March 2015 – WOTDs

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31 March 2015

bastinado

[bas-tuh-ney-doh, -nah-doh]

noun, plural bastinadoes.
1. a mode of punishment consisting of blows with a stick on the soles of the feet or on the buttocks.
2. a blow or a beating with a stick, cudgel, etc.
3. a stick or cudgel.
verb (used with object), bastinadoed, bastinadoing.
4. to beat with a stick, cane, etc., especially on the soles of the feet or on the buttocks.

Origin
Spanish
1570-1580; earlier bastanado < Spanish bastonada (bastón stick (see baton ) + -ada -ade1)

Related forms
unbastinadoed, adjective
Dictionary.com

Anagram

do abstain
tad bonsai
basin toad

30 March 2015

masticate

[mas-ti-keyt]

verb (used with object), verb (used without object), masticated, masticating.
1. to chew.
2. to reduce to a pulp by crushing or kneading, as rubber.

Origin
Late Latin
1640-1650; < Late Latin masticātus, past participle of masticāre to chew. See mastic, -ate1

Related forms
masticable [mas-ti-kuh-buh l] (Show IPA), adjective
mastication, noun
masticator, noun
half-masticated, adjective
remasticate, verb, remasticated, remasticating.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for masticate
– These mixers use tremendous power to literally chew, or masticate, rubber and solid fillers into an acceptable mixture.
– Cottontail rabbits congregate there, snuffling bits of surface grit to help them masticate dandelions and clover.
– Wind it up and it looks set to masticate you into a gooey porridge.

Anagram

tacit seam
a cat mites

29 March 2015

boon (1)
[boon]

noun
1. something to be thankful for; blessing; benefit.
2. something that is asked; a favor sought.

Origin
Middle English, Old Norse
1125-1175; Middle English bone < Old Norse bōn prayer; cognate with Old English bēn

Related forms
boonless, adjective

boon (2)
[boon]

adjective
1. jolly; jovial; convivial:
boon companions.
2. Archaic. kindly; gracious; bounteous.

Origin
1275-1325; Middle English bone < Middle French < Latin bonus good

boon (3)
[boon]

noun, Textiles.
1. the ligneous waste product obtained by braking and scutching flax.

Also called shive, shove.

Origin
1350-1400; Middle English (north) bone; compare Old English bune reed

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for boon
– That’s a boon to musicians looking for sponsors and to drive sales in today’s singles-focused climate.
– Anything that creates more readers is a boon for all kinds of publishers.
– Farm-fresh eggs from pastured hens taste great and are a boon to your body.

Anagram

noob

28 March 2015

corporeal

[kawr-pawr-ee-uh l, -pohr-]

adjective
1. of the nature of the physical body; bodily.
2. material; tangible:
corporeal property.

Origin
late Middle English Latin
1375-1425; late Middle English < Latin corpore (us) bodily ( corpor- (stem of corpus) body + -eus adj. suffix) + -al1

Related forms
corporeality, corporealness, noun
corporeally, adverb
noncorporeal, adjective
noncorporeality, noun
transcorporeal, adjective

Can be confused
corporal, corporeal.

Synonyms
1. See physical.

Antonyms
1. spiritual. 2. intangible.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for corporeal
– There, corporeal lashes in public would probably served up in no time for disturbing the peace.
– Our skin microbes can provide us with a layer of defense, a moat around our corporeal castle.
– Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the presence or corporeal sensitivity to make such body doodles enthralling.

Anagram

clear poor
pool carer
Oracle Pro

27 March 2015

capricious

[kuh-prish-uh s, -pree-shuh s]

adjective
1. subject to, led by, or indicative of a sudden, odd notion or unpredictable change; erratic:
He’s such a capricious boss I never know how he’ll react.
2. Obsolete. fanciful or witty.

