Pugnacious

pugnacious \ˌpəg-ˈnā-shəs\ adjective: having a quarrelsome or combative nature; truculent

Etymology: Latin pugnac-, pugnax, from pugnare to fight

“And now it’s twilight. How did it get dark so quickly?”

Inculcate

inculcate \ˈin-(ˌ)kəl-ˌkāt\ transitive verb: to teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions

Etymology: Latin inculcatus, past participle of inculcare, literally, to tread on, from in- + calcare to trample, from calc-, calx heel

“Where are we? This doesn’t make sense. I thought I was dreaming, but now we’re here.”

Revetment

revetment \ˈri-ˈvet-mənt\ noun: 1 : a facing (as of stone or concrete) to sustain an embankment,
2. embankment, especially a barricade to provide shelter (as against bomb fragments or strafing)

Etymology: French revetement

The river rivets the revetment. The rivulet ambles beside.

Froufrou

froufrou \ˈfrü-(ˌ)frü\ noun: 1. a rustling, especially of a woman’s skirts, 2. showy or frilly ornamentation

Etymology: French, of imitative origin

“Of imitative origin?” Rustling skirts don’t say “froufrou;” they whisper “whoosk-whoosk.”

Concrescence

concrescence \kən-ˈkre-sən(t)s\ noun: 1. increase by the addition of particles,
2. a growing together; coalescence

Etymology: Latin concrescentia, from concrescere to grow together, from com- + crescere to grow

You read the word coalescence in definition #2 and thought “the essence of coal,” right?

Concretize

concretize \(ˌ)kän-ˈkrēt-tīz\ transitive verb: to make concrete, specific or definite {tried to concretize his ideas}

Etymology: Middle English, from Latin concretus, from past participle of concrescere thicken, condense

Now that is one useful word.

Chamfer

chamfer \ˈcham(p)-fər\ noun: a beveled edge
transitive verb: 1. to cut a furrow in (as a column), 2. to make a chamfer on

Etymology: back-formation from chamfering, alteration of Middle French chanfreint, from past participle of chanfraindre to bevel, from chant edge (from Latin canthus iron tire) + fraindre to break, from Latin frangere

Thirty white horses on a red hill; first they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still. (But they never chamfer.)

Lilliputian

Lilliputian \ˌli-lə-ˈpyü-shən\ adjective: 1. small, miniature {a Lilliputian camera}, 2. petty

Etymology: Lilliput, imaginary land of small people in Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift

As miniature is to Lilliputian, so majuscule is to Brobdingnagian.

Brobdingnagian

Brobdingnagian \ˌbräb-diŋ-ˈna-gē-ən\ adjective: marked by tremendous size

Etymology: Brobdingnag, imaginary land of giants in Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift

Most know Swift’s other contribution to the lexicon of size.

Epaulet

epaulet \ˌe-pə-ˈlet\ noun: something that ornaments or protects the shoulder, as an ornamental fringed shoulder pad formerly worn as part of a military uniform or an ornamental strip or loop sewn across the shoulder of a dress or coat

Etymology: French épaulette, diminutive of épaule shoulder, from Old French espalle, from Late Latin spatula shoulder blade, spoon, diminutive of Latin spatha spoon, sword

The golden scrub brush!

Testator

testator \ˈtes-ˌtā-tər\ noun: a person who dies leaving a will or testament in force

Etymology: Middle English testatour, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin testator, from Latin testari, from testis testicle, witness

The Romans had one word for testicle and witness? Huh?

Alacrity

alacrity \ə-ˈla-krə-tē\ noun: promptness in response; cheerful readiness {accepted the invitation with alacrity}

Etymology: Latin alacritas, from alacr-, alacer lively, eager

Alacrity makes me think of acid, which makes me think of a sour disposition, which is the opposite of alacrity.

Rubenesque

Rubenesque \ˌrü-bə-ˈnesk\ adjective: of, relating to, or suggestive of the painter Rubens or his works; especially: plump or rounded usually in a pleasing or attractive way {a Rubenesque figure}

Etymology: from Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640)

No one would accuse the Loam King of being Rubenesque.

Gloam

gloam \ˈglōm\ noun: twilight

Etymology: Scots gloam to become twilight, back-formation from gloaming

The Loam King has a head of clay, a heart of silt and guts of sand.

Friable

friable \ˈfrī-ə-bəl\ adjective: easily crumbled or pulverized

Etymology: Middle French, from Latin friabilis, from friare to crumble

Beware the friable eyes of the Loam King!

Loam

loam \ˈlōm\ noun: a soil composed of a friable mixture of roughly equal amounts of clay, silt and sand

Etymology: Middle English lom, from Old English lām clay, mud

Beware the Loam King!

