June 2018 WOTDs

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June 2018 WOTDs

30 June 2018

agnate

[ag-neyt]

noun

1. a relative whose connection is traceable exclusively through males.
2. any male relation on the father’s side.
adjective
3. related or akin through males or on the father’s side.
4. allied or akin.

Origin of agnate

Latin

1525-1535; < Latin agnātus paternal kinsman, variant of ad(g)nātus born to (past participle of adgnāscī), equivalent to ad- ad- + -gnā be born + -tus past participle suffix

Related forms

agnatic [ag-nat-ik], agnatical, adjective

agnatically, adverb
agnation [ag-ney-shuh n] (Show IPA), noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for agnate

Historical Examples

The most elementary of these groups is the maegth, the association of agnatic and cognatic relations.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Part 1, Slice 1
Various

A woman by her marriage forfeited her agnatic rights, to which rule there was no exception.
Ancient Society
Lewis Henry Morgan

agnatic inheritance would be apt to assert itself in this condition of things.
Ancient Society
Lewis Henry Morgan

The gens is to be found in Greek and Roman history, where it is known as the agnatic kindred.
The Iowa
William Harvey Miner

The importance they attached to the agnatic family is largely explained by their ideas of the future life.
The Private Life of the Romans
Harold Whetstone Johnston

As they understood it, the pater familis had absolute power over his children and other agnatic descendants.
The Private Life of the Romans
Harold Whetstone Johnston

Here again it will be convenient to employ the Roman terms, agnatic and Cognatic relationship.
Ancient Law
Sir Henry James Sumner Maine

This practical limitation of the inheritance to the nearest gentile kin discloses the germ of agnatic nheritance.
Ancient Society
Lewis Henry Morgan

It shows that property was hereditary in the gens, but restricted to the agnatic kindred in the female line.
Ancient Society
Lewis Henry Morgan

Whether the wife forfeited her agnatic rights by her marriage, as among the Romans, I am unable to state.
Ancient Society
Lewis Henry Morgan

26 June 2018

convoke

[kuh n-vohk]

verb (used with object), convoked, convoking.

1. to call together; summon to meet or assemble.

Origin of convoke
Middle French, Latin

1590-1600; (< Middle French convoquer) < Latin convocāre, equivalent to con- con- + vocāre to call

Related forms

convocative [kuh n-vok-uh-tiv], adjective
convoker [kuh n-voh-ker], convocant [kon-vuh-kuh nt], noun

Synonyms

convene.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for convoke

Historical Examples

The Committee was assured that they intended to convoke the electors.
History of the Commune of 1871
P. Lissagary

It was high time to tell her relatives and mine and convoke a family council.
Atlantis
Gerhart Hauptmann

Malesherbes in those days, and good writers since, held that the only safe plan was to convoke the States-General.
Critical Miscellanies (Vol. 2 of 3)
John Morley

Under other conditions it might be the right thing to convoke a conference to be held after the war is over.
Face to Face with Kaiserism
James W. Gerard

Convene, which means “to come together,” should not be confused with convoke which means “to bring or call together.”
Word Study and English Grammar
Frederick W. Hamilton

Finally she found it best to convoke the family council for the purpose of deciding what was to be done with Simple Simon.
A Family of Noblemen
Mikhal Saltykov

It was not enough to convoke a Parliament or to open a negotiation with the Prince of Orange.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.
Thomas Babington Macaulay

The chancellor was therefore content to convoke a general conference of the clergy.
History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century, Volume V
J. H. Merle d’Aubigné

The necessity of having a single person to convoke the great council when separated.
Commentaries on the Laws of England
William Blackstone

He advised the Regent to convoke the States-General, and declare a national bankruptcy.
Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions
Charles Mackay

25 June 2018

mudlark

[muhd-lahrk]

noun

1. Chiefly British. a person who gains a livelihood by searching for iron, coal, old ropes, etc., in mud or low tide.
2. Chiefly British Informal. a street urchin.
3. either of two black and white birds, Grallina cyanoleuca, of Australia, or G. bruijni, of New Guinea, that builds a large, mud nest.
verb (used without object)
4. to grub or play in mud.

