Vocabulary and Analytical Reasoning III

Sop (SAHP)

: a conciliatory or propitiatory bribe, gift, or gesture The etymology of "sop" takes us from bread to hellhounds to bribery. The journey starts over 900 years ago, when "sop" first referred to bread soaked in water, wine, or another liquid. Such soggy bread was considered a treat sure to tempt any appetite. Sops were considered so appealing that English translations of Virgil's Aeneid tell of a sibyl using one soaked in honey to distract and drug Cerberus, the three-headed watchdog of the gates of the underworld, so Aeneas could get by him safely. By the 1600s, that mythological use of "sop" had given rise to the expression "give a sop to Cerberus," meaning "to bribe" and to using "sop" to refer to a bribe or conciliatory gift.

Cobalt (KOH-bawlt)

1 : a tough lustrous silver-white magnetic metallic element that is related to and occurs with iron and nickel and is used especially in alloys 2 : a strong greenish blue : cobalt blue The metallic element "cobalt" ultimately draws its name from folklore. In Middle High German, "kobolt" denoted a usually helpful household elf that engaged in nasty pranks only when it was offended. Later, early Modern German "Kobold" came to refer to a variety of less helpful goblins inhabiting fields and mountains. The variant "Kobolt" in the 16th century was applied by German miners to ores containing the metal cobalt, which they considered to be worthless; they believed that mountain goblins had spoiled adjacent silver ores, or had stolen the silver within the ore. The metal itself in relatively pure form was not produced and described until the 17th century, when "cobalt," with its first letter influenced by New Latin "cobaltum," became part of the international language of science.

Galley-west (gal-ee-WEST)

: into destruction or confusion American author Mark Twain is on record as one of the first to use "galley-west" in his writing. Etymologists believe the word is a corruption of dialectal English "colleywest" or "collyweston." The earliest appearance of those words, used with the meaning "askew or awry," dates from the late 16th century. The ultimate source of "colleywest" and "collyweston" is not known but is suspected to be from a personal name. When "galley-west" is used in speech or writing, the verb "knock" usually precedes it.

Obsequious (ub-SEE-kwee-us)

: marked by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness An obsequious person is more likely to be a follower than a leader. Use that fact to help you remember the meaning of "obsequious." All you need to do is bear in mind that the word comes from the Latin root "sequi," meaning "to follow." (The other contributor is the prefix "ob-," meaning "toward.") "Sequi" is the source of a number of other English words, too, including "consequence" (a result that follows from an action), "sequel" (a novel, film, or TV show that follows an original version), and "non sequitur" (a conclusion that doesn't follow from what was said before).

Apocryphal (uh-PAH-kruh-ful)

: of doubtful authenticity In Bible study, the term "Apocrypha" refers to sections of the Bible that are not sanctioned as belonging to certain official canons. In some Protestant versions these sections appear between the Old and New Testaments. More generally, the word refers to writings or statements whose purported origin is in doubt. Consequently, the adjective "apocryphal" describes things like legends and anecdotes that are purported to be true by way of repeated tellings but that have never been proven or verified and therefore most likely are not factual. Both "apocrypha" and "apocryphal" derive via Latin from the Greek verb "apokryptein," meaning "to hide away," from "kryptein" ("to hide").

Adapt (uh-DAPT)

: to make or become fit (as for a specific or new use or situation) often by modification Rooted in the origins of "adapt" is the idea of becoming specifically "fit" for something. English speakers adapted "adapt" in the 15th century from the French "adapter," which itself traces to the Latin forms "aptare," meaning "to fit," and "aptus," meaning "fit" or "apt." Other descendants of "aptus" in English include "aptitude," "inept," and of course "apt" itself, as well as "unapt" and "inapt."

Perdition (per-DISH-un)

1 : eternal damnation 2 : hell "Perdition" began life as a word meaning "utter destruction"; that sense is now archaic, but it provides a clue about the origins of the word. "Perdition" was borrowed into English in the 14th century from Anglo-French "perdiciun" and ultimately derives from the Latin verb "perdere," meaning "to destroy." "Perdere" was formed by combining the prefix "per-" ("through") and "dare" ("to give"). Other descendants of that Latin "dare" in English include "date," "edition," "render," and "traitor."

Condign (kun-DYNE)

: deserved, appropriate In his 1755 Dictionary of the English Language, lexicographer Samuel Johnson noted that "condign" was "always used of something deserved by crimes." Even today, it is most likely to be used to modify "punishment" or a related word, such as "redress," "justice," or "chastisement." And yet, "condign" (which traces to Latin "com-," meaning "thoroughly," and "dignus," meaning "worthy") once meant "worthy" or "of equal worth or dignity" in English. How did such a word get chained to "punishment"? It was apparently so condemned in the 1500s by the phraseology of the Tudor Acts of Parliament: "Former statutes ... for lacke of condigne punishment ... be littell feared or regarded."

Apposite (AP-uh-zit)

: highly pertinent or appropriate : apt "Apposite" and "opposite" sound so much alike that you would expect them to have a common ancestor -- and they do. It is the Latin verb "ponere," which means "to put or place." Adding the prefix "ad-" to "ponere" created "apponere," meaning "to place near" or "to apply to," and that branch of the "ponere" family tree led to "apposite." The word is used to describe something that applies well to or is very appropriate for something else, a notion perhaps suggested by the close proximity of two objects. To get "opposite," the prefix "ob-" was added to "ponere" to create "opponere," meaning "to place against or opposite." The related verb "componere," meaning "to put together," gave us "compound" and "composite."

Permixtion

Pronunciation: Brit. /pəˈmɪkstʃ(ə)n/, U.S. /pərˈmɪkstʃ(ə)n/ Forms: Middle English permixtioun, Middle English permixtyon, Middle English-1700s 1900s- permixtion, 1500s-1600s permixion. Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin permixtiōn-, permixtiō. Etymology: < classical Latin permixtiōn-, permixtiō thorough mixture or blending, in post-classical Latin also confusion (4th cent.) < permixt-, past participial stem of permiscēre (see permixed adj.) + -iō -ion suffix1. Compare Middle French permixtion (1314, rare). Compare permistion n. †1. Confusion. Obsolete. rare. ?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 152 (MED) Þe pacient þat is bitin..haþ grete dryenesse in his mouþe and permixtioun of resoun, and at þe laste he is aferde of þe water, and þenne he dyeþ sone after. ?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 158 (MED) Þer be olde sores in neruouse places..in þe whiche þer falleþ ofte tyme þe spasme & permixtioun of resoun & rauynge. 2. A thorough mixture or mingling; intermingling; mixture. Now rare. 1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints(1938) 1535 (MED) For no thynge The olde law wold suffre permixtyon Of sundry kynredes. ?a1475 (1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron.(Harl. 2261) (1871) III. 469 (MED) Alle wittes be noryschede thro the softenes of theire propre obiecte, the mater of whom the elementes ȝiffe to vs, and be supposede to be the begynnenges of oure lyfe, thro the permixtion of whom the stature of man compacte is made.

Mullock

Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈmʌlək/, U.S. /ˈmələk/ Forms: 1800s- mullock, 1900s- mollock; English regional 1800s- mollock chiefly western, 1800s- molluck chiefly western, 1900s- mullak, 1900s- mulloch. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mullock n. Etymology: < mullock n. 1. intransitive. Originally English regional. To be in the way; to idle, to loiter or trail around aimlessly. 1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 39 How the things lie mullocking about. 2. transitive. Australian, New Zealand, and English regional. To make (a thing) dirty; to block or litter (a place), esp. with mining refuse. Usually with up. 1861 N.Z. Goldfields 1861(1976) 4 Oct. 36 It is very probable that many portions of Gabriel's Gully will pay for reworking, for the place has been terribly 'mullocked' by the original workers. a1903 W. C. Boulter in Eng. Dial. Dict.(1903) IV. 198/1 [Worcestershire] House was all mullocked up. 3. transitive. Australian. With up, over. To shear (a sheep) roughly and carelessly. Also intransitive: to do something in a slovenly way. 1893 Age (Melbourne) 23 Sept. 14/4 No man could shear 321 sheep in eight hours, although I will admit he might do what we shearers call 'mullock over' that number. 1965 J. S. Gunn Terminol. Shearing Industry ii. 5 Mullock over, to rush the work quickly and carelessly, thus turning out badly shorn sheep.

Nagar

Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈnʌɡə/, U.S. /ˈnɑɡər/ Origin: A borrowing from Sanskrit. Etymons: Sanskrit nagara, nagar. Etymology: < Sanskrit nagara city, fortification, palace, town (also, with vernacular pronunciation, nagar; < a Dravidian language; compare e.g. Tamil nakar abode, palace, town). Indian English. A town, city, or suburb; a district or quarter within a town. 1921 Times of India 27 Dec. 13/2 The Muslim nagar close by is filling in rapidly with Khilafatists. 1987 Globe & Mail (Toronto)(Nexis) 28 Mar. Street addresses, though, especially in Delhi, aren't simple. You find a nagar or a district and there is no rhyme or reason to numbers or streets.

Oak-apple

Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈəʊkˌapl/, U.S. /ˈoʊkˌæp(ə)l/ Forms: see oak n. and apple n. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: oak n., apple n. Etymology: < oak n. + apple n. Compare Middle Dutch eicappel (early modern Dutch eikappel), Old High German eihapful (Middle High German eichapfel, German Eichapfel), Swedish eke-äpple (1578). 1. A roughly spherical type of oak gall; spec. the reddish spongy gall formed in leaf-buds by the developing larvae of a gall wasp (family Cynipidae: in Europe Biorhiza pallida; in America Amphibolips confluenta). 1440 Promptorium Parvulorum(Harl. 221) 363 (MED) Oke tre: Quercus, ylex..Oke appul: Galla. 1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. bvjv Take..oke appilles and make Iuce of theym. Compounds Oak-apple Day n. the anniversary of the Stuart restoration to the English throne (29 May) in 1660, when oak apples or oak leaves were traditionally worn in memory of Charles II hiding in an oak after the battle of Worcester (cf. quot. 1834 at sense 1). 1802 Gentleman's Mag. May 411/2 One year, when a boy, he could not find an oak-apple or a leaf of the oak to put in his hat on oak-apple day. 1889 Longman's Mag. Mar. 517 The 29th May, Oak-apple Day, was called Shicsack Day, when all loyal urchins were expected to display a bit of oak in their hats of caps.

Gumption (GUMP-shun)

1 : (chiefly dialect) common sense, horse sense 2 : enterprise, initiative English speakers have had gumption (the word, that is) since the early 1700s. The term's exact origins aren't known, but its earliest known uses are found in British and especially Scottish dialects (which also include the forms rumblegumption and rumgumption). In its earliest uses, gumption referred to intelligence or common sense, especially when those qualities were combined with high levels of energy. By the 1860s, American English speakers were also using gumption to imply ambition or tenacity, but it wasn't until the early 1900s that gumption began to appear in English texts as a direct synonym of courage or get-up-and-go. American showman P.T. Barnum also claimed that gumption named a particular kind of hard cider, but that sense is far from common today.

Lammas (LAM-us)

1 : August 1 originally celebrated in England as a harvest festival -- called also Lammas Day 2 : the time of the year around Lammas Day The word "Lammas" evolved from Old English "hlāfmæsse" ("hlāf" meaning "loaf" and "mæssse" meaning "mass"). It originated from the fact that on August first of each year, the early English church celebrated the harvesting of the first ripe grain by consecrating loaves made from it -- hence, "loaf mass." Shakespeareans will be sure to add that the eve of Lammas is Juliet's birthday, as her nurse tells us in Romeo and Juliet, "Come Lammas Eve at night shall she be fourteen." In addition, the phrase "latter Lammas" was used humorously to refer to a day that will never come, as in "he will pay at latter Lammas."

Clew (KLOO)

1 : a ball of thread, yarn, or cord 2 : clue 3 a : a lower corner or only the after corner of a sail b : a metal loop attached to the lower corner of a sail The "ball of thread" meaning of "clew" (from Middle English "clewe" and ultimately from Old English "cliewen") has been with us since before the 12th century. In Greek mythology, Ariadne gave a ball of thread to Theseus so that he could use it to find his way out of her father's labyrinth. This, and similar tales, gave rise to the use of "clew" for anything that could guide a person through a difficult place. This use led in turn to the meaning "a piece of evidence that leads one toward the solution of a problem." Today, the spelling variant "clue," which appeared in the 16th century, is the more common spelling variant for the "evidence" sense, but you'll find "clew" in some famous works of literature. "Clew" is also the only choice for the sailing senses.

Jalousie (JAL-uh-see)

1 : a blind with adjustable horizontal slats for admitting light and air while excluding direct sun and rain 2 : a window made of adjustable glass louvers that control ventilation Etymologists are clear on the source of the word "jalousie" -- it's French for "jealousy" -- but the relationship between the emotion and the window treatments originally referred to as jalousies is not something they've speculated much about. Is it that those peering out through the original jalousie blinds were jealous of the people outside? Or is it more likely that the jealousy festered in the hearts of those outside, who could see the blinds but not the faces and lives of the people they hid? This excerpt from the October 23, 1766 entry in the Duchess of Northumberland's diary perhaps provides a clue: "Rows of Seats with Jalousies in Front that [the women] may not be seen."

Whirligig (WER-lih-gig)

1 : a child's toy having a whirling motion 2 a : one that continuously whirls or changes b : a whirling or circling course (as of events) English speakers, and particularly children, began spinning whirligigs as early as the 15th century. Since then, "whirligig" has acquired several meanings beyond its initial toy sense. It even has a place in the common name of the whirligig beetle, a member of the family Gyrinidae that swiftly swims in circles on the surface of still water. The word "whirligig" comes to us from Middle English "whirlegigg" ("whirling top"), which is itself from "whirlen," meaning "to whirl," and "gigg," meaning "(toy) top."

Flatfoot (FLAT-foot)

1 : a condition in which the arch of the instep is flattened so that the entire sole rests upon the ground 2 a : slang police officer; especially : a patrolman walking a regular beat b : slang sailor In 1899 the police officers of Akron, Ohio, climbed aboard the first police car (a patrol wagon powered by an electric motor). In that same year the noun "flatty" was first used in print with the meaning "police officer." Mere coincidence? Maybe, but consider that quite a few similar words have been used over the years to distinguish pedestrian officers from mobile ones, including "flat," "flat arch," "flathead," "flatter," and today's featured word, "flatfoot." Other notable (and more comic) descriptors are "pavement pounder" and "sidewalk snail." "Flatfoot" dates its "police officer" sense from 1913. It is especially used of those footing it to keep our cities safe, but it can also refer to police in general.

Lapidary (LAP-uh-dair-ee)

1 : a cutter, polisher, or engraver of precious stones usually other than diamonds 2 : the art of cutting gems The Latin word for "stone" is "lapis"; in that language, something "of or relating to stone" is described as "lapidarius." Gem cutters obviously relate well to stone, and during the 14th century someone decided that "lapidarius" should be related to them. The spelling of the term was modified, and it was borrowed into English as a name for both gem cutters and their art. Since the 1700s, "lapidary" has also been used as an adjective describing things having the elegance and precision of inscriptions carved on stone monuments or things relating to the art of gem cutting.

Cassandra (kuh-SAN-druh)

1 : a daughter of Priam endowed with the gift of prophecy but fated never to be believed 2 : one that predicts misfortune or disaster The story of Cassandra comes from Greek mythology and is both tragic and ironic, as such myths tend to be. Cassandra was the daughter of Priam, the king of Troy. She caught the eye of the god Apollo, who was accustomed to getting what he wanted. He was amazed and displeased when she refused his romantic advances, and he became vengeful. He cursed Cassandra with a gift of prophecy with an especially cruel twist: he guaranteed that while she would always be right, no one would ever believe her predictions. Cassandra foretold the fall of Troy and other disastrous happenings, though she was ignored. Now, the label "Cassandra" is typically reserved for those who claim to see impending doom.

Gridiron (GRID-eye-ern)

1 : a grate for broiling food 2 : something consisting of or covered with a network 3 : a football field Modern gridirons are most likely to be covered by football players, but the original gridirons were more likely to be covered with meat or fish; they were metal gratings used for broiling food over an open fire. In Middle English, such a grating was called a "gredil," a root that gave modern English both "gridiron" and "griddle." How did "gridiron" become associated with football? That happened in the late 1800s, when a white grid pattern was added to football fields to help enforce new rules about how many yards a team had to gain to keep possession of the ball. From high up in the stands, the lines made the playing fields look like cooking gridirons.

Wallaroo (wah-luh-ROO)

1 : a large reddish-gray kangaroo (Macropus robustus) -- called also euro 2 : either of two kangaroos (Macropus antelopinus and M. bernardus) related to the wallaroo Wallaroos are indeed a kind of kangaroo. That term in its broadest usage refers to any member of the family Macropodidae -- which comprises more than 50 species. More specifically, though, "kangaroo" refers to the eastern gray kangaroo, the western gray kangaroo, the red kangaroo, and to the three animals known also as "wallaroos." Like the animals to which they refer, the words "wallaroo" and "kangaroo" are native to Australia. "Wallaroo" is from Dharuk, an Australian aboriginal language of the Port Jackson area; "kangaroo" is from Guugu Yimidhirr, an Australian aboriginal language of northern Queensland. Also from Dharuk is the word "wallaby," which refers to small or medium-sized kangaroos, especially those of the genus Macropus.

Linchpin (LINCH-pin)

1 : a locking pin inserted crosswise (as through the end of an axle or shaft) 2 : one that serves to hold together parts or elements that exist or function as a unit "There was the good old custom of taking the linch-pins out of the farmers' and bagmens' gigs at the fairs, and a cowardly blackguard custom it was." That custom, described by British writer Thomas Hughes in his 1857 novel Tom Brown's School Days, was "blackguard" indeed. The linchpin in question held the wheel on the carriage and removing it made it likely that the wheel would come off as the vehicle moved. Such a pin was called a "lynis" in Old English; Middle English speakers added "pin" to form "lynspin." Modern English speakers modified it to "linchpin" and, in the mid-20th century, began using the term figuratively for anything as critical to a complex situation as a linchpin is to a wagon.

Climacteric (kly-MAK-tuh-rik)

1 : a major turning point or critical stage 2 a : menopause b : a period in the life of a male corresponding to female menopause 3 : the marked and sudden rise in the respiratory rate of fruit just prior to full ripening "Climacteric" comes from the Greek word "klimaktēr," meaning "critical point" or, literally, "rung of a ladder." English speakers have long used "climacteric" for those inevitable big moments encountered on the metaphorical ladder of life. The major climacterics in a person's life were once thought to happen in years denoted by multiples of 7 or 9 or only in the odd multiples of 7 (7, 21, 35, etc.). The grand (or great) climacteric was held to occur in the 63rd (7 x 9) or the 81st (9 x 9) year of life. Today, "climacteric" can refer to male or female menopause, which typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55, but the general "turning point" sense is not usually tied to a specific age.

Trammel (TRAM-ul)

1 : a net for catching birds or fish 2 : something impeding activity, progress, or freedom : restraint -- usually used in plural A trammel fishing net traditionally has three layers, with the middle one finer-meshed and slack so that fish passing through the first net carry some of the center net through the coarser third net and are trapped. Appropriately, "trammel" traces back to the Late Latin "tremaculum," which comes from Latin "tres," meaning "three," and "macula," meaning "mesh." Today, "trammels" is synonymous with "restraints," and "trammel" is also used as a verb meaning "to confine" or "to enmesh." You may also run across the adjective "untrammeled," meaning "not confined or limited."

Ruction (RUK-shun)

1 : a noisy fight 2 : disturbance, uproar English offers up a scramble of colorful words for what can happen when tempers spill over. For example, we have "melee," "fracas," "donnybrook," "ruckus," and one especially for baseball fans, "rhubarb." "Ruction" is rarer than most of these. Etymologists speculate that "ruction" came to English in the early 19th century as a shortening and alteration of another word suggesting an episode of violence: "insurrection." The earliest uses of "ruction" specifically make reference to the Irish Rebellion of 1798, an uprising against British rule on that island. "Ruckus" came later, toward the end of the 19th century, and was probably formed by combining "ruction" with "rumpus."

Layman (LAY-mun)

1 : a person who is not a member of the clergy 2 : a person who does not belong to a particular profession or who is not expert in some field "Layman" began its run in English as the open compound "lay man." In this context, "lay" is an adjective that can mean "belonging or relating to those not in holy orders," "not of the clergy," and "not ecclesiastical." The origins of "lay" and "layman" can be traced back through French and Late Latin to Greek "laikos," meaning "of the people. "Layman" was originally used to distinguish between non-clerical people and the clergy, but it was soon also being used to distinguish non-professionals from professionals in a field (such as law or medicine). In a similar fashion, the collective noun "laity" originally referred to non-clerical people but came to also mean "persons not of a particular profession."

Mountebank (MOUN-tih-bank)

1 : a person who sells quack medicines from a platform 2 : a boastful unscrupulous pretender : charlatan "Mountebank" derives from the Italian "montimbanco," which was formed by combining the verb "montare" ("to mount"), the preposition "in" (converted to "im," meaning "in" or "on"), and the noun "banco" ("bench"). Put these components together and you can deduce the literal origins of "mountebank" as someone mounted on a bench -- the "bench" being the platform on which charlatans from the 16th and 17th centuries would stand to sell their phony medicines. Mountebanks often included various forms of light entertainment on stage in order to attract customers. Later, extended uses of "mountebank" referred to someone who falsely claims to have knowledge about a particular subject or a person who simply pretends to be something he or she is not in order to gain attention.

Charisma (kuh-RIZ-muh)

1 : a personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or enthusiasm for a public figure (as a political leader) 2 : a special magnetic charm or appeal The Greek word "charisma" means "favor" or "gift." In English, it has been used in Christian contexts since about 1640 to refer to a gift or power bestowed upon an individual by the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church. (This sense is now very rare.) The earliest nonreligious use of "charisma" that we know of occurred in a German text, a 1922 publication by sociologist Max Weber. The sense began appearing in English contexts shortly after Weber's work was published.

Perquisite (PER-kwuh-zut)

1 : a privilege or profit made in addition to regular pay 2 : gratuity, tip 3 : something held or claimed as an exclusive right or possession Looking to acquire a job loaded with perquisites, or "perks" (a synonym of "perquisites")? Don't give up the search! Make plenty of inquiries, send out an exquisitely crafted resume, and follow up with queries. Your quest may result in your conquering of the job market. After all, today's word "perquisite" derives from Latin "perquirere," which means "to search for thoroughly." That Latin word, in turn, is from the verb "quaerere," meaning "to ask" or "to seek." Seven other words in this paragraph are from "quaerere" as well -- "acquire," "inquiries," "exquisitely," "queries," "conquering," "quest," and, of course, "perk" (which was formed by shortening and altering "perquisite").

Crux (KRUKS)

1 : a puzzling or difficult problem 2 : an essential point requiring resolution or resolving an outcome 3 : a main or central feature (as of an argument) In Latin, "crux" referred literally to an instrument of torture, often a cross or stake, and figuratively to the torture and misery inflicted by means of such an instrument. "Crux" eventually developed the sense of "a puzzling or difficult problem"; that was the first meaning that was used when the word entered English in the early 18th century. Later, in the late 19th century, "crux" began to be used more specifically to refer to an essential point of a legal case that required resolution before the case as a whole could be resolved. Today, the verdict on "crux" is that it can be used to refer to any important part of a problem or argument, inside or outside of the courtroom.

Applesauce (AP-ul-sawss)

1 : a relish or dessert made of apples stewed to a pulp and sweetened 2 : bunkum, nonsense English offers a smorgasbord of words for "nonsense," some of which are better known as words for food. We have "baloney," "spinach," "rhubarb," and "toffee," not to mention "full of beans." And if none of those offerings are to your taste, you can say "that's pure banana oil!" Seemingly innocuous "applesauce" was first introduced to this menu back in the early 20th century. Back then, there may have been some bias against the real stuff. Poet Wallace Stevens's turn-of-the-century description of a meal consisting of "some unnameable smathering of greasy fritters . . . and of course the inevictable applesauce" shows a lack of respect that must have been shared by others.

Broadside (BRAWD-syde)

1 : a sheet of paper printed usually on one side (as an advertisement) 2 : all the guns on one side of a ship; also : their simultaneous discharge 3 : a volley of abuse or denunciation : a strongly worded attack What do sheets of printed paper and a ship's artillery have in common? Not a whole lot besides their "broadsides." The printing and naval senses of "broadside" arose independently in the 16th century. Printed broadsides may have first been decrees intended for public posting, so they were necessarily printed on one side of large sheets of paper. Soon even matters printed on one side of smallish sheets were called broadsides -- advertisements, for example, or the so-called "broadside ballads," popular ditties that people stuck on the wall to sing from. In the nautical sense, "broadside" was originally the entire side of a ship above the water -- which is where the guns were placed. The further use of "broadside" to refer to firing of the guns eventually led to the figurative "volley of abuse" sense.

