Fugacious

fugacious \fyü-ˈgā-shəs\ adjective: lasting a short time; evanescent

Etymology: Latin fugac-, fugax, from fugere

“How is it that I struck Echt to rouse him from his slumber, but it is I who awoke?”

Ersatz

ersatz \ˈer-ˌsäts\ adjective: being a usually artificial and inferior substitute or imitation {ersatz turf} {ersatz intellectuals}

Etymology: German Ersatz substitute

“That didn’t work, Echt; I’m still asleep.” “Well, Ersatz, try slapping me in the face to see if I can wake up.”

Echt

echt \ˈekht\ adjective: true, genuine {an echt New Yorker}

Etymology: German echt, Yiddish ekht

“Hey, Echt, I’ve got an idea. Shake me hard enough that I wake up from this dream.” “Sure thing, Ersatz. The old ‘shake & wake.’”

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.”

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?

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?

Graphology

graphology \gra-ˈfä-lə-jē\ noun: the study of handwriting especially for the purpose of character analysis

Etymology: French graphologie, from grapho- writing + -logie science

Is graphology taken seriously? Can it be used productively, say, in forensic science? (I guess Google or Wikipedia can answer that question, but where’s the fun in that?)

Hirsute

hirsute \ˌhər-ˈsüt, ˈhər-ˌsüt \ adjective: 1. hairy, 2. covered with coarse stiff hairs {a hirsute leaf}

Etymology: Latin hirsutus; akin to Latin horrēre to bristle

Compare hirsute to glabrous.

Chivy

chivy \ˈchi-vē\ transitive verb: 1. to tease or annoy with persistent petty attacks,
2. to move or obtain by small maneuvers {chivy an olive out of a bottle}

Etymology: English chivy (noun) chase, hunt

Olives hate to be teased or annoyed with persistent petty attacks.

Peen

peen \ˈpēn\ noun: a usually hemispherical or wedge-shaped end of the head of a hammer that is opposite the face and is used especially for bending, shaping or cutting the material struck
transitive verb: to draw, bend or flatten by or as if by hammering with a peen

Etymology: probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian penn peen

We all speak of ball-peen hammers, but have we ever considered the peen, really? Consider it now!

Reticle

reticle \ˈre-ti-kəl\ noun: a scale on transparent material (as in an optical instrument) used especially for measuring or aiming

Etymology: Latin reticulum small net

We’re talking crosshairs on a rifle scope, just in case anyone thought reticle was a portmanteau from reticent and testicle.

Auscultate

auscultate \ˈo-skəl-ˌtāt\ transitive verb: to examine by listening to sounds arising within organs (as the lungs) as an aid to diagnosis and treatment

Etymology: back-formation from auscultation, Latin auscultation-, auscultatio act of listening, from auscultare to listen; akin to Latin auris ear

A doctor needs a stethoscope to listen to a patient’s heart or lungs, but sometimes a grumbling stomach may be auscultated by an unaided ear clearly across a room.

Nictitating Membrane

nictitating membrane noun: a thin translucent sheet or layer beneath the eyelids present in some animals that can be drawn across the eye to protect and/or moisten it while retaining visibility

Apparently humans possess vestigial remnants of nictitating membranes. Check in the mirror if you don’t believe me. (You can reference this chart so you know what to look for; the bit in question is called the the plica semilunaris.) I just checked myself, and sure enough there it was! Who knew?

Nictitate

nictitate \ˈnik-tə-ˌtāt\ intransitive verb: wink or blink

Etymology: alteration of nictate to wink, from Latin nictatus, past participle of nictare

Nictitation can be an invitation to osculation.

Emetic

emetic \i-ˈme-tik\ noun: an agent that induces vomiting

Etymology: Latin emetica, from Greek emetikē, from feminine of emetikos causing vomiting, from emein to vomit

I guess a kinetic emetic would be an agent that induces projectile vomiting.

Metamict

metamict \ˈme-tə-mikt\ adjective: (of a mineral) having a disrupted crystal structure due to radiation damage from internal radioactive impurities

Etymology: origin unknown

I should confess that the etymology is only unknown to me. Meta- comes from Greek by way of Latin and means “among, with, after.” As for mict, any guesses? The Latin word micturire means “to desire to urinate,” but I doubt that has anything to do with it!

Doff

doff \ˈdäf\ transitive verb: 1 a. to remove (an article of wear) from the body, b. to take off (the hat) in greeting or as a sign of respect, 2. to rid oneself of; put aside

Etymology: Middle English, from don to do + of off

Doff should be the name of a cartoon character.

Dehisce

dehisce \di-ˈhis\ intransitive verb: 1. to split along a natural line, 2. to discharge contents by so splitting {seedpods dehiscing at maturity}

Etymology: Latin dehiscere to split open, from de- + hiscere to gape

Yesterday drupe was described as indehiscent, meaning it remains closed at maturity. There was also a lot of ‘carping going on in yesterday’s post. The endocarp, mesocarp and exocarp are, respectively, the inner, middle and outer layers of a fruit. In sum they make up the pericarp.

Drupe

drupe \ˈdrüp\ noun: a one-seeded indehiscent fruit having a hard bony endocarp, a fleshy mesocarp and a thin exocarp that is flexible (as in the cherry) or dry and almost leathery (as in the almond)

Etymology: New Latin drupa, from Latin, overripe olive, from Greek dryppa olive

Joyce Kilmer’s lost opportunity: “I think that there is no such fruit / As leath’ry as the almond drupe.”