muliebrity :
- noun
1. womanly nature or qualities.
2. womanhood.
[Origin : Latin; deriv. of mulier = woman]
hi qimissung! I'm glad that you have the same curiosity!
Printable View
muliebrity :
- noun
1. womanly nature or qualities.
2. womanhood.
[Origin : Latin; deriv. of mulier = woman]
hi qimissung! I'm glad that you have the same curiosity!
Hi Bouquin! I love words, too!
I did not know that peroration was a long speech characterized by lofty and pompous language! Although I did know that you can give a speech about nothing at all and people will nod and clap-it's been done and studied, although I've forgotten the particulars I'm sure peroration figured in it somewhere! :)
Where are you finding all these unusual words-in books your reading? Curious minds want to know.
a priori (adj.)-from a general law to a particular instance. Valid independently.
Here's the sentence I read it in:
I think that a reading is as legitimate as it is useful or convincing; there doesn't have to be some kind of proof that the reading is a priori legitimized by the text.
Quote:
Originally Posted by qimissung
I pick up these words from books I read. So far, the book from which i culled the most new words (for me, anyway) was Nabokov's Lolita.
lucerne
noun
important European leguminous forage plant with trifoliate leaves and blue-violet flowers grown widely as a pasture and hay crop [syn: alfalfa]
Surfeit-a too huge amount
Dupe-fool;trick
Hither-here(old-fashioned)
miscegenation :
- noun
1. marriage or cohabitation between a man and woman of different races.
2. the mixing of races by interbreeding.
________________________________
'If only there could be an invention ... that bottled up a memory, like scent. And it never faded, and it never got stale. And then, when one wanted it, the bottle could be uncorked, and it would be like living the moment all over again.'
- Rebecca (by Daphne du Maurier)
au·to·di·dact /ˌɔtoʊˈdaɪdækt, -daɪˈdækt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[aw-toh-dahy-dakt, -dahy-dakt]
–noun
a person who has learned a subject without the benefit of a teacher or formal education; a self-taught person.
meme
n. A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.
prolix :
extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy.
Gadzookery \gad-ˈzü-kə-rē\ (n)
The use of archaisms (as in a historical novel)
This is my new favorite word.
terpsichorean :
1. of or relating to dancing.
2. a dancer.
hidebound :
- adjective
1. narrow and rigid in opinion; inflexible; stubbornly prejudiced.
2. oriented toward or confined to the past; extremely and obstinately conservative.
________________________________
Currently reading : T. C. Boyle Stories
callipygian :
- adjective
1. having beautifully proportioned buttocks. Also, callipygous.
[Origin: Greek kallipugos : kalli (beautiful) + pugé (buttocks)]
exegesis :
- noun
1. Critical explanation or interpretation of a text, esp. of the Bible.
____________________________________
Currently reading : MASTER AND MAN and Other Stories (by Leo Tolstoy)
peculate :
- verb
1. to steal money (esp. public funds) or property entrusted to one's care; embezzle.
Befit (adj)-suit
bathetic :
- adjective
1. effusively or insincerely emotional; maudlin; mawkish.
Eponymous
1. The hypothetical individual who is assumed as the person from whom any race, city, etc., took its name; as, Hellen is an eponym of the Hellenes.
2. A name, as of a people, country, and the like, derived from that of an individual.
brack·ish
adj.
1. Having a somewhat salty taste, especially from containing a mixture of seawater and fresh water: "You could cut the brackish winds with a knife/Here in Nantucket" (Robert Lowell).
2. Distasteful; unpalatable: a thin, brackish gruel.
Immutable
adj.
1.Unchangeable
pernickety :
- adjective
1. characterized by excessive precision and attention to trivial details; precise, fastidious.
casuistry :
- noun
1. specious, deceptive, or excessively subtle reasoning, esp. in matters of morality; fallacious or dishonest application of general principles.
