The Highly Selective Dictionary of Golden Adjectives for the Extraordinarily LiterateEugene EhrlichHarperCollinsEugene Ehrlich2002{AA25B945-A836-4BA8-B677-75B6F600915D}HardCopyen-usen-usenNoneCopyright © 2002 by Eugene Ehrlich{3B116DC7-7941-41C1-BC7E-51E7C91A4409}

The

HIGHLY SELECTIVE DICTIONARY

of

GOLDEN ADJECTIVES

for the

EXTRAORDINARILY LITERATE

EUGENE EHRLICH

Contents

Preface

Pronunciation Notes

The Dictionary

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

Acknowledgment

About the Author

By Eugene Ehrlich

Credit

Copyright

About the Publisher

PREFACE

Something there is in the hearts of teachers and critics of English that finds adjectives the most detestable elements of the language and the most easily excised. Yet, even a brief examination of some of the headwords in the dictionary before you suggests the magnificence of more or less useful English words that are classified as adjectives and enable you to exploit the richness of tone and shades of meaning awaiting your readers.

Consider, for example, what you and other writers would do without the likes of adventitious and aleatory, baleful and banausic, contumelious and cunctative, diaphanous and disingenuous, ebullient and edacious, factitious and fatidic, gestic and gnathonic, halcyon and heuristic, iatrogenic and impuissant, jejune and jocund, kempt and knurled, lambent and Laodicean, magniloquent and marmoreal, nescient and niveous, obdurate and officious, Panglossian and Paphian, quaquaversal and quixotic, redolent and refulgent, sacerdotal and Sisyphean, temerarious and truculent, ulotrichous and umbrageous, verecund and veridical, waspish and willful, and xylophagous, yeasty, and zaftig. And these, of course, are just some of the golden adjectives you will meet in this book.

Adjectives have long had bad press in some quarters, and I believe the fault lies with traditional teachers of English. Read on.

Many years have passed since I first teamed up with my colleague Daniel Murphy to write various volumes on grammar and language. In both these disciplines he and I were encouraged to reveal our knowledge and skills to readers as well as to our students. Dan was at Baruch College of the City University and I was at the School of General Studies at Columbia University.

At that time, pompous English teachers were fond of telling their callow students, “Adjectives are the enemy of nouns, and adverbs are the enemy of everything else.” I had of course heard this maxim before and believed it without question.

But why did Murphy and I support the advice of such grand announcements? Because we belonged to the generation that recognized Ernest Hemingway as supreme novelistic authority. Ours was the generation in which every English teacher worth his deprived prose was telling students wholesale that Hemingway wrote sentences made up solely of nouns and verbs. Modifiers of any stripe were forbidden. The resulting student sentences turned out to be starved of punctuation and severely sparing of word pictures of action, appearance, aspiration, and feeling—some of the very functions adjectives fulfill especially well.

Having absorbed this attitude from our teachers, we advanced it among our own students. And the pity to this day is that many of today's romantic—even impossibly jaded—teachers of writing persist in giving their students the same incorrect come-on: Want to be Hemingway redivivus? Eschew modifiers.

Readers long have been interested in the strength of the English language and its usefulness in characterizing our aspirations, achievements, and anxieties. Think of those expressions including the adjective “golden.” Consider the golden mean, golden handshake, golden bowl, golden wedding, golden fleece, golden age, among many golden others. Then we have such less than glorious expressions as goldbrick, fool's gold, and the golden calf. All with a distinctive charm, and all gold or golden.

The Highly Selective Dictionary of Golden Adjectives for the Extraordinarily Literate offers a compendium of noun modifiers that are golden in the sense of being “brilliant, exceptionally valuable, advantageous, or fine,” as suggested in the expression golden opportunity or in the title of Lewis Mumford's wonderful literary study The Golden Day. Can there be anything better than golden?

In this vein, The Highly Selective Dictionary was conceived as a highly personal tribute to the most interesting of the words awaiting you to help adorn, sharpen, and amplify your English sentences. For this is what adjectives are intended to do. And golden adjectives do this better than most. How could they not?

The Highly Selective Dictionary is certainly not a permissive dictionary. Permissive dictionaries are excessively tolerant and inclusive of any words or any spellings that come along. And if people don't know what a word means or how it is spelled, such dictionaries make an educated guess, no matter how misleading.