Origin of mudlark

1790-1800 First recorded in 1790-1800; mud + lark1

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for mudlark

Historical Examples

This was Captain Abersouth, formerly of the mudlark —as good a seaman as ever sat on the taffrail reading a three volume novel.
The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8
Ambrose Bierce

So I shipped as mate on the mudlark, bound from London to wherever the captain might think it expedient to sail.
The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8
Ambrose Bierce

On the voyage of which I write he had taken no cargo at all; he said it would only make the mudlark heavy and slow.
The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8
Ambrose Bierce

You wade along in this way step by step, like a mudlark at Portsmouth Hard, hoping gradually to regain the surface.
South!
Sir Ernest Shackleton

As a lad I slept with the rats, held horses, swept crossings and lived like a mudlark !
The Strollers
Frederic S. Isham

24 June 2018

plugugly or plug-ugly

[pluhg-uhg-lee]

noun, plural pluguglies. Informal.

1. a ruffian; rowdy; tough.
2. extremely ugly

Origin of plugugly

1855-1860 An Americanism dating back to 1855-60; plug + ugly

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for plugugly

Historical Examples

“Let the plug-ugly have what he seems to be looking for,” advised Mern.
Joan of Arc of the North Woods
Holman Day

Every criminal and plug-ugly in the country is spitting in our faces this morning.
Cavanagh: Forest Ranger
Hamlin Garland

The “ plug-ugly ” of Baltimore is another name for the same class.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 6
Various

A giant ” plug-ugly ” bellowed with triumph over his successful shot, yelled “kill ’em all!”
Tom Strong, Lincoln’s Scout
Alfred Bishop Mason

23 June 2018

snifter

[snif-ter]

noun

1. Also called inhaler. a pear-shaped glass, narrowing at the top to intensify the aroma of brandy, liqueur, etc.
2. Informal. a very small drink of liquor.

Origin of snifter

Middle English

1840-1850; derivative of snifter to sniff, snivel, Middle English snyfter; imitative

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for snifter

Historical Examples

For the love of goodness, Fritz, give me a snifter of tanglefoot!
Frank Merriwell’s Backers
Burt L. Standish

But he was just a snifter short on that potent and undisciplined drink.
Where the Pavement Ends
John Russell

He turned, snifter in hand, and it was easy to see that his privations had tried him sorely.
Right Ho, Jeeves
P. G. Wodehouse

But picking up the sail in other blows and picking it up in a Cape Horn snifter is a horse of another color.
The Viking Blood
Frederick William Wallace

At sunset he quit, easy winner, and went without taking so much as a ” snifter.”
Tonio, Son of the Sierras
Charles King

22 June 2018

shank

[shangk]

noun

1. Anatomy. the part of the lower limb in humans between the knee and the ankle; leg.
2. a corresponding or analogous part in certain animals.
3. the lower limb in humans, including both the leg and the thigh.
4. a cut of meat from the top part of the front (foreshank) or back (hind shank) leg of an animal.
5. a narrow part of various devices, as a tool or bolt, connecting the end by which the object is held or moved with the end that acts upon another object.
6. a straight, usually narrow, shaftlike part of various objects connecting two more important or complex parts, as the stem of a pipe.
7. a knob, small projection, or end of a device for attaching to another object, as a small knob on the back of a solid button, or the end of a drill for gripping in a shaft.
8. the long, straight part of an anchor connecting the crown and the ring.
9. the straight part of a fishhook away from the bent part or prong.
10. Music. crook1(def 8).
11. Informal.
the early part of a period of time:
It was just the shank of the evening when the party began.
the latter part of a period of time:
They didn’t get started until the shank of the morning.
12. the narrow part of the sole of a shoe, lying beneath the instep.
13. shankpiece.
14. Printing. the body of a type, between the shoulder and the foot.
15. Golf. a shot veering sharply to the right after being hit with the base of a club shaft.
16. the part of a phonograph stylus or needle on which the diamond or sapphire tip is mounted.
17. Jewelry. the part of a ring that surrounds the finger; hoop.

verb (used with object)
18. Golf. to hit (a golf ball) with the base of the shaft of a club just above the club head, causing the ball to go off sharply to the right.
verb (used without object)
19. Chiefly Scot. to travel on foot.
Compare shanks’ mare.
Idioms
20. shank of the evening, the main or best part of the evening:
Don’t leave yet—it’s just the shank of the evening.