Doyen

doyen \ˈdoi-ən\ noun: 1 a. the senior member of a body or group, b. a person considered to be knowledgeable or uniquely skilled as a result of long experience in some field of endeavor,
2. the oldest example of a category

doyenne \doi-ˈ(y)en\ noun: a woman who is a doyen

Etymology: French, from Old French deien, from Late Latin decanus chief of ten, from Greek dekanos, from deka ten

Am I remembering correctly that these words appear often in art history literture to describe influential collectors or heads of art movements?

Conurbation

conurbation \ˌkä-(ˌ)nər-ˈbā-shən\ noun: an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities

Etymology: com- together + Latin urb- city

Those with a ribald sense of wordplay may note a similarity between today’s entry and another word signifying the subject of The Who’s “Pictures of Lily.”

Sapience

sapience \ˈsā-pē-ən(t)s\ noun: wisdom, sagacity

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin sapientia, from sapere, to know

Homo sapiens are literally “wise humans.”

Sangfroid

sangfroid \ˈsäⁿ-ˈf(r)wä\ noun: self-possession or imperturbability especially under strain

Etymology: French sang-froid (literally) cold blood

Quite a different sense than the phrase “in cold blood.”

Glottogony

glottogony \glə-ˈtä-gə-nē\ noun: 1. the genesis of language (i. e. the emergence of a system of verbal communication from proto-linguistic or non-linguistic means of communication), 2. the study of language origins

Etymology: Greek glotto- tongue, language + -gony genesis, origination

A big thanks goes out to my friend Bernadette for introducing me to this word.

Skep

skep \ˈskep\ noun: hive (especially a domed hive made of twisted straw)

Etymology: Middle English skeppe basket, beehive, from Old English sceppe basket, from Old Norse skeppa bushel

Skep, hive, apiary… Can you think of any more synonyms?

Zounds

zounds \ˈzown(d)z\ interjection: an exclamation used as a mild oath to express anger, surprise, assertion, etc.

Etymology: euphemism for God’s wounds, a reference to Christ’s wounds before the crucifixion

Merriam-Webster refers to an interjection as a special kind of “ejaculatory utterance.”

Plenitude

plenitude \ˈple-nə-ˌtüd\ noun: 1. the quality or state of being full; completeness, 2. a great sufficiency; abundance

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin plenitudo, from plenus full

So there you have it — plenitude does not mean “plentiful attitude.”

Echolalia

echolalia \ˌe-kō-ˈlā-lē-ə\ noun: the often pathological repetition of what is said by other people as if echoing them

Etymology: New Latin

It must be really annoying to live with someone afflicted with echolalia.

Okapi

okapi \ō-ˈkä-pē\ noun: an African ungulate mammal (Okapia johnstoni) that is closely related to the giraffe but has a relatively short neck, a coat typically of solid reddish chestnut on the trunk, yellowish white on the cheeks, and purplish-black and cream rings on the upper parts of the legs

Etymology: Mvuba (language spoken west of Lake Edward, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

The definition is as accurate as a definition can be, but it won’t help much if you’ve never seen an okapi. At least there’s Goole image search.

Limpid

limpid \ˈlim-pəd\ adjective: 1 a. marked by transparency; pellucid {limpid streams}, b. clear and simple in style {limpid prose},
2. absolutely serene and untroubled

Etymology: French limpide, from Latin limpidus, perhaps from lympha water

Compare limpid to diaphanous, pellucid, transpicuous and perspicuous.

Coprolite

coprolite \ˈkä-prə-ˌlīt\ noun: fossilized excrement

Etymology: Ancient Greek kopros dung + -lite (from lithos stone)

Deliciously obfuscatory!

Missileer

missileer \ˌmi-sə-ˈlir\ noun: one engaged in designing, building or operating guided missiles; missileman

Etymology: English missil- (from missile) + -eer one that is concerned with professionally

Neil Sheehan’s A Fiery Peace in a Cold War: Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon (2009) follows the U.S. Air Force’s race with the Soviet Union to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles in the 1950s. It’s an engaging page-turner.

Scrip

scrip \ˈskrip\ noun: 1. (archaic) a small bag or wallet, 2. a short writing (as a certificate, schedule or list),
3. a small piece,
4 a. any of various documents used as evidence that the holder or bearer is entitled to receive something (as a fractional share of stock or an allotment of land), b. paper currency or a token issued for temporary use in an emergency, 5. prescription; a written direction for a therapeutic or corrective agent (specifically one for the preparation and use of a medicine)

Etymology: (for definition 1) Middle English scrippe, from Medieval Latin scrippum pilgrim’s knapsack; (for definitions 2, 3 & 4) alteration of script

How can one be sure another’s utterance is truly scrip and not merely a slurring of script?

Lassitude

lassitude \ˈla-sə-ˌtüd\ noun: 1. a condition of weariness or debility; fatigue, 2. a condition of listlessness; languor

Etymology: Middle English, from Latin lassitudo, from lassus weary

I’d rather be languorous than fatigued, but in either case lassitude holds sway.