In contrast, The Highly Selective Dictionary is a prescriptive dictionary, one whose ultimate task is to reward deserving words with inclusion if they have exhibited plentiful signs of being and remaining useful in our language. The prescriptive editor attempts to define and spell these words carefully and conservatively, trying always to tell readers what the selected words usually mean and how they are most often spelled, and not settle for what an editor thinks readers may some day believe those words mean.

I consider myself privileged to have selected this list of English adjectives—not the entire list of adjectives known to exist, of course, but those golden adjectives I consider to be of greatest interest and possible usefulness for readers, writers, and students. This chance to write about adjectives provides a third volume of parallel works concerning our language, which begin with The Highly Selective Thesaurus for the Extraordinarily Literate and continue with The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate, both also published by HarperCollins.

My hope is that readers will find these golden adjectives useful and entertaining. Thus, each entry begins with an adjectival headword and its pronunciation, and goes on to offer etymological information, definitions, and examples of usage. Finally, words related in meaning to the headwords are supplied, classified, and pronounced.

Eugene Ehrlich

April 4, 2002

PRONUNCIATION NOTES

American pronunciation follows few hard-and-fast rules but may vary from region to region. In pronouncing the headwords of this dictionary, I have considered all the pronunciations given in standard sources and then tried to select the most common ones. Even so, some of the pronunciations supplied inevitably indulge the editor's preferences.

Be advised that in almost every case only one pronunciation is given for a headword, even though some words commonly have multiple pronunciations. You will find that you cannot go wrong with the single pronunciations given. They are always among the correct pronunciations given for these words in unabridged dictionaries.

The respelling pronunciation scheme used is almost identical with the scheme devised for use in my previous Highly Selective books and is just as easy to use. Each pronunciation is shown in parentheses just after the headword, and every headword is an adjective, so I have been relieved of the task of telling you ad nauseam that the headwords all are adjectives.

Fully stressed syllables are shown in CAPITAL LETTERS.

Syllables that receive secondary stress are shown in SMALL CAPITAL LETTERS.

Unstressed syllables are shown in lowercase letters, as are pronunciations of words of one syllable.

Here are three examples of pronounced adjectives:

baleful (BAYL-fel)

unkempt (un-KEMPT)

knurled (nurld)

An exception to respelling is use of the schwa (e), which is defined as an indistinct or unaccented vowel sound, as in the second syllable of baleful (BAYL-fel) and the final syllable of ebullient (i-BUUL-yent). Such pronunciations, involving use of the schwa, occur only in unaccented syllables.

But there are times when not even a schwa is appropriate. This happens when an “l” or “n” is used alone—whispered, really—to pronounce a word, or is used in combination with another consonant and can serve as a syllable without having an accompanying vowel. Consider the word addlepated, which in this book is pronounced (AD-l-PAY-tid). The “l” stands alone without even the help of the schwa, for it does not have the sound of an “l” preceded by a vowel. Consider also the word centripetal, which is pronounced (sen-TRIP-i-tl), and the word fictile (FIK-tl). No schwas are needed. Then there are words pronounced with a single “n,” as in glutton (GLUT-n) and in gluttony (GLUT-n-ee), or an “n” linked with a “t,” as in wanton (WON-tn) and in succedent (sek-SEED-nt).

Another exception to respelling is the use of I, I, and I to indicate long vowel sounds, as in the first syllable of didactic (dI-DAK-tik) and the second syllable of derisive (di-RI-siv). The symbol I indicates the sound of a syllable with secondary stress, but retaining the long vowel sound, as in the third syllable of dewy-eyed, here pronounced DOO-ee-ID.

There are two other exceptions to respelling:

The italicized “th” is used to show the initial sound of words such as “this” and “thus,” which are given as (this) and (thus). By contrast, in “thin” and “both,” the sound of th is not italicized. An actual adjective in the text is blithesome, pronounced (BLITH-sem).

Please note that in the chart that follows, n indicates an n that is only partially pronounced, as in many words of French origin.