Origin
Italian
1585-1595; < Italian capriccioso capriccioso

Related forms
capriciously, adverb
capriciousness, noun
noncapricious, adjective
noncapriciously, adverb
noncapriciousness, noun

Synonyms
1. variable, flighty, mercurial. See fickle.

Antonyms
1. steady, constant, consistent.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for capricious
– But in this changed behavior of the people there is nothing capricious or inconsistent.
– There are just too many variables, and airlines are just too capricious to allow themselves to be outguessed.
– Alaska weather is capricious, ranging from rainy and cold to sunny and hot ― sometimes all in the same day.

Anagram

circa pious
cup sir ciao

26 March 2015

fugacious

[fyoo-gey-shuh s]

adjective
1. fleeting; transitory:
a sensational story with but a fugacious claim on the public’s attention.
2. Botany. falling or fading early.

Origin
Latin
1625-1635; < Latin fugāci- (stem of fugāx apt to flee, fleet, derivative of fugere to flee + -ous

Related forms
fugaciously, adverb
fugaciousness, fugacity [fyoo-gas-i-tee], noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for fugacious
– One reason for this is that oil and gas is fugacious, and can be lost to surrounding property if not diligently captured.

25 March 2015

arbitrary

[ahr-bi-trer-ee]

adjective
1. subject to individual will or judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one’s discretion:
an arbitrary decision.
2. decided by a judge or arbiter rather than by a law or statute.
3. having unlimited power; uncontrolled or unrestricted by law; despotic; tyrannical:
an arbitrary government.
4. capricious; unreasonable; unsupported:
an arbitrary demand for payment.
5. Mathematics. undetermined; not assigned a specific value:
an arbitrary constant.
noun, plural arbitraries.
6. arbitraries, Printing. (in Britain) peculiar (def 9).

Origin
late Middle English Latin
1400-1450; late Middle English < Latin arbitrārius uncertain (i.e., depending on an arbiter’s decision). See arbiter, -ary

Related forms
arbitrarily [ahr-bi-trer-uh-lee, ahr-bi-trair-], adverb
arbitrariness, noun
nonarbitrarily, adverb
nonarbitrariness, noun
nonarbitrary, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for arbitrary
– We just need something less arbitrary than a coin flip.
– The result is an overly complicated and somewhat arbitrary system, but still much better than nothing.
– The result is that rents are completely arbitrary.

Anagram

briar tray

24 March 2015

torpor

[tawr-per]

noun
1. sluggish inactivity or inertia.
2. lethargic indifference; apathy.
3. a state of suspended physical powers and activities.
4. dormancy, as of a hibernating animal.

Origin
1600-1610; < Latin: numbness, equivalent to torp (ēre) to be stiff or numb + -or -or1

Synonyms
2. stolidity, listlessness, lethargy. 4. sleepiness, slumber, drowsiness.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for torpor
– Hopefully, they will awaken from their long torpor and rise to the challenges of the times.
– Those who are content need robust political speech to rouse them from their civic torpor.
– She was kneeling on the floor, ice in her hair, lost in some kind of hypothermic torpor.

Anagram

or port

23 March 2015

cathartic

[kuh-thahr-tik]

adjective
1. of or relating to catharsis.
2. Also, cathartical. evacuating the bowels; purgative.
noun
3. a purgative.

Origin
Late Latin, Greek
1605-1615; < Late Latin catharticus < Greek kathartikós fit for cleansing. See catharsis, -tic

Related forms
cathartically, adverb
catharticalness, noun
hypercathartic, adjective
noncathartic, adjective, noun
noncathartical, adjective

Synonyms
3. laxative, physic.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for cathartic
– Fundamentally though, arguing the science with you was pointless and ultimately a manic and cathartic exercise.
– Watching the two go at each other may be cathartic for some, but it shouldn’t be confused with movie art.
– Maybe it wasn’t the best therapy, but it was cathartic.

Anagram

Arctic hat
Carat itch

22 March 2015

cretin

[kreet-n or, esp. British, kret-n]

noun
1. a person suffering from cretinism.
2. a stupid, obtuse, or mentally defective person.