Salvo (SAL-voh)

1 : a simultaneous discharge of guns or bombs 2 a : a sudden burst b : a spirited attack "Salvo" derives via Italian and French from the Latin adjective "salvus," meaning "healthy." "Salve," another form of the word, means "hail!" in Latin and was used as a greeting by ancient Romans. (Incidentally, the English "salve" is no relation, despite the coincidental spelling.) In English, "salvo" originally meant a discharge of firearms performed usually simultaneously as a salute -- which is appropriate, since "salute" is another descendant of "salvus." With time "salvo" came to refer to such a discharge performed as an act of war. Nowadays when we hear the word, it's usually part of a figurative act of war -- whether it's a critical remark aimed at a debate opponent, for example, or a business decision in a highly competitive industry.

Chameleon (kuh-MEEL-yun)

1 : a small lizard whose skin changes color especially according to its surroundings 2 a : a person given to often expedient or facile change in ideas or character b : one that is subject to quick or frequent change especially in appearance The chameleon is probably best known for the ability to change colors -- but when the ancients named this lizard, they apparently had other qualities in mind. "Chameleon" comes to us, via Latin, from Greek "chamaileōn," a combination of "chamai" ("on the ground") and "leōn" ("lion") -- a tribute, perhaps, to the lizard's fearsome aspect. It is the ability of the chameleon to change colors, however, that has led to the figurative use of "chameleon" for someone or something that is quick to change. Such figurative use dates back to at least the late 16th century, as demonstrated by King James VI who, writing in 1586 or 1587, requested "I praye you not to takk me to be a Camelion."

Fascicle (FASS-ih-kul)

1 : a small or slender bundle (as of pine needles or nerve fibers) 2 : one of the divisions of a book published in parts "Fascicle," which has been a part of our language since the 15th century, is one of a bundle of words derived from Latin "fascis," meaning "bundle." In book publishing, "fascicle" and its variants "fascicule" and "fasciculus" can all be used for one of the installments of a voluminous work; "fasciculus" can also be used for a bundle of anatomical fibers. "Fasciitis" is an inflammation of a "fascia," which is a sheet of tissue connecting muscles. You can also have a case of "fasciculation," or muscular twitching. Other descendants of "fascis" include "fasces" (a bundle of rods and an ax borne before ancient Roman magistrates as a badge of authority) and "fascine" (a long bundle of sticks of wood bound together).

Collop (KAH-lup)

1 : a small piece or slice especially of meat 2 : a fold of fat flesh The word "collop" is fat with meaning. It originated as a Middle-English word for an egg fried on bacon and later for the slice of bacon itself. In 18th-century Great Britain, it began designating the Monday before Shrove Tuesday. Traditionally, on "Collop Monday" fried bacon and eggs were eaten. The word was also extended to refer to any slice of meat, as in "collops of lobster," and to a fold of flesh on the body. In addition, the word can be used figuratively to refer to any piece of something -- for example, in Sir Walter Scott's novel Waverley we find "a 'collop of the foray,' or, in plainer words, a portion of the robber's booty."

Aspersion (uh-SPER-zhun)

1 : a sprinkling with water especially in religious ceremonies 2 a : a false or misleading charge meant to harm someone's reputation b : the act of making such a charge : defamation "No sweet aspersion shall the heavens let fall / To make this contract grow." In this line from Shakespeare's The Tempest, "aspersion" literally refers to a sprinkling of rain, but figuratively means "blessing." Shakespeare's use is true to the heritage of the term. "Aspersion" comes from the Latin word "aspersus," itself a derivative of the verb "aspergere," which means "to sprinkle" or "to scatter." When "aspersion" first appeared in English in the 16th century, it referred to the type of sprinklings (for instance, of holy water) that occur in religious ceremonies. But English speakers noted that splatterings can soil and stain, and by the end of the century "aspersion" was also being used for reports that stain or tarnish a reputation.

Defenestration (dee-fen-uh-STRAY-shun)

1 : a throwing of a person or thing out of a window 2 : a usually swift dismissal or expulsion (as from a political party or office) These days "defenestration" is often used as it is in our second example above: to describe the forceful removal of someone from public office or from some other advantageous position. History's most famous defenestration, however, was one in which the tossing out the window was quite literal. On May 23, 1618, two imperial regents were found guilty of violating certain guarantees of religious freedom. As punishment, they were thrown out the window of Prague Castle. The men survived the 50-foot tumble into the moat, but the incident, which became known as the Defenestration of Prague, marked the beginning of the Bohemian resistance to Hapsburg rule that eventually led to the Thirty Years' War.

Dreadnought (DRED-nawt)

1 : a warm garment of thick cloth; also : the cloth 2 : battleship 3 : one that is among the largest or most powerful of its kind "Fear nothing" -- that is essentially what "dread" plus "nought" means. The name might seem a strange one for a garment, but if you consider that dreadnoughts were worn onboard ships, you can appreciate the colorful name perhaps as much as the seafaring men must have appreciated the thick protection dreadnoughts offered from the elements. The clothes and the cloth, first called "fearnought" in the late 18th century, came long before the battleship. Not until 1906 did the British Navy launch HMS Dreadnought, the first battleship to have a main armament consisting entirely of big guns all of the same caliber. All ships of this type were then called "dreadnoughts." That particular type of battleship soon became obsolete, but their legacy lives on in the extended third sense of "dreadnought."

Acceptation (ak-sep-TAY-shun)

1 : acceptance; especially : favorable reception or approval 2 : a generally accepted meaning of a word or understanding of a concept "Acceptation" is older than its synonym "acceptance"; it first appeared in print in the 15th century, whereas "acceptance" took until 1574. Grammarian H. W. Fowler insisted in 1926 that "acceptation" and "acceptance" were not actually synonymous (he preferred to reserve "acceptation" for the "accepted meaning" use), but the earliest meaning of "acceptation" was indeed "acceptance." Both words descend from the Anglo-French word "accepter" ("to accept"), but "acceptation" took an extra step. Anglo-French added the "-ation" ending, which was changed to form "acceptacioun" in Middle English. (English embraced the present-day "-ation" ending later.) "Acceptance" simply comes from "accepter" plus the Anglo-French "-ance."

Solace (SAH-lus)

1 : alleviation of grief or anxiety 2 : a source of relief or consolation "Solace" was borrowed into English in the 14th century (via Anglo-French) from Latin "solacium," which in turn derives from the Latin verb "solari," meaning "to console." As you may have guessed, "solari" is also the source of the English words "console" and "consolation" (formed by combination with the prefix "com-"). In addition to the noun function, "solace" can be used as a verb ("he was solaced by the company of his children"). Also related are the nouns "solacer" ("one who solaces") and "solacement" ("an act of solacing or the condition of being solaced" or "something that solaces").

Tutelage (TOO-tuh-lij)

1 : an act of guarding or protecting 2 : the state of being under a guardian or tutor 3 a : instruction especially of an individual b : a guiding influence The Latin verb "tuēri" means "to look at" or "to guard." When "tutelage" first began appearing in print in the early 1600s, it was used mainly in the protective sense of "tuēri," as writers described serfs and peasants of earlier eras as being "under the tutelage of their lord." Over time, however, the word's meaning shifted away from guardianship and toward instruction. This pattern of meaning can also be seen in the related nouns "tutor" (which shifted from "a guardian" to "a private teacher") and "tuition" (which now refers to the act or profession of teaching or the cost of instruction but originally meant "protection, care, or custody especially as exercised by a parent or guardian over a child or ward").

Volition (voh-LISH-un)

1 : an act of making a choice or decision; also : a choice or decision made 2 : the power of choosing or determining : will "Volition" ultimately derives from the Latin verb "velle," meaning "to will" or "to wish." (The adjective "voluntary" descends from the same source.) English speakers borrowed the term from French in the 17th century, using it at first to mean "an act of choosing." Its earliest known English use appeared in Thomas Jackson's 1615 Commentaries upon the Apostle's Creed: "That such acts, again, as they appropriate to the will, and call volitions, are essentially and formally intellections, is most evident." The second sense of "volition," meaning "the power to choose," had developed by the mid-18th century.

Nutmeg (NUT-meg)

1 : an aromatic seed produced by an evergreen tree (Myristica fragrans of the family Myristicaceae, the nutmeg family) native to the Moluccas; also : the ground seed used as a spice 2 : a tree yielding nutmeg Nutmeg is native to the Moluccas, Indonesian islands in the Malay Archipelago of Southeast Asia. The word "nutmeg," however, comes from Old Occitan, a Romance language spoken in southern France during the latter half of the Middle Ages. Old Occitan "noz muscada" combines "noz" ("nut"), from Latin "nuc-, nux," with "muscada," a feminine form of "muscat," meaning "musky." The history of "muscat" can in turn be traced back through Late Latin, Greek, and Middle Persian to a Sanskrit word meaning "mouse."

Conventicle (kun-VEN-tih-kul)

1 : an assembly of an irregular or unlawful character 2 : an assembly for religious worship; especially : a meeting for worship not sanctioned by law 3 : meetinghouse "Conventicle" comes to us from Latin "conventiculum" and ultimately from "convenire," meaning "to assemble." "Conventiculum" means "place of assembly" (it was applied in particular to Roman Christian meetinghouses) or simply "assembly." The English "conventicle" also originally meant "assembly." It then developed an application to illegal meetings, which, in turn, led to the arrival of a sense describing secret meetings for worship in a religion proscribed by law. And finally, "conventicle" developed a sense of "meetinghouse," echoing the earlier use of "conventiculum."

Bower (BOW-er)

1 : an attractive dwelling or retreat 2 : a lady's private apartment in a medieval hall or castle 3 : a shelter made with tree boughs or vines twined together : arbor "Bower" derives from Old English "bur," meaning "dwelling," and was originally used of attractive homes or retreats, especially rustic cottages. In the Middle Ages, "bower" came to refer to a lady's personal hideaway within a medieval castle or hall: her private apartment. Today's "arbor" sense combines the pastoral beauty of a rustic retreat with the privacy of a personal apartment. Although its tranquil modern meaning belies it, "bower" is distantly related to the far more roughshod "bowery," which is the name of a district in New York City at one time known mostly for its flophouses and pawn shops. The Bowery got its name from a Dutch term for a dwelling or farm that shares a common ancestor with the terms that gave rise to "bower."

Pathos (PAY-thahss)

1 : an element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion 2 : an emotion of sympathetic pity The Greek word "pathos" means "suffering," "experience," or "emotion." It was borrowed into English in the 16th century, and for English speakers, the term usually refers to the emotions produced by tragedy or a depiction of tragedy. "Pathos" has quite a few kin in English. A "pathetic" sight moves us to pity. "Empathy" is the ability to feel the emotions of another. Though "pathology" is not literally "the study of suffering," it is "the study of diseases." You can probably guess at more relatives of "pathos." "Sympathy," "apathetic," "antipathy," "sociopath," and "psychopath" are a few.

Facsimile (fak-SIM-uh-lee)

1 : an exact copy 2 : a system of transmitting and reproducing graphic matter (as printing or still pictures) by means of signals sent over telephone lines The facsimile machine (or "fax machine") has been a staple of the modern office for a while now, and its name is much, much older. "Fac simile" is a Latin phrase meaning "make similar." English speakers began using "facsimile" as a noun meaning "an exact copy" in the late 1600s. In this sense, a facsimile might be a handwritten or hand drawn copy, or even a copy of a painting or statue. (Today, we also use the phrase "a reasonable facsimile" for a copy that is not exact but fairly close.) In the 1800s, people developed facsimile technology that could reproduce printed material via telegraph. Now, of course, we use telephone lines or wireless technology, and we usually call the resulting facsimile a "fax."

Archipelago (ahr-kuh-PEL-uh-goh)

1 : an expanse of water with many scattered islands 2 : a group of islands 3 : something resembling an archipelago; especially : a group or scattering of similar things The Greeks called it the "Aegean Pelagos" and the Italians referred to it as "Arcipelago" (principal sea), but English speakers now call it the Aegean Sea. Numerous islands dot its expanse, and 17th-century English speakers adopted a modified form of its Italian name for any sea with a similar scattering of islands. By the 19th century "archipelago" had come to refer to the groups of islands themselves, and now it is often used figuratively, as in, for example, "an archipelago of high rises."

Panache (puh-NAHSH)

1 : an ornamental tuft (as of feathers) especially on a helmet 2 : dash or flamboyance in style and action : verve Few can match the panache of French poet and soldier Cyrano de Bergerac. In his dying moments, he declared that the one thing left to him was his panache, and that assertion at once demonstrates the meaning of the word and draws upon its history. "Panache" derives via Middle French from Late Latin "pinnaculum," meaning "small wing" or "gable," a root that also gave English the word "pinnacle." In both French and English, "panache" originally referred to a showy, feathery plume on a hat or helmet; its "dashing" figurative sense developed from the verve and swagger of one bold enough to wear such an adornment in public. When the dying Cyrano turned his huge nose heavenward and spoke of his panache, his nose became the literal and figurative pinnacle of a multifaceted pun.

Organoleptic (or-guh-noh-LEP-tik)

1 : being, affecting, or relating to qualities (as taste, color, odor, and feel) of a substance (as a food or drug) that stimulate the sense organs 2 : involving use of the sense organs English speakers first got a taste of "organoleptic" in an 1852 translation of a French chemistry textbook. Its spelling is an Anglicization of the French word "organoleptique," which derives from "organ" (same meaning as in English) and Greek "lēptikos," meaning "disposed to take or accept." "Lēptikos" is also an ingredient in "neuroleptic" (a type of powerful tranquilizer). The parent of "lēptikos" -- the verb "lambanein," meaning "to take or seize" -- contributed to the formation of several English words, including "epilepsy" and "syllable."

Ritzy (RIT-see)

1 : being, characteristic of, or befitting a snob : snobbish 2 : impressively or ostentatiously fancy or stylish : fashionable, posh César Ritz (1850-1918) earned worldwide renown for the luxurious hotels bearing his name opened in London and Paris. (The Ritz-Carlton hotel company is a contemporary descendant of these enterprises.) Although they were by no means the first to cater to high-end clients, Ritz's hotels quickly earned reputations as symbols of opulence. F. Scott Fitzgerald, a writer who often focused on the fashionably wealthy, titled one of his short stories "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," and the phrase "to put on the ritz" means "to indulge in ostentatious display." The adjective "ritzy," describing either something fancy or stylish or the haughty attitudes of the wealthy elite, first checked into the English language in 1920.

Venal (VEE-nul)

1 : capable of being bought or obtained for money or other valuable consideration; especially : open to corrupt influence and especially bribery 2 : originating in, characterized by, or associated with corrupt bribery If you are given the choice between acts that are "venal" and those that are "venial," go for the venial. Although the two words look and sound alike, they have very different meanings and histories. "Venal" demonstrates the adage that anything can be had if the price is high enough and the morals are low enough. That word originated with the Latin "venum," which simply referred to something that was sold or for sale. Some of those transactions must have been rather shady, because by the mid-1600s, "venal" had gained the sense of corruption it carries today. "Venial" sins, on the other hand, are pardonable, the kind that show that everyone makes mistakes sometimes. That forgiving term descends from "venia," Latin for "favor," "indulgence," or "pardon."

Adventitious (ad-ven-TISH-us)

1 : coming from another source and not inherent or innate 2 : arising or occurring sporadically or in other than the usual location "Adventitious" is an adventitious word: it comes to English from the Latin "adventicius," meaning "coming from outside." This, in turn, comes from "adventus," the past participle of the verb "advenire," meaning "to arrive" or "to happen." That verb is also a source of several other English words, including "advent" (which, in its uncapitalized form, can refer to any coming or arrival), "adventure" (a word whose earliest sense was "chance happening"), and "avenue" (a means of arrival).

Continual (kun-TIN-yoo-ul)

1 : continuing indefinitely in time without interruption 2 : recurring in steady usually rapid succession Since the mid-19th century, many grammarians have drawn a distinction between "continual" and "continuous." "Continual" should only mean "occurring at regular intervals," they insist, whereas "continuous" should be used to mean "continuing without interruption." This distinction overlooks the fact that "continual" is the older word and was used with both meanings for centuries before "continuous" appeared on the scene. The prescribed sense of "continuous" became established only in the 19th century, and it never succeeded in completely driving out the equivalent sense of "continual." Today, "continual" is the more likely of the two to mean "recurring," but it also continues to be used, as it has been since the 14th century, with the meaning "continuing without interruption."

Slaphappy (SLAP-hap-ee)

1 : dazed and confused : punch-drunk 2 : buoyantly or recklessly carefree or foolish : happy-go-lucky "Slaphappy" hits a lot of the same spots as "punch-drunk": when you suffer a blow to the head, you become confused and silly for a while. The "dazed and confused" sense of "slaphappy" first appeared in English in 1936, and by the following year it was being used to describe those who behave with such abandon it's as though they've had the common sense knocked out of them. A 1937 article in the New York Herald Tribune called Ernest Hemingway, a writer known to have had an adventurous lifestyle, "the slaphappy litterateur." Often you will see the word spelled with a hyphen ("slap-happy"), but the closed compound is more common.

Subterfuge (SUB-ter-fyooj)

1 : deception by artifice or stratagem in order to conceal, escape, or evade 2 : a deceptive device or stratagem Though "subterfuge" is a synonym of "deception," "fraud," "double-dealing," and "trickery," there's nothing tricky about the word's etymology. We borrowed the word and meaning from Late Latin "subterfugium." That word contains the Latin prefix "subter-," meaning "secretly," which derives from the adverb "subter," meaning "underneath." The "-fuge" portion comes from the Latin verb "fugere," which means "to flee" and which is also the source of words such as "fugitive" and "refuge," among others.

Languid (LANG-gwid)

1 : drooping or flagging from or as if from exhaustion : weak 2 : sluggish in character or disposition : listless 3 : lacking force or quickness of movement : slow The letter L holds claim to a payload of words in English that connote a lack of energy or enthusiasm. Two of them -- "languid" and "languorous" -- derive from the same source, the Latin verb "languēre" ("to languish"). "Languid" describes the kind of sluggishness that one often experiences from fatigue or weakness ("the illness left her feeling languid"). "Languorous" applies more to someone who just doesn't feel the will to get up and do anything ("he felt languorous on a rainy Sunday afternoon"). There is also "lackadaisical," which implies a halfhearted effort given from lack of care ("lackadaisical seniors just floating along until graduation"), as well as "listless," which suggests a lack of spirit caused by physical weakness, dissatisfaction, or sadness ("she was listless for a few weeks following the breakup").

Finicky (FIN-ih-kee)

1 : extremely or excessively particular, exacting, or meticulous in taste or standards 2 : requiring much care, precision, or attentive effort You may be familiar with an advertising campaign featuring Morris, the "finicky" housecat who would only eat a certain brand of cat food. Morris's tastes in cuisine are not only very particular, but very fine as well, and that's appropriate given the origin of "finicky." The word came about as an alteration of "finicking," itself an alteration of another adjective, "finical." It's believed that "finical" derives from the adjective "fine." "Finicking" also gives us "finick," a somewhat rare verb meaning "to put on airs" or "to dawdle about."

Precipitate (prih-SIP-uh-tut)

1 : falling, flowing, or rushing with steep descent b: precipitous, steep 2 : exhibiting violent or unwise speed Many people, including usage commentators, are insistent about keeping the adjectives "precipitate" and "precipitous" distinct. "Precipitate," they say, means "headlong" or "impetuous"; "precipitous" means only "steep." And, indeed, "precipitate" is used mostly in the "headlong" sense, whereas "precipitous" usually means "steep." But one shouldn't be too hasty about insisting on the distinction. The truth is that "precipitate" and "precipitous" have had a tendency to overlap for centuries. Lexicographer Samuel Johnson, in his dictionary of 1755, defined "precipitate" as "steeply falling," "headlong," and "hasty," while "precipitous" was "headlong; steep," and "hasty." Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary included much the same definitions. The words' etymologies overlap as well. Both ultimately come from Latin "praeceps," which means "headlong."

Grotesque (groh-TESK)

1 : fanciful, bizarre 2 : absurdly incongruous 3 : departing markedly from the natural, the expected, or the typical During the Italian Renaissance, Romans of culture took a great interest in their country's past and began excavating ancient buildings. During their excavations, they uncovered chambers (known in Italian as "grotte," in reference to their cavelike appearance) decorated with artwork depicting fantastic combinations of human and animal forms interwoven with strange fruits and flowers. The Italian word "grottesca" became the name for this unique art style, and by 1561 it had mutated into the English noun "grotesque." The adjective form of "grotesque" was first used in the early 17th century to describe the decorative art but is now used to describe anything bizarre, incongruous, or unusual.

Propitious (pruh-PISH-us)

1 : favorably disposed : benevolent 2 : being of good omen : auspicious 3 : tending to favor : advantageous "Propitious," which comes to us through Middle English from the Latin word "propitius" (same meaning as "propitious"), is a synonym of "favorable" and "auspicious." All three essentially mean "pointing toward a happy outcome," with some differences of emphasis. "Favorable" implies that the persons involved in a situation are approving or helpful, or that circumstances are advantageous ("favorable weather conditions"). "Auspicious" usually applies to a sign or omen that promises success before or at the start of an event ("an auspicious beginning"). "Propitious" may also apply to beginnings, but it often suggests a continuing promising condition ("propitious conditions for an alliance"). Unpropitious is the opposite; adjective: (of a circumstance) with little chance of success. Example: With only a bottle of water and a sandwich, the hikers faced an unpropitious task: ascending a huge mountain that took most two days to climb.

Raillery

1 : good-natured ridicule : banter 2 : jest "Raillery" is the anglicized form of the French word "raillerie," which stems from the Middle French verb "railler," meaning "to mock." "Railler," which probably comes from Old French "reillier" ("to growl" or "to mutter") and ultimately from Late Latin "ragere" ("to neigh"), also gave us our verb "rail." But "rail" and "raillery" are quite different in tone. "Rail" means "to revile or scold in harsh, insolent, or abusive language," whereas "raillery" usually suggests cutting wit that pokes fun good-naturedly.

Circuitous (ser-KYOO-uh-tus)

1 : having a circular or winding course 2 : not being forthright or direct in language or action If you guessed that "circuitous" is related to "circuit," you're right -- both words come from Latin "circuitus," the past participle of the verb "circumire," meaning "to go around." "Circumire" is derived in turn from Latin "circum," meaning "around," plus "ire," which means "to go." Other "circum" descendants making the rounds in English include "circumference" ("the perimeter of a circle"), "circumvent" (one meaning of which is "to make a circuit around"), "circumlocution" (the act of "talking around" a subject), and "circumnavigate" ("to go around"). There's also the prefix "circum-," which means "around" or "about," and the familiar word "circumstance," which describes a condition or event that "stands around" another.

Edacious (ih-DAY-shus)

1 : having a huge appetite : ravenous 2 : excessively eager : insatiable "Tempus edax rerum." That wise Latin line by the Roman poet Ovid translates as "Time, the devourer of all things." Ovid's correlation between rapaciousness and time is appropriate to a discussion of "edacious." That English word is a descendant of Latin "edax," which is a derivative of the verb "edere," meaning "to eat." In its earliest known English uses, "edacious" meant "of or relating to eating." It later came to be used generally as a synonym of "voracious," and it has often been used specifically in contexts referring to time. That's how Scottish essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle used it when he referred to events "swallowed in the depths of edacious Time.

Pursy (PER-see)

1 : having a puckered appearance 2 : purse-proud There are two adjectives spelled "pursy," each with its own etymology. The one we've featured above dates from the mid-16th century and has its source in the noun "purse" ("a receptacle for carrying money and other small objects"); a drawstring purse's puckered appearance is the inspiration. The other "pursy" (pronounced PUH-see or PER-see) dates from the 15th century and, like the first, has two meanings: "short-winded especially because of corpulence" and "fat." This "pursy" comes from the Old French word "pousser," meaning "to exert pressure" or "to breathe heavily" -- the same word, etymologists believe, behind the word "push."

Convoluted (KAHN-vuh-loo-tud)

1 : having many twists and curves 2 : involved, intricate "Convoluted" and "convolution" (a noun referring to a folded, winding shape, such as one of the ridges of the brain) are from Latin "volvere," meaning "to roll." "Volvere" has given English many words, but one of the following is NOT from "volvere." Can you pick it out? vault voluminous volley voluble devolve The path from "vault" to "volvere" leads (rather convolutedly) through Middle English, Anglo-French, and Vulgar Latin to Latin "volutus," past participle of "volvere." "Voluble" meant "rolling easily" before it meant "speaking readily," and "voluminous" first meant "consisting of many folds." "Devolve" ("to pass down," as in "the stewardship devolved upon the son") once meant literally "to roll down." The word that doesn't belong is "volley." It's from Latin "volare," meaning "to fly."