Origin of shank

Middle English, Old English

before 900; Middle English (noun); Old English sc(e)anca; cognate with Low German schanke leg, thigh; akin to German Schenkel thigh, Schinken ham

Related forms

unshanked, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for shank

Contemporary Examples

If she got caught with a shank, they would up her custody level.
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’
Michael Howard
January 6, 2015

Seager writes about being threatened by a patient with a shank carved out of an eyeglass stem.
Inside a Hospital for the Criminally Insane
Caitlin Dickson
September 15, 2014

You see, the victim can slip up behind you on any given day and stick a shank in your ribs—or pay someone else to do it.
How Will Chelsea Manning Be Treated in Prison?
Mansfield Frazier
August 22, 2013

Everyone complains that Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray shank shots but stubbornly stick to the same strategy.
How to Play a Tennis Monster
Sujay Kumar
September 10, 2012

The bloodthirsty Young Turks of Bohane bide their time, waiting in the shadows to shank and supplant their revelry-addled elders.
Must Reads: Kennedy, Sontag and Paris, ‘A Partial History of Lost Causes,’ ‘City of Bohane,’ ‘Flatscreen’
Lauren Elkin, Mythili Rao, Drew Toal, Nicholas Mancusi
April 6, 2012

Historical Examples

He struck the rivet such a blow that he snapped one shank of his spur short off.
Chip, of the Flying U
B. M. Bower

This plate is soldered to the shank of the screw-eye and the cleat is complete.
Boys’ Book of Model Boats
Raymond Francis Yates

He’s in the shank of his honeymoon as we stands chattin’ yere.’
Faro Nell and Her Friends
Alfred Henry Lewis

He’s had just about time to make the trip on shank ‘s mare by takin’ short cuts.
Dwellers in the Hills
Melville Davisson Post

Next to the blade on the end of which is the cutting edge, is the shank, Fig. 65.
Handwork in Wood
William Noyes

21 June 2018

recumbent

[ri-kuhm-buh nt]

adjective

1. lying down; reclining; leaning.
2. inactive; idle.
3. Zoology, Botany. noting a part that leans or reposes upon its surface of origin.
noun
4. a recumbent person, animal, plant, etc.

Origin of recumbent

Latin

1765-1775; < Latin recumbent- (stem of recumbēns), present participle of recumbere to lie back, equivalent to re- re- + cumb-, akin to cubāre to lie down + -ent- -ent

Related forms

recumbency, recumbence, noun
recumbently, adverb
unrecumbent, adjective
unrecumbently, adverb

Synonyms

1. prone, supine; prostrate; inclined.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for recumbent

Historical Examples

As he approached the recumbent figure he yelled a panted “Hi, there!”
The Woman-Haters
Joseph C. Lincoln

“Truss him up, Kenneth,” he commanded, pointing to the recumbent figure.
The Tavern Knight
Rafael Sabatini

The repulsive task of searching the recumbent figure now lay before him.
The Vagrant Duke
George Gibbs

20 June 2018

seneschal

[sen-uh-shuh l]

noun

1. an officer having full charge of domestic arrangements, ceremonies, the administration of justice, etc., in the household of a medieval prince or dignitary; steward.

Origin of seneschal

Middle English, Middle French, Frankish, Medieval Latin

1350-1400; Middle English < Middle French < Frankish; compare Medieval Latin seniscalcus senior servant, cognate with Old High German senescalh (sene- old, senior + scalh servant)

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for seneschal

Historical Examples

“He shall have four silver candlesticks,” said the seneschal moodily.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle

The castle is taken and on fire, the seneschal is slain, and there is nought left for us.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle

“It is the seneschal of Toulouse, with his following,” said Johnston, shading his eyes with his hand.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle

Anagram

Chelseans

19 June 2018

navvy

[nav-ee]

noun, plural navvies. British Informal.

1. an unskilled manual laborer.

Origin of navvy

1825-1835 First recorded in 1825-35; short for navigator

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for navvy

Historical Examples

A duke may become a navvy for a joke, but a clerk cannot become a navvy for a joke.
Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens
G. K. Chesterton

And I was a navvy before the war, and joined up for a change.
Pushed and the Return Push
George Herbert Fosdike Nichols, (AKA Quex)

They came from the navvy shelter, and Tom could hear plainly every word.
Chatterbox, 1905.