Origin
French, Franco-Provençal
1770-1780; < French; Franco-Provençal creitin, crestin human being, literally, Christian (hence one who is human despite deformities)

Related forms
cretinoid, adjective
cretinous, adjective
semicretin, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for cretin
– The people who should be horse-whipped are those who keep bending over backwards to give this cretin a platform.
– Nothing out of ordinary, which means that you are a well, you are a cretin by your own definition.
– What a arrogant worthless spew of vile ignorant claptrap this cretin has come up wit

21 March 2015

apophasis

[uh-pof-uh-sis]

noun, Rhetoric
1. denial of one’s intention to speak of a subject that is at the same time named or insinuated, as “I shall not mention Caesar’s avarice, nor his cunning, nor his morality.”.

Origin
Late Latin
1650-1660; < Late Latin < Greek: a denial, equivalent to apópha (nai) to say no, deny ( apo- apo- + phánai to say) + -sis -sis

Dictionary.com

Anagram

a soap ship

20 March 2015

waesucks

[wey-suhks]

interjection, Scot.
1. alas.

Also, waesuck [wey-suhk]

Origin
1765-1775; wae, variant of woe + suck, variant of sake1

Dictionary.com

Anagram

cake wuss
wake cuss

19 March 2015

gaudy (1)

[gaw-dee]

adjective, gaudier, gaudiest.
1. brilliantly or excessively showy:
gaudy plumage.
2. cheaply showy in a tasteless way; flashy.
3. ostentatiously ornamented; garish.

Origin
1520-1530; orig. attributive use of gaudy2; later taken as a derivative of gaud

Related forms
gaudily, adverb
gaudiness, noun
ungaudily, adverb
ungaudiness, noun

Synonyms
2. tawdry, loud; conspicuous, obvious. Gaudy, flashy, garish, showy agree in the idea of conspicuousness and, often, bad taste. That which is gaudy challenges the eye, as by brilliant colors or evident cost, and is not in good taste: a gaudy hat. Flashy suggests insistent and vulgar display, in rather a sporty manner: a flashy necktie. Garish suggests a glaring brightness, or crude vividness of color, and too much ornamentation: garish decorations. Showy applies to that which is strikingly conspicuous, but not necessarily offensive to good taste: a garden of showy flowers; a showy dress.

Antonyms
2. modest, sober.

gaudy (2)
[gaw-dee]

noun, plural gaudies. British
1. a festival or celebration, especially an annual college feast.

Origin
1400-50; late Middle English < Latin gaudium joy, delight

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for gaudy
– gaudy dyes were used for bright and vivid coloring making the pictures seem somewhat non-lifelike.
– But Miami is always there: gaudy, gleaming, and glad of it.
– The gaudy saga goes on far too long, the strain of sustaining a riotous tone sets in and the comedy runs thin.

18 March 2015

descant

[n., adj. des-kant; v. des-kant, dis-]

noun
1. Music.
a melody or counterpoint accompanying a simple musical theme and usually written above it.
(in part music) the soprano.
a song or melody.
2. a variation upon anything; comment on a subject.
adjective
3. Music ( chiefly British)
soprano:
a descant recorder.
treble:
a descant viol.
verb (used without object)
4. Music. to sing.
5. to comment or discourse at great length.

Also, discant.

Origin
Middle English, Anglo-French, Medieval Latin
1350-1400; Middle English discant, descaunt < Anglo-French < Medieval Latin discanthus, equivalent to Latin dis- dis-1+ cantus song; see chant

Related forms
descanter, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for descant
– Shakes his bright plumes, and trills his descant free.
– Plan an accompaniment such as a descant or rhythmic part to be used in performance of repertoire.
– Most stagecoach drivers liked to descant to the customers, but in a vein of bold invention.