Congenial (kun-JEEN-yul)

1 : having the same nature, disposition, or tastes : kindred 2 a : existing together harmoniously b : suited to one's nature, tastes, or outlook c : sociable, genial According to ancient Roman and Greek mythology, each person at birth was assigned a guardian spirit. The Latin name for this attendant spirit was "genius." Two people who get along well together can be thought of as sharing a similar spirit; they might even be described by a word combining the Latin prefix "com-" (meaning "with, together") and "genius." And, indeed, it was this "com-genius" combination that gave rise in the 17th century to the English word "congenial." (The Greek word for the guardian spirit, "daimōn," gave us "eudaemonia," meaning "well-being" or "happiness," but that word is extremely rare.)

Irrefragable (ih-REF-ruh-guh-bul)

1 : impossible to refute 2 : impossible to break or alter Since at least 1533, "irrefragable" has been used as an English adjective modifying things (such as arguments or data) that are impossible to refute. It derives from the Late Latin adjective "irrefragabilis" (of approximately the same meaning), which is itself derived from the Latin verb "refragari," meaning "to oppose or resist." "Irrefragable" rather quickly developed a second sense referring to things (such as rules, laws, and even objects) that cannot be broken or changed. There was once also a third sense that applied to inflexible or obstinate people.

Amenable (uh-MEE-nuh-bul)

1 : liable to be brought to account : answerable 2 a : capable of submission (as to judgment or test) : suited b : readily brought to yield, submit, or cooperate c : inclined or favorably disposed in mind : willing "Amenable" is a legacy of Anglo-French and derives ultimately from Latin "minari," meaning "to threaten." Since 1596, English speakers have been using it in courtrooms and writings of law with the meaning "answerable," as in "citizens amenable to the law." It later developed the meanings "suited" ("a simple function . . . which is perfectly amenable to pencil-and-paper arithmetic" -- Nature, April 1973) and "responsive" (as in "mental illnesses that are amenable to drug therapy"). It also came to be used of people with a general disposition to be agreeable or complaisant -- like Mr. Dick in David Copperfield, who was "the most friendly and amenable creature in existence." Nowadays, "amenable" is often used to describe someone who is favorably disposed to a particular named something.

Indite (in-DYTE)

1 : make up, compose 2 : to give literary or formal expression to 3 : to put down in writing "Indite" looks like a misspelling of its homophone "indict," meaning "to charge with a crime," and that's no mere coincidence. Although the two verbs are distinct in current use, they are in fact related etymologically. "Indite" is the older of the two; it has been in the language since the 1300s. "Indict," which came about as an alteration of "indite," first appeared in English legal use around 1600. Ultimately, both terms come from the Latin "indicere," meaning "to make known formally" or "to proclaim," which in turn comes from "in-" plus "dicere," meaning "to say."

Marginalia (mahr-juh-NAY-lee-uh)

1 : marginal notes or embellishments (as in a book) 2 : nonessential items We don't consider a word's etymology to be marginalia, so we'll start off by telling you the etymology of this one. "Marginalia" is a New Latin word that can be traced back to the Latin forms "margin-" and "margo," meaning "margin." "Marginalia" is a relatively new word; our earliest evidence of its use is from 1832. The related adjective "marginal" is quite a bit older; it was first used in 1573. On the other end of the spectrum is another relative, "marginalize." That word was first used in 1970.

Raffish (RAF-ish)

1 : marked by or suggestive of flashy vulgarity or crudeness 2 : marked by a careless unconventionality : rakish "Raffish" sounds like it should mean "resembling raff." But what is raff? Originally, "raff" was a word meaning "rubbish"; it derived from Middle English "raf," and it was being used for trash and refuse back in the 1400s. Around a century later, English speakers were also using the word "riffraff" to mean "disreputable characters" or "rabble." The origins of "riffraff" are distinct from the "rubbish" sense of "raff"; "riffraff" derived from an Anglo-French phrase meaning "one and all." By the mid-1500s, the similarities between "raff" and "riffraff" had prompted people to start using the two words as synonyms, and "raff" gained a "rabble" sense. It was that ragtag "raff" that gave rise to the adjective "raffish" in the late 1700s.

Concrete (kahn-KREET)

1 : naming a real thing or class of things 2 : formed by coalition of particles into one solid mass 3 : relating to or involving specific people, things, or actions rather than general ideas or qualities 4 : relating to or made of concrete We can trace "concrete" back to the Latin verb "concrescere," meaning "to grow together." Appropriately, when if first entered English "concrete" could mean "connected by growth." Logicians and grammarians also applied "concrete" to words that expressed a quality viewed as being united with the thing it describes. That in turn led to the sense of "concrete" which we now contrast with "abstract" -- concrete words express actual things ("rock," "lizard, "harpsichord"), while abstract words express qualities apart from actual things ("bliss," "freedom," "turpitude"). It was not until the 19th century that the noun "concrete," and its related adjective, began to be used for the building material composed of cementing material and sand, gravel, or similar materials.

Ancillary (AN-suh-lair-ee)

1 : of lower or secondary class or rank : subordinate, subsidiary 2 : providing additional help or support : auxiliary, supplementary "Ancillary" derives from the English word "ancilla," a somewhat rare word that means "an aid to achieving or mastering something difficult." That word derives from Latin, where it meant "female servant." While English "ancilla" is unlikely to be encountered except in very specialized contexts (such as philosophy or quantum computing), "ancillary" picks up on the notion of providing aid or support in a way that supplements something else. In particular, the word often describes something that is in a position of secondary importance, such as the "ancillary products in a company's line."

Hyperborean (hye-per-BOR-ee-un)

1 : of or relating to an extreme northern region : frozen 2 : of or relating to any of the arctic peoples In ancient Greek mythology, the "Hyperboreoi" were a people who lived in a northern paradise of perpetual sunshine beyond the reaches of the god of the north wind. Their name located them within the Greek world; it combined the prefix "hyper-," meaning "above," and "Boreas," the Greek name for the north wind. When "hyperborean" first appeared in our language in the 15th century, it named those legendary folk. By the late 1500s, though, the word was being used more generally for anything relating to the far north or the people who lived there.

Pomaceous (poh-MAY-shus)

1 : of or relating to apples 2 : resembling a pome "Pomaceous" was first planted in the English language by physician Edward Baynard when, in 1706, he advised, "Apples and pomaceous Juices, are the greatest Pectorals." ("Pectoral" is now a rarely used word for a food that helps digestion.) Since then, "pomaceous" has mainly been sown by botanists and poets. The word, which is ultimately derived from Late Latin "pomum" (meaning "apple"), was originally used of apples and things relating to apples, but later it was also applied to things that look like pears. (Pears, like apples, belong to the pome family.)

Colloquial (kuh-LOH-kwee-ul)

1 : of or relating to conversation : conversational 2 a : used in or characteristic of familiar and informal conversation; also : unacceptably informal b : using conversational style The noun "colloquy" was first used in English to refer to a conversation or dialogue, and when the adjective "colloquial" was formed from "colloquy" it had a similar focus. Over time, however, "colloquial" developed a more specific meaning related to language that is most suited to informal conversation -- and it ultimately garnered an additional, disparaging implication of a style that seems too informal for a situation. "Colloquy" and "colloquial" trace back to the Latin verb "colloqui," meaning "to converse." "Colloqui" in turn was formed by combining the prefix "com-" and "loqui," "to speak." Other conversational descendants of "loqui" in English include "circumlocution," "eloquent," "loquacious," "soliloquy," and "ventriloquism."

Ethereal (ih-THEER-ee-ul)

1 : of or relating to the heavens : heavenly 2 : being light and airy : delicate If you're burning to know the history of "ethereal," you're in the right spirit to fully understand that word's etymology. The ancient Greeks believed that the Earth was composed of earth, air, fire, and water, but that the heavens and its denizens were made of a purer, less tangible substance known as either "ether" or "quintessence." Ether was often described as an invisible light or fire, and its name derives from the Greek "aithein," a verb meaning "to ignite" or "to blaze." When "ethereal," the adjective kin of "ether," debuted in English in the 1500s, it referred specifically to regions beyond the Earth, but it gradually came to refer to anything heavenly or airy.

Aesopian (ee-SOH-pee-un)

1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of Aesop or his fables 2 : conveying an innocent meaning to an outsider but a hidden meaning to a member of a conspiracy or underground movement Aesop's fables are well-known. On the surface, they are entertaining stories, featuring animals who speak and act like humans. But they also have an underlying purpose, which is to teach a moral lesson. In the 20th century, "Aesopian" -- which had previously meant simply "characteristic of Aesop or his fables" -- took on an extended meaning. "Aesopian language" referred to the cryptic or ambiguous language authors used in subversive material, often to avoid censorship. This use originated in Russia with "ezopovski," the Russian version of the term. Today, "Aesopian" occasionally means "having hidden meaning" without any implications of subversive political meaning or avoidance of censorship.

Vespertine (VESS-per-tyne)

1 : of, relating to, or occurring in the evening 2 : active, flowering, or flourishing in the evening Imagine this vespertine scenario: Hesperus, the Evening Star, shines in a clear sky; little brown bats flutter near the treetops; somewhere in the distance a church bell calls worshipers to the evening service. Can you find three words (other than "vespertine") associated with the Latin root "vesper," which means "evening," hidden in that scene? The evening star was once known as "Vesper" ("Hesperus" is from the Greek for "evening"); "vespertilian" means "batlike" (the Latin word for bat is "vespertilio"); and we still call an evening worship service "vespers."

Homiletic (hah-muh-LET-ik)

1 : of, relating to, or resembling a homily 2 : of or relating to the art of preaching; also : preachy "Homiletic" came to us by way of Latin from Greek "homilētikos," meaning "affable" or "social." "Homilētikos" came from "homilein," meaning "to talk with," "to address," or "to make a speech," which in turn came from "homilos," the Greek word for "crowd" or "assembly." "Homilos" and "homilein" also gave English, by way of Latin "homilia" and French "omelie," the word "homily," which is used for a short sermon, a lecture on a moral theme, and for an inspirational catchphrase or platitude. Like "homily," the English word "homiletic" focuses on the morally instructive nature of a discourse. "Homiletic" can also be used derogatorily in the sense of "preachy."

Harbinger (HAHR-bun-jer)

1 : one that pioneers in or initiates a major change : precursor 2 : one that presages or foreshadows what is to come When medieval travelers needed lodging for the night, they went looking for a harbinger. As long ago as the 12th century, "harbinger" was used to mean "one who provides lodging" or "a host," but that meaning is now obsolete. By the late 1300s, "harbinger" was also being used for a person sent ahead of a main party to seek lodgings, often for royalty or a campaigning army, but that old sense has largely been left in the past, too. Both of those historical senses are true to the Anglo-French parent of "harbinger," the word "herberge," meaning "lodgings." The most common sense of the word nowadays, the "forerunner" sense, has been with us since the mid-1500s.

Acolyte (AK-uh-lyte)

1 : one who assists a member of the clergy in a liturgical service by performing minor duties 2 : one who attends or assists : follower Follow the etymological path of "acolyte" back far enough and you'll arrive at "keleuthos," a Greek noun that means "path" and that is itself the parent of "akolouthos," an adjective that means "following." "Akolouthos" traveled from Greek, leaving offspring in Medieval Latin and Anglo-French, and its descendant, "acolyte," emerged in English in the 14th century. Originally, it was exclusively a term for a person who assisted a priest at Mass, but by the 19th century "acolyte" had acquired additional meanings, among them "attendant body, satellite" (a meaning used in astronomy) and "attendant insect" (a zoological sense), as well as the general meaning "assistant" or "sidekick."

Issuable (ISH-oo-uh-bul)

1 : open to contest, debate, or litigation 2 : authorized for issue 3 : possible as a result or consequence Although "issuable" now tends to appear in financial contexts (such as in reference to shares that are eligible to be issued, or made available, according to a company's articles of incorporation), it was originally used in the late 16th century as a legal term: an issuable matter was one that was open to contest, debate, or litigation. Within a century, though, the word had taken on the meaning that it most commonly has today, "authorized for issue." In making its home in the world of finance, "issuable" is carrying on a family tradition. In the early 14th century, its predecessor "issue" was used in plural to refer to proceeds from a source of revenue, such as an estate. "Issue" itself traces back to Latin "exire," meaning "to go out."

Credulous (KREJ-uh-lus)

1 : ready to believe especially on slight or uncertain evidence 2 : proceeding from credulity It's easier to give credit to people who adhere to their creed than to give credence to what miscreants say, or for that matter, to find recreants altogether credible. That sentence contains a half dozen words which, like today's "credulous," are descendants of "credere," the Latin verb that means "to believe" or "to trust": "credit" ("honor," as well as "belief"); "creed" ("guiding principle"); "credence" ("acceptance as true"); "miscreant" ("a heretic" or "a criminal"); "recreant" ("coward, deserter"); and "credible" ("offering reasonable grounds for being believed"). "Credulous" is even more closely allied to the nouns "credulity" and "credulousness" (both meaning "gullibility"), and of course its antonym, "incredulous" ("skeptical," also "improbable").

Refection (rih-FEK-shun)

1 : refreshment of mind, spirit, or body; especially : nourishment 2 a : the taking of refreshment b : food and drink together : repast Whether you sit down for nourishment or sustenance, aliment or pabulum, a meal or a repast, you are unlikely to encounter a shortage of English words for food or the partaking of food. "Refection" is just such a word. It was first borrowed by Middle English (as "refeccioun") from Anglo-French "refectiun," which in turn was derived from Latin "refectio" (meaning "refreshment" or "repairing"). "Refectio" comes from the verb "reficere" ("to remake, renew, or restore"), a combination of the prefix "re-" ("again") and the verb "facere" ("to make or do"). "Refection" is not only applied to food, however. It has been used to describe many means of restoring or refreshing one's body, and of mental and spiritual sustenance as well.

Prodigious (pruh-DIJ-us)

1 : resembling or befitting a prodigy : strange, unusual 2 : exciting amazement or wonder 3 : extraordinary in bulk, quantity, or degree : enormous "Prodigious," "monstrous," "tremendous," and "stupendous" all mean extremely impressive. "Prodigious" suggests something marvelous or extraordinary, whereas "monstrous" implies that something is not only large but also ugly or deformed. "Tremendous" and "stupendous" both imply a power, the former to terrify or awe, the latter to stun or astound. "Prodigious" and the related noun "prodigy" derive from the Latin "prodigium," meaning "omen" or "monster"; at one time, both words were used in English to refer to portents, or omens, but these senses are now considered obsolete.

Tramontane (truh-MAHN-tayn)

1 : situated on the north side of the Alps : transalpine 2 : lying on or coming from the other side of a mountain range The journey of "tramontane" into English starts in Latin and begins with the coming together of the prefix "trans-," meaning "across" or "beyond," and "montanus," meaning "of a mountain." When the word entered Italian, it did so as "tramontano" and referred to people or things on or from the other side of a mountain range -- specifically, the Alps. "Tramontano" then traveled into English during the late 16th century as both the adjective "tramontane," with the same meaning as the Italian word, and as the noun "tramontane," meaning "one dwelling in a tramontane region" or "a foreigner." During the 18th century, the adjective began carrying the meaning "barbarous," but that meaning is now rarely -- if ever -- used.

Confection (kun-FEK-shun)

1 : something put together from varied material 2 a : a fancy dish or sweetmeat; also : a sweet food b : a work of fine or elaborate craftsmanship c : a light but entertaining theatrical, cinematic, or literary work A "confection" is "confected" from several different ingredients or elements. Most confections are sweet, but the word can also be used to refer to any finely worked piece of craftsmanship. In other words, the lacy box containing chocolate confections can be a confection itself. The verb "confect" (meaning "put together from varied material") comes from Latin "confectus," the past participle of "conficere," meaning "to prepare." "Conficere" joins the prefix "con-" with the common Latin verb "facere," meaning "to make" or "to do." "Factory," "manufacture," and "benefactor" are among the many relations.

Mucilaginous (myoo-suh-LAJ-uh-nus)

1 : sticky, viscid 2 : of, relating to, full of, or secreting mucilage Unlike its meanings, there's nothing terribly sticky about the origin and use of "mucilaginous." Like thousands of other words in the English language, "mucilaginous" (and the noun "mucilage") oozed out of Latin during the 15th century. "Mucilage" is from Late Latin's word for "mucus," "mucilago," and is used for the gelatinous substance found in various plants, such as legumes or seaweeds. "Mucilaginous" stuck as the noun's adjective form and is used by scientists and foodies alike for sticky or mucous things.

Breadbasket (BRED-bass-kut)

1 : stomach 2 : a major cereal-producing region "Breadbasket" has been used as slang in English since at least the mid-1700s. (It has been used even longer to mean literally a basket for holding bread.) It can refer to the stomach as an actual digestive organ ("his breadbasket rumbled with hunger"), but these days it's more commonly applied to the general stomach area ("rested her hands on her breadbasket"). No one is quite sure of the exact origins of the use, but it's likely that there's some connection between the basket used to hold bread and the "basket" where the bread ends up after a person eats it. "Breadbasket" has also come to refer to an area that supplies an important amount of grain ("the breadbasket of the country").

Dulcet (DUL-sut)

1 : sweet to the taste 2 : pleasing to the ear 3 : generally pleasing or agreeable "Dulcet" has many linguistic ancestors, including the Latin "dulcis," Anglo-French "douz," and Middle English "doucet," all meaning "sweet." The dulcet "dulcis" has contributed many other sweet terms to English as well. Among these are the musical direction "dolce" ("to be played sweetly, softly"), "dulciana" (a pipe organ stop), "dolcian" (a small bassoon-like instrument used in the 16th and 17th centuries), and "dulcimer" (an American folk instrument). On a similar note, the word "dulcify" means "to make sweet," and the adjective "doux," derived from "douz," is used in wine circles to describe champagne that is sweet.

Axiomatic (ak-see-uh-MAT-ik)

1 : taken for granted : self-evident 2 : based on or involving an axiom or system of axioms An axiom is a principle widely accepted on the basis of its intrinsic merit or one regarded as self-evidently true. A statement that is axiomatic therefore, is one against which few people would argue. "Axiomatic" entered English from Middle Greek "axiōmatikos," and "axiom" derived via Latin from Greek "axiōma" ("something worthy") and "axios" ("worthy"). The word "axiom" can also refer to a statement accepted as true as the basis for argument or inference. Such axioms are often employed in discussions of philosophy, as well as in mathematics and geometry (where they are sometimes called postulates).

Onomatopoeia (ah-nuh-mah-tuh-PEE-uh)

1 : the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it (as buzz, hiss) 2 : the use of words whose sound suggests the sense "Onomatopoeia" came into English via Late Latin and ultimately traces back to Greek "onoma," meaning "name," and "poiein," meaning "to make." ("Onoma" can be found in such terms as "onomastics," which refers to the study of proper names and their origins, while "poiein" gave us such words as "poem" and "poet.") English speakers have only used the word "onomatopoeia" since the mid-1500s, but people have been creating words from the sounds heard around them for much longer. In fact, the presence of so many imitative words in language spawned the linguistic Bowwow Theory, which postulates that language originated in imitation of natural sounds.

Billion (BILL-yun)

1 : the number 1,000,000,000 : a thousand million b British, old-fashioned : the number 1,000,000,000,000 : a million million 2 : a very large number How much is a billion? It might depend who you ask. "Billion" was borrowed from French in the late 1600s to indicate the number one million raised to the power of two, or a million million -- a number represented by a one followed by 12 zeros. However, the French later changed their naming conventions so that a billion became a thousand million (a one followed by nine zeros) and a trillion became a thousand thousand million (or a million million, the old billion). The French have since returned to the older system, but it was this new system that was adopted by American English speakers in the 1800s. In Britain the newer system has seen increasing use since the 1950s, but the older sense is still sometimes used there as well.

Abrogate (AB-ruh-gayt)

1 : to abolish by authoritative action : annul 2 : to treat as nonexistent If you can't simply wish something out of existence, the next best thing might be to "propose it away." That's more or less what "abrogate" lets you do -- etymologically speaking, at least. "Abrogate" comes from the Latin root "rogare," which means "to propose a law," and "ab-," meaning "from" or "away." We won't propose that you try to get away from the fact that "rogare" is also an ancestor in the family tree of "prerogative" and "interrogate." "Abrogate" first appeared in English as a verb in the 16th century; it was preceded by an adjective sense meaning "annulled" or "cancelled" which is now obsolete.

Vituperate (vye-TOO-puh-rayt)

1 : to abuse or censure severely or abusively 2 : to use harsh condemnatory language "Vituperate" has several close synonyms, including "berate" and "revile." "Berate" usually refers to scolding that is drawn out and abusive. "Revile" means to attack or criticize in a way prompted by anger or hatred. "Vituperate" adds to the meaning of "revile" by stressing an attack that is particularly violent in nature. It first appeared in English in the mid-16th century and can be traced back to two Latin words: the noun "vitium," meaning "fault," and the verb "parare," meaning "to make or prepare."

Temporize

1 : to act to suit the time or occasion : yield to current or dominant opinion 2 : to draw out discussions or negotiations so as to gain time "Temporize" comes from the Medieval Latin verb "temporizare" ("to pass the time"), which itself comes from the Latin noun "tempus," meaning "time." "Tempus" is also the root of such words as "tempo," "contemporary," and "temporal." If you need to buy some time, you might resort to temporizing -- but you probably won't win admiration for doing so. "Temporize" can have a somewhat negative connotation. For instance, a political leader faced with a difficult issue might temporize by talking vaguely about possible solutions without actually doing anything. The point of such temporizing is to avoid taking definite -- and possibly unpopular -- action, in hopes that the problem will somehow go away. But the effect is often just to make matters worse.

Fraternize (FRAT-er-nyze)

1 : to associate or mingle as brothers or on fraternal terms 2 a : to associate on close terms with members of a hostile group especially when contrary to military orders b : to be friendly or amiable Both "fraternize" and "fraternal" (meaning "of, relating to, or involving brothers") come to us, by way of Medieval Latin, from Latin "frater," meaning "brother." Other "frater" descendants in English include "friar," "fraternity," and "confraternity" ("a society devoted especially to a religious or charitable cause"). Even "brother" itself shares a relationship with "frater." These days, although "fraternize" can still refer to a brotherly association or simple friendliness, it often occurs in contexts, such as "fraternizing with the enemy," implying friendliness toward someone who would be better avoided.

Bombard (bahm-BARD)

1 : to attack especially with artillery or bombers 2 : to assail vigorously or persistently (as with questions) 3 : to subject to the impact of rapidly moving particles (as electrons) In the late Middle Ages, a bombard was a cannon used to hurl large stones at enemy fortifications. Its name, which first appeared in English in the 15th century, derived via Middle French and Middle English from the Latin noun "bombus" (a word referring to the same device). The verb "bombard" blasted onto the scene in English in 1686, with an original meaning of "to attack especially with artillery"; as weapons technology improved throughout the centuries, such artillery came to include things like automatic rifles and bomber aircraft. Nowadays one can be bombarded figuratively in any number of ways, such as by omnipresent advertising messages or persistent phone calls.

Wreak (REEK)

1 : to cause the infliction of (vengeance or punishment) 2 : to give free play or course to (malevolent feeling) 3 : bring about, cause "Wreak" is a venerable word that first appeared in Old English as "wrecan," meaning "to drive, drive out, punish, or avenge." "Wrecan" is related to a number of similar words in the Germanic languages, including Middle Dutch "wreken" ("to punish, avenge"), Old High German "rehhan" ("to avenge"), Old Norse "reka" ("to drive, push, or avenge"), and Gothic "wrikan" ("to persecute"). It may also be related to Latin "urgēre" ("to drive on, urge"), the source of the English verb "urge." In modern English, vengeance is a common object of the verb "wreak," reflecting one of its earlier uses in the sense "to take vengeance for" -- as when Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus proclaims "We will solicit heaven, and move the gods / To send down Justice for to wreak our wrongs."

Stultify (STUL-tuh-fye)

1 : to cause to appear or be stupid, foolish, or absurdly illogical 2 a : to impair, invalidate, or make ineffective : negate b : to have a dulling or inhibiting effect on Stupid or absurd behavior can be almost laughable at times. That's the kind of situation depicted in an 1871 London Daily News article, describing how a witness "stultified himself" by admitting that he was too far off to hear what he had claimed to have heard. But there is nothing especially funny about the now-archaic original usage of "stultify." The word was first used in the mid-1700s in legal contexts, where if you stultified yourself, you claimed to be of unsound mind and thus not responsible for your acts. Nor is there humor in the most common meaning of "stultify" nowadays, that of rendering someone or something useless or ineffective.