2. the determination of right and wrong in questions of conduct or conscience by analyzing cases that illustrate general ethical rules.
__________________________________
Currently reading : Last Orders (by Graham Swift)
ballyhoo :
-noun
1. a clamorous and vigorous attempt to win customers or advance any cause; blatant or sensational advertising or publicity.
2. noisy shouting or uproar.
-Synonyms : buildup, fanfare, hoopla, hype.
Bodacious
Remarkable, spirited, audacious, bold
According to wiki... probably a mix of bold and audacious
Quote:
Who is the gaucho amigo
Why is he standing
In your spangled leather poncho
And your elevator shoes
Bodacious cowboys
Such as your friend
Will never be welcome here
High in the Custerdome
from Gaucho by Steely Dan
dithyrambic :
- adjective
1. wildly enthusiastic; boisterous.
2. wildly irregular in form.
Malignant adj
1.Evil
obloquy :
- noun
1. censure, reproach, or abusive language aimed at a person or thing, esp. by numerous persons.
2. disgrace suffered as a result of abuse or vilification; state of ill-repute.
- synonyms : blame, calumny, aspersion, revilement.
- origin : from Late Latin obloquium = abusive contradiction.
coruscate :
- verb
1. to give forth vivid flashes of light; sparkle; scintillate; glitter.
- origin : Latin coruscare = to quiver, flash.
________________________________
Currently reading : A Room with a View (by E. M. Forster)
sedulous :
- adjective
1. diligent in effort or application; assiduous; persevering.
Synonyms : constant, persistent, tireless.
_____________________________
Currently reading : Out of Africa (by Karen Blixen)
shibboleth
- noun
1. a peculiarity of pronuncation, behavior, custom, mode of dress, etc., that distinguishes people of one group or class from those of another.
2. a word or phrase identified with a particular group or cause; a slogan, catchword.
_____________________________________________
Currently reading: The Hours (by Michael Cunningham)
moxie :
- noun (slang)
1. the ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage.
2. aggressive energy; vigor; verve; pep; initiative.
3. skill; know-how; expertise.
Synchronicity
Synchronicity is an explanatory principle, according to its creator, Carl Jung. Synchronicity explains "meaningful coincidences," such as a beetle flying into his room while a patient was describing a dream about a scarab. The scarab is an Egyptian symbol of rebirth, he noted. Therefore, the propitious moment of the flying beetle indicated that the transcendental meaning of both the scarab in the dream and the insect in the room was that the patient needed to be liberated from her excessive rationalism. His notion of synchronicity is that there is an acausal principle that links events having a similar meaning by their coincidence in time rather than sequentially. He claimed that there is a synchrony between the mind and the phenomenal world of perception.
http://skepdic.com/jung.html
I always liked that word. But this is the best explaination of it. Did not know it was created by Carl Jung !
peremptory :
- adjective
1. imperative; not allowing contradiction, refusal or denial: a peremptory command.
2. dictatorial; imperious: a swaggering, peremptory manner.
- Synonyms : bossy, dogmatic, masterful, overbearing, authoritative
inveigh :
- verb
1. to protest vehemently; to speak against in an impassioned manner; to give vent to angry disapproval.
- Synonyms : castigate, harangue, condemn
- Origin : Latin > invehi = to attack with words.
____________________________________
Currently reading: Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids (by Kenzaburô Oé)
Bescumber (verb)
To spray with poo.
e.g I bescumber you all!!!
;-)
chicanery :
- noun
1. trickery or deception by quibbling or sophistry.
- Synonyms : artifice, cunning, ploy, ruse
- Origin : French > chicanerie = trickery
viaticum :
- noun
1. the Eucharist or Communion given to a dying person or one in danger of death.
2. (Rom. Antiq.) a provision or allowance for traveling made to officials who were sent into the provinces on public missions.
3. supply or provisions for a journey.
___________________
Currently reading : Bel Canto (by Ann Patchett)