PRONUNCIATION KEY

a as in act, hat, carry

ah as in balm, calm, father

ahr as in far, jar, darling

air as in fairy, scare, declare

aw as in audit, walk, gawk, saw

ay as in age, bay, heinous

b as in bake, babble, boob

ch as in choose, church, preach

d as in dare, fuddled, mud

e as in empty, led, berry

ee as in ease, either, meat, see

eer as in ear, eerie, pier, sneer

f as in fin, daffy, belief

g as in gust, bargain, hog

h as in hairy, hot, huddle

hw as in where, whet, anywhere

i as in in, hit, women

I as in bite, light, pie, spy

I as in colonize, sympathize

I as in mighty, lightning, surprise

j as in gin, just, judge, garbage

k as in kerchief, spoken, rack

l as in lag, ladle, sell

m as in many, common, madam

n as in note, knee, manner, napkin

n as in dénouement, frisson, soupçon

ng as in hunger, swinging, bring

o as in opportune, hot, crop

oh as in oppose, most, toast, sew

oo as in oodles, pool, ruler

oor as in poor, tour, sure

or as in aural, border, mortal

ow as in owl, oust, house, allow

oy as in oil, join, boy

p as in print, paper, sleep

r as in rash, tarry, poor

s as in cent, scent, lease, lessen

sh as in sugar, shush, cash

t as in talk, utter, heat

th as in think, wrath, loath

th as in then, bother, loathe

u as in ugly, mutter, come

ur as in urge, her, fir, saboteur

uu as in brook, full, woman

v as in very, every, brave

w as in well, awash, allow

y as in yet, abeyance, useful

z as in zap, gazebo, tease

zh as in pleasure, vision, persiflage

Note: Headwords that are considered still to be foreign terms are given in italics.

Note further: No mention is made in this book of the word “entrepreneur” or its adjectival form, in hope that one day presidents and CEOs will all be able to say AHN-tre-pre-NUR or something like it instead of enforcing a rhyme with “sewer.”

A

abashed (e-BASHT)

From Middle English abaishen, meaning “to bring low, put down.”

1. ashamed or embarrassed.

“A major-league second baseman cannot help feeling abashed when he finds himself unable to throw accurately to first base.”

2. disconcerted.

“The boy was thoroughly abashed when, for the first time in his life, he faced having to use three forks to eat dinner and had no idea which to employ first.”

Related words: abash (e-BASH) verb; abashedly (e-BASH-id-lee) adverb; abashedness (e-BASH-id-nis) and abashment (e-BASH-ment) both nouns.

abdominous (ab-DOM-e-nes)

From Latin abdomen, meaning “paunch, belly; gluttony.”

1. potbellied.

“The tailor made a rich living through his specialty of accommodating comfortably abdominous clients who knew he would do everything possible to obscure their overeating.”

2. having a paunch or prominent belly.

“The shah's collection of uncorseted, abdominous wives may not have appealed to Westerners, but it made him the envy of lecherous old men in his court.”

Related words: abdomen (AB-de-men) noun; abdominal (ab-DOM-e-nl) adjective; abdominally (ab-DOM-i-ne-lee) adverb.

aberrant (e-BER-ent)

From Latin aberrans, present participle of verb aberrare, meaning “to wander.”

1. straying from an expected course, for example, a moral standard.

“In the interest of preserving impeccable reputations, even the youngest divinity students eschewed aberrant behavior of any kind.”

2. exceptional; deviating widely from the normal type; abnormal; irregular.

“School psychologists today are challenged to distinguish between adolescent experimentation and seriously aberrant behavior.”

Related words: aberration (AB-e-RAY-shen), aberrance (e-BER-ens), and aberrancy (e-BER-en-see) all nouns; aberrantly (e-BER-ent-lee) adverb.

abortifacient (e-BOR-te-FAY-shent)

From Latin aboriri, meaning “to miscarry”; past participle abortus. The word is used as a noun in such sentences as “The young pharmacist still blushed slightly after dispensing prescribed abortifacients.”

causing abortion.

Abortifacient pills have recently been approved for distribution in the United States for termination of early pregnancies.”

Related words: abortive (e-BOR-tiv) adjective; abortively (e-BOR-tiv-lee) adverb; abortiveness (e-BOR-tiv-nis) and abortus (e-BOR-tes) both nouns.

abstergent (ab-STUR-jent)

From Latin abstergere, meaning “to wipe off”; present participle abstergens.

cleansing, scouring.

“We recognized that at least two applications of an abstergent substance would be needed if we were to prepare the fuselage skin properly for space travel.”

Abstergent is also used as a noun in such sentences as “Application of even copious amounts of the recommended abstergent has no effect on the stain.”