Sublimate (SUB-luh-mayt)

1 : to cause to pass directly from the solid to the vapor state 2 : to direct the expression of (a desire or impulse) from a primitive to a more socially and culturally acceptable form To sublimate is to change the form, but not the essence. Physically speaking, it means to transform solid to vapor; psychologically, it means changing the outlet, or means, of expression from something base and inappropriate to something more positive or acceptable. The word "sublimate" comes from the Latin verb "sublimare," which means "to lift up" or "raise" and which is also the ancestor of our "sublime." "Sublimate" itself once meant "to elevate to a place of dignity or honor" or "to give a more elevated character to," but these meanings are now obsolete.

Chasten (CHAY-sun)

1 : to correct by punishment or suffering : discipline; also : purify 2 a : to prune (as a work or style of art) of excess, pretense, or falsity : refine b : to cause to be more humble or restrained : subdue If you say you would "castigate" or "chastise" someone in order to "chasten" them, you demonstrate a good knowledge of the origin of "chasten" -- all three verbs derive from the Latin verb "castigare," meaning "to punish." The trio shares an initial sense of "to subject to severe and often physical punishment," but all three verbs are now as likely to refer to a verbal dressing-down as a physical lesson. "Chasten" (which arrived in English via Anglo-French "chastier") can also be used to mean "to prune of excess, pretense, or falsity." This led to the more general sense of "to make more subdued," although the humility can be imposed by a humiliating situation as easily as by a strict taskmaster.

Encapsulate (in-KAP-suh-layt)

1 : to enclose in or as if in a capsule : to completely cover 2 : to show or express in a brief way : epitomize, summarize 3 : to become enclosed in a capsule "Encapsulate" and its related noun, "capsule," derive from "capsula," a diminutive form of the Latin noun "capsa," meaning "box." "Capsa" also gave us our noun "case" (the container kind; the legal sense has a different origin). The original sense of "encapsulate," meaning "to enclose something in a capsule," first appeared in the late 19th century. Its extended meaning, "to give a summary or synopsis of something," plays on the notion of a capsule as something compact, self-contained, and often easily digestible (as in a capsule of medicine). There is also a verb "capsule," which is more or less synonymous with "encapsulate."

Expedite (EK-spuh-dyte)

1 : to execute promptly 2 : to accelerate the process or progress of : speed up 3 : issue, dispatch If you're really intent on expediting something, you jump in with both feet -- or apply a single foot where it will be most effective! And when you do, you're drawing on the etymology of "expedite" itself. The word comes from the Latin verb "expedire" ("to set free" or "to make useful"), a word that in turn traces back to the root "ped-" or "pes," meaning "foot." "Expedite" has been used in English since at least the 15th century.

Adumbrate (AD-um-brayt)

1 : to foreshadow vaguely : intimate 2 : to suggest, disclose, or outline partially 3 : overshadow, obscure You aren't likely to find "adumbrate" in children's stories or on the sports pages. That's not because this shady word is somehow off-color, but rather because it tends to show up most often in academic or political writing. In fact, some usage commentators find it too hard for "ordinary" use (although they are hard-pressed to define "ordinary"). Art and literary critics have long found it useful, and it's a definite candidate for those oft-published "lists of words you should know" (especially for vocabulary tests). You might remember "adumbrate" better if you know that it developed from the Latin verb "adumbrare," which in turn comes from "umbra," the Latin word for "shadow." To "adumbrate," then, is to offer a shadowy view of something.

Cumulate (KYOO-myuh-layt)

1 : to gather or pile or become gathered or piled in a heap 2 a : to combine into one 3 a: to build up by addition of new material b : to increase gradually in quantity or number "Cumulate" and its far more common relative "accumulate" both come from the Latin word "cumulare," meaning "to heap up." "Cumulare," in turn, comes from "cumulus," meaning "mass." ("Cumulus" functions as an English word in its own right as well. It can mean "heap" or "accumulation," or it can refer to a kind of dense puffy cloud with a flat base and rounded outlines.) "Cumulate" and "accumulate" overlap in meaning, but you're likely to find "cumulate" mostly in technical contexts. The word's related adjective, "cumulative," however, is used more widely.

Coruscate (KOR-uh-skayt)

1 : to give off or reflect light in bright beams or flashes : sparkle 2 : to be brilliant or showy in technique or style To help you gain a flash of recognition next time you see "coruscate" (or to prompt you when you need a brilliant synonym for "sparkle"), remember this bit of bright imagery by George Bernard Shaw, describing a centuries-old abbey: "O'er this north door a trace still lingers / Of how a Gothic craftsman's fingers / Could make stones creep like ivy stems / And tilings coruscate like gems." Or you could just remember that "coruscate" developed from Latin "coruscare," which means "to flash." That word also gave us the noun "coruscation" ("glitter" or "sparkle") and the adjective "coruscant" ("shining" or "glittering").

Gallivant (GAL-uh-vant)

1 : to go about usually ostentatiously or indiscreetly with members of the opposite sex 2 : to travel, roam, or move about for pleasure Back in the 14th century, a young man of fashion (or a ladies' man) was called a "gallant." By the late 1600s, "gallant" was being used as a verb to describe the process a paramour used to win a lady's heart; "to gallant" became a synonym of "to court." Etymologists think that the spelling of the verb "gallant" was altered to create "gallivant," which originally meant "to act as a gallant" or "to go about usually ostentatiously or indiscreetly with members of the opposite sex." Nowadays, however, "gallivant" is more likely to describe wandering than romancing.

Retrocede (ret-roh-SEED)

1 : to go back : recede 2 : to cede back (as a territory) "Retrocede" was formed by combining the prefix "retro-," meaning "back" or "backward," with the Latin verb "cedere," meaning "to go." It was borrowed into English in the mid-17th century with a very similar meaning. "Retrocede" has a bit of a twist, however, because "cedere" can also mean "cede" ("to yield or assign"); the "cede back" meaning of "retrocede" traces back through French and Medieval Latin to this other meaning of "cedere." Other descendants of "cedere" include "accede," "concede," "intercede," "precede," "recede," "secede," and even "cede" itself.

Proselytize (PRAH-suh-luh-tyze)

1 : to induce someone to convert to one's faith 2 : to recruit someone to join one's party, institution, or cause "Proselytize" comes from the noun "proselyte" (meaning "a new convert"), which comes from the Late Latin noun "proselytus." "Proselytus" means "stranger" or "alien resident," and comes from a similar Greek word ("prosēlytos"). When "proselytize" entered English in the 17th century, it had a distinctly religious connotation and meant simply "to recruit religious converts." This meaning is still common, but today one can also proselytize in a broader sense -- recruiting converts to one's political party or pet cause, for example.

Elucidate (ih-LOO-suh-dayt)

1 : to make lucid especially by explanation or analysis 2 : to give a clarifying explanation To "elucidate" is to make something clear that was formerly murky or confusing -- and it is perfectly clear how the modern term got that meaning. "Elucidate" traces to the Latin term "lucidus," which means "lucid." "Lucidus" in turn descends from the verb "lucēre," meaning "to shine." So "elucidating" can be thought of as the figurative equivalent of shining a light on something to make it easier to see. "Lucēre" has also produced other shining offspring in English. Among its descendants are "lucid" itself (which can mean "shining," "clear-headed," or "easily understood"), "lucent" (meaning "giving off light" or "easily seen through"), and "translucent" (meaning "partly transparent" or "clear enough for light to pass through").

Ensconce (in-SKAHNSS)

1 : to place or hide securely : conceal 2 : to establish or settle firmly, comfortably, or snugly You might think of "sconce" as a type of candleholder or lamp, but the word can also refer to a defensive fortification, usually one made of earth. Originally, then, a person who was "ensconced" was enclosed in or concealed by such a structure, out of harm's way. The earliest writer to apply the verb "ensconce" with the general sense of "hide" was William Shakespeare. In The Merry Wives of Windsor, the character Falstaff, hoping to avoid detection when he is surprised during an amorous moment with Mrs. Ford, says "She shall not see me; I will ensconce me behind the arras." (An arras is a tapestry or wall hanging.)

Procrastinate (pruh-KRAS-tuh-nayt)

1 : to put off intentionally and habitually 2 : to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done We won't put off telling you about out the origins of "procrastinate." English speakers borrowed the word in the 16th century from Latin "procrastinatus," which itself evolved from the prefix "pro-," meaning "forward," and "crastinus," meaning "of tomorrow." Like its synonyms "delay," "lag," "loiter," "dawdle," and "dally," "procrastinate" means to move or act slowly so as to fall behind. It typically implies blameworthy delay especially through laziness or apathy.

Enervate (EN-er-vayt)

1 : to reduce the mental or moral vigor of 2 : to lessen the vitality or strength of "Enervate" is a word that some people use without really knowing what it means. They seem to believe that because "enervate" looks a little bit like "energize" and "invigorate" it must share their meaning -- but it is actually their antonym. "Enervate" comes from the Latin word "enervare," which was formed from the prefix "e-," meaning "out of," and "-nervare" (from "nervus," meaning "sinew or nerve"). So, etymologically at least, someone who is enervated is "out of nerve."

Palliate (PAL-ee-ayt)

1 : to reduce the violence of (a disease); also : to ease (symptoms) without curing the underlying disease 2 : to cover by excuses and apologies 3 : to moderate the intensity of Long ago, the ancient Romans had a name for the cloak-like garb that was worn by the Greeks (distinguishing it from their own "toga"); the name was "pallium." In the 15th century, English speakers modified the Late Latin word "palliatus," which derives from "pallium," to form "palliate." Our term, used initially as both an adjective and a verb, never had the literal Latin sense referring to the cloak you wear, but it took on the figurative "cloak" of protection. Specifically, the verb "palliate" meant (as it still can mean) "to lessen the intensity of a disease." Nowadays, "palliate" can be used as a synonym of "gloss" or "whitewash" when someone is attempting to disguise something bad.

Paste (PAIST)

1 : to strike hard at 2 : to beat or defeat soundly "Paste" came to be as an alteration of the word "baste," which means "to beat severely or soundly." The exact origin of "baste" is uncertain, but it probably comes from the Old Norse word "beysta," meaning "to bruise, thrash, or flog." "Baste" was first seen in the 16th century, but "paste" didn't turn up in print until 1846, and it only recently acquired its "defeat" sense. "Baste" is now less popular than "paste" (the two "baste" homographs that mean "to sew with long stitches" and "to moisten while cooking" are distinct terms not related to this "baste"), though its relative "lambaste" ("to beat" or "to censure") is prevalent.

Sustain (Sustain (suh-STAYN)

1 : to supply with sustenance : nourish 2 : to keep going 3 : to buoy up 4 : to suffer or undergo 5 : to support or prove "Sustain," "prop," "buttress," and "brace" all mean "to provide support for something or someone." "Sustain" (from Latin "sus-," meaning "up," plus "tenēre," meaning "to hold") may suggest constantly holding up or maintaining ("the floor sustains the weight of dozens of bookcases"). "Prop" often implies a tendency to fall, sink, or recede on the part of the thing being treated -- and therefore, a need for strengthening or reinforcing ("propping up the table with a packing case"). "Buttress" tends to involve strengthening, reinforcing, or stabilizing at a stress point ("buttress the economy"). "Brace" typically suggests supporting or strengthening so that the thing treated is made firm, unyielding, or rigid against pressure ("brace the shelf with an angle iron").

Collaborate (kuh-LAB-uh-rayt)

1 : to work jointly with others 2 : to cooperate with an enemy and especially an occupying force The Latin prefix "com-," meaning "with, together, or jointly," is a bit of a chameleon -- it has a tricky habit of changing its appearance depending on what it's next to. If the word it precedes begins with "l," "com-" becomes "col-." In the case of "collaborate," "com-" teamed up with "laborare" ("to labor") to form Late Latin "collaborare" ("to labor together"). "Colleague," "collect," and "collide" are a few more examples of the "com-" to "col-" transformation. Other descendants of "laborare" in English include "elaborate," "laboratory," and "labor" itself.

Importunate (im-POR-chuh-nut)

1 : troublesomely urgent : overly persistent in request or demand 2 : troublesome "Importunate" has been part of the English language since the 16th century, and the synonymous "importune" arrived even earlier, in the 15th century. The seemingly superfluous inclusion of the suffix "-ate" in "importunate" is a bit mysterious; one theory is that English speakers modeled the adjective after words like "obstinate." "Importune" and "importunate" come from Latin "importunus." The prefix "im-" means "not," and "importunus" can be contrasted with Latin "opportunus," which shares its meaning with and is the ancestor of our "opportune," meaning "suitable or timely." (The connection is obscure now, but "opportunus" itself harks back to the Latin phrase "ob portum," meaning "[coming] to harbor.") "Importune," and later "importunate," once meant "inopportune, untimely," but that sense is now obsolete.

Assay (a-SAY)

1 : try, attempt 2 a : to analyze (as an ore) for one or more specific components b : to prove to be of a particular nature by means of analysis 3 : to judge the worth of : estimate Usage experts warn against confusing the verbs "assay" and "essay." Some confusion shouldn't be surprising, since the two words look alike and derive from the same root, the Middle French word "essai," meaning "test" or "effort" (a root that in turn comes from Late Latin "exagium," meaning "act of weighing"). At one time, the two terms were synonyms, sharing the meaning "try" or "attempt," but many modern usage commentators recommend that you differentiate the two words, using "essay" when you mean "to try or attempt" (as in "he will essay a dramatic role for the first time") and "assay" to mean "to test or evaluate" (as in "the blood was assayed to detect the presence of the antibody").

Farouche (fuh-ROOSH)

1 : unruly or disorderly : wild 2 : marked by shyness and lack of social graces In French, "farouche" can mean wild or shy, just as it does in English. It is an alteration of the Old French word "forasche," which derives via Late Latin "forasticus" ("living outside") from Latin "foras," meaning "outdoors." In its earliest English uses, in the middle of the 18th century, "farouche" was used to describe someone who was awkward in social situations, perhaps as one who has lived apart from groups of people. The word can also mean "disorderly," as in "farouche ruffians out to cause trouble."

Overwhelm (oh-ver-WELM)

1 : upset, overthrow 2 a : to cover over completely : submerge b : to overcome by superior force or numbers c : to overpower in thought or feeling You could say that the introduction of "overwhelm" to the English language was a bit redundant. The word, which originally meant "to overturn or upset," was formed in Middle English by combining the prefix "over-" with the verb "whelmen," which also meant "to overturn." "Whelmen" has survived in English as "whelm," a verb which is largely synonymous with "overwhelm." Over the last 600 years, however, "overwhelm" has won over English speakers who have come to largely prefer it to "whelm," despite the latter's brevity. Perhaps the emphatic redundancy of "overwhelm" makes it seem like the more fitting word for describing the experience of being overcome by powerful forces or feelings.

Catachresis (kat-uh-KREE-sis)

1 : use of the wrong word for the context 2 : use of a forced and especially paradoxical figure of speech As you might have guessed, "catachresis" is a word favored by grammarians. It can sometimes be used merely as a fancy label of disparagement for uses the grammarian finds unacceptable --as when Henry Fowler insisted in 1926 that "mutual" in "our mutual friend" was a catachresis. (Fowler preferred "common," but "mutual" does have an established sense which is correct in that context.) The first recorded use of "catachresis" dates to1553, and it has been used to describe (or decry) misuses of a word ever since. "Catachresis" comes to us by way of Latin from the Greek word "katachrēsis," which means "misuse."

Mayhem (MAY-hem)

1 : willful and permanent crippling, mutilation, or disfigurement of any part of the body and especially deprivation of a bodily member 2 : needless or willful damage or violence Legally speaking, mayhem refers to the gruesome crime of deliberately causing an injury that permanently disfigures another. The name derives via Middle English from the Anglo-French verb "maheimer" ("to maim") and is probably of Germanic origin; our own verb "to maim" comes from the same ancestor. The disfigurement sense first appeared in English in the 15th century. By the 19th century the word had come to mean any kind of violent behavior; nowadays, "mayhem" can be used to suggest any kind of chaos or disorder, as in, "there was mayhem in the streets during the citywide blackout."

Mutatis mutandis (myoo-TAH-tis-myoo-TAHN-dis)

1 : with the necessary changes having been made 2 : with the respective differences having been considered Unlike most English terms with Latin parentage, "mutatis mutandis" (which translates literally as "things having been changed that have to be changed") maintains its Latinate aspect entirely. It doesn't look like an English phrase, which is perhaps why it remains rather uncommon despite having functioned in English since the 16th century. Although the phrase is used in the specialized fields of law, philosophy, and economics when analogous situations are discussed, it appears in other contexts, too, where analogy occurs, as this quote from Henry James' The American demonstrates: "Roderick made an admirable bust of her at the beginning of the winter, and a dozen women came rushing to him to be done, mutatis mutandis, in the same style."

Enfant terrible (ahn-fahn-teh-REE-bluh)

1 a : a child whose inopportune remarks cause embarrassment b : a person known for shocking remarks or outrageous behavior 2 : a usually young and successful person who is strikingly unorthodox, innovative, or avant-garde "Enfant terrible," which literally means "terrifying child" in French, sounds like something that might be uttered by a frazzled babysitter. Indeed, when English speakers first borrowed the term in the mid-19th century, it was used in reference to children -- specifically, unpredictable children who blurted out outrageous remarks that embarrassed their elders. By the 1930s, the term had a broader application: an enfant terrible could be anyone -- young or old -- whose behavior shocked others. Now the term is also often applied to young, successful newcomers who shock or scare old-timers with their new approaches, easy successes, or disregard for tradition.

Wardrobe (WOR-drohb)

1 a : a room or closet where clothes are kept b : a receptacle for clothes c : a large trunk in which clothes may be hung upright 2 a : a collection of wearing apparel (as of one person or for one activity) b : a collection of stage costumes and accessories 3 : the department of a royal or noble household entrusted with the care of wearing apparel, jewels, and personal articles There is a lot of word history packed into "wardrobe." The word was borrowed by Middle-English speakers from a variant of Anglo-French "garderobe." A combination of "garder" and "robe," "garderobe" itself has been borrowed into English as a synonym of "wardrobe." If the roots of "garderobe" look familiar, it is because they are the source of a number of different English words. "Garder" has given us the English verbs "guard" and "ward." And "robe," of course, is the source of the English "robe" and shares its own origins with the English verbs "rob" and "reave" (a synonym of "plunder"). If this connection seems odd, it might help to know that "robe" can be traced back to the Old High German words "rauba," meaning "booty," "spoils," or "looted clothing."

Torpor (TOR-per)

1 a : a state of mental and motor inactivity with partial or total insensibility b : a state of lowered physiological activity typically characterized by reduced metabolism, heart rate, respiration, and body temperature that occurs in varying degrees especially in hibernating and estivating animals 2 : apathy, dullness Our English word "torpor" looks the same and means the same thing as Latin "torpor," from which it was borrowed into Middle English. It stems from the Latin verb "torpēre," which means "to be sluggish or numb." "Torpor" first appeared in a 13th-century guide for religious recluses, where it referred to a spiritual or intellectual lethargy, but there is very little evidence of its use over next the 400 years. It began showing up again in the early 1600s in reference to both mental and physical sluggishness. The related adjective "torpid" (from the Latin adjective "torpidus") entered the language in the 15th century.

Patina (puh-TEE-nuh)

1 a : a usually green film formed on copper and bronze by exposure to moist air and often valued aesthetically for its color b : a surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use 2 : an appearance or aura that is derived from association, habit, or established character 3 : a superficial covering or exterior Italians began using "patina" in the 17th century to refer to the green film that is produced on the surface of copper. They borrowed the word from Latin, where it means "a shallow dish." (Presumably, the Italian meaning developed from the observation of such film forming on copper dishes.) By the mid-18th century, English speakers were also calling the green film "patina." And by the early 20th century, "patina" was being used in English for the gloss of polished metals, like silver, as well as wooden furniture -- a meaning that led to its literary use for a surrounding aura, as demonstrated in this quote from Stella Gibbons' Cold Comfort Farm (1932): "The very atmosphere seemed covered with a rich patina of love."

Catastrophe (kuh-TASS-truh-fee)

1 a : a violent and sudden change in a feature of the earth b : a violent usually destructive natural event (as a supernova) 2 : utter failure : fiasco When English speakers first borrowed the Greek word "catastrophe" in the 1500s, they used it for the conclusion or final event of a dramatic work, especially of a tragedy. By the early 1600s, "catastrophe" was being used more generally of any generally unhappy conclusion or disastrous or ruinous end. By the 18th century, "catastrophe" had come to denote truly devastating events, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Finally, it came to be applied to things that are only figuratively catastrophic -- burnt dinners, lost luggage, really bad movies, etc.

Toothsome (TOOTH-sum)

1 a : agreeable, attractive b : sexually attractive 2 : of palatable flavor and pleasing texture : delicious One meaning of "tooth" is "a fondness or taste for something specified." "Toothsome" comes from this definition of "tooth" plus the suffix "-some," meaning "characterized by." Although "toothsome" was at first used to describe general attractiveness, it quickly developed a second sense that was specific to the sense of taste (perhaps because from as far back as Chaucer's time, "tooth" could also refer specifically to eating and the sense of taste). In addition, "toothsome" is now showing signs of acquiring a third sense, "toothy" (as in "a toothsome grin"), but this sense is not yet established enough to qualify for dictionary entry.

Stratagem (STRAT-uh-jum)

1 a : an artifice or trick in war for deceiving and outwitting the enemy b : a cleverly contrived trick or scheme for gaining an end 2 : skill in ruses or trickery A "stratagem" is any clever scheme -- sometimes one that's part of an overall "strategy" (i.e., a carefully worked out plan of action). Clearly, we no longer limit ourselves to the original military sense of "stratagem" as 15th-century users of the term did. The military meaning can be traced back to the word's Greek ancestor "strategema," which is itself based on "strategein," meaning "to act as a general." "Strategein" in turn comes from "strategos" ("general"), which comes from "stratos" ("army") and "agein" ("to lead"). "Strategos" is an ancestor of "strategy" as well.

Eccentric (ik-SEN-trik)

1 a : deviating from an established or usual pattern or style b : deviating from conventional or accepted usage or conduct 2 a : deviating from a circular path; especially : elliptical b : located elsewhere than at the geometrical center; also : having the axis or support so located "Eccentric" comes to us through Middle English from the Medieval Latin word "eccentricus," but it is ultimately derived from a combination of the Greek words "ex," meaning "out of," and "kentron," meaning "center." The original meaning of "eccentric" in English was "not having the same center" (as in "eccentric spheres"). In this sense, it contrasts with "concentric," meaning "having a common center" (as in "concentric circles, one within another"). But since at least 1630, English speakers have also used "eccentric" to describe individuals who are figuratively off-center. It can also be used to describe something that doesn't follow a truly circular path, as in "an eccentric orbit."

Primordial (prye-MOR-dee-ul)

1 a : first created or developed : primeval b : existing in or persisting from the beginning (as of a solar system or universe) c : earliest formed in the growth of an individual or organ 2 : fundamental, primary The history of "primordial" began when the Latin words "primus" (meaning "first") and "ordiri" (meaning "to begin") came together to form "primordium," the Latin word for "origin." When it entered English in the 14th century, "primordial" was used in the general sense "primeval." Early on, there were hints that "primordial" would lend itself well to discussions of the earth's origins. Take, for instance, this passage from a 1398 translation of an encyclopedia called On the Properties of Things: "The virtu of God made primordial mater, in the whiche as it were in massy thinge the foure elementis were . . . nought distinguishd." Nowadays, primordial matter is often referred to in evolutionary theory as "primordial soup," a mixture of organic molecules from which life on earth originated.

Supposititious (suh-pah-zuh-TISH-us)

1 a : fraudulently substituted : spurious b : of a child (1) : falsely presented as a genuine heir (2) : illegitimate 2 a : imaginary b : of the nature of or based on a supposition : hypothetical The Latin verb "supponere," meaning "substitute," has several legitimate heirs in English, including "supposititious" (which dates from the early 17th century) and "supposition" (a 15th century addition). The "fraudulent" and "illegitimate" meanings of "supposititious" trace back to "supponere" in a fairly direct route, whereas the "imaginary" and "hypothetical" meanings were influenced by the meanings of "supposition." In legal contexts, "supposititious" is primarily used in its earlier senses, as in "a supposititious (fraudulent) will" or "the child was supposititious (illegitimate)." When something hypothetical is being considered, the adjective "suppositious" is often preferred over "supposititious."

Feisty (FYE-stee)

1 a : full of nervous energy : fidgety b : touchy, quarrelsome c : exuberantly frisky 2 : having or showing a lively aggressiveness : spunky In certain parts of the United States, most notably the South, the noun "feist" (pronounced to rhyme with "heist") refers to a small dog used in hunting small game animals (such as squirrels). Also spelled "fice" or "fyce," it comes from an obsolete term, "fisting hound," that derived from another obsolete term, "fist," a verb that once meant "to break wind." The term "feisty" has come a long way from its flatulent origin, but its small-dog association still seems relevant: the term conveys the spunk and determination that one may associate with a dog that manages to make its presence known (either through its bark or its bite) despite its small size.