18 June 2018

harry

[har-ee]

verb (used with object), harried, harrying.

1. to harass, annoy, or prove a nuisance to by or as if by repeated attacks; worry:
He was harried by constant doubts.
2. to ravage, as in war; devastate:
The troops harried the countryside.
verb (used without object), harried, harrying.
3. to make harassing incursions.

Origin of harry

Middle English, Old English
900 before 900; Middle English herien, Old English her(g)ian (derivative of here army); cognate with German verheeren, Old Norse herja to harry, lay waste

Related forms Expand

unharried, adjective

Synonyms

1. molest, plague, trouble. 2. plunder, strip, rob, pillage.

17 June 2018

nascent

[nas-uh nt, ney-suh nt]

adjective

1. beginning to exist or develop:
That nascent republic is holding its first election this month.
2. Chemistry. (of an element) in the nascent state.

Origin of nascent

Latin

1615-1625; < Latin nāscent- (stem of nāscēns), present participle of nāscī to be born, arise, equivalent to nā(tus) born (variant of gnātus) + -sc- inchoative suffix + -ent- -ent

Related forms

nascence, nascency, noun
unnascent, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for nascent

Contemporary Examples

As a nascent sound engineer, Brinsley “tried the best he could.”
Alleged Cop Killer’s Blood-Soaked Screenplay
M.L. Nestel
December 24, 2014

But in dethroning, or even denting, Cuomo, this nascent movement is facing its greatest test.
Can New York Democrat Zephyr Teachout Stop Governor Andrew Cuomo?
David Freedlander
August 18, 2014

What are the next steps and goals for this nascent movement?
The Buddhist Punk Reforming Drug Rehab
Stephen Krcmar
June 16, 2014

This toll was particularly painful for the nascent life insurance industry.
When TB Was a Death Sentence: An Excerpt From ‘The Remedy’
Thomas Goetz
April 16, 2014

However, one nascent winner has been the rise of crowdsourced fractional labor.
Is Crowdsourced Labor the Future of Middle Class Employment?
Sarah Kunst
March 26, 2014

Historical Examples

The mystery indeed in which her nascent love had wrapped him had dropped away.
The Coryston Family
Mrs. Humphry Ward

Freneau succeeded admirably in voicing the opinions of the nascent party.
Union and Democracy
Allen Johnson

All his nascent intellectual powers were alive and clamorous.
Robert Elsmere
Mrs. Humphry Ward

And it is his own hand which has done most to break the nascent slowly-forming tie.
Robert Elsmere
Mrs. Humphry Ward

The impulses which it obeys are all new; and it obeys them with its own nascent plasticity of temper.
Ariadne Florentina
John Ruskin

16 June 2018

fetor

or foe·tor

[fee-ter]

noun

a strong, offensive smell; stench.

Origin of fetor

1475–1500; < Latin, equivalent to fēt- (stem of fētēre to stink) + -or -or1; replacing earlier fetour < Middle French < Latin fētōr-, stem of fētor

Dictionary.com

Historical Examples

The fetor of the skin, so characteristic of the negro, is not found in the Bushman.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4
Various

Fetor of the breath, the perspiration and the skin are likewise noticeable.
Gilbertus Anglicus
Henry Ebenezer Handerson

Do they, as many saints have done, smell the fetor of sin, the foul reek of evil in the souls that pass by them?
The Cathedral
Joris-Karl Huysmans

Fetor exhaled from its gaping jaws, smoke from its nostrils; its eyes were flame.
The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci
Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky

When fetor exists, as during the detachment of patches of exudation, antiseptic and detergent sprays may be employed.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II
Various

15 June 2018

execrate

[ek-si-kreyt]

verb (used with object), ex·e·crat·ed, ex·e·crat·ing.

to detest utterly; abhor; abominate.
to curse; imprecate evil upon; damn; denounce:

He execrated all who opposed him.

verb (used without object), ex·e·crat·ed, ex·e·crat·ing.

to utter curses.

