism
[mal-uh-prop-iz-uhm]
noun
1. an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, especially by the confusion of words that are similar in sound.
2. an instance of this, as in “Lead the way and we’ll precede.”
Origin:
1840–50; Malaprop + -ism
Related forms
mal·a·prop·is·tic, adjective
Example sentence:
Like any good malapropism, this was a blunder that encapsulated a truth.
9 March 2013
rialto
[ree-al-toh; for 1, 2 also Italian ree-ahl-taw]
noun
1. a commercial center in Venice, Italy, consisting of an island and the surrounding district.
2. a bridge spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy: constructed of marble in 1590.
3. a city in SW California, near Los Angeles.
4. the theater district of a city or town, especially the area around Broadway in New York City
5. Commercial centre or mart.
8 March 2013
quaternary
[kwot-er-ner-ee, kwuh-tur-nuh-ree]
adjective, noun, plural quat·er·nar·ies.
adjective
1. consisting of four.
2. arranged in fours.
3. ( initial capital letter ) Geology . noting or pertaining to the present period of earth history, forming the latter part of the Cenozoic Era, originating about 2 million years ago and including the Recent and Pleistocene Epochs. See table under geologic time.
4. Metallurgy . (of an alloy) having four principal constituents.
noun
5. a group of four, e.g. primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary …
6. the number four.
7. ( initial capital letter ) Geology . the Quaternary Period or System.
7 March 2013
polylemma
noun
– a multiple dilemma or one with many equally unacceptable alternatives; a difficult predicament.
Example sentence:
The captain was confronted with a polylemma of solutions to the difficult problem.
6 March 2013
schadenfreude
noun (German)
– deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others.
Example sentence:
“To feel envy is human, to savour schadenfreude is devilish.” (Arthur Schopenhauer)
5 March 2013
harbinger
[hahr-bin-jer]
noun
1. a person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another; herald.
2. anything that foreshadows a future event; omen; sign: Frost is a harbinger of winter.
3. a person sent in advance of troops, a royal train, etc., to provide or secure lodgings and other accommodations.
verb (used with object)
4. to act as harbinger to; herald the coming of.
Origin:
1125–75; late Middle English herbenger, nasalized variant of Middle English herbegere, dissimilated variant of Old French herberg ( i ) ere host, equivalent to herberg ( ier ) to shelter (< Germanic; see harbor) + -iere -er2
Synonyms
2. herald, forerunner, precursor, portent, indication.
4 March 2013
acolyte
[ak-uh-lahyt]
noun
1. an altar attendant in public worship.
2. Roman Catholic Church .
a. a member of the highest-ranking of the four minor orders.
b. the order itself. Compare exorcist ( def 2 ) , lector ( def 2 ) , ostiary ( def 1 ) .
3. any attendant, assistant, or follower.
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English acolite < Medieval Latin acolytus < Greek akólouthos follower, attendant, equivalent to a- prefix denoting association + -kolouthos, variant of kéleuthos road, journey
3 March 2013
dowager
[dou-uh-jer]
noun
1. a woman who holds some title or property from her deceased husband, especially the widow of a king, duke, etc. (often used as an additional title to differentiate her from the wife of the present king, duke, etc.): a queen dowager; an empress dowager.
2. an elderly woman of stately dignity, especially one of elevated social position: a wealthy dowager.
adjective
3. noting, pertaining to, or characteristic of a dowager: the dowager duchess; to prefer a dowager style of dress.
Origin:
1520–30; < Middle French douag ( i ) ere, equivalent to douage dower (see endow, -age) + -iere, feminine of -ier -ier2
Related forms
dow·a·ger·ism, noun
2 March 2013
doyen
[doi-en, doi-uhn; French dwa-yan]
noun, plural doy·ens [doi-enz, doi-enz; French dwa-yan]
– the senior member, as in age, rank, or experience, of a group, class, profession, etc.
Origin:
1665–75; < French; Old French deien < Latin decānus dean1
1 March 2013
dulcet
[duhl-sit]
adjective
1. pleasant to the ear; melodious: the dulcet tones of the cello.
2. pleasant or agreeable to the eye or the feelings; soothing.
3. Archaic. sweet to the taste or smell.
noun
4.
an organ stop resembling the dulciana but an octave higher.
Origin:
1350–1400; obsolete dulce