Ungainly (un-GAYN-lee)

1 a : lacking in smoothness or dexterity : clumsy b : hard to handle : unwieldy 2 : having an awkward appearance What do you have to gain by knowing the root of "ungainly?" Plenty. The "gain" in "ungainly" is an obsolete English adjective meaning "direct," ultimately derived from the Old Norse preposition "gegn," meaning "against." (The unrelated verb "gain" came to English by way of Anglo-French and is related to an Old High German word meaning "to hunt for food.") "Ungainly" can describe someone who's clumsy (as in "a tall and ungainly man"), or something that causes you to feel clumsy when you try to handle it (as in "a car with ungainly controls"), or something that simply looks awkward and out of place (as in "an ungainly strip mall").

Curious (KYUR-ee-us)

1 a : marked by desire to investigate and learn b : marked by inquisitive interest in others' concerns : nosy 2 : exciting attention as strange, novel, or unexpected : odd Since the 1300s, "curious" has been variously used to describe things that in some way require, invite, or are characterized by carefulness or inquisitiveness. In so doing, it carries on the legacy of its Latin source, the adjective "curiosus," meaning "careful" or "inquisitive." The comparative of "curious" is "more curious," though it is not unusual to encounter the phrase "curiouser and curiouser," made popular by the title character of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland who, Lewis Carroll tells us, "was so much surprised that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English."

Megrim (MEE-grim)

1 a : migraine b : vertigo, dizziness 2 a : fancy, whim b : low spirits "Megrim" and "migraine" share a meaning and an etymology. Latin and Greek speakers afflicted with a pain in one side of the head called their ailment "hemicrania" or "hēmikrania," from the Greek terms "hēmi-," meaning "half," and "kranion," meaning "cranium." French-speaking sufferers used "migraine," a modification of "hemicrania," for the same condition. English speakers borrowed "migraine" from French -- twice. First, they modified the French term to form "migreime," which in turn gave rise to "megrim" in the 15th century. Later, in the 18th century, they returned to French and borrowed "migraine" again, this time retaining its French spelling. Nowadays, "megrim" and "migraine" can still be used interchangeably, but "megrim" has other meanings as well.

Secular (SEK-yuh-ler)

1 a : of or relating to the worldly or temporal b : not overtly or specifically religious c : not ecclesiastical or clerical 2 : not bound by monastic vows or rules; specifically : of, relating to, or forming clergy not belonging to a religious order or congregation "Secular" comes from Anglo-French "seculer" and Late Latin "saecularis," meaning "worldly" or "pagan." In earlier Latin, however, "saecularis" meant "coming or observed once in an age"; it was derived from "saeculum" ("breed," "generation," or "age"). In contemporary English, "secular" is primarily used to distinguish something (such as an attitude, belief, or position) that is not specifically religious or sectarian in nature, but, going back to its early Latin root, the word also means "occuring once in an age or a century," "existing or continuing through ages or centuries," and "of or relating to a long term of indefinite duration." These uses of "secular" are common in the fields of science and economics -- "secular oak trees" or "secular inflation," for example.

Moiety (MOY-uh-tee)

1 a : one of two equal parts : half b : one of two approximately equal parts 2 : one of the portions into which something is divided : component, part 3 : one of two basic complementary tribal subdivisions "Moiety" is one of thousands of words that English speakers borrowed from French. The Anglo-French "moitè" (meaning "a half" or "part of something") comes from Late Latin "medietat-," meaning "half." Around the same time that "moiety" was borrowed from Anglo-French, "medietat-" was also borrowed directly from Latin as "mediety," a word which can also mean "a half." "Medietat-" comes from Latin "medius" (meaning "middle"), which has contributed to such English words as "medium," "meridian," and "milieu."

Wraith (RAYTH)

1 a : the exact likeness of a living person seen usually just before death as an apparition b : ghost, specter 2 : an insubstantial form or semblance : shadow 3 : a barely visible gaseous or vaporous column If you see your own double, you're in trouble, at least if you believe old superstitions. The belief that a ghostly twin's appearance portends death is one common to many cultures. In German folklore, such an apparition was called a "Doppelgänger" (literally, "double goers"); in Scottish lore, they were "wraiths." The exact origin of the word "wraith" is misty, however. Etymologists can only trace it back to its first use in an English text in a 1513 translation of Virgil's "Aeneid" by Gavin Douglas (the Scotsman used "wraith" to name apparitions of both the dead and the living). In current English, "wraith" has taken on additional, less spooky, meanings as well; it now often suggests a shadowy -- but not necessarily scary -- lack of substance.

Emblazon (im-BLAY-zun)

1 a : to inscribe or adorn with or as if with heraldic bearings or devices b : to inscribe (as logos or lettering) on a surface 2 : celebrate, extol English speakers have been using the heraldic sense of "emblazon" since the late 16th century, and before that there was the verb "blazon" ("to describe heraldically") and the noun "blazon" ("a heraldic coat of arms"), which descend from Anglo-French "blason." "Emblazon" still refers to adorning something with an emblem of heraldry, but it is now more often used for adorning or publicizing something in any conspicuous way, whether with eye-catching decoration or colorful words of praise.

Flounce (FLOUNSS)

1 a : to move with exaggerated jerky or bouncy motions b : to go with sudden determination 2 : flounder, struggle The story behind "flounce" is an elusive one. The verb's first recorded use in English occurred in 1542, and some scholars believe it is related to the Norwegian verb "flunsa" (meaning "to hurry" or "to work briskly") and Swedish "flunsa" ("to fall with a splash" or "to plunge"). The connection is uncertain, however, because the "flunsa" verbs did not appear in their respective languages until the 18th century, long after "flounce" surfaced in English. A second distinct sense of "flounce," referring to a strip or ruffle of fabric attached on one edge, did not appear in English until the 18th century. This "flounce" derives from the Middle English "frouncen" ("to curl").

Gloss (GLAHSS)

1 a : to provide a gloss for : explain, define b : interpret 2 : to dispose of by false or perverse interpretation You may also know "gloss" as a noun meaning "shine" or as part of the phrase "gloss over," meaning "to treat or describe (something) as if it were not important," but those uses are unrelated to today's featured word. Today's verb comes from the noun that refers primarily to a brief explanation. It is Greek in origin, coming from "glōssa" or "glōtta," meaning "tongue" or "language" or "obscure word." "Glossary" is from this same root, as are two anatomical terms: "glottis" refers to the elongated space between the vocal cords and also to the structures that surround this space; "epiglottis" refers to the thin plate of flexible cartilage in front of the glottis that folds back over and protects the glottis during swallowing.

Discriminate (diss-KRIM-uh-nayt)

1 a : to see the special features of b : to perceive a difference in : differentiate 2 : to distinguish by discerning or exposing differences; especially : to distinguish from another like object 3 : to make a difference in treatment or favor on a basis other than individual merit Although many methods or motives for discriminating are unfair and undesirable (or even illegal), the verb itself has a neutral history. English speakers borrowed it from the past participle of the Latin verb "discriminare," itself from the verb "discernere," meaning "to distinguish between." "Discernere," in turn, was formed by combining the prefix "dis-" and "cernere" ("to sift"). Other descendants of "discernere" include "discern" and "discernible" (as you no doubt guessed), "discreet," and "indiscretion." In addition, the root "cernere" gives us "concern," "certain," "decree," and even "secret."

Breastboard Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈbrɛs(t)bɔːd/, U.S. /ˈbrɛs(t)ˌbɔrd/ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: breast n., board n. Etymology: < breast n. + board n.

1. The mouldboard of a plough. Now rare. 2. Rope-making. A plank or board, placed at the end of a ropewalk, to which the ends of yarns or strands are attached to be twisted. Cf. tackle-board n. Now historical and rare. 3. Mining. Any of a number of boards or planks placed across a mine face to prevent loose material from falling back into the tunnel. Usually in plural.

Gesundheit (guh-ZOONT-hyte)

: -- used to wish good health especially to one who has just sneezed When English speakers hear "achoo," they usually respond with either "gesundheit" or "God bless you." "Gesundheit" was borrowed from German, where it literally means "health"; it was formed by a combination of "gesund" ("healthy") and "-heit" ("-hood"). Wishing a person good health when they sneezed was traditionally believed to forestall the illness that a sneeze often portends. "God bless you" had a similar purpose, albeit with more divine weight to the well-wishing. It was once believed that the soul could exit the body during a sneeze, causing ill health, so folks said "God bless you" to ward off this danger. "Gesundheit," at one time, also served as a toast when drinking (much like its English counterpart, "to your health"), but this usage is now mostly obsolete.

Duckboard (DUK-bord)

: a boardwalk or slatted flooring laid on a wet, muddy, or cold surface -- usually used in plural The word "duckboard" was created during the early 20th century to describe the boards or slats of wood laid down to provide safe footing for the soldiers of World War I across wet or muddy ground in trenches or camps. The original duckboards didn't always work as intended though. According to one soldier, duckboards came by their name because someone walking on wet duckboards was liable to slide off them much like water slides off a duck's back. Today's duckboards appear in all kinds of places -- from marshes to the floors of saunas. The word "duck" itself has been part of the English language since the days of Old English, when it had the form "dŪce."

Mosque (MAHSK)

: a building used for public worship by Muslims Mosques were known to the English-speaking world long before we called them "mosques." In the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, we used many different variations of the word -- "moseak," "muskey," "moschy," "mos'keh," among others -- until we finally hit on "mosquee," emulating Middle French. The Middle French word had come by way of Italian and Old Spanish from the Arabic word for "temple," which is "masjid." In the early 1700s, we settled on the present spelling, and "mosque" thus joined other English words related to Muslim worship: "mihrab," for the special niche in a mosque that points towards Mecca; "minaret," for the tall slender tower of a mosque; and "muezzin," for the crier who, standing in the minaret, calls the hour of daily prayers.

Gyre (JYRE)

: a circular or spiral motion or form; especially : a giant circular oceanic surface current William Butler Yeats opens his 1920 poem, "The Second Coming," with the following lines: "Turning and turning in the widening gyre / The falcon cannot hear the falconer; / Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world...." Often found in poetic or literary contexts as an alternative to the more familiar "circle" or "spiral," "gyre" comes via the Latin "gyrus" from the Greek "gyros," meaning "ring" or "circle." Today, "gyre" is most frequently encountered as an oceanographic term that refers to vast circular systems of ocean currents, such as the North Atlantic Gyre, a system of currents circling clockwise between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. "Gyre" is also sometimes used of more localized vortices such as those produced by whirlpools or tornados.

Haruspex (huh-RUSS-peks)

: a diviner in ancient Rome basing his predictions on inspection of the entrails of sacrificial animals "Haruspex" was formed in Latin by the combination of "haru-" (which is akin to "chordē," the Greek word for "gut") and "-spex" (from the verb "specere," meaning "to look"). Appropriately, "haruspex" can be roughly defined as "one who looks at guts." The ancient Romans had a number of ways of determining whether the gods approved of a particular course of action. Such divination was called "augury," and a haruspex was a type of "augur," an official diviner of ancient Rome. (Other augurs divined the will of the gods through slightly less gruesome means, such as observing the behavior of birds or tracking celestial phenomena.) "Haruspex," like "augur," has developed a general sense of "one who prophesies," but this use is somewhat rare.

Samara (SAM-uh-ruh)

: a dry indehiscent usually one-seeded winged fruit (as of an ash or elm tree) Not familiar with the term "samara" referring to the winged fruit of the elm, ash, maple, and sycamore, among other trees? Then how about "key," "whirlybird," "helicopter," "whirligig," or "spinning jenny"? Those nicknames are all excellent descriptors of a samara. A samara resembles a key and when it falls its unique shape enables it to spin like a helicopter's rotor and drift away from its tree. Botanists began using the term "samara" in the late 16th century. In Latin, it means literally "seed of the elm."

Panegyric (pan-uh-JEER-ik)

: a eulogistic oration or writing; also : formal or elaborate praise On certain fixed dates throughout the year, the ancient Greeks would come together for religious meetings. Such gatherings could range from hometown affairs to great national assemblies, but large or small, the meeting was called a "panēgyris." (That name comes from "pan," meaning "all," and "agyris," meaning "assembly.") At those assemblies, speakers provided the main entertainment, and they delivered glowing orations extolling the praises of present civic leaders and reliving the past glories of Greek cities. To the Greeks, those laudatory speeches were "panēgyrikos," which means "of or for a panēgyris." Latin speakers ultimately transformed "panēgyrikos" into the noun "panegyricus," and English speakers adapted that Latin term to form "panegyric."

Euphoria (yoo-FOR-ee-uh)

: a feeling of well-being or elation Health and happiness are often linked, sometimes even in etymologies. Nowadays "euphoria" generally refers to happiness, but it derives from "euphoros," a Greek word that means "healthy." Given that root, it's not surprising that in its original English uses "euphoria" was a medical term. A 1706 quotation shows how doctors used it then: "'Euphoria,' the well bearing of the Operation of a Medicine, i.e. when the Patient finds himself eas'd or reliev'd by it." Modern physicians still use the term, but they aren't likely to prescribe something that will cause it. In contemporary medicine and psychology, "euphoria" can describe abnormal or inappropriate feelings such as those caused by an illegal drug or an illness.

Banshee (BAN-shee)

: a female spirit in Gaelic folklore whose appearance or wailing warns a family that one of them will soon die In Irish folklore, a "bean sidhe" (literally "woman of fairyland") was not a welcome guest. When she was seen combing her hair or heard wailing beneath a window, it was considered a sign that a family member was about to die. English speakers modified the mournful fairy's Irish name into the modern word "banshee" -- a term we now most often use to evoke her woeful or terrible or earsplitting cry, as in "to scream like a banshee," or attributively, "a banshee wail."

Calenture (KAL-un-chur)

: a fever formerly supposed to affect sailors in the tropics In addition to being plagued by scurvy and homesickness, sailors of yore who dared the tropics also had calenture to worry about. Given a case of this fever they were likely to imagine that the sea was actually a green field and to leap into it. Our earliest evidence of the word in English is from the late 16th century. Such potent imagery destined the word for figurative use also, as in the Adam Bede quote above. "Calenture" has its origins in a Spanish word of the same meaning, "calentura," which itself traces to Latin "calēre," meaning "to be warm." Other words from "calēre" include "calorie," "cauldron," and "scald."

Synecdoche (suh-NEK-duh-kee)

: a figure of speech by which a less encompassing term is put for a more encompassing term or vice versa "Synecdoche," from Greek "syn-" ("together") and "ekdochē" ("interpretation"), is a good word to know if you are a budding author. Writers, and especially poets, use synecdoche in several different ways to create vivid imagery. Most frequently, synecdoche involves substituting a part for the whole ("fifty sail" for "fifty ships"). Less commonly, it involves putting the whole for the part ("society" for "high society"), the species for the genus ("cutthroat" for "assassin"), the genus for the species ("a creature" for "a man"), or the material for the thing made ("boards" for "stage"). Synecdoche is similar to metonymy, the use of the name of one thing in place of something associated with it (such as "Shakespeare" for "the works of Shakespeare").

Coquetry (KOH-kuh-tree)

: a flirtatious act or attitude The rooster's cocky attitude has given him a reputation for arrogance and promiscuity. It has also given English several terms for people whose behavior is reminiscent of that strutting barnyard fowl. The noun "coquet" comes from French, where it is a diminutive of "coq," the French word for rooster. Originally, in the 1600s, English speakers used "coquet" to describe men who indulged in trifling flirtations. Today "coquet" can refer to male or female flirts (though "coquette," the French feminine form, is more commonly used for flirtatious women), and "coquetry" can refer to flirtation by men or women.

Annie Oakley (an-ee-OH-klee)

: a free ticket Phoebe Anne Oakley Moses (1860-1926) starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, where she astonished the crowds with feats of marksmanship such as shooting the spots out of playing cards. It wasn't long until her audience noticed that the shot-out card looked like a ticket that had been punched by a train conductor. By 1910, the name "Annie Oakley" was not only synonymous with sharp-shooting but with the ticket-playing card connection, and complimentary tickets have been "Annie Oakleys" ever since.

Mumblety-peg (MUM-bul-tee-peg)

: a game in which the players try to flip a knife from various positions so that the blade will stick into the ground The object of this game -- which dates to the 17th century -- is for each player to flip or toss a knife in a series of moves such that, after each move, the knife sticks erect in the ground. Some common moves are flipping the knife from the palm, from the back of the hand, and from between the teeth. Players perform in turns until they miss, resuming after other players miss unless one player wins by successfully performing all positions. The game's name comes from a forfeit required in the early days of the game: a small peg was driven into the ground by a prescribed number of knife blows, and if you lost you had to "mumble the peg" -- that is, pull it out with your teeth.

Vitrine (vuh-TREEN)

: a glass showcase or cabinet especially for displaying fine wares or specimens The history of "vitrine" is clear as glass. It comes to English by way of the Old French word "vitre," meaning "pane of glass," from Latin "vitrum," meaning "glass." "Vitrum" has contributed a number of words to the English language besides "vitrine." "Vitreous" ("resembling glass" or "relating to, derived from, or consisting of glass") is the most common of these. "Vitrify" ("to convert or become converted into glass or into a glassy substance by heat and fusion") is another. A much rarer "vitrum" word -- and one that also entered English by way of "vitre" -- is "vitrailed," meaning "fitted with stained glass."

Absinthe (AB-sinth)

: a green liqueur which is flavored with wormwood, anise, and other aromatic herbs and commercial production of which is banned in many countries for health concerns; also : a liqueur resembling absinthe In 1797, Swiss Henri-Louis Pernod was the first to commercially produce an alcoholic drink from the bitter herb Artemisia absinthium, known commonly as wormwood. By the mid-to-late 1800s this bright green distillation, by then known in both French and English as "absinthe," had become wildly popular, especially among artists and writers, but it also had a reputation for making people a little wild. In fact, it was linked to several nasty disorders, including convulsions and foaming at the mouth. The accused culprit? A toxin in wormwood -- perhaps the very chemical that gives the plant its tapeworm-exterminating properties (and thus its name). Because of these reported side effects of wormwood, true absinthe was banned in many countries (including the U.S.) in the early 1900s, but that didn't remove the taste for the drink. Wormwood's name was later cleared (the real culprit turned out to be the drink's high alcohol content) and the absinthe ban was lifted in the U.S. in 2007.

Biophilia (bye-oh-FILL-ee-uh)

: a hypothetical human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature The term "biophilia" was popularized by psychoanalyst Erich Fromm in the 1960s. In his work, he used the word (from "bio-," meaning "life," and "-philia," meaning "friendly feeling toward") to describe the biological drive toward self-preservation. In the late 1970s, American biologist Edward O. Wilson extended the word's meaning, seeing it as the perfect word for "the rich, natural pleasure that comes from being surrounded by living organisms." Recently, "biophilia" has been in the news as the title of Icelandic singer Björk's latest project, a multimedia production that (according to the website for the Manchester International Festival) "celebrates how sound works in nature, exploring the infinite expanse of the universe, from planetary systems to atomic structure."

Roué (roo-AY)

: a man devoted to a life of sensual pleasure : rake "Roué" originated as a French word and gained momentum when it began to be used in reference to the libertine companions of Philippe II, France's regent from 1715-1723. "Roué" means "broken on the wheel" in French and ultimately derives from Latin "rota," meaning "wheel." Since the wheel being referred to was an instrument of punishment, the French were implying that such dissolute beings deserved this punishment. By the end of the 18th century, English-speakers added "roué" to its list of synonyms for a rake, libertine, debaucher, lecher, etc.

Conversazione (kahn-ver-saht-see-OH-nee)

: a meeting for conversation especially about art, literature, or science Writer Horace Walpole is credited with the first English use of "conversazione" in a 1739 letter in which he writes, "After the play we were introduced to the assembly, which they call the conversazione." As this Italian borrowing was used through the years, it gained nuances of meaning. In Italy, it generally referred to a gathering for conversation, but in England it began to be used more for a private meeting. By the 19th century, "conversazione" also referred to assemblies and soirees of people connected with the arts or sciences. The word has two plural forms in English: "conversaziones" and "conversazioni."

Shivaree (shiv-uh-REE)

: a noisy mock serenade to a newly married couple In 19th century rural America, a newly-married couple might be treated to a mock serenade, performed with pots, pans, homemade instruments, and other noisemakers. Such cacophonous serenades were traditionally considered especially appropriate for second marriages or for unions deemed incongruous because of an age discrepancy or some other cause. In the eastern U.S. this custom, imported from rural England, was simply called a "serenade" or known under various local names. In much of the central U.S. and Canada, however, it was called a "shivaree," a loan from French "charivari," which denotes the same folk custom in France. In more recent years, "shivaree" has also developed broader senses; it is sometimes used to mean simply "a cacophony" or "a celebration."

Bildungsroman (BIL-doonks-roh-mahn)

: a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character "Bildungsroman" is the combination of two German words: "Bildung," meaning "education," and "Roman," meaning "novel." Fittingly, a "bildungsroman" is a novel that deals with the formative years of the main character -- in particular, his or her psychological development and moral education. The bildungsroman usually ends on a positive note with the hero's foolish mistakes and painful disappointments over and a life of usefulness ahead. Goethe's late 18th-century work Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre (Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship) is often cited as the classic example of this type of novel. Though the term is primarily applied to novels, in recent years, some English speakers have begun to apply the term to films that deal with a youthful character's coming-of-age.

Strudel (STROO-dul)

: a pastry made from a thin sheet of dough rolled up with filling and baked The word "strudel" first appeared in English in the late 19th century, but the confection the word refers to is likely much older. The strudel is Austrian in origin, and its name comes from the German word "Strudel," meaning "whirlpool" -- which the pastry resembles when cut to reveal its thin sheet of dough rolled around the filling. Strudels can be sweet or savory, but the sweet apple strudel is the most famous.

Savant (sa-VANT)

: a person of learning; especially : one with detailed knowledge in some specialized field (as of science or literature) Savant comes from Latin "sapere" ("to be wise") by way of Middle French, where "savant" is the present participle of "savoir," meaning "to know." "Savant" shares roots with the English words "sapient" ("possessing great wisdom") and "sage" ("having or showing wisdom through reflection and experience"). The term is sometimes used in common parlance to refer to a person who demonstrates extraordinary knowledge in a particular subject, or an extraordinary ability to perform a particular task (such as complex arithmetic), but who has much more limited capacities in other areas.

Ninja (NIN-juh)

: a person trained in ancient Japanese martial arts and employed especially for espionage and assassinations Ninjas may seem mysterious, but the origin of their name is not. The word "ninja" derives from the Japanese characters "nin" and "ja." "Nin" initially meant "persevere," but over time it developed the extended meanings "conceal" and "move stealthily." In Japanese, "ja" is the combining form of "sha," meaning "person." Ninjas originated in the mountains of Japan over 800 years ago as practitioners of ninjutsu, a martial art sometimes called "the art of stealth" or "the art of invisibility." They often served as military spies and were trained in disguise, concealment, geography, meteorology, medicine, and also other martial arts. Popular legends still associate them with espionage and assassinations, but modern ninjas are most likely to study ninjutsu to improve their physical fitness and self-defense skills.

Kegler (KEG-ler)

: a person who bowls : bowler Some historians trace the game of bowling back to the Stone Age (that information may conjure up images of Fred Flintstone on the lanes), but it was a medieval version of the game that gave us the word "kegler." In medieval Germany, the game was practiced as a test of religious faith and purity. The "Kegel" (bowling pin) represented a heathen, and those who could topple it with a round stone proved that they were free of sin. "Kegel" gave English the nouns "kegling" (meaning "bowling") and "kegler," by way of the German verb "kegeln" ("to bowl"). Nowadays, both words tend to be used humorously by writers referring to the modern game.

Expatriate (ek-SPAY-tree-ut)

: a person who lives in a foreign country; also : a person who has renounced his or her native country "Patria," the Latin word for "native country," is derived from "pater," meaning "father." ("Patria" is occasionally used for "native country" in English, too.) Speakers of Medieval Latin combined "patria" with the prefix "ex-" ("out of") to form the verb "expatriare," meaning "to leave one's native country," which led to our verb "expatriate" in the 18th century and the adjective and noun "expatriate" in the 19th century. We also have "repatriate" (from Late Latin "repatriare"), which is a verb meaning "to return to one's native country" and a noun meaning "one who is repatriated."

Tiding (TYE-ding)

: a piece of news -- usually used in plural "Good tidings we bring to you and your kin," goes a line from the popular 16th-century carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Another carol, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (1833), speaks of "tidings of comfort and joy." Although there is nothing inherent in the meaning or origin of "tiding" that specifically pertains to Christmas (it derives via Middle English from Old English and relates to "betide," meaning "to happen especially by fate"), we most often see the word in contexts pertaining to the Christmas season. The most notable usage, perhaps, occurs in Luke 2:10 of the King James Bible, when the angel delivers the news of the arrival of the Savior: "Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."

