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')