Anagram

cast end
send cat

17 March 2015

sept

[sept]

noun
1. (in Scotland) a branch of a clan.
2. Anthropology. a group believing itself derived from a common ancestor.
3. Archaic. a clan.

Origin

Latin
1510-1520; perhaps < Latin sēptum paddock, enclosure, fold (in figurative use, e.g., Sept of Christ)

sept

[set]

noun, French.
1. the number seven.

Sept.
1. September.
2. Septuagint.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for sept
– Anglicised to Lennon, O’Leannain is the family name of an ancient sept in Cork, Fermanagh and Galway. (Beatles Irish heritage – John Lennon, http://www.beatlesireland.info/Irish%20Heritage/johnheritage.html)

Anagram

pets

16 March 2015

mogul (1)

[moh-guh l]

noun

1. an important or powerful person
2. a type of steam locomotive with a wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six driving wheels, and no trailing wheels

Word Origin
C18: from Mogul

mogul (2)

[moh-guh l]

noun

1. a mound of hard snow on a ski slope

Word Origin

C20: perhaps from South German dialect Mugl

Mogul (3)

[moh-guh l]

noun
1. a member of the Muslim dynasty of Indian emperors established by Baber in 1526 See Great Mogul
2. a Muslim Indian, Mongol, or Mongolian
adjective
3. of or relating to the Moguls or their empire

Word Origin
C16: from Persian mughul Mongol

Dictionary.com
Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mogul
n.
“powerful person,” 1670s, from Great Mogul, Mongol emperor of India after the conquest of 1520s, from Persian and Arabic mughal, mughul, alteration of Mongol (q.v.), the Asiatic people.

“elevation on a ski slope,” 1961, probably [Barnhart] from Scandinavian (cf. dialectal Norwegian mugje, fem. muga, “a heap, a mound”), or [OED] from southern German dialect mugel in the same sense.

Examples from the web for mogul
– But the obstacles in the way of the heroic media mogul are especially big.
– The billionaire mogul invites you over to play inside his big, big backyard retreat.
– If that pattern reminds you of any tech mogul of our own time, that’s your business.

15 March 2015

aver

[uh-vur]

verb (used with object), averred, averring.
1. to assert or affirm with confidence; declare in a positive or peremptory manner.
2. Law. to allege as a fact.

Origin
Middle English, Middle French, Medieval Latin
1350-1400; Middle English < Middle French averer < Medieval Latin advērāre, equivalent to ad- ad- + -vēr- (< Latin vērus true) + -ā- thematic vowel + -re infinitive suffix

Related forms
misaver, verb (used with object), misaverred, misaverring.
preaver, verb (used with object), preaverred, preaverring.
unaverred, adjective

Synonyms
See maintain.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for aver
– The past means nothing, he averred, if severed from present and future.
– He further averred that the magistrate told him that he had a basis for his claim and that he would likely be awarded damages.
– He averred that he had not known of the real purpose for the trip until after the drug transaction had occurred.

Anagram

rave

14 March 2015

approbation

[ap-ruh-bey-shuh n]

noun
1. approval; commendation.
2. official approval or sanction.
3. Obsolete. conclusive proof.

Origin
Middle English, LatinMiddle French
1350-1400; Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin approbātiōn- (stem of approbātiō). See approbate, -ion

Related forms
preapprobation, noun
self-approbation, noun
subapprobation, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for approbation
– For that message, he deserves our approbation.
– Yes, ice cream is an approved action of approbation.
– But the very power of its imagery is in itself something far less than approbation.

Anagram

appoint boar

13 March 2015

banal

[buh-nal, -nahl, beyn-l]

adjective

1. devoid of freshness or originality; hackneyed; trite:
a banal and sophomoric treatment of courage on the frontier.