Cloud-cuckoo-land (kloud-KOO-koo-land)

: a realm of fantasy or of whimsical or foolish behavior In Aristophanes' 5th century B.C. comedy TheBirds, Peisthetaerus (a human) convinces the king of the birds and his followers to help him build an ideal city juxtaposed between heaven and earth. They plan to intercept all of the sacrifices rising from the earth to the gods on Olympus, thereby starving the gods into cooperating with them. The newly built city is dubbed "Nephelokokkygia," (from "nephos," meaning "cloud," and "kokkyx," the native European cuckoo). By the late 19th century, English speakers had translated the town's name as "Cloud-Cuckoo-Land" and had begun using it as a general term for any similarly unreal or whimsical place or situation. These days, "cloud-cuckoo-land" makes occasional appearances in U.S. contexts but is far more common in British use.

Cuspidor (KUSS-puh-dor)

: a receptacle for spit : spittoon "Cuspidor" entered English in the early 18th century via the Portuguese word "cuspidouro," meaning "place for spitting." The Portuguese word, unsurprisingly, has its origins in Latin: the word "conspuere" comes from the prefix "com-" and "spuere," meaning "to spit." ("Spuere" is also the source of "spew" and "sputum.") Since the early 19th century, "cuspidor" has been competing with (and losing to) "spittoon," but "cuspidor" beats "spittoon" in one particular category: the receptacle for spit at a dentist's office is more often referred to by the older word.

Volte-face (vawlt-FAHSS)

: a reversal in policy : about-face "Volte-face" came to English by way of French from Italian "voltafaccia" (from "voltare," Italian for "to turn," and "faccia," meaning "face"). It has existed as an English noun since at least 1819, making it just slightly older than the more English-sounding "about-face." Although foot soldiers have been stepping smartly to the command "About face! Forward march!" for centuries, "about-face" didn't appear as a figurative noun meaning "a reversal of attitude, behavior, or point of view" until 1853.

Lobscouse (LAHB-skouss)

: a sailor's dish of stewed or baked meat with vegetables and hardtack The description of "lobscouse" in our second example sounds anything but appetizing, but some version of this dish has been around for at least 300 years and it is a specialty of Liverpool, England. ("Lobscouse" is also called "scouse," and Liverpudlians are sometimes referred to as "Scousers.") The origin of "lobscouse" is not known for certain. Although it's been suggested that the first syllable of the word comes from an English dialect word "lob" meaning "to boil," the more popular theory is that "lobscouse" comes from a Norwegian stew called "Lapskaus."

Netsuke (NETS-kay)

: a small and often intricately carved toggle (as of wood, ivory, or metal) used to fasten a small container to a kimono sash Netsuke -- the word in English can be pluralized as either "netsuke" or "netsukes" -- were traditionally part of a man's dress, used to attach a medicine box, pipe, or tobacco pouch to the sash (called an "obi") of a Japanese man's traditional kimono. Because the members of the newly risen merchant class, ranking below the samurai, were not permitted to wear jewelry, netsuke took the place of other personal adornment. With the end of the Tokugawa regime, leading to new customs of dress and the introduction of the cigarette shortly thereafter, netsuke became obsolete, though some were still carved to supply the demand of foreign residents and tourists.

Flivver (FLIV-er)

: a small cheap usually old automobile In 1908, Henry Ford changed the world with the Model T, the first affordable automobile. English speakers quickly coined an array of colorful terms for the Model T and the other relatively inexpensive cars that followed it. No one is sure why cheap cars came to be called "flivvers," but we do know that in the early 1900s that colorful term was also used as a slang verb meaning "to fail," as in "If this film flivvers, I'll be in trouble." In Flappers 2 Rappers: American Youth Slang, author Tom Dalzell lists "flivver" (which made its print debut in 1910, just two years after the Model T hit the streets) among a number of terms applied to "the humble Ford." Others included "bone crusher," "bouncing Betty," "Henry's go-cart," "puddle jumper," "Spirit of Detroit," and "Tin Lizzie."

Zibeline (ZIB-uh-leen)

: a soft lustrous wool fabric with mohair, alpaca, or camel's hair Though zibeline is woven from the hair of alpacas, camels, or Angora goats, its name actually traces back to a Slavic word for the sable, a small mammal related to the weasel. The Slavic term was adopted into Old Italian, and from there it passed to Middle French, then on to English in the late 1500s. English "zibeline" originally referred to the sable or its fur, but in the late 19th century it developed a second sense, applying to a soft, smooth, slightly furry material woven from a mixture of animal hairs. It's especially suited to women's suits and coats, or, as a fashion columnist in the December 6, 1894 issue of Vogue observed, "Zibeline . . . makes an exceedingly pretty, warm theatre cloak, not too fine to be crushed into the small one-chair space."

QWERTY (KWER-tee)

: a standard typewriter or computer keyboard -- called also QWERTY keyboard If you look at the topmost row of letters on your computer keyboard, you'll see where the QWERTY got its name. Why did Christopher Latham Sholes choose that particular arrangement of letters when he was developing the modern typewriter in the late 1860s and early 1870s? Popular myth holds that the QWERTY maximizes efficiency by placing the most often used letters in the most accessible places, but the truth is that the QWERTY was actually designed to slow typists down. Sholes's first typewriters were cumbersome and jammed easily if the keys were pressed too fast, so he picked letter positions that let the typist go faster than a pen, but not fast enough to bollix the machine.

Brouhaha (BROO-hah-hah)

: a state of commotion or excitement : hubbub, uproar There is a bit of a brouhaha over the etymology of "brouhaha." Some etymologists think the word is onomatopoeic in origin, but others believe it comes from the Hebrew phrase "bārŪkh habbā'," meaning "blessed be he who enters" (Psalms 118:26). Although we borrowed our spelling and meaning of "brouhaha" directly from French in the late 19th century, etymologists have connected the French derivation to that frequently recited Hebrew phrase, distorted to something like "brouhaha" by worshippers whose knowledge of Hebrew was limited. Thus, once out of the synagogue, the word first meant "a noisy confusion of sound" -- a sense that was later extended to refer to any tumultuous and confused situation.

Swivet (SWIV-ut)

: a state of extreme agitation People have been in a swivet over one thing or another since the 1890s. That, at least, is when the word first appeared in print in a collection of "Peculiar Words and Usages" of Kentucky published by the American Dialect Society. In the ensuing years, "swivet" popped up in other pockets of the South as well. Chances are it had already been around for some time before it was recorded in writing, and by the time it was, nobody could say where or how it had originated. What we do know is that its use gradually spread, so that by the 1950s it was regularly appearing in national magazines like Time and The New Yorker. Thus, it entered the mainstream of American English.

Sarcophagus (sahr-KAH-fuh-gus)

: a stone coffin; broadly : coffin Body-eating coffins might sound like the stuff of horror films, but "flesh-eating stone" does play a role in the etymology of "sarcophagus." That creepy-sounding phrase is a literal translation of "sarkophagos," the Greek word that underlies our English term. It's not clear whether the Romans truly believed that a certain type of limestone from the region around Troy would dissolve flesh (and thus was desirable for making coffins). That assertion came from Roman scholar Pliny the Elder, but he also reported such phenomena as dog-headed people and elephants who wrote Greek. But there's no doubt that the ancient Greek word for the limestone, "sarkophagos," was formed by combining "sark-," meaning "flesh," with a derivative of "phagein," a verb meaning "to eat."

Coiffure (kwah-FYUR)

: a style or manner of arranging the hair First appearing in English in the 1630s, "coiffure" derives from the French verb "coiffer," which can mean "to arrange (hair)" or "to cover with a coif (any of various close-fitting caps, such as that worn under a veil by a nun)." The word is now used as a somewhat fancy way of saying "hairdo." Be careful not to confuse it with "coiffeur," which refers to a man who works as a hairdresser (and of which "coiffeuse" is the female equivalent). You may also encounter "coif" used to mean "hairstyle" -- in such cases, "coif" is operating as a shortened form of "coiffure."

Saguaro (suh-WAHR-uh)

: a tall columnar usually sparsely-branched cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) of dry areas of the southwestern United States and Mexico that bears white flowers and a scaly reddish edible fruit and that may attain a height of up to 50 feet (16 meters) Venture into the Arizonan desert on a May or June morning and you may see the saguaro in bloom. For many of our readers (such as those living in Arizona and southeastern California), this sight -- and the word "saguaro" -- won't be anything new. Or perhaps you know this emblem of all things Southwestern simply as the "giant cactus." The word "saguaro" originated in Ópata, a language spoken by peoples of the Sonoran Desert region of Mexico. It came into English by way of the Spanish spoken by the Mexican settlers of the American West. The very saguaros we see today may well have been around when the word was first noted, some 150 years ago -- this amazing cactus can live for up to 200 years.

Legerity (luh-JAIR-uh-tee)

: alert facile quickness of mind or body When "legerity" first appeared in English in 1561, it drew significantly upon the concept of being "light on one's feet," and appropriately so. It is derived from words in Middle and Old French and ultimately Latin that all mean "light in weight." These days, "legerity" can describe a nimbleness of mind as well as of the feet. A cousin of "legerity" in English is "legerdemain," meaning "sleight of hand" or "a display of skill or adroitness." "Legerdemain" comes from the French phrase "leger de main," meaning "light of hand."

Emprise (em-PRYZE)

: an adventurous, daring, or chivalric enterprise Someone who engages in emprises undertakes much, so it's no surprise that "emprise" descends from the Anglo-French word "emprendre," meaning "to undertake." It's also no surprise that "emprise" became established in English during the 13th century, a time when brave knights engaged in many a chivalrous undertaking. Fourteenth-century author Geoffrey Chaucer used "emprise" to describe one such knight in "The Franklin's Tale" (one of the stories in The Canterbury Tales): "Ther was a knyght that loved and dide his payne / To serve a lady in his beste wise; / And many labour, many a greet emprise, / He for his lady wroghte er she were wonne."

Lexicographer (lek-suh-KAH-gruh-fer)

: an author or editor of a dictionary Today, we're looking at a word that is dear to our hearts: "lexicographer." The ancient Greeks were some of the earliest makers of dictionaries; they used them mainly to catalog obsolete terms from their rich literary past. To create a word for writers of dictionaries, the Greeks sensibly attached the suffix "-graphos," meaning "writer," to "lexikon," meaning "dictionary," to form "lexikographos," the direct ancestor of the English word "lexicographer." "Lexikon," which itself descends from Greek "lexis" (meaning "word" or "speech"), also gave us "lexicon," which can mean either "dictionary" or "the vocabulary of a language, speaker, or subject."

Meme (MEEM)

: an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture In his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, British scientist Richard Dawkins defended his newly coined word "meme," which he defined as "a unit of cultural transmission." Having first considered, then rejected, "mimeme," he wrote: "'Mimeme' comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like 'gene.' I hope my classicist friends will forgive me if I abbreviate 'mimeme' to 'meme.'" (The suitable Greek root was "mim-," meaning "mime" or "mimic." The English suffix "-eme" indicates a distinctive unit of language structure, as in "grapheme," "lexeme," and "phoneme.") "Meme" itself, like any good meme, caught on fairly quickly, spreading from person to person as it established itself in the language.

Cockaigne (kah-KAYN)

: an imaginary land of great luxury and ease The term "Cockaigne" comes from the Middle French phrase "pais de cocaigne," which literally means "the land of plenty." The word was first popularized in a 13th-century French poem that is known in English as "The Land of Cockaigne." According to an early English translation of the work, in Cockaigne "the houses were made of barley sugar cakes, the streets were paved with pastry, and the shops supplied goods for nothing." (It's this original Cockaigne that is referenced in our second example above.) Some have theorized that "cocaigne" derives from an earlier word related to "cake" or "cook," but its early history remains obscure.

Ignoramus (ig-nuh-RAY-mus)

: an utterly ignorant person : dunce "Ignoramus" is the title of a farce by George Ruggle (1575-1622) that was first produced in 1615. The title character, whose name in Latin literally means "we do not know," is a lawyer who fancies himself to be quite shrewd but is actually foolish and ignorant. Ruggle may have been inspired in his choice of name for his character by a proceeding in the English judicial system. The term "ignoramus" was written on bills of indictment when the evidence presented seemed insufficient to justify prosecution. In these cases "ignoramus" indicated "we take no notice of (i.e., we do not recognize) this indictment." Such a reference would have been most appropriate for Ruggle's satire of the judiciary.

Forebear (FOR-bair)

: ancestor, forefather; also : precursor "Forebear" (also sometimes spelled "forbear") was first used by our ancestors in the days of Middle English. "Fore-" means "coming before," just as in "forefather," and "-bear" means "one that is" (not to be confused with the "-bear" in the unrelated verb "forbear," which comes from Old English "beran," meaning "to bear or carry"). The "be-" of "-bear" is from the verb "to be" (or, more specifically, from "been," an old dialect variant of "be"). The "-ar" is a form of the suffix "-er," which we append to verbs to denote one that performs a specified action. In this case the "action" is simply existing or being -- in other words, "-bear" implies one who is a "be-er."

Mnemonic (nih-MAH-nik)

: assisting or designed to assist memory The word "mnemonic" derives from Greek "mnēmōn" ("mindful"), which itself comes from the Greek word meaning "to remember." (In classical mythology, Mnemosyne, the mother of the Muses, is the goddess of memory.) As with many classical borrowings, we retained the double initial consonant, but not the pronunciation of both, since the combination doesn't occur naturally in English. ("Pneumonia" is a similar case.) "Mnemonic" can also be a noun meaning "a mnemonic device." If the spelling of this word strikes you as particularly fiendish to remember, try this mnemonic to get you started on the right track: keep in mind that although the pronunciation begins with an "n" sound, the spelling begins with an "m," as in "memory."

Haughty (HAW-tee)

: blatantly and disdainfully proud "Haughty," "proud," "arrogant," "insolent," "overbearing," "supercilious," and "disdainful" all mean showing scorn for inferiors. "Haughty" (which derives via Anglo-French "haut" or "halt" from Latin "altus," meaning "high") suggests a consciousness of superior birth or position. "Proud" may suggest an assumed superiority or loftiness ("too proud to take charity"). "Arrogant" implies a claiming for oneself of more consideration or importance than is warranted ("an arrogant executive"). "Insolent" implies contemptuousness ("We were ignored by an insolent waiter"). "Overbearing" suggests a tyrannical manner ("an overbearing supervisor"). "Supercilious" implies a cool, patronizing attitude ("an aloof and supercilious manner"). "Disdainful" suggests a more active and openly scornful superciliousness ("disdainful of their social inferiors").

Plaguey (PLAY-ghee)

: causing irritation or annoyance : troublesome Plagues have, well, "plagued" humanity for centuries. One sense of the word "plague," referring to a deadly fever transmitted from rodents to humans by way of infected fleas, was all too familiar to English speakers in the late 16th century. That's when the word "plaguey" first appeared on the scene as an adjective describing something relating, literally or figuratively, to a plague. The fact that "plaguey" developed its "annoying" meaning by the end of that same century suggests just how familiar, and troublesome, the disease was in those days. "Plaguey" is also sometimes used as an adverb meaning "irritatingly," as in "it is plaguey cold." (The form "plaguily" is occasionally seen as well, with the same meaning.)

Intrepid (in-TREP-id)

: characterized by resolute fearlessness, fortitude, and endurance You need not be afraid to find out the origins of today's word, although its history does include fear. "Intrepid" derives from the Latin word "intrepidus," itself formed by the combination of the prefix "in-" (meaning "not") and "trepidus," meaning "alarmed." Other relatives of "trepidus" in English include "trepidation" and "trepidatious," as well as "trepid" (which actually predates "intrepid" and means "fearful") and even the rare "trepidity" (a synonym for "trepidation" in the sense of "fear, apprehension"). Synonyms for "intrepid" include "courageous," "valiant," "fearless," "valorous," and simply "brave."

Diligent (DIL-uh-junt)

: characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort : painstaking You're more likely to be diligent about something if you love doing it. The etymology of "diligent" reflects the fact that affection can lead to energetic effort. The word, which entered English in the 14th century by way of Anglo-French, descends from the Latin verb "diligere," meaning "to value or esteem highly" or "to love." Of course, you don't need to care for the task at hand in order to be diligent, but it certainly does help!

Bathetic (buh-THET-ik)

: characterized by triteness or sentimentalism When English speakers turned "apathy" into "apathetic" in the 1700s, using the suffix "-etic" to turn the noun into the adjective, they were inspired by "pathetic," the adjectival form of "pathos," from Greek "pathētikos." People also applied that bit of linguistic transformation to coin "bathetic." In the 19th century, English speakers added the suffix "-etic" to "bathos," the Greek word for "depth," which in English has come to mean "triteness" or "excessive sentimentalism." The result: the ideal adjective for the incredibly commonplace or the overly sentimental.

Tin-pot (TIN-PAHT)

: cheap or trivial of its kind : petty, small-time, two-bit Tin has never commanded as much respect as some other metals. As a reflection of this, its name has long been used in terms denoting the tawdry or petty. "Tin-pot" has been used for minor or insignificant things or people since the early 1800s. "Tinhorn" has named fakes or frauds (especially gamblers) since the 1880s, and "tin lizzie" has been a nickname for an inexpensive car since Ford introduced the Model T. Another example is "tin pan" (as in "Tin Pan Alley"), which referred to the tinny sound of pianos pounded furiously by musicians plugging tunes to producers.

Flummox (FLUM-uks)

: confuse No one is completely sure where the word "flummox" comes from, but we do know that its first known use is found in Charles Dickens' 1837 novel The Pickwick Papers and that it had become quite common in both British and American English by the end of the 19th century. One theory expressed by some etymologists is that it was influenced by "flummock," a word of English dialectical origin used to refer to a clumsy person. This "flummock" may also be the source of the word "lummox," which also means "a clumsy person."

Flagrant (FLAY-grunt)

: conspicuously offensive; especially : so obviously inconsistent with what is right or proper as to appear to be a flouting of law or morality In Latin, "flagrare" means "to burn," and "flagrans" means "burning" or "fiery hot" (both literally and figuratively). When it was first used in the 16th century, "flagrant" had the same meaning as "flagrans," but by the 18th century it had acquired its current meaning of "conspicuously bad." Some usage commentators warn against using "flagrant" and "blatant" interchangeably. While both words denote conspicuousness, they are not exact synonyms. "Blatant" is usually used of some person, action, or thing that attracts disapproving attention (e.g., "a blatant grammatical error"). "Flagrant" is used similarly, but usually carries a heavier weight of violated morality (e.g., "flagrant abuse of public office").

Regardless (rih-GAHRD-lus)

: despite everything "Regardless" is rather simply derived from the noun "regard" (meaning "attention" or "concern") plus "-less" -- nothing too shocking about that. But poor "regardless" became embroiled in a usage scandal through no fault of its own when people began using "irregardless" as its synonym (probably blending "irrespective" and "regardless"). "Irregardless" originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century, and usage commentators have been decrying it since the 1920s, often declaring "there is no such word." "Irregardless" does exist, of course, but it tends to be used primarily in speech and it is still considered nonstandard. "Regardless" is greatly preferred.

Snitty (SNIT-ee)

: disagreeably ill-tempered Those of Germanic descent might know the word "snit" as a noun meaning "an apple slice," but this doesn't help etymologists much. In fact, it just gets them into a "snit" (a "state of agitation"). No matter how they slice and dice the word "snitty," they can't get to its core. All we know is that "snit" was being used as early as 1939 and "snitty" appeared some 40 years later, and that both words are mainly used in the United States.

Gullible (GULL-uh-bul)

: easily duped or cheated A recent commenter on our Web site asked, "Is gullibility a word"? Yes, it's entered as a run-on at our entry for "gullible," along with "gullibly." All three of these words descend from the verb "gull," meaning "to deceive or take advantage of." The verb "gull" was borrowed into English from Anglo-French in the mid-16th century. Another relative is the noun "gull," referring to a person who is easy to cheat -- no relation to the familiar word for a sea bird, which is of Celtic origin.

Parable (PAIR-uh-bul)

: example; specifically : a usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle "Parable" comes to us via Anglo-French from the Late Latin word "parabola," which in turn comes from Greek "parabolē," meaning "comparison." The word "parabola" may look familiar if you remember your geometry. The mathematical "parabola" refers to a kind of comparison between a fixed point and a straight line, resulting in a parabolic curve; it came to English from New Latin (Latin as used since the end of the medieval period, especially in scientific description and classification). "Parable," however, descends from Late Latin (the Latin language used by writers in the 3rd to 6th centuries). The Late Latin term "parabola" referred to verbal comparisons: it essentially meant "allegory" or "speech." Other English descendants of Late Latin "parabola" are "parole" and "palaver."

Precatory (PREK-uh-tor-ee)

: expressing a wish Nowadays, you're most likely to see "precatory" used in legal contexts to distinguish statements that merely express a wish from those that create a legal obligation. For example, if you add a provision to your will asking someone to take care of your pet if you die, that provision is merely precatory. Outside of jurisprudence, you might see references to such things as "precatory dress codes" or "precatory stockholder proposals" -- all of which are non-binding. "Precatory" traces to Latin "precari" ("to pray"), and it has always referred to something in the nature of an entreaty or supplication. For example, a precatory hymn is one that beseeches "from sin and sorrow set us free" --versus a laudatory hymn (that is, one giving praise).

Pigeon-livered (PIJ-un-liv-erd)

: gentle, mild Since at least the 16th century, the image of the harmless cooing pigeon has moved people -- somewhat unfairly to the bird -- to use its name in reference to innocents like the simpleton, the dupe, and the coward. The gentle disposition of the bird did not escape Shakespeare, either. Applying the belief of the time that the liver and large quantities of yellow bile provided a courageous temperament, the Bard used "pigeon-livered" to describe Hamlet's lack of gall to seek revenge (with the apparent logic that anyone with a pigeon's liver would be deficient in the courage-producing bile). The chicken has the dubious distinction of being the next bird dressed for similar lexical consumption; people began using "chicken-livered" for "cowardly" in the 19th century.

Deleterious (del-uh-TEER-ee-us)

: harmful often in a subtle or unexpected way "Pernicious," "baneful," "noxious," and "detrimental" are the wicked synonyms of "deleterious." All five words refer to something exceedingly harmful. Of the group, "deleterious" is most often used for something that is unexpectedly harmful. "Pernicious" implies irreparable harm done by something that corrupts or undermines in an evil or insidious way ("the assertion that hateful speech has a pernicious effect on society"), while "baneful" suggests injury through poisoning or destruction ("the baneful notion that discipline destroys creativity"). "Noxious" can apply to anything that is both offensive and injurious to the health of body or mind ("noxious chemical fumes"), while "detrimental" implies an obvious harmfulness to something specified ("the detrimental effects of excessive drinking").

Heinous (HAY-nus)

: hatefully or shockingly evil : abominable Humans have contrasted love with hate and good with evil for eons, putting love and good on one side and hate and evil on the other. The etymology of heinous reflects the association of hate with that which is evil or horrible. During the 14th century, English borrowed heinous from the Anglo-French haine (meaning "hate"), a noun derived from hair ("to hate"), a verb of Germanic origin that is related, like the English word hate, to the Old High German haz ("hate"). Over time English speakers came to use the word to reflect the sense of horror evoked by intense hatred.

Conversant (kun-VER-sunt)

: having knowledge or experience The adjectives "conversant" and "conversational" are related; both are descendants of Latin "conversari," meaning "to associate with." The earliest English meaning of "conversant" in the 1300s was simply "having familiar association." One way to associate with others is to have a conversation with them -- in other words, to talk. For a short time in the 19th century "conversant" could mean "relating to or suggesting conversation," but for the most part that meaning stayed with "conversational" while "conversant" went in a different direction. Today, "conversant" is sometimes used, especially in the United States, with the meaning "able to talk in a foreign language," as in "she is conversant in several languages," but it is more often associated with knowledge or familiarity, as in "conversant with the issues."

Indeterminable (in-TER-muh-nuh-bul)

: having or seeming to have no end; especially : wearisomely protracted We promise not to ramble on endlessly about the origins of "interminable." The word was borrowed into English in the 15th century and descends from a Latin combination of the prefix "in-" ("not") and the verb "terminare," meaning "to terminate" or "to limit." English speakers also coined the antonym "terminable," meaning "capable of being brought to an end," from "terminare." Other relatives of "interminable" in English include "terminate," "determine," "terminal," and "exterminate."

