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Words of the Week

Terms

undefined, object
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demagogue
a leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace(Gk. demagogos < demos 'people' + agein 'to lead')
leitmotif
melodic passage or phrase associated with a specific character or situation; a dominant or recurring theme, as in a novel (German leitmotiv < leiten 'to lead' + motiv 'motif')
xyst
(in ancient Greek and Roman architechture) a covered portico; a garden walk planted with trees (L. xystus 'shaded walk' <Gk. xystos 'covered colonnade)
anserine
of or like a goose; silly (L. anser, "goose")
panoply
complete suit of armor; any complete or magnificent covering; array (Gk. pan 'all'+ hopla 'arms')
glom
(V) to catch or grab; to look at (N) a look or glimpse (Scottish glammis 'jaws of a vise' < ScotGael galm)
turpitude
(N) vileness; depravity; baseness (L. turpis 'base' 'vile')
mashie
a golf club with a wide blade used for medium distances, the fore-runner of a 5-iron (F. massue 'club' < Vulgar Latin mattia 'mace')
Mollycoddle
to treat with fond indulgence; protect and cater to (F. Molly + ME cuadel < Old N French caud-, caut 'warm'<L. calidus 'warm')
nepenthe
a potion used by the Ancients to give forgetfulness of pain and sorrow; something capable of causing oblivion and grief (L. nepenthes < Gk. nepentheses 'banishing pain and sorrow < ne 'not' + penthos 'grief')
martinet
a strict disciplinarian; one who stubbornly adheres to mehods of rules (1670 after General Jean Martine, a French inventor of a system of drill)
mammon
material wealth or possesions, especially having an evil or debasing power (L. mammona < Gk. mamona< Aramaic mamona 'riches)
suppurate
to form or discharge pus (L. sub 'under' + pus, pur-, 'pus')
nabob
governor in India under the Mogul Empire; a person of wealth and prominence (Hindi nawab<Arabin na'ib 'deputy')
putsch
sudden attempt by a group to overthrow a government (German < Middle High German 'thrust)
Anathema
curse; one that is cursed, reviled, loathed or shunned (Gk. anathema 'dedication' < ana 'upon' + tithenai 'to put')
desultory
moving or jumping from one thing to another; disconnected; occuring randomly ( L. de 'down from' + salire 'to jump')
chimera
fire-breathing she-monster usually represnted as a composite of a lion, goat, and serpent; an imaginary monster; an illusion, fancy (ME chimere 'Chimera' < OF < L. <Gk. khimaira 'she-goat')
histrionic
(ADJ) of or relating to actors or acting; excessively dramatic or emotional; affected (N) exaggerated emotional behavior calculated for effected (L. histrio 'actor')
hegemony
leadership or dominance, especially that of one state or nation in a league or confederation
(Gk. Hegemonia 'leadership<hegemon 'leader)
consternation
dismay, paralyzing amazement (L. constenare "to throw into confusion")
succinct
terse, briefly or precisely stated (L. 'sub' under + 'cingere' to gird)
maffick
to celebrate with extravagant public demonstrations (Brit. After Mafeking an enclave in South Africa beseiged for 217 days and then liberated by the British)
ominous
threatening, sinister ( L. ominosus 'having to do with an evil omen'<omen 'omen')
lucidity
clarity, clearness of expression or thought process (L. lucere 'to shine')
preclude
to shut out, hinder, prevent (L. prae 'before' + claudere 'to close')
incisive
sharp, keen, penetration (L. incidere 'to cut into')
pernicious
baneful, injurious, hurtful (L. pernicius 'ruinous)
troglodyte
cave man, hermit (Gk. trogle 'hole' +dutai 'those who enter')
nefarious
very wicked, evil (L. nefas 'crime')
miscreant
villian, evil-doear, heretic (Of mescreant>mescroire 'to disbelieve>L credere 'believe)
mendacious
false, lying (L. mendax 'lying')
pseudonym
pen name
(Gk. pseudes 'false + onyma 'name')
sinecure
a position or job requiring little or no work, especially one yielding godd profits (L. sine cura 'without care')
lassitude
feeling of weariness, langour (L. lassus 'tired, 'weary')
gainsay
to deny, speak or act against (OE gegn- 'against + secgan 'say)
ruminate
to chew the cud, to ponder (L. ruminare 'to chew cud', to meditate)
inexorable
inflexible, unrelenting, unable to be moved by persuasion (L. in 'not' + ex 'out of' + orare 'to pray)
eviscerate
to disembowel, remove the entrails of (L. e 'out of' + viscera 'entrails)
apotheosis
the ideal example, epitome, the elvation or exalation of a person to the rank of god (LateL<Gk. apo 'off' + theo 'god')
pique
n) irritation resentment at being slighted v) to irritate, provoke (OF piquer 'to prick')
winsome