Origin of execrate

1555–65; < Latin ex(s)ecrātus (past participle of ex(s)ecrārī to curse), equivalent to ex- ex-1 + secr- (combining form of sacrāre to consecrate; see sacrament) + -ātus -ate1

Related forms

ex·e·cra·tor, noun
un·ex·e·crat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for execrate

Historical Examples

We but smile at the one, we would learn to execrate the other.
Leading Articles on Various Subjects
Hugh Miller

I execrate the enslavement of the mind of our young children by the ecclesiastics.
The Necessity of Atheism
Dr. D.M. Brooks

And yet, have I a right to execrate the thrall of the beaker?
Cleopatra, Complete
Georg Ebers

You are not the only one who will execrate the destiny that brought us here.
Arachne, Complete
Georg Ebers

He longed to execrate aloud, to bring his fist down on something violently.
Dubliners
James Joyce

To howls of execration from the world’s media, his insistence has torpedoed efforts to update the treaty.
Donald Trump was right. The rest of the G7 were wrong
George Monbiot
13 June 2018, The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/13/trump-nafta-g7-sunset-clause-trade-agreement

14 June 2018

arrogate

[ar-uh-geyt]

verb (used with object), arrogated, arrogating.

1. to claim unwarrantably or presumptuously; assume or appropriate to oneself without right:
to arrogate the right to make decisions.
2.to attribute or assign to another; ascribe.

Origin of arrogate

Latin

1530-1540; < Latin arrogātus appropriated, assumed, questioned (past participle of arrogāre), equivalent to arrog- (ar- ar- + rog(āre) to ask, propose) + -ātus -ate1

Related forms

arrogatingly, adverb
arrogation, noun
arrogator, noun
unarrogated, adjective
unarrogating, adjective

Can be confused

abdicate, abrogate, arrogate, derogate.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for arrogate

Historical Examples

He ridicules the arrogation to itself by the ‘Compact’ of a monopoly of loyalty.
The Tribune of Nova Scotia
W. L. (William Lawson) Grant

This arrogation of dignity was much resented by his friends.
The Hypocrite
Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull

The arrogation of sole possession could but lead to the disintegration of the troop.
Social Origins and Primal Law
Andrew Lang

13 June 2018

shivaree or charivari

[shiv-uh-ree]

noun

1. a mock serenade with kettles, pans, horns, and other noisemakers given for a newly married couple; charivari.
2. Informal. an elaborate, noisy celebration.
verb (used with object), shivareed, shivareeing.
3. to serenade with a shivaree.

Origin of shivaree

French

1835-1845, Americanism; alteration of Mississippi Valley French, French charivari charivari

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for shivaree

Historical Examples

Scales had fixed up for a crowd of hoodlums to shivaree them as they went.
Yellowstone Nights
Herbert Quick

I came to tell you that there’s a scheme to raise—to ‘ shivaree ‘ you two, tonight.
Lonesome Land
B. M. Bower

It isn’t so long, though, since you were just as determined to stay and have the shivaree, you remember.
Lonesome Land
B. M. Bower

12 June 2018

venerer

[ven-er-er]

noun, Archaic.

1. a huntsman.

Origin of venerer

1835-1845 First recorded in 1835-45; vener(y)2+ -er1

Dictionary.com

11 June 2018

battue

[ba-too, -tyoo; French ba-ty]

noun, plural battues [ba-tooz, -tyooz; French ba-ty]. Chiefly British.

1. Hunting.
the beating or driving of game from cover toward a stationary hunter.
a hunt or hunting party using this method of securing game.
2. undiscriminating slaughter of defenseless or unresisting crowds.

Origin of battue

Latin

1810-1820; < French, noun use of feminine of battu, past participle of battre < Latin battuere to beat. See battuta, battle1

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for battue

Historical Examples

The noise is as if a thousand sportsmen were out for a battue.
The Pearl of the Antilles, or An Artist in Cuba
Walter Goodman

The Indian assured him that it was not the first battue of the kind he had made.
The Forest Exiles
Mayne Reid

And as he surveyed the battue he would gradually discern its tactics.
Modern Women and What is Said of Them
Anonymous

His burghers were ready to “go on the battue of Englishmen,” when he gave the word.
Lord Milner’s Work in South Africa
W. Basil Worsfold

A battue of Communards is obviously superior to a battue of pheasants.
The History of Sir Richard Calmady
Lucas Malet