Efficacious (ef-uh-KAY-shus)

: having the power to produce a desired effect "Effective," "efficient," and "effectual" are synonyms of "efficacious," but each of these words has a slightly different connotation. "Efficacious" suggests possession of a special quality or virtue that makes it possible to achieve a result ("a detergent that is efficacious in removing grease"). "Effective" stresses the power to produce or the actual production of a particular effect ("an effective rebuttal"), while "effectual" suggests the accomplishment of a desired result, especially as viewed after the fact ("measures taken to reduce underage drinking have proved effectual"). "Efficient" implies an acting or potential for acting that avoids loss or waste of energy ("an efficient small car").

Pediculous (pih-DIK-yuh-lus)

: infested with lice : lousy Count on the English language's Latin lexical options to pretty up the unpleasant. You can have an entire conversation about lice and avoid the l-word entirely using "pediculous" and its relatives. None of the words (from "pediculus," meaning "louse") is remotely common -- most of them are so uncommon that they appear only in our Unabridged dictionary -- but they're all available to you should you feel the need for them. There's "pediculosis," meaning "infestation with lice"; "pedicular," meaning "of or relating to lice"; and "pediculoid," meaning "resembling or related to the common lice." "Pediculid" names a particular kind of louse -- one of the family Pediculidae. And if you'd like to put an end to all of this you might require a "pediculicide" -- defined as "an agent for destroying lice."

Sic (SIK)

: intentionally so written -- used after a printed word or passage to indicate that it exactly reproduces an original The adverb "sic," usually enclosed in brackets, is a word editors use in the reproduction of someone else's speech or writing to indicate that an unexpected form exactly reproduces the original and is not a copier's mistake. "Sic" comes from Latin, in which it means "so" or "thus." Though it's a useful tool, some usage commentators feel it is bad manners to use a "sic" to needlessly call attention to someone's error or to deride the language of a less-educated person.

Jimjams (JIM-jamz)

: jitters When "jimjams" entered English in the mid-19th century, it probably referred to a specific kind of jitters -- the "delirium tremens," a violent delirium caused by excessive drinking. "Jimjams" is not particularly common today, but when it is used in current American English it means simply "jitters." Etymologists aren't sure about the origin of the term. Some speculate that it came about as an alteration of "delirium tremens." Others, though uncertain of the origin of "jim" and "jam," notice that the word follows a pattern of similar words in which one sound is repeated or altered slightly. Interestingly, other words for "jitters" were formed in the same repetitive way -- "whim-whams" and "heebie-jeebies" are examples.

Maladroit (mal-uh-DROYT)

: lacking skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness in handling situations : inept To understand the origin of "maladroit," you need to put together some Middle French and Old French building blocks. The first is the word "mal," meaning "bad," and the second is the phrase "a droit," meaning "properly." You can parse the phrase even further into the components "a," meaning "to" or "at," and "droit," meaning "right, direct, or straight." Middle French speakers put those pieces together as "maladroit" to describe the clumsy among them, and English speakers borrowed the word intact back in the 17th century. Its opposite, of course, is "adroit," which we adopted from the French in the same century.

Splenetic (splih-NET-ik)

: marked by bad temper, malevolence, or spite In early Western physiology, a person's physical qualities and mental disposition were believed to be determined by the proportion of four bodily humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. The last of these was believed to be secreted by the spleen, causing feelings of disposition ranging from intense sadness (melancholia) to irascibility. This now-discredited association explains how the use of "splenetic" (deriving from the Late Latin "spleneticus" and the Latin "splen," meaning "spleen") came to mean both "bad-tempered" and "given to melancholy" as well as "of or relating to the spleen." In later years, the "melancholy" sense fell out of use, but the sense pertaining to ill humor or malevolence remains with us today.

Compendious (kum-PEN-dee-us)

: marked by brief expression of a comprehensive matter : concise and comprehensive; also : comprehensive In current use, "compendious" is most often applied to things that are full in scope and concise in treatment. But the word also shares a sense of "brief in statement or expression" with synonyms "concise," "terse," "succinct," "pithy," "laconic," and "summary." "Concise" simply suggests the removal of all that is superfluous or elaborative ("a concise description"). "Terse" implies pointed conciseness ("a terse reply"). "Succinct" implies the greatest possible compression ("a succinct letter of resignation"). "Pithy" adds the implication of richness of meaning or substance ("pithy one-liners"). "Laconic" implies brevity to the point of seeming rude or indifferent ("a laconic stranger"). "Summary" suggests the stating of main points with no elaboration ("a summary listing of the year's main events").

Doughty (DOW-tee)

: marked by fearless resolution : valiant "Doughty" is a persevering Old English word. Its earliest form was "dyhtig," but early on the vowel changed and the word became "dohtig." That was probably due to influence from a related Old English word, "dohte," meaning "had worth." By the 13th century, the spelling "doughty" had begun to appear. The expected pronunciation would be \DAW-tee\, paralleling other similarly spelled old words like "bought" and "sought." But over the centuries, the spelling was sometimes confused with that of the now obsolete word "doubty," meaning "full of doubt," and thus, so it is conjectured, we have the pronunciation we use today.

Haphazard (hap-HAZZ-erd)

: marked by lack of plan, order, or direction The "hap" in "haphazard" comes from an English word that means "happening," as well as "chance or fortune," and that derives from the Old Norse word "happ," meaning "good luck." Perhaps it's no accident that "hazard," as well, has its own connotations of luck: while it now refers commonly to something that presents danger, at one time it referred to a dice game similar to craps. (The name ultimately derives from the Arabic "al-zahr," or "the die.") "Haphazard" first entered English as a noun (again meaning "chance") in the 16th century, and soon afterward was being used as an adjective to describe things with no apparent logic or order.

Pelf (PELF)

: money, riches In the 14th century, the Anglo-French word "pelfre," meaning "booty" or "stolen goods," was exchanged into English as "pelf" with the added meaning of "property." ("Pelfre" is also an ancestor of the English verb "pilfer," meaning "to steal.") Two centuries later "pelf" showed gains when people began to use it for "money" and "riches." In some regions of Britain the word's use was diversified further, in a depreciative way, to refer to trash and good-for-nothings. The first of those meanings was a loss by about the mid-17th century; the second has little value outside of the Yorkshire region of England.

Brummagem (BRUM-ih-jum)

: not genuine : spurious; also : cheaply showy : tawdry "Brummagem" first appeared in the 17th century as an alteration of "Birmingham," the name of a city in England. At that time Birmingham was notorious for the counterfeit coins made there, and the word "brummagem" quickly became associated with things forged or inauthentic. By the 19th century, Birmingham had become a chief manufacturer of cheap trinkets and gilt jewelry, and again the word "brummagem" followed suit -- it came to describe that which is showy on the outside but essentially of low quality. Perhaps the term was something of an annoyance to the people of Birmingham way back when, but nowadays "brummagem" is usually used without any conscious reference to the British city.

Fulvous (FULL-vus)

: of a dull brownish yellow : tawny "Fulvous" has never been a common word, but you are much more likely to encounter it in texts from the 19th century than in texts from the decades since -- unless, that is, you care about ducks. In that case, you might know about a kind of whistling duck called the fulvous tree duck, which is a brownish duck with long legs and a long neck that has an unusual world distribution. It lives in isolated populations in North America, South America, India, and Africa -- remarkably without geographic variation. But back to "fulvous": it shares a meaning with its direct ancestor, the Latin word "fulvus," and "fulvus" itself is believed to possibly share an ancestor with "flavus," Latin for "yellow."

Terpsichorean (terp-sih-kuh-REE-un)

: of or relating to dancing In Greek and Roman mythology, Terpsichore was one of the nine muses, those graceful sister-goddesses who presided over learning and the arts. Terpsichore was the patron of dance and choral song (and later lyric poetry), and in artistic representations she is often shown dancing and holding a lyre. Her name, which earned an enduring place in English through the adjective "terpsichorean," literally means "dance-enjoying," from "terpsis," meaning "enjoyment," and "choros," meaning "dance." "Choros" is also the source of "choreography" and "chorus" (those "choruses" in Athenian drama consisted of dancers as well as singers). The only other word we know that incorporates "terpsis" is "terpodion," an obsolete term for a piano-like musical instrument that was invented in 1816 but never really caught on.

Predial (PREE-dee-ul)

: of or relating to land or its products "Predial" is used for land matters; for example, there's "predial tax" (real estate tax) or "predial larceny" (stealing crops from the fields). The state of Louisiana employs "predial" in numerous sections of its Civil Code (and is distinguished from other states by its use of the word). The word derives from the Latin noun for "landed property," "praedium." "Praedium" in turn is based on "praed-," meaning "bondsman" -- that is, one who is legally liable for the debt of another.

Mantic (MAN-tik)

: of or relating to the faculty of divination : prophetic The adjective "mantic" comes from the Greek word "mantikos," which itself derives from "mantis," meaning "prophet." The mantis insect got its name from this same source, supposedly because its posture -- with the forelimbs extended as though in prayer --reminded folks of a prophet. Not surprisingly, the combining form "-mancy," which means "divination in a (specified) manner" (as in "necromancy" and "pyromancy"), is a relative of "mantic." A less expected, and more distant, relative is "mania," meaning "insanity marked by uncontrollable emotion or excitement" or "excessive enthusiasm." "Mania" descends from Greek "mainesthai" ("to be mad"), a word akin to "mantis" and its offspring. And indeed, prophesying in ancient Greece was sometimes believed to be "inspired madness."

Shaggy-dog (shag-ee-DAWG)

: of, relating to, or being a long-drawn-out circumstantial story concerning an inconsequential happening that impresses the teller as humorous or interesting but the hearer as boring and pointless; also : of, relating to, or being a similar humorous story whose humor lies in the pointlessness or irrelevance of the punch line The origin of the adjective "shaggy-dog" isn't truly known, but lexicographer Eric Partridge rather believably tells us that it originated with a shaggy-dog story of the amusing sort that involves -- of course! -- a shaggy dog. Today, the word sometimes refers to a rambling story that impresses the teller as humorous or interesting but the hearer as boring and pointless, but it can also refer to a similar story (or movie or TV show) that is actually humorous and whose humor lies in its very pointlessness or irrelevance.

Diluvial (duh-LOO-vee-ul)

: of, relating to, or brought about by a flood Late Latin "diluvialis" means "flood." It's from Latin "diluere" ("to wash away") and ultimately from "lavere" ("to wash"). English "diluvial" and its variant "diluvian" initially referred to the Biblical Flood. Geologists, archaeologists, fossilists, and the like used the words, beginning back in the mid-1600s, to mark a distinct geological turning point associated with the Flood. They also used "antediluvian" and "postdiluvian" to describe the periods before and after the Flood. It wasn't until the 1800s that people started using "diluvial" for floods and flooding in general. American educator and essayist Caroline M. Kirkland, one early user of this sense, wrote, "Much of our soil is said to be diluvial -- the wash of the great ocean lakes as they overflowed towards the south," in her essay Forest Life in 1850.

Ruritanian (rur-uh-TAY-nee-un)

: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an imaginary place of high romance In 1894, British author Anthony Hope published The Prisoner of Zenda, a novel set in the mythical kingdom of Ruritania. The book relates the adventures of Rudolf Rassendyll, a British gentleman who impersonates the king of Ruritania to save him from a treasonous plot. An improbable but high-spirited tale filled with heroes, villains, courtly intrigue, romance, and sword play, Hope's narrative (and its fictional locale) quickly captured the imagination of the public. Within two years of the novel's publication, George Bernard Shaw had seen fit to use "Ruritanian" as a generic adjective: "Our common sense ... must immediately put a summary stop to the somewhat silly Ruritanian gambols of our imagination." Romantic or fanciful places or things have been "Ruritanian" ever since.

Enigmatic (en-ig-MAT-ik)

: of, relating to, or resembling an enigma : mysterious When it comes to things that aren't clearly understandable, you have a wide range of word choices, including "dark," "enigmatic," "cryptic," and "equivocal." Of these, "dark" is the most sinister, implying an imperfect or clouded revelation, often with ominous overtones. "Enigmatic" (which traces back to Greek "ainissesthai," meaning "to speak in riddles") emphasizes a puzzling, mystifying quality, whereas "cryptic" implies a purposely concealed meaning. "Equivocal" is the best choice for language that is left open to differing interpretations with the intention of deceiving or evading.

Preprandial (pree-PRAN-dee-ul)

: of, relating to, or suitable for the time just before dinner Though the Latin noun "prandium" means "late breakfast" or "luncheon," its derivative English adjectives -- "preprandial," "prandial," and "postprandial" -- are just as likely to refer to other meals; in fact, "preprandial" is usually applied to dinner. Those adjectives were quite new in our language ("prandial" and "postprandial" first appeared in print in 1820, and "preprandial" in 1822) when a Scottish judge wrote in his memoirs, "Every glass during dinner required to be dedicated to the health of some one.... This prandial nuisance was horrible." English also acquired the adverbs "prandially" and "postprandially," but those are much rarer words these days.

Amanuensis (uh-man-yuh-WEN-sis)

: one employed to write from dictation or to copy manuscript In Latin, the phrase "servus a manu" translates loosely as "slave with secretarial duties." (The noun "manu," meaning "hand," gave us words such as "manuscript," originally meaning a document written or typed by hand.) In the 17th century the second part of this phrase was borrowed into English to create "amanuensis," a word for a person who is employed (willingly) to do the important but sometimes menial work of transcribing the words of another. While other quaint words, such as "scribe" or "scrivener," might have similarly described the functions of such a person in the past, these days we're likely to call him or her a "secretary," or maybe an "administrative assistant."

Adversary (AD-ver-sair-ee)

: one that contends with, opposes, or resists : enemy If you've ever had someone turn on you and become your adversary, you've inadvertently lived out the etymology of "adversary." The word is from the Latin adjective "adversarius" ("turned toward" or "antagonistic toward"), which in turn can be traced back to the verb "advertere," meaning "to turn to." "Advertere" itself derives from "ad-" and "vertere" ("turn"), and "vertere" is the source of a number of English words. Along with obvious derivatives like "inadvertently" and "adverse" are some surprises, such as "anniversary," "prose," and "vertebra," among others.

Compurgator (KAHM-per-gay-ter)

: one who under oath vouches for the character or conduct of an accused person "Compurgator" is a descendant of the Latin verb "compurgare," meaning "to purify wholly." The root of that word, "purgare," also gave English "purge" ("to clear of guilt," "to cause evacuation from," or "to get rid of") and "expurgate" ("to cleanse of something morally harmful, offensive, or erroneous"). "Compurgator" has occasionally been used in a more general sense of "one who supports or defends another," but its primary application is to the specific legal situation in which someone appears in court as a character witness for the defendant. "Compurgator" has been used in English with this specific legal meaning since the 16th century.

Baksheesh (BAK-sheesh)

: payment (as a tip or bribe) to expedite service "Baksheesh" came into the English language around 1686 and was most likely picked up by British subjects as they traveled abroad. In Asia, English speakers would have heard "baksheesh" used as a word meaning "gratuity, a present of money, tip" -- a meaning they directly adopted. Etymologically speaking, "baksheesh" is from Persian "bakhshīsh," which is also the source of the word "buckshee," meaning "something extra obtained free," "extra rations," or "windfall, gratuity." "Buckshee" is strictly a British English term and is not used in American English.

Newspeak (NOO-speek)

: propagandistic language marked by euphemism, circumlocution, and the inversion of customary meanings : double-talk The term "newspeak" was coined by George Orwell in his 1949 anti-utopian novel 1984. In Orwell's fictional totalitarian state, Newspeak was a language favored by the minions of Big Brother and, in Orwell's words, "designed to diminish the range of thought." Newspeak was characterized by the elimination or alteration of certain words, the substitution of one word for another, the interchangeability of parts of speech, and the creation of words for political purposes. The word has caught on in general use to refer to confusing or deceptive bureaucratic jargon.

Rapscallion (rap-SKAL-yun)

: rascal, ne'er-do-well The word "rascal" has been part of English since the 15th century, but on its own it apparently didn't quite capture the disagreeable nature of the wily knaves of yore. By the 17th century, English speakers had modified "rascal" to create "rascallion." But it seems that even that term didn't sound quite mischievous enough. By the century's end, "rascallion" had been further altered to create "rapscallion." Today, "rapscallion" is still commonly used as a synonym for "blackguard," "scoundrel," and "miscreant." "Rascallion" is still around as well, but it's very rare.

Cerulean (suh-ROO-lee-un)

: resembling the blue of the sky "Cerulean" comes from the Latin word "caeruleus," which means "dark blue" and is most likely from "caelum," the Latin word for "sky." An artist rendering a sky of blue in oils or watercolors might choose a tube of cerulean blue pigment. Birdwatchers in the eastern U.S. might look skyward and see a cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulea). "Cerulean" is not the only color name that's closely associated with the sky. "Azure" (which ultimately comes from a Persian word for lapis lazuli, a rich blue stone) describes the color of a cloudless sky and can even be a noun meaning "the unclouded sky."

Placid (PLASS-id)

: serenely free of interruption or disturbance; also : complacent Like "placid," the words "calm," "tranquil," and "serene" all mean "quiet and free from disturbance." "Calm" conveys a quiet composure that contrasts with surrounding chaos, while "tranquil" suggests a very deep quietude and peace. "Serene" is loftier still, carrying a sense of utter peace and happiness. Though "placid" traces back to Latin "placēre," meaning "to please," it isn't always as positive a term as its synonyms. It can imply a lack of agitation rather than a true peace, and it sometimes suggests excessive self-satisfaction or even stupidity.

Glabrous (GLAY-brus)

: smooth; especially : having a surface without hairs or projections "Before them an old man, / wearing a fringe of long white hair, bareheaded, / his glabrous skull reflecting the sun's / light...." No question about it -- the bald crown of an old man's head (as described here in William Carlos Williams's poem "Sunday in the Park") is "a surface without hairs." William's use isn't typical, though. More often "glabrous" appears in scientific contexts, such as the following description of wheat: "The white glumes are glabrous, with narrow acuminate beaks." And although Latin "glaber," our word's source, can mean simply "bald," when "glabrous" refers to skin with no hair in scientific English, it usually means skin that never had hair (such as the palms of the hands).

Contumacious (kahn-too-MAY-shus)

: stubbornly disobedient : rebellious Legal contexts are one area where you might encounter this fancy word for "rebellious" or "insubordinate" -- and the link between "contumacious" and the law goes back to Latin. The Latin adjective "contumax" means "rebellious," or, in specific cases, "showing contempt of court." "Contumacious" is related to "contumely," meaning "harsh language or treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt." Both "contumacious" and "contumely" are thought to ultimately come from the Latin verb "tumēre," meaning "to swell" or "to be proud."

Anacoluthon (an-uh-kuh-LOO-thahn)

: syntactical inconsistency or incoherence within a sentence; especially : a shift in an unfinished sentence from one syntactic construction to another Looking at examples of -- never mind that, we can't think of any -- let us look at the history of "anacoluthon." (Or maybe we can think of an example. The shift in the preceding sentence from "looking at examples of" to "let us look at the root of" is one!) "Anacoluthon" traces back to Greek "anakolouthos," which means "inconsistent" and is a compound of "an-" ("not") and "akolouthos" ("following"). Anacolutha (the word's plural form) frequently occur in speech and in literary writing especially to express excited or distraught emotion or thoughts.

Infotainment (in-foh-TAYN-munt)

: television programming that presents information (such as news) in a way that is meant to be entertaining "Infotainment," a blend of "information" and "entertainment," first appeared in the early 1980s. Not everyone approves of "infotainment" and similar pieced-together, media-derived words (e.g., "infomercial" and "edutainment"), however. New York Times Magazine writer Joe Morgenstern referred to "infotainment" as "a plastic word, stuck together with show-biz epoxy." An editorialist for a New England newspaper called it "a nauseating word" that "has crept into the language without an invitation." Unfortunately for such detractors, the word continues to be used today. Not only that, but a new, distinct sense of the word is emerging. People in the automotive industry have recently begun using "infotainment" to refer to the state-of-the-art multimedia technologies (such as GPS systems and Internet radio) now available to drivers at the push of a button.

Taciturn (TASS-uh-tern)

: temperamentally disinclined to talk We first find "taciturn" in a satiric drama written in 1734 by James Miller, a British clergyman educated at Oxford. A character describes a nephew thus: "When he was little, he never was what they call Roguish or Waggish, but was always close, quiet, and taciturn." It seems we waited unduly long to adopt this useful descendent of the verb "tacēre," meaning "to be silent" -- we were quicker to adopt other words from the "tacēre" family. We've been using "tacit," an adjective meaning "expressed without words" or "implied," since the mid-17th century. And we've had the noun "taciturnity," meaning "habitual silence," since at least 1450.

Imbibition (im-buh-BIH-shun)

: the act or action of imbibing; especially : the taking up of fluid by a colloidal system resulting in swelling Joseph Thomas James Hewlett was a 19th-century English curate and schoolmaster who moonlighted as a novelist. In Parsons and Widows, in which the author disguises himself as "the Curate of Mosbury," Hewlett provided us with the first known use of "imbibition" to refer to a person's drinking, in the phrase "imbibition of a little strong beer." Until then, "imbibition" had been used scientifically to refer to various processes of soaking and absorption (as it is still used today), or figuratively, to the taking in of knowledge. "Imbibition" traces back to Latin "imbibere," a verb whose meaning "to drink in" includes absorption of liquids, consuming drink, and appropriating ideas.

Cryptography (krip-TAH-gruh-fee)

: the enciphering and deciphering of messages in secret code or cipher; also : the computerized encoding and decoding of information For a word having to do with secrets, "cryptography" has a surprisingly transparent etymology. The word traces back to the Greek roots "kryptos," meaning "hidden," and "graphein," meaning "to write." "Kryptos" -- which in turn traces to the Greek verb "kryptein," meaning "to hide" -- is a root shared by several English words, including "crypt," "cryptic," and "encrypt." "Krypton," the name of a colorless gaseous element used especially in some fluorescent lamps and photography flashes, also comes from "kryptos." The name was chosen because the gas is rare and hard to find.

Hendiadys (hen-DYE-uh-dis)

: the expression of an idea by the use of usually two independent words connected by and (as nice and warm) William Shakespeare often used hendiadys. For example, his character Macbeth, speaking of the passage of life, says "It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing." For Shakespeare, the construction "sound and fury" was more effective than "furious sound." The word "hendiadys" is a modification of the Greek phrase "hen dia dyoin." Given that "hen dia dyoin" literally means "one through two," it's a perfect parent for a word that describes the expression of a single concept using two words, as in the phrase "rough and tough." As you can imagine, hendiadys is a common element in everyday speech and writing.

Netroots (NET-roots)

: the grassroots political activists who communicate via the Internet especially by blogs In July of 1912 McClure's Magazine reported, "From the Roosevelt standpoint, especially, it was a campaign from the 'grass roots up'. The voter was the thing." A little more than 90 years later, the Internet was the thing and the grassroots voters had gone virtual: "June 23rd is going to be the official launch of Gov. Dean's campaign for President -- we want to use this day as a demonstration of the netroots and grassroots across the nation" (The Hotline, June 2003). It was Howard Dean's campaign that tapped into the wellspring of person-to-person electronic communication and brought us "netroots," a word that joins the "net" of "Internet" with the "roots" of "grassroots."

Proximity (prahk-SIM-uh-tee)

: the quality or state of being proximate : closeness The history of "proximity" hinges on the idea of closeness, both physical and metaphorical. English speakers borrowed the word from Middle French, which in turn acquired it from Latin "proximitat-, proximitas," forms of the adjective "proximus," meaning "nearest" or "next." A number of other languages, including Catalan, Portuguese, and Italian, derived similar words from Latin "proximus." Other descendants of "proximus" in English include "proximal," "proximate," and the somewhat more rare "approximal" (meaning "contiguous").

Bioturbation (bye-oh-ter-BAY-shun)

: the restructuring of sedimentary deposits (as in a lake bottom or seabed) by moving organisms (as worms and burrowing clams) From about the 1400s to the 1600s, the Latin borrowing "turbation" was used to refer to a disturbance or perturbation -- even though both "disturbance" and "perturbation" were already well-established words in the language. Years later, the word was revived in the International Scientific Vocabulary as the base for "congeliturbation," the churning or heaving of the soil by freezing and thawing," and "bioturbation," referring to the activity of organisms disturbing the sediment.

Tutoyer (tew-twah-YAY)

: to address familiarly In conversational French, the pronoun "vous" ("you") is used for formal address of individuals (as well as plural addressees familiar or otherwise), while the singular pronoun "tu" (also "you," a relative of Middle English "thou") is reserved for use among intimate friends. A person who uses "tu" to address his or her elders, for example, is committing a breach of etiquette. The French verb "tutoyer" -- literally, "to address with the pronoun 'tu'" -- was borrowed into English in the late 17th century to refer to this concept. In many cases, the English verb is still used in reference to people speaking French (as English does not discriminate between intimate and formal address in its pronouns), but it is occasionally used to describe casual address among close English speakers.