attractivein appearance and manner; charming (OE wynn 'joy' + sum 'characterized by')
tumbrel
two-wheeled cart that can be tilted to dump a load; a cart for taking convicted prisoners to the guillotine (OF tomber 'to let fall)
quidnunc
curious, nosy person (L. quid 'what' + nunc 'now')
clandestine
secret, hidden, especially for an illict reason (L. clam 'secretly)
virago
a woman regarded as noisy, scolding, or domineering; a large, strong, courageous woman (L. vir 'man')
sussuration
a murmure; whispering or rustling sound (L. susurrare 'to whisper)
cataract
large waterfall; great downpour (Gk. katarassein 'to dash down' < kata 'down' + arassein 'to strike)
capricious
impulsive and unpredictable; characterized by or subject to whim (It. capo 'head + riccio 'curly' < L. caput 'head' + ericius 'hedgehog')
jeremiad
a literary work or speech expressing an angry opinion or a righteous prophecy of doom (F. jeremiade < Jeremie 'Jeremiah', author of the Lamentations)
stevedore
a dock worker; one who loads or unloads ships (Sp. Estibador 'packer < L. stipare 'to pack')
quay
landing place constructed along the edge of a body of water; wharf (F. quai < OF 'kay' akin to Sp. cayo 'shoal)
antediluvian
extremely old, occuring or belonging to an era before the Flood of Genesis (L. ante 'before' + diluvium 'flood')
triturate
to rub, crush, grind, or pound into a powder (L. terere, tritus ' to thresh')
dissemble
to disguise; to feign (OF desembler ' to be different' < L. dis 'apart' + similis 'similar')
congeries
collection (L. congeries 'heap < con 'with' + gerere 'to carry')
necromancy
black magic; sorcery; communicating with the dead to discover prophecies (Gk. nekros 'corpse' + manteia 'prophesy')
peregrination
traveling; especially on foot in a foreign country (MF > L peregrinatus 'to travel in foreign lands')
barney
noisy argument; a rowdy good time (Brit. perhaps from the name Barney)
scintillate
emit sparks, gleam (L. scintillare 'to sparkle' + scintilla 'spark')
archivolt
architectural structure forming the inner surface of an arch (It. archivolto < L. arcus 'arch + volvere 'to roll')
pandemonium
state of wild uproar (from Pandemonium, capital city of hell in Milton's Paradise Lost (17th cent) Gk. pan 'all' + LateL daemonium 'evil spirits < Gk. daimon 'spirit, deity')
pemmican
concentrated food used by Native Americans and early explorers, made of dried buffalo meant mixed with melted fat (Cree pemikan < pimii 'grease, fat')
soporific
sleep-inducing; sleepy (L. sopor 'sleep')
magnanimous
generous in forgiving insult or injury; noble ( L. magnanimus 'great souled' < magnus 'great' + animus 'soul')
gambol
(v) to leap about playfully, frolic (n)playful skipping or frolicking about (F. gambade 'horse's jump' < OF gamba, 'leg')
choleric
easily angered; bd-tempered (Gk. khole 'bile')
sanguine
red in color; cheerfully optimistic or confident (L. sanguis 'blood')
rebarbative
tending to irritate; repellent; offensive (F. rebarbatif < OF rebarber 'to confront' < L. re 'back' + barba 'beard')
inculcate
to impress something upon the mind of another by frequent instruction or repetition; indoctrinate; instill (L. in 'in' + calcare 'to trample under the heels')
bucolic
rural, rustic; pertaining to shepherds (Gk. boukolos, 'cowherd')
compunction
regret; conscience; scruple (L. compungere 'to prick hard, sting')
traduce
to speak falsely and maliciously of; slander; defame (L. traducere 'display' < trans 'across' + ducere 'to lead')
pediculous
infested with lice (L. pediculus 'louse')
torpidity
inactivity; sluggishness (L. torpere 'to be stiff')
gudgeon
(n)small fish used as bait; a person who is easily duped (v) to cheat, to dupe (Gk. kobios 'small fish')
panacea
a cure-all; a remedy for all problems (Gk. pan 'all' + akos 'cure')
asperity
harshness; roughness (L. asper 'rough')
importune
to beg urgently or persistently (L. importunus < in 'not' + portus 'port, refuge')
non sequitur
illogical argument (L. non sequitur 'it does not follow')
moniker
a nickname (19th cent. orig. unknown)
mercurial
having qualities of ingenuity, quick-wittedness; characterized by unpredictable changebleness; volatile (L. Mercurialis 'of the god Mercury, the Roman god of commerce and the messenger of the gods')
largesse
liberal giving or assistance; generosity (ME largesse < OF largece < large 'generous')
impugn
to attack or assail by words or argument; call into question a statement or action (ME impugnen < MF impugner < L impugnare < in 'in' + pugnare 'fight)
stygian
hellish; gloomy; infernal (L. stgius 'stygian' < Gk. Styx 'mythical river of the subterranean world of the dead')

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