The battue in Ettrick Forest, for the destruction of the foxes.
The Pirate
Sir Walter Scott

I hate a battue, and call it sport I cannot, and never will.
Sporting Society, Vol. II (of 2)
Various

I went hunting with no company but the two hundred gamekeepers for the battue.
The Surprises of Life
Georges Clemenceau

From the beginning of the battue it was easy to see that the hunt would be a good one.
The Companions of Jehu
Alexandre Dumas, pre

In a battue of this description a whole neighbourhood joins.
Australian Pictures
Howard Willoughby

Anagram

tea tub
ate but
be taut

10 June 2018

emetic

[uh-met-ik]

adjective

1. causing vomiting, as a medicinal substance.
noun
2. an emetic medicine or agent.

Origin of emetic

Latin, Greek
1650-1660; Latin emeticus; Greek emetikós, equivalent to émet(os) vomiting + -ikos -ic

Related forms

emetically, adverb
hyperemetic, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for emetic

Historical Examples

The emetic she took at about nine o’clock had little effect.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, Complete
Duc de Saint-Simon

Do not wait for him to arrive, but give an emetic to rid the stomach of the poison.
Boy Scouts Handbook
Boy Scouts of America

If the child has eaten too much, or of improper food, an emetic should be given.
The Physical Life of Woman:
Dr. George H Napheys

Dispensatory: This species acts like P. uniflorum, which is said to be emetic.
The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees
James Mooney

It was an emetic Mallare had found necessary to administer to himself.
Fantazius Mallare
Ben Hecht

emetic, cathartic with calomel; then sorbentia, chalybeates, Peruvian bark.
Zoonomia, Vol. II
Erasmus Darwin

Either a cathartic or an emetic will leave the system under some debility.
A New Guide for Emigrants to the West
J. M. Peck

The juice of the leaves is emetic and that of the roots purgative.
The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines
T. H. Pardo de Tavera

Anagram

cite me
ice met

9 June 2018

Baktun

noun

A baktun (properly b’ak’tun /ˈbɑːkˌtuːn/; Mayan pronunciation: [ɓakʼ ˈtun]) is 20 katun cycles (see below) of the ancient Maya Long Count Calendar. It contains 144,000 days, equal to 394.26 tropical years. The Classic period of Maya civilization occurred during the 8th and 9th baktuns of the current calendrical cycle.

Katun:

A k’atun (Mayan pronunciation: [kʼaˈtun]) is a unit of time in the Maya calendar equal to 20 tuns or 7,200 days, equivalent to 19.713 tropical years. It is the 2nd digit on the normal Maya long count date. For example, in the Maya Long Count date 12.19.13.15.12 (December 5, 2006), the number 19 is the k’atun. The end of the k’atun was marked by numerous ceremonies and at Tikal the construction of large twin pyramid complexes to host them. The k’atun was also used to reckon the age of rulers. Those who lived to see four (or five) k’atuns would take the title 4-(or 5-)k’atun lord. In the Postclassic period when the full Long Count gave way to the Short Count, the Maya continued to keep a reckoning of k’atuns, differentiating them by the Calendar Round date on which they began. Each k’atun had its own set of prophecies and associations.

wikipedia.org

Anagram

bunk at

8 June 2018

cormorant

[kawr-mer-uh nt]

noun

1. any of several voracious, totipalmate seabirds of the family Phalacrocoracidae, as Phalacrocorax carbo, of America, Europe, and Asia, having a long neck and a distensible pouch under the bill for holding captured fish, used in China for catching fish.
2. a greedy person.

Origin of cormorant

Middle English, Middle French, Old French, Late Latin
1300-1350; Middle English cormera(u)nt < Middle French cormorant, Old French cormareng < Late Latin corvus marīnus sea-raven. See corbel, marine

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for cormorant

Historical Examples

It was a horrible, a brutal business, a thing he had not foreseen on board the cormorant.
The Wild Geese
Stanley John Weyman

The birds comprise a darter, a cormorant, a guillemot, and a penguin.
Little Folks (Septemeber 1884)
Various

Law is a bottomless pit; it is a cormorant, a harpy, that devours everything.
The History of John Bull
John Arbuthnot

7 June 2018

abashed

[uh-basht]

adjective

1. ashamed or embarrassed; disconcerted:
My clumsiness left me abashed.