Earwig (EER-wig)

: to annoy or attempt to influence by private talk Earwigs are small insects that were once thought to crawl into the ears of sleeping people. This isn't true -- earwigs prefer moist, dark places under leaves and rocks to human ears -- but the superstition led people to name the insect "ēarwicga," Old English for "ear insect." Over time, people connected the idea of having an insect in one's ear to situations that involve whispering or speaking privately into someone's ear. The noun "earwig" came to also mean "a whispering busybody" (though this sense is now considered archaic), and the verb "earwig" evolved to refer to the acts of such meddlers. In British English, the word is more commonly used to mean "eavesdrop," as in "earwigged on their conversation at the party."

Impugn (im-PYOON)

: to assail by words or arguments : oppose or attack as false or lacking integrity When you impugn, you hazard repugnant pugnacity. More simply put, you risk insulting someone to the point where he or she wants to sock you. The belligerent implications of "impugn" are to be expected in a word that derives from the Latin verb "pugnare," which means "to fight." In its earliest known English uses in the 1300s, "impugn" could refer to a physical attack (as in, "the troops impugned the city") as well as to figurative assaults involving verbal contradiction or dispute. Over time, though, the sense of physical battling has become obsolete and the "calling into question" sense has predominated. As you might expect, "pugnare" also gave English other fighting words, including "repugnant" and "pugnacity."

Disseise (dih-SEEZ)

: to deprive especially wrongfully of seisin [1: the possession of land or chattels [[(in general use) a personal possession.]] 2: the possession of a freehold estate in land by one having title thereto]: to put out of possession or occupancy : dispossess "Disseise," "seisin" ("the possession of land or chattels"), and "seize" are all 13th-century words derived from the Anglo-French word "seisir," meaning "to put in possession of." That's the original meaning of English "seize" as well. ("Seize" can also be spelled "seise" in that sense.) The Magna Carta (the great charter of liberties, originally written in Medieval Latin and signed in 1215) is perhaps the most frequently quoted use of the word "disseise": "No free man shall be ... disseised ... except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land."

Canoodle (kuh-NOO-dul)

: to engage in amorous embracing, caressing, and kissing The origins of "canoodle" are obscure. Our best guess is that it may come from an English dialect noun of the same spelling meaning "donkey, fool, or foolish lover," which itself may be an alteration of the word "noodle," meaning "a foolish person." That "noodle" in turn may come from "noddle," a word for the head. The guess seems reasonable given that, since its appearance in the language around the mid-19th century, "canoodle" has been most often used jocularly for playful public displays of affection by couples who are head over heels in love.

Censure (SEN-sher)

: to find fault with and criticize as blameworthy "Censure" and its synonyms "criticize," "reprehend," "condemn," and "denounce" all essentially mean "to find fault with openly." Additionally, "censure" carries a strong suggestion of authority and often refers to an official action. "Criticize" implies finding fault with someone's methods, policies, or intentions, as in "the commentator criticized the manager's bullpen strategy." "Reprehend" implies sharp criticism or disapproval, as in "a teacher who reprehends poor grammar." "Condemn" usually suggests a final unfavorable judgment, as in "the group condemned the court's decision to execute the criminal." "Denounce" adds to "condemn" the implication of a public declaration, as in "her letter to the editor denounced the corrupt actions of the mayor's office."

Exterminate (ik-STER-muh-nayt)

: to get rid of completely usually by killing off Originally, to exterminate something was to banish it or drive it away. And it is this meaning that can be found in the Latin origin of "exterminate." "Exterminate" comes from "exterminatus," the past participle of "exterminare," meaning "to drive beyond the boundaries." The Latin word "exterminare" was formed from the prefix "ex-" ("out of" or "outside") and "terminus" ("boundary"). Not much more than a century after its introduction to English, "exterminate" came to denote destroying or utterly putting an end to something. And that's the use with which the word is usually employed today.

Strigulate (STRIJ-uh-layt)

: to make a shrill creaking noise by rubbing together special bodily structures -- used especially of male insects (as crickets or grasshoppers) "Stridulate" is one member of a word family that has its ancestry in the Latin word "stridulus," meaning "shrill." Also in this family is "stridulation," a noun that can either refer to the shrill sound made when an insect stridulates or can simply mean "the act of stridulating." Another "stridulus" word is "stridulatory," meaning "able to stridulate" or "used in stridulation." There's also "stridulous," meaning "making a shrill creaking sound." "Stridulus" itself comes from "stridere," which is the direct source of the last word we'll mention here. "Stridor" means "a harsh, shrill, or creaking noise" and also "a harsh vibrating sound heard during respiration in cases of obstruction of the air passages."

Foment (FOH-ment)

: to promote the growth or development of : rouse, incite If you had sore muscles in the 1600s, your doctor might have advised you to foment the injury, perhaps with heated lotions or warm wax. Does this sound like an odd prescription? Not if you know that "foment" traces to the Latin verb "fovēre," which means "to heat." The earliest documented English uses of "foment" appear in medical texts offering advice on how to soothe various aches and pains by the application of moist heat. But the idea of applying heat can also be a metaphor for stimulating or rousing to action. Within 50 years of its English debut, "foment" was also being used in political contexts to mean "to stir up," "to call to action," or, in a sense at least figuratively opposite to its original one, "to irritate."

Condone (kun-DOHN)

: to regard or treat (something bad or blameworthy) as acceptable, forgivable, or harmless Since some folks don't condone even minor usage slips, you might want to get the meaning of this word straight. Although English speakers sometimes use "condone" with the intended meaning "approve of" or "encourage," the more established meaning is closer to "pardon" or "overlook." "Condone" comes from the Latin verb "condonare," which means "to absolve." "Condonare" in turn combines the Latin prefix "con-," indicating thoroughness, and "donare," meaning "to give" or "to grant." Not surprisingly, "donare" is also the source of our words "donate" and "pardon."

Vulcanize (VUL-kuh-nyze)

: to subject to or to undergo the process of treating crude or synthetic rubber or similar plastic material chemically to give it useful properties (as elasticity, strength, and stability) "Vulcanize" sounds like something Spock from Star Trek might do, but the explanation behind this word has more to do with ancient mythology than it does with science fiction. Vulcanization involves heating rubber in combination with sulfur. The Roman god Vulcan (whose Greek counterpart is Hephaestus) was the god of fire and of skills that used fire, such as metalworking. So when Charles Goodyear discovered that high heat would result in stronger rubber, he called the process "vulcanization" after the god of fire. Goodyear stumbled upon the idea in 1839 and acquired a patent for it in 1844, but the words "vulcanize" and "vulcanization" didn't appear in print until 1845 and 1846 respectively.

Regurgitate (ree-GUR-juh-tayt)

: to throw or be thrown back, up, or out Something regurgitated has typically been taken in, at least partially digested, and then spit back out . . . either literally or figuratively. The word often appears in biological contexts (e.g., in describing how some birds feed their chicks by regurgitating incompletely digested food), or in references to ideas or information that have been acquired and restated. A student, for example, might be expected to learn information from a textbook or a teacher and then regurgitate it for a test. "Regurgitate," which entered the English vocabulary in the mid-17th century, is of Latin origin and traces back to the Latin word for "whirlpool," which is "gurges."

Corrade (kuh-RAYD)

: to wear or crumble away through abrasion In Latin "rodere" means "to gnaw" and "radere" means "to scrape." The latter word is at the base of both "abrade" and "corrade." "Corrade," which carved its niche in the English language during the mid-17th century, is used when something, such as moving water, "rubs" or "scrapes" something else away. In contrast, the word "corrode," derived from "rodere," is fitting when something "eats away" at something else especially by chemical action. "Erode" shares that meaning but can also be used to describe abrasive action, much like "corrade." As an aside, the gnawing of small animals, such as mice and squirrels, influenced the formation of the noun "rodent" through "rodere."

Hamartia (hah-mahr-TEE-uh)

: tragic flaw "Harmartia" arose from the Greek verb "hamartanein," meaning "to miss the mark" or "to err." Aristotle introduced the term in the Poetics to describe the error of judgment which ultimately brings about the tragic hero's downfall. As you can imagine, the word is most often found in literary criticism. However, news writers occasionally employ the word when discussing the unexplainable misfortune or missteps of übercelebrities regarded as immortal gods and goddesses before being felled by their own shortcomings.

Gargantuan (gahr-GAN-chuh-wuhn)

: tremendous in size, volume, or degree : gigantic, colossal "Gargantua" is the name of a giant king in François Rabelais's 16th-century satiric novel Gargantua. All of the details of Gargantua's life befit a giant. He rides a colossal mare whose tail switches so violently that it fells the entire forest of Orleans. He has an enormous appetite -- in one memorable incident, he inadvertently swallows five pilgrims while eating a salad. The scale of everything connected with Gargantua gave rise to the adjective "gargantuan," which since Shakespeare's time has been used of anything of tremendous size or volume.

Gloaming (GLOH-ming)

: twilight, dusk If "gloaming" makes you think of tartans and bagpipes, well lads and lasses, you've got a good ear and a good eye; we picked up "gloaming" from the Scottish dialects of English back in the Middle Ages. The roots of the word trace to the Old English word for twilight, "glōm," which is akin to "glōwan," an Old English verb meaning "to glow." In the early 1800s, English speakers looked to Scotland again and borrowed the now-archaic verb "gloam," meaning "to become twilight" or "to grow dark."

Toplofty (TAHP-lawf-tee)

: very superior in air or attitude How many words do we need to describe those who seem to think they're better than the rest of us? By the 19th century we already had "arrogant," "haughty," and "supercilious," but there was apparently need for more because by mid-century the language had garnered two others: "toplofty" and its variant "toploftical." The source of these is likely the phrase "top loft," which refers to the highest story of a building. Neither is common, but both are available to you should their synonyms prove too boring or obvious.

Telegenic (tel-uh-JEN-ik)

: well-suited to the medium of television; especially : having an appearance and manner that are markedly attractive to television viewers "Telegenic," which first appeared in print in 1939, is essentially a compound formed out of "television" and "photogenic." "Photogenic" is also the word that caused the addition of a new sense to "-genic," namely "suitable for production or reproduction by a given medium" (as in the occasionally seen "videogenic": "The '80s were a time that created a lot of videogenic bands who weren't necessarily compelling live artists...." -- Ron Shapiro, quoted in Entertainment Weekly, September 25, 1998). "Telegenic" may seem like a word that would primarily refer to people, but there is evidence for telegenic events (such as popular sports), objects, and responses. Occasionally, one even sees reference to a telegenic attitude or other intangible.

Virga (VER-guh)

: wisps of precipitation evaporating before reaching the ground "Virga" is from the Latin word "virga," which means primarily "branch" or "rod," but can also refer to a streak in the sky suggesting rain. Our featured word, which dates to the mid-20th century, is only the latest in a series of words from this root. "Verge" (which originally referred to a rod or staff carried as an emblem of authority or a symbol of office) dates to the 15th century. The rare noun "virgate," which refers to an old English unit of land area, came from "virga" by way of the Medieval Latin "virgata" (also a unit of land area) in the late 17th century. The more common adjective "virgate," meaning "shaped like a rod or wand" arrived in the early 19th by way of Latin "virgatus," meaning "made of twigs."

Reprehensible (rep-rih-HEN-suh-bul)

: worthy of or deserving blame or condemnation "Reprehensible," "blameworthy," "blamable," "guilty," and "culpable" mean deserving reproach or punishment. "Reprehensible" is a strong word describing behavior that should evoke severe criticism. "Blameworthy" and "blamable" apply to any kind of act, practice, or condition considered to be wrong in any degree ("conduct adjudged blameworthy"; "an accident for which no one is blamable"). "Guilty" implies responsibility for or consciousness of crime, sin, or, at the least, grave error or misdoing ("guilty of a breach of etiquette"). "Culpable" is weaker than "guilty" and is likely to connote malfeasance or errors of ignorance, omission, or negligence ("culpable neglect").

Kopitiam

A coffee-house or informal restaurant serving traditional Malay and Chinese fare. Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈkɒpɪˌtiːəm/, U.S. /ˈkɔpiˌtiəm/, /ˈkɑpiˌtiəm/, Singapore and Malaysian English /ˈkoˌpiˌtjɑm/ Forms: 1900s- kopi tiam, 1900s- kopitiam. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Malay. Partly a borrowing from Chinese. Etymons: Malay kopi tiam; Chinese ko-pi tiàm. Etymology: < (i) Malay kopi tiam and its etymon (ii) Chinese (Hokkien) ko-pi tiàm

Foolatum Origin: A borrowing from Latin, combined with an English element. Etymons: fool n.1, Latin -ātum. Etymology: < fool n.1 + classical Latin -ātum -ate suffix1.

A foolish or stupid person; a fool.

Sarmie Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈsɑːmi/, U.S. /ˈsɑrmi/, South African English /ˈsɑːmi/ Forms: 1900s- sarmie, 1900s- sarmy. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: sandwich n.2, -y suffix6. Etymology: < sarm- (representing a pronunciation of the first syllable of sandwich n.2) + -y suffix6.

A sandwich.

Superlation Pronunciation: Brit. /ˌsuːpəˈleɪʃn/, /ˌsjuːpəˈleɪʃn/, U.S. /ˌsupərˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin superlātiōn-, superlātiō. Etymology: < classical Latin superlātiōn-, superlātiō intensification, raising to a higher degree, (in rhetoric) exaggeration, hyperbole, (in grammar) raising of an adjective to the superlative degree < superlāt- (see superlative adj.) + -iō -ion suffix1. Compare Middle French superlation exaggeration (1521), excellence, superlative quality (1579).

Exaggeration, hyperbole, aggrandizement; an instance of this. a1637 B. Jonson Timber 2001 in Wks.(1640) III There are words, that doe as much raise a style, as others can depresse it. Superlation, and over-muchnesse amplifies.

Folly-largesse

Forms: late Middle English folee-largesse, late Middle English foly-largesse, 1500s foly-larges. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding; modelled on a French lexical item. Etymons: folly adj., largesse n. Etymology: < folly adj. + largesse n., after Anglo-Norman fole largesce, Middle French fole largesse. Compare fool-largesse n. Obsolete. Reckless wastefulness of one's property or means; foolish generosity; profligacy. c1410 (1390) G. Chaucer Parson's Tale(Harl. 7334) (1885) §813 Men oughte to eschiewe foly largesse [c1405 Ellesmere fool largesse] þam clepen wast. a1500 (1425) tr. Secreta Secret.(Lamb.) 52 (MED) Ȝif a kynge haue þe oon or þe oþer vice, þat ys to say aueryce or folee largesse. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. xxvi. 72 He neuer loued folly, outrage, nor foly-larges.

Laksa Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈlaksə/, U.S. /ˈlæksə/, Singapore and Malaysian English /ˈlɛksɑ/ Origin: A borrowing from Malay. Etymon: Malay laksa. Etymology: < Malay laksa noodles, probably < Persian lāḵisha, lākcha noodles, further etymology uncertain and disputed.

In Peranakan cookery: any of various types of spicy noodle soup made with meat, vegetables, or fish. Also as a modifier, as in laksa soup, laksa noodles, etc.

Porlock

Porlock, n. Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈpɔːlɒk/, U.S. /ˈpɔrˌlɑk/ Origin: From a proper name. Etymon: proper name Porlock. Etymology: < Porlock, the name of a town in Somerset. person from Porlock n.(and variants) [with allusion to Coleridge (see quot. 1816)] - a person who interrupts at an inconvenient moment. [1816 S. T. Coleridge Of Fragm. Kubla Khan in Christabel 53 At this moment he [sc. Coleridge] was unfortunately called out by a person on business from Porlock, and detained by him above an hour.]

Hog heaven

Pronunciation: Brit. /hɒɡ ˈhɛvn/, U.S. /ˌhɔɡ ˈhɛvən/, /ˌhɑɡ ˈhɛvən/ Forms: also with capital initial(s). Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: hog n.1, heaven n. Etymology: < hog n.1 + heaven n. colloquial (originally and chiefly U.S.). A place, state, or condition of foolish or idle bliss. Usually in to be in hog heaven. 1868 Weekly Georgia Tel. (Macon) 4 Sept. Liberia is a perfect hog-heaven, with plenty to eat, and plantations to sell at a quarter apiece. 1884 Atlanta Constit. 8 June 2/5 I was allers in hog heaven if I could git off with Cal by herself, and listen at her talk and watch her dip snuff.

Lab

Pronunciation: Brit. /lab/, U.S. /læb/, Welsh English /lab/ Forms: Middle English labbe, Middle English 1800s- lab. Origin: Probably an imitative or expressive formation. Etymology:Probably imitative. Compare lab n.1 Compare also blab n.1 and see discussion at that entry. Compare Dutch labben to blab, to talk nonsense (late 16th cent.). English regional (south-western) and Welsh English (Pembrokeshire) in later use. intransitive. To speak indiscreetly; to blab, to gossip. Also transitive: to blab (something) out. c1400 (1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman(Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xiii. l. 39 Noþer for loue labbe hit out, ne lacke hit for non enuye. 1982 B. G. Charles Eng. Dial. S. Pembrokeshire 31 Lab, 'to gossip, to blab, to let out secrets'. Derivatives †labbing adj. Obsolete (of a person or a person's tongue) inclined to blab or gossip. 1402 T. Hoccleve Lepistre Cupide(Huntington) l. 116 in Minor Poems(1970) ii. 297 Repreef of here he spekth, and villenye, As mannes labbyng [c1475 Bodl. 638 babbyng] tonge is wont alway.

Jenny Greenteeth

Pronunciation: Brit. /ˌdʒɛnɪ ˈɡriːntiːθ/, U.S. /ˌdʒɛni ˈɡrinˌtiθ/ Forms: 1800s- Jenny Greenteeth, 1800s- Jinny Greenteeth, 1900s- Ginny Greenteeth. Origin: From a proper name, combined with English elements. Etymons: proper name Jenny, green adj., tooth n. Etymology: < the female forename Jenny (see jenny n.) + green adj. + the plural of tooth n. English regional (northern). 1. The name of: a female supernatural being or creature said to lurk beneath the surface of (esp. weed-covered) ponds, ditches, etc., waiting to pull in and drown those who venture into or near the water. The supposed presence of Jenny Greenteeth is often used by adults as a means of deterring children from going into or near potentially dangerous bodies of water. 1850 Manch. Examiner & Times 2 Nov. (Suppl.) 3/1 Jenny Greenteeth..was also a sore terror to rambling children. 1872 C. Hardwick Trad., Superstitions, & Folk-lore xiv. 279 I firmly believed that, if I disobeyed this instruction, a certain water 'boggart' named 'Jenny Greenteeth' would drag me beneath her verdant screen and subject me to other tortures besides death by drowning. 2. Any of various free-floating aquatic plants or algae which grow in ponds and stagnant water, forming colonies that cover the surface of the water, esp. the common duckweed, Lemna minor. 1852 Preston Chron. & Lancs. Advertiser 16 Oct. 7/5 The hedges have been nearly choked up with floating weeds, called 'Jenny Green Teeth'. 1880 J. Britten & R. Holland Dict. Eng. Plant-names Jenny Green-teeth. Lemna minor. 1904 Notes & Queries 7 May 365/2 At this day in all East Lancashire the older inhabitants call the green moss which covers the surface of stagnant ponds 'Jenny Greenteeth'.

Orchidaceous

Pronunciation: Brit. /ˌɔːkᵻˈdeɪʃəs/, U.S. /ˌɔrkəˈdeɪʃəs/ Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin Orchidaceae. Etymology: < scientific Latin Orchidaceae, family name, substituted by J. Lindley (Nat. Syst. Bot. (ed. 2, 1836) 336) for the earlier Orchideae (see orchideous adj.); compare -aceous suffix. 1. Botany. Of, relating to, or characteristic of the family Orchidaceae, comprising the orchids. In quot. 1927: used for the cultivation of orchids. 1838 J. Lindley in F. A. Bauer Illustr. Orchidaceous Plants Pref. p. x The general structure of an Orchidaceous flower. 1849 J. H. Balfour Man. Bot. § 379 Among the irregular polypetalous corollas might be included the orchidaceous. 2. Resembling an orchid, esp. in being exotic, extravagant, or florid. 1864 C. M. Yonge Trial I. 84 I have read of a woman with an orchidaceous face. 1894 R. Le Gallienne Prose Fancies 34 The simple old type of manhood is lost long since in endless orchidaceous variation.

Vesak

Pronunciation:/ˈvɛsak/ Forms:Also Wesak; Vai-, Ve-, Visākha. Etymology: < Sanskrit vaiṡākhá, name of a month, < vi-sākhā branched, (also) the name of a constellation, < ví apart + ṡākhā branch. An important Buddhist festival commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha, observed on the day of the full moon in the month Visākha (April-May). 1927 E. J. Thomas Life of Buddha iii. 34 In 1922 the Feast of Wesak (Visākha) in Ceylon was at full moon on May 10. 1961 R. A. Gard Buddhism iv. 156 Doctrinally speaking, there is the practice of venerating the Buddha..especially the Vesākha/Vaiśākha-puja (often called 'Wesak' in South and Southeast Asia).

Moonraking Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈmuːnˌreɪkɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈmunˌreɪkɪŋ/ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: moon n.1, raking n.2 Etymology: < moon n.1 + raking n.2 Compare earlier moonraker n.

The action of 'raking' the moon, or engaging in foolish or unprofitable activity. Chiefly figurative in one's wits are (also have) gone moon-raking: used to indicate that a person has lost his or her reason (British regional).

Paradise (PAIR-uh-dyce)

a : the garden where according to the Bible Adam and Eve first lived : Eden b : an intermediate place or state where the souls of the righteous await resurrection and the final judgment c : the dwelling place of God and of the blessed dead : Heaven 2: a place or state of bliss, felicity, or delight "Paradise" ultimately comes from an Iranian word that the Greeks modified into "paradeisos," meaning "enclosed park." In Hellenistic Greek, "paradeisos" was also used in the Septuagint -- an early Greek translation of Jewish scriptures -- in reference to the Garden of Eden. Early Christian writers also used "paradeisos" for both Heaven and for the place where righteous souls await resurrection. These senses of "paradeisos" entered into Late Latin as "paradisus," and then into Anglo-French (and later, Middle English) as "paradis." Though originally used in theological senses in English, "paradise" has also come to refer to more earthly states and places of delight as well.

高兴

adjective 工作让我很高兴。 Working makes me happy. gāoxìng Gōngzuò ràng wǒ hěn gāoxìng. happy

Clock-watch Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈklɒkwɒtʃ/, U.S. /ˈklɑkˌwɑtʃ/, /ˈklɑkˌwɔtʃ/ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: clock n.1, watch v. Etymology: < clock n.1 + watch v., after clock-watching n.

intransitive. To be overly concerned with looking at a clock to check the time, esp. in anticipation of stopping work; (of an employee) to be overly keen not to work more than one's required hours. Also figurative.

咖啡

noun 中国人不太喜欢咖啡。 The Chinese do not like coffee very much. kāfēi Zhōngguó rén bù tài xǐhuān kāfēi. coffee

哥哥

noun 哥哥学习很好。 The older brother studies well. gēge Gēge xuéxí hěnhǎo. Older Brother

茶

noun 喝茶对身体好。 Drinking tea is good for your health. chá Hēchá duì shēntǐ hǎo. tea

弟弟

noun 弟弟喜欢游泳。 The younger brother likes to swim. dìdi Dìdi xǐhuān yóuyǒng. Younger brother

树

noun 我去坐在树下。 I am going to sit under the tree. shù Wǒ qù zuò zài shùxia. tree

商场

noun 我周末去商场买东西。 On the weekend I go to the shopping mall to buy things. shāngchǎng Wǒ zhōumò qù shāngchǎng mǎi dōngxi. shopping mall

朋友

noun 我在和朋友打球。 I am playing ball with my friend. péngyou Wǒ zài hé péngyou dǎqiú. Friend

以

verb 你可以借五本书。 You may borrow five books. kěyǐ Nǐ kěyǐ jiè wǔ běn shū. may

喝

verb 你要喝什么？ What do you want to drink? hē Nǐ yào hē shénme? To drink

了解

verb 我不了解这件事。 I don't understand this matter. liǎojiě Wǒ bù liǎojiě zhèjiàn shì. to understand

出

verb 我们出去走走吧。 Let's go out to take a walk. chū Wǒmen chūqù zǒuzou ba. to go out

认识

verb 我认识很多留学生。 I know many foreign students. rènshi Wǒ rènshi hěnduō liúxuéshēng. to know, to recognize

进

verb 火车进站了。 The train has entered the station. jìn Huǒchē jìn zhàn le. to enter

来

verb 请常来玩儿。 Please come often to play. lái Qǐng cháng lái wáner. to come

请

verb 请让她先走。 Please let her go first. qǐng Qǐng ràng tā xiān zǒu . please