Origin
French
1745-1755; < French; Old French: pertaining to a ban (see ban2, -al1)

Related forms
banality [buh-nal-i-tee, bey-], noun
banally, adverb

Synonyms
See commonplace.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for banal
– The architecture is, for the most part, banal.
– As if this were not bad enough, the script is freighted with a mighty load of banal incidents.
– Indie rock aficionados may hold themselves above the pop-idol-worshiping masses, but their culture can be just as banal.

12 March 2015

conation

[koh-ney-shuh n]

noun, Psychology
1. the part of mental life having to do with striving, including desire and volition.

Origin

Latin
1605-1615; < Latin cōnātiōn- (stem of cōnātiō) an effort, equivalent to cōnāt (us) (past participle of cōnārī to try) + -iōn- -ion

Dictionary.com

Anagram

No action

11 March 2015

vizard

[viz-erd]

noun
1. (archaic or literary) a means of disguise; mask; visor

Derived Forms
vizarded, adjective

Also, visard.

Origin
1545-1555; variant of visor; see -ard

Related forms
vizarded, adjective
unvizarded, adjective

Dictionary.com

10 March 2015

cur

[kur]

noun
1. a mongrel dog, especially a worthless or unfriendly one.
2. a mean, cowardly person.

Origin
Middle English
1175-1225; Middle English curre, apparently shortened from curdogge. See cur dog

Related forms
curlike, adjective

Synonyms
2. blackguard, cad, heel.
cur.
1. currency.
2. current.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for cur
– Yet you’ll never doubt that this overgrown pixie is about as trustworthy as a rabid cur.

9 March 2015

defeasance

[dih-fee-zuh ns]

noun, Law.
1. a rendering null and void.
2. a condition on the performance of which a deed or other instrument is defeated or rendered void.
3. a collateral deed or other writing embodying such a condition.

Origin
late Middle English Anglo-French Old French
1400-1450; late Middle English defesance < Anglo-French defesaunce, Old French defesance, equivalent to desfes- (past participle stem of desfaire to undo; see defeat ) + -ance -ance

Related forms
nondefeasance, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for defeasance

– The final regulations apply only to guaranteed investment contracts and yield restricted defeasance escrows.
– Defeasance of debt can be either legal or in-substance.

8 March 2015

shirk

[shurk]

verb (used with object)
1. to evade (work, duty, responsibility, etc.).
verb (used without object)
2. to evade work, duty, etc.
noun
3. a shirker.

Origin
1625-1635; obscurely akin to shark2

Related forms
unshirked, adjective
unshirking, adjective

Synonyms
1. shun, avoid, dodge.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for shirk
– But do not shirk the responsibility of fitting your paper within the time limits.
– They have no reason to concede any religious superiority to those who shirk their social responsibility.
– Their faculty in their programs shirk the responsibility.

7 March 2015

imperious

[im-peer-ee-uh s]

adjective
1. domineering in a haughty manner; dictatorial; overbearing:
an imperious manner; an imperious person.
2. urgent; imperative:
imperious need.

Origin
Latin
1535-1545; < Latin imperiōsus commanding, tyrannical, equivalent to imperi (um) imperium + -ōsus -ous

Related forms
imperiously, adverb
imperiousness, noun
nonimperious, adjective
nonimperiously, adverb
nonimperiousness, noun

Can be confused
imperative, imperial, imperious.

Synonyms
1. tyrannical, despotic, arrogant. 2. necessary.

Antonyms
1. submissive. 2. unnecessary.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for imperious
– One element of that style was his imperious sense of command.
– He would fain beg off from the acquisition, and shake the touch of the tangible from his imperious wings.
– The emperor at length resolved no longer to brook his imperious behaviour, and bear with his insolence.

Anagram

opium rise

6 March 2015

equable

[ek-wuh-buh l, ee-kwuh-]

adjective
1. free from many changes or variations; uniform:
an equable climate; an equable temperament.
2. uniform in operation or effect, as laws.

Origin

Latin

1635-1645; < Latin aequābilis that can be made equal, similar, equivalent to aequ (us) equal, even + -ābilis -able

Related forms
equability, equableness, noun
equably, adverb
nonequability, noun
nonequable, adjective
nonequableness, noun

Can be confused
equable, equitable.

Synonyms
1. steady, even, temperate.

Antonyms
1. variable.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for equable
– Many countries made a genuine attempt to set a new and equable tone for discussion and debate.
– In school and college he was liked for his equable temper and fairness, but was not demonstrative enough to be eminently popular.
– The light sediment consisted mostly of calcareous foram shells, deposited in a period of relatively equable climate.

Anagram

be equal

5 March 2015

prognathous

[prog-nuh-thuh s, prog-ney-]

adjective, Craniometry
1. having protrusive jaws; having a gnathic index over 103.

Also, prognathic [prog-nath-ik]
Origin
1830-1840; pro-2+ -gnathous

Related forms
prognathism [prog-nuh-thiz-uh m] (Show IPA), prognathy, noun
hyperprognathous, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for prognathous
– Head hypo- prognathous, ovoid, more or less convex from lateral view.
– Head hypo- prognathous, oval, convex from lateral view.
– Head hypo- prognathous, broadly oval, flat from lateral view.

anagram

hangup torso
groan upshot
thug soprano

4 March 2015

plebs

[plebz]

noun, ( used with a plural verb)
1. (in ancient Rome) the common people, as contrasted with the patricians and later with the senatorial nobility or the equestrian order.
2. the common people; the populace.

Origin
Latin
1640-1650; < Latin plēbs, plēbēs

pleb

[pleb]

noun
1. a member of the plebs; a plebeian or commoner.
2. plebe (def 1).

Origin
1850-55, Americanism; short for plebeian

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for plebs
– Leave the viewing to us plebs without any social calendars.
– The answer is that they need someone to bring the populist plebs along for the neocon ride.

3 March 2015

limn

[lim]

verb (used with object)
1. to represent in drawing or painting.
2. to portray in words; describe.
3. Obsolete. to illuminate (manuscripts).

Origin
late Middle English, Middle French, Latin
1400-14501400-50; late Middle English lymne, variant of Middle English luminen to illuminate (manuscripts), aphetic variant of enlumine < Middle French enluminer < Latin inlūmināre to embellish, literally, light up; see illuminate

Related forms
outlimn, verb (used with object)
unlimned, adjective

Can be confused
limb, limn.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for limn
– They are rated by their ability to limn the customer’s likeness on paper.
– There is no determined plotting or pioneering zeal from childhood to limn her story.
– Included among these is finning otherwise non- limn hydroelectric power so that it can be sold as higher value firm power.

2 March 2015

incunabula

[in-kyoo-nab-yuh-luh, ing-]

plural noun, singular incunabulum [in-kyoo-nab-yuh-luh m, ing-] (Show IPA)
1. extant copies of books produced in the earliest stages (before 1501) of printing from movable type.
2. the earliest stages or first traces of anything.

Origin
1815-1825; < Latin: straps holding a baby in a cradle, earliest home, birthplace, probably equivalent to *incūnā (re) to place in a cradle ( in- in-2+ *-cūnāre, verbal derivative of cūnae cradle) + -bula, plural of -bulum suffix of instrument; def. 1 as translation of
German Wiegendrucke

Related forms
incunabular, adjective
postincunabula, adjective

Dictionary.com

1 March 2015

consanguinity

[kon-sang-gwin-i-tee]

noun
1. relationship by descent from a common ancestor; kinship (distinguished from affinity).
2. close relationship or connection.

Origin
Middle English, Anglo-French, Latin
1350-1400; Middle English consanguinite (< Anglo-French) < Latin consanguinitās. See consanguineous, -ity

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for consanguinity
– And here’s the kicker about the ridiculousness of the papal dispensations for consanguinity.
– We believe that some pods have close consanguinity with other pods and share some of the same calls.

Anagram

instancing you
saucy intoning

 

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