Origin of abashed

Middle English

1300-1350 Middle English word dating back to 1300-50; See origin at abash, -ed2

Related forms

abashedly [uh-bash-id-lee], adverb
abashedness, noun
unabashed, adjective

abash
[uh-bash]

verb (used with object)

1. to destroy the self-confidence, poise, or self-possession of; disconcert; make ashamed or embarrassed:
to abash someone by sneering.

Origin

1275-1325; Middle English abaishen < dialectal Old French abacher, Old French abaissier to put down, bring low (see abase ), perhaps conflated with Anglo-French abaiss-, long stem of abair, Old French esba(h)ir to gape, marvel, amaze ( es- ex-1+ -ba(h)ir, alteration of baer to open wide, gape < Vulgar Latin *batāre; cf. bay2, bay3)

Related forms

abashment, noun

Synonyms

shame, discompose, embarrass.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for abashed

Contemporary Examples

When she came to power in 1978, Britain was a dreary, dreary place: dingy, funereal, abashed, scruffy, feckless.
How Margaret Thatcher Transformed British Politics
Tunku Varadarajan
April 8, 2013

Historical Examples

Let ridicule be abashed before the majesty of such characters!
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. II
Francis Augustus Cox

Mr. Blackwell, abashed and perplexed, returned to his companion.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

6 June 2018

soigné or soignée

[swahn-yey; French swa-nyey]

adjective

1. carefully or elegantly done, operated, or designed.
2. well-groomed.

Origin of soigné

Germanic Old Saxon

1915-1920; < French, past participle of soigner to take care of < Germanic (compare Old Saxon sunnea care, concern)

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for soigné

Historical Examples

At that time the Forest of soigne sheltered no less than eleven monastic houses in its fragrant, shadowy depths.
Rodin: The Man and his Art
Judith Cladel

Behind the forest of soigne where he now was, the fields and roads were full of running men and galloping horses.
The Bronze Eagle
Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy

Inexperienced as a parent, Gissing was probably too proud: he wanted the children always to look clean and soigne.
Where the Blue Begins
Christopher Morley

5 June 2018

Tantalus

[tan-tl-uh s]

noun, plural Tantaluses for 2.

1. Classical Mythology. a Phrygian king who was condemned to remain in Tartarus, chin deep in water, with fruit-laden branches hanging above his head: whenever he tried to drink or eat, the water and fruit receded out of reach.
2. (lowercase) Chiefly British. a stand or rack containing visible decanters, especially of wines or liquors, secured by a lock.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for Tantalus

Historical Examples

I shall probably have to bear the pains of Tantalus three months longer.
Erdgeist (Earth-Spirit)
Frank Wedekind

Is there, in Tantalus ‘ dim cup, The shadow of water, nought beside?
Silhouettes
Arthur Symons

But in this emergency Poseidon came to the aid of the son of Tantalus.
Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome
E.M. Berens

A man in such a situation is somewhat like Tantalus reversed.
Notes and Queries, No. 179. Saturday, April 2, 1853.
Various

Boundary unlocked his Tantalus and took out a full decanter of whisky.
Jack O’ Judgment
Edgar Wallace

The next two forms, Tantalus and Sisyphus, have also a kinship.
Homer’s Odyssey
Denton J. Snider

Who cannot attain the latter is a Tantalus, seeking but never reaching the fruit.
Homer’s Odyssey
Denton J. Snider

“That would have been a Tantalus draught indeed,” he remarked.
The Indifference of Juliet
Grace S. Richmond

“Give me the key of the Tantalus,” said Carrington promptly.
Simon
J. Storer Clouston

It was now to me as to Tantalus the crystal waters, never to be tasted.
The War Trail
Mayne Reid

Anagram

Atlas nut
tuna salt

4 June 2018

shaman

[shah-muh n, shey-, sham-uh n]

noun

1. (especially among certain tribal peoples) a person who acts as intermediary between the natural and supernatural worlds, using magic to cure illness, foretell the future, control spiritual forces, etc.