Related words: abstersive (ab-STUR-siv) adjective; abstersiveness (ab-STUR-siv-nis) noun.

abysmal. See abyssal.

abyssal (e-BIS-el)

From Late Latin adjective abyssalis, meaning “of an abyss, of the bowels of the earth.”

Abyss as a noun is much more common than the adjective and is used literally and figuratively: “Father Blair's homily never left any doubt he was talking of the gap between parents and their adolescent children, when he spoke of ‘the great abyss.’”

immeasurable; unfathomable; bottomless; literally pertaining to great ocean depths, for example, between 13,000 and 21,000 feet.

“The depth of his misunderstanding of physics was abyssal, and there was no quick way he could overcome it.”

“Although the first deep-sea divers expanded abyssal knowledge, the natural fears of crew members severely limited their further explorations.”

Related words: abysmal (e-BIZ-mel) adjective; abyss (e-BIS) and abysm (e-BIZ-em) both nouns.

adamant. See adamantine.

adamantine (AD-e-MAN-teen)

From Latin adjective adamantinus, meaning “adamantine”; from noun adamas, meaning “hard metal; diamond.”

Far more common in English is the adjective adamant, meaning “unshakable; inflexible,” as in “For reasons never explained, the department head remained adamant in refusing the annual award to beautiful young women.”

immovable; unyielding; obdurate; too hard to pierce or break.

“Adamantine in his refusal to compromise his mission, willing to suffer any threatened torture, the young captain firmly stood his ground.”

“When all their efforts failed in their attempt to cut the adamantine stone, they were finally convinced they had found a potentially valuable diamond.”

Related words: adamant (AD-e-ment) adjective; adamantly (AD-e-ment-lee) adverb; adamance (AD-e-mens) and adamancy (AD-e-men-see) both nouns.

addled and addlebrained. See addlepated.

addlepated (AD-l-PAY-tid)

From Middle English adel, meaning “rotten,” + pate, meaning “head.”

Also given as addlebrained (AD-l-BRAYND), with the same meaning.

The related adjective addled (AD-ld) has the primary meaning of “muddled, mentally confused,” as in “Despite all my efforts to think clearly once again, my memory remained addled for many months after surgery.”

A secondary meaning is “rotten,” as in “I avoided the addled eggs we were habitually served in the overseas army, preferring instead to go hungry most days.”

foolish, silly; mentally confused.

“Physicians only recently have begun to question whether absent-mindedness and other difficulties may characteristically indicate physically disturbed patients rather than charmingly addlepated individuals.”

adjunct (AJ-ungkt)

From Latin adjungere, meaning “to join to”; past participle adjunctus.

Adjunct is also used as a noun, thus abbreviating common designations such as adjunct professor to adjunct: “Many colleges got by in difficult times by reducing the number of their well-paid, full-time professors and hiring adjuncts at low salaries.”

associated or joined with another in a dependent or subordinate relationship to it.

“Much to her surprise, she found that adjunct professors, like others in adjunct positions, were neither invited to meetings nor allowed to vote on matters of departmental policy.”

Related words: adjunctive (e-JUNGK-tiv) adjective; adjunction (e-JUNGK-shen) noun.

adroit. See maladroit.

adscititious. See adventitious.

adventitious (AD-ven-TISH-es)

From Latin adjective adventicius, meaning “foreign, extraneous; unearned.”

Also given as adscititious (AD-si-TISH-es), with the same meanings shown below: “Academic honors for the wealthy, adscititious rather than earned, fool no one, not even the recipients.”

added from without; not inherent or earned; accidental, by chance.

“The chairman inevitably adorned his opening remarks with adventitious compliments about his nominees that explained nothing about why he had selected them.”

Related words: adventitiously (AD-ven-TISH-es-lee) adverb; adventitiousness (AD-ven-TISH-es-nis) noun.

aerobic. See antisudorific.

agminate (AG-me-nit)

From Latin agmen, meaning “army on a march; troop.”

Also given as agminated (AG-me-NAY-tid), with the same meanings as given below.

arranged in a group, aggregated.

“His taste runs to random bunches of agminate wildflowers, forgetting that when in bloom there would have to be some consideration given to harmonizing colors in adjacent beds.”

agrestal. See agrestic.

agrestic (e-GRES-tik)

From Latin agrestis, meaning “rustic, wild; belonging to the field.”

This English adjective is sometimes given as agrestal (e-GRES-tl), also with the meaning of “rustic; rural.”

1. rustic, rural.

“Sally enjoyed the peaceful agrestic life as an antidote for the city, where she lived while earning her fortune.”

2. unpolished, uncouth.

“In all the years they had been together, she had always been repelled by Stanley's agrestic behavior, for example, his boisterous manners while playing poker and drinking beer with his friends.”

aleatory (AY-lee-e-TOR-ee)

From Latin noun aleator meaning “gambler; dice player”; adjective aleatorius meaning “in gambling.”

Also given as aleatoric (AY-lee-e-TOR-ik), meaning “done at random”:

“All those who blindly throw their money into money-hungry slot machines must believe the aleatoric devices will somehow favor them.”

1. dependent on chance or luck; random, unpredictable.

“The aleatory election of such a boor surely could not have been predicted.”

2. in law: dependent on unknown contingencies.

“At the time he was thought foolish for entering into an aleatory contract, with his only cargo ship at the mercy of unpredictable storms.”

allusive (e-LOO-siv)

From Latin alludere, meaning “to play beside”; past participle allusus.

1. referring to something inferred or implied.

“Those of us who really want to discover his true meanings must begin by deciphering each of his many allusive representations.”

2. abounding in indirect references.

“Joyce's allusive literary and philosophical prose in Finnegans Wake could not have been foreseen by admirers of his admirable collection of fresh, early poetry in Chamber Music.”

Related words: allusively (e-LOO-siv-lee) adverb; allusion (e-LOO-zhen) and allusiveness (e-LOO-siv-nis) both nouns.

alopecic (AL-e-PEE-sik)

From Latin alopecia, meaning “fox mange,” a condition known to have caused loss of hair.

The related noun alopecia (AL-e-PEE-she) means “baldness.”

characterized by loss of hair or baldness.

“Ineffective treatments for alopecic conditions almost outnumber those for weight reduction.”

altricial (al-TRISH-el)

From Latin altrix, feminine of altor, meaning “nourisher; foster father.”

of a bird or bird species: helpless at birth and requiring assistance by parents for a time.

“Altricial eagles are banded early in their first attempts at flight as part of a program to increase the species' chances for survival.”

altruistic (AL-troo-IS-tik)

From French adjective altruiste, from French noun altruisme, roughly meaning “concern for others.”

motivated by unselfish concern for the welfare of others.

“Acts of cynical disregard for others cannot easily be counterbalanced by a single altruistic deed.”

Related words: altruistically (AL-troo-IS-ti-ke-lee) adverb; altruism (AL-troo-IZ-em) and altruist (AL-troo-ist) both nouns.

ambagious (am-BAY-jes)

From French ambagieux, from Latin ambagiosus, meaning “circuitous, roundabout.”

1. circumlocutory, roundabout.

“The old senator's proclivity for ambagious oration bored his audience.”

2. circuitous, winding; tortuous.

“Does the professor really believe her ambagious claptrap can convince any students to abandon their strike?”

Related words: ambagiousness (am-BAY-jes-nis) noun; ambagiously (am-BAY-jes-lee) adverb.

ambidextrous. See ambisinister.

ambisinister (AM-bi-SIN-e-ster) or ambisinistrous (AM-bi-SIN-is-tres).

Both adjectives are from Latin ambi-, meaning “both,” + Latin sinister, meaning “left”; hence, ambisinister means “awkward or unfavorable,” the opposite of adroit.

The reader would do well to know the adjectival antonym ambidextrous (AM-bi-DEK-stres), which is much more common, and means “able to use both hands equally well.” Thus, “When a team has a healthy Bernie Williams ready to hit well from either side of home plate, the value of being ambidextrous is readily apparent.”

clumsy with both hands.

“Few major league baseball players are truly ambidextrous, but none of them are ambisinistrous, because clumsy players rarely get to the major leagues.”

Related words: ambidexterity (AM-bi-dek-STER-i-tee) and ambidextrousness (AM-bi-DEK-stres-nis) both nouns; ambidextrously (AM-bi-DEKS-tres-lee) adverb.

amygdaline (e-MIG-de-lin)

From Latin amygdalinus, from Greek amygdálinos, both meaning “of almonds.”

resembling almonds; related to almonds.

“About all he remembered of the lovely woman were her dark amygdaline eyes, which seemed always to have understood everything and offered nothing.”

Related words: amygdaloid (e-MIG-de-LOYD), amygdalate (e-MIG-de-lit), amygdaliform (e-MIG-de-le-FORM), and amygdalaceous (e-MIG-de-LAY-shes) all adjectives.

anaphrodisiac (an-AF-re-DEE-zee-AK)

From Greek anaphrodisiakós, meaning “unable to inspire sexual appetite.”

Anaphrodisiac is also used as a noun, as is anaphrodisia (an-AF-re-DEE-zhe).

capable of inducing the diminishing of sexual desire.

“We are led to believe certain cathartics are anaphrodisiac, suggesting that a potent laxative can hold back mighty Viagra itself if not the waters of Niagara.”

See also aphrodisiac.

ancillary (AN-se-LER-ee)

From Latin ancilla, meaning “female servant or slave”; related to the adjective ancillaris, “having the status of such a person.”

The English noun ancillary (plural ancillaries) means “a person who works in an ancillary capacity.” And an ancilla is an accessory or an adjunct.

1. subordinate, subsidiary.

“Americans pretend no branch of the federal government is ever ancillary to any other, even though we all know this is not always true.”

2. assisting; auxiliary.

“When the need arises for cutting expenses, a good executive eliminates ancillary personnel before considering reduction of those employees performing essential duties.”

Related word: ancilla (an-SIL-e) noun.

anguilliform (ang-GWIL-e-FORM)

From Latin anguilla, meaning “eel.”

Not to be confused with the adjective anguine (ANG-gwin), from Latin anguinus, meaning “snakelike”; from anguis, meaning “snake.”

1. eel-shaped.

“When I catch anything anguilliform, I put it into a bucket of water reserved for things I will use as bait; I put fish I will eat into a second bucket.”

2. of anguine, resembling a snake.

“You knew immediately the man couldn't be trusted; indeed, you wouldn't be surprised if that anguine creature suddenly slithered away.”

anguine. See anguilliform.

anserine (AN-se-RIN)

From Latin anserinus, meaning “pertaining to geese”; from Latin anser, “a goose.”

The first meaning of anserine is so firmly attached to the bird, as in the proverbial “silly goose,” that for most people it overpowers the literal meaning.

Also given as anserous (AN-se-res).

1. silly; stupid.

“There was considerable doubt whether we would be able to find an anserine recruit eager to go on such a dangerous mission.”

2. gooselike; resembling a goose.

“What a difference in the reputations of swans and geese—both anserine birds—the former graceful and dignified, the latter termed outrageously silly.”

anserous. See anserine.

antepenultimate (AN-tee-pi-NUL-te-mit)

From Latin antepaenultimus, meaning “last but two”; from Latin ante- “before” + paen “almost” + ultima “the last.”

Especially in the phrase syllaba antepaenultima, meaning “last syllable minus two.”

third from the end.

“In the last fifty yards, when the marathon runner realized he could hope for no better than an antepenultimate finish, his remaining strength suddenly seemed to disappear.”

Related word: antepenult (AN-tee-PEE-nult) noun.

anteprandial. See prandial and preprandial.

anthropophagous (AN-thre-POF-e-ges)

From Latin anthropophagus, from Greek anthropophagía, both meaning “man-eating, cannibal.”

man-eating, cannibal.

“Unquenchable in their search for ever-greater financial profits, moviemakers have fallen into filming frenzied attacks of anthropophagous sharks represented as hungry for a few bites of a luscious nymphet.”

Related words: anthropophagic (AN-thre-pe-FAJ-ik) and anthropophagical (AN-thre-pe-FAJ-ik-l) both adjectives; anthropophagously (AN-thre-POF-e-ges-lee) adverb; anthropophagi (AN-thre-POF-e-JI), anthropophagite (AN-thre-POF-e-JIT), and anthropophagy (AN-thre-POF-e-JEE) all nouns.

antisudorific (AN-tee-SOO-de-RIF-ik)

From Neo-Latin anti- “against” + sudor “sweat” + -ific “causing or operating”—together meaning “operating against sweating.”

It is interesting that classical Latin had no word corresponding to the English antisudorific, and we had to wait until Neo-Latin invented something close to it, in the adjective sudorificus, meaning “inducing sweat.” The point of this discussion is that the ancient Romans apparently lacked self-consciousness when it came time to sweat, and modern persons concern themselves obsessively with exercising hard to induce perspiration and therefore lose weight while simultaneously doing everything they can to mask the telltale aroma that identifies persons breaking a sweat.

It is no wonder the adjective aerobic (air-OH-bik) has caught on so thoroughly in past years, even though men and women have a tough time defining it. For the convenience of the reader, the definition is here supplied: “living on oxygen in the air, in other words requiring the presence of oxygen in order to thrive—and sweat.”

inhibiting perspiration.

“Men and women, perhaps between the great Ice Ages, appear to have been content to live close together despite their axillary effusions, but when temperatures have been at their highest, city dwellers in particular have resorted to all sorts of creams, lotions, and gaseous entrapments in an effort to exploit the benefits of copious applications of blissfully antisudorific substances.”

See axillary.

aphoristic (AF-e-RIS-tik)

From the Greek adjective aphoristikós, meaning “aphoristic”; from Greek aphorismós, meaning “definition; aphorism.”

1. containing maxims: short, wise sayings.

“Professor Barzun seemed to have an endless aphoristic trove, and each bon mot he came up with seemed to spawn at least three more, for all of which we were grateful.”

2. given to coining maxims.

“His friends used to label his aphoristic penchant ‘maximizing’ and soon took to calling him ‘Max,’ a handle short, sweet, and never forgotten.”

Related words: aphorism (AF-e-RIZ-em), aphorist (AF-er-ist), and aphorizer (AF-e-RIZ-er) all nouns; aphorize (AF-e-RIZ) verb; aphoristically (AF-e-RIS-ti-klee) adverb.

aphrodisiac (AF-re-DEE-zee-AK)

From Greek aphrodisiakós, meaning “relating to love or sex.”

Equivalent to Greek aphrodísios, meaning “of Aphrodite.” Aphrodite, of course, was the ancient Greek goddess of love.

Also given as aphrodisiacal (AF-re-de-ZI-e-kel).

arousing sexual desire.

“He often made a point of dining at expensive Chinese restaurants and always ordered bird's nest soup to exploit its supposed aphrodisiac qualities.”

Related word: aphrodisia (AF-re-DEE-zhe) noun.

See also anaphrodisiac.

apposite (AP-e-zit)

From Latin appositus, meaning “added to, put near”; past participle of apponere or adponere.

well expressed; appropriate, suitable.

“The best eulogists can expect to be judged only on whether their remarks are apposite and brief.”

Related words: appositely (AP-e-zit-lee) adverb; appositeness (AP-e-zit-nis) and apposition (AP-e-ZISH-en) both nouns.

arena. See arenicolous.

arenicolous (AR-e-NIK-e-les)

From Latin arenicola, from arena “sand” + cola “inhabiting.” Also given as harenicola.

The adjective arenicolous should not be confused with arenose (AR-e-NOHS), an adjective meaning “sandy; gritty.” Consider the following: “To their surprise, summer residents find that many plants and shrubs can thrive in the arenose environments characteristic of seaside homes.”

But how does an English word such as “arena” relate to the Latin word arena, meaning “sand”? All that is needed to understand this connection is to make a mental jump into an arena of Roman times or even one of modern times. What material usually makes up the floor of the arena? If you answer “sand,” the environment is arenose, and you win.

inhabiting sand.

“I tried to coax my girlfriend off the hot midday beach by telling her about the horrid habits of arenicolous insects living around her, all of which were creatures of my imagination.”

Related word: arenaceous (AR-e-NAY-shes) adjective.

arsy-varsy (AHR-see-VAHR-see)

From English arse “ass” + Latin versus “turned,” past participle of vertere, “to turn.”

A modern version of the colloquial adjective arsy-varsy is the equally colloquial “assbackward” or “bassackward,” the latter commonly also called a spoonerism. (See bassackwards.) Bear in mind that the original, vulgar sixteenth-century term may have been arsey-versy, but was pronounced in the English of that day as AHR-see-VAHR-see. Hence, today's sensible respelling. So American clerks, not clarks, continue to drink beer, not lager, while watching the Kentucky Derby, not Darby, on television, not the telly.

contrary; perverse, preposterous.

“The