Origin of shaman

German Evenki
1690-1700; < German Schamane < Russian shamán, probably < Evenki šamān, samān

Related forms

shamanic [shuh-man-ik], adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for shaman

Contemporary Examples

To hear 26-year-old Jillian Banks talk about her music is like listening to a shaman explain the mechanics of a complex spell.
The Mesmerizing Mystique of BANKS
Melissa Leon
October 8, 2014

As the Cofán shaman blew strongly over the cup, I took those few seconds to contemplate how I had managed to find myself here.
Spirit Tripping With Colombian Shamans
Chris Allbritton
August 24, 2014

Let a shaman wave vine leaves over her and enforce a little semi-public shaming.
Spirit Tripping With Colombian Shamans
Chris Allbritton
August 24, 2014

Don’t listen to urban people scared of their own shadow, it will be fantastic, and with a Taita [ shaman ].
Spirit Tripping With Colombian Shamans
Chris Allbritton
August 24, 2014

Historical Examples

He had never forgiven the shaman, you see, for that old story about the Corn Maiden.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin

She put on her shaman ‘s dress and about the middle of the day the Cacique of the Sun sent for them.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin

He was older than I, but he was also fat, and for all his shaman ‘s dress I was not frightened.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin

I had the power of a shaman, though the Holder of the Heavens had not yet spoken to me.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin

All this, and a great deal more, passed through the mind of the shaman.
The Trail of a Sourdough
May Kellogg Sullivan

Thus the shaman planned before the start was made for Midas.
The Trail of a Sourdough
May Kellogg Sullivan

Anagram

ash man
an mash

3 June 2018

curandero

[koo-rahn-de-raw; English koo r-uh n-dair-oh]

noun, plural curanderos [koo-rahn-de-raws; English koo r-uh n-dair-ohz]. Spanish.

1. a folk healer or medicine man who uses herbs or hallucinogenic plants, magic, and spiritualism to treat illness, induce visions, impart traditional wisdom, etc.

Dictionary.com

or uncared
or durance
coda rerun
our dancer

2 June 2018

distaff

[dis-taf, -tahf]

noun

1. a staff with a cleft end for holding wool, flax, etc., from which the thread is drawn in spinning by hand.
2. a similar attachment on a spinning wheel.
3. Archaic.
a woman or women collectively.
women’s work.
adjective
4. Sometimes Offensive. noting, pertaining to, characteristic of, or suitable for a female.
See also distaff side.

Origin of distaff

Middle English, Old English

1000, before 1000; Middle English distaf, Old English distæf, equivalent to dis- (cognate with Low German diesse bunch of flax on a distaff; cf. dizen ) + stæf staff1

Usage note

A distaff is the stick onto which wool or flax is wound in spinning. Since spinning was traditionally done by females, distaff took on figurative meanings relating to women or women’s work. In the sense of “female,” the noun distaff is archaic, but the adjective is in current use: distaff chores, a distaff point of view; the distaff side of the family. Women who find the term offensive are probably aware of its origin in female stereotypes. Another current use of the adjective is in reference to horses: a distaff race is for fillies or mares.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for distaff

Contemporary Examples

Indeed, the distaff vote may yet again break Republican this cycle—as it did in 2010—if the polls are to be believed.
The 2014 Election Is Yet Another Scrum in the Culture Wars
Lloyd Green
October 27, 2014

As Maggie in a 1990 production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof she was more than just a slip of distaff Mississippi flesh.
Kathleen Turner’s New Broadway High
Kevin Sessums
April 17, 2011

Historical Examples

They may find they have more tow on their distaff than they know how to spin.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle

Anagram

stiff ad
daft ifs
sad tiff
fit fads

1 June 2018

eigenvector

[ahy-guh n-vek-ter]

noun

1. (maths, physics) a vector x satisfying an equation A x = λ x , where A is a square matrix and λ is a constant.
E.g. ‘Eigenvalues and eigenvectors can be complex-valued as well as real-valued. The dimension of the eigenspace corresponding to an eigenvalue is less than or equal to the multiplicity of that eigenvalue’. (https://www.math.hmc.edu/calculus/tutorials/eigenstuff/)

Collins English Dictionary
dictionary.com

Origin of eigenvector

German
1955-1960 First recorded in 1955-60, eigenvector is from the German word Eigenvektor

Anagram

generic vote
vine cortege
greet novice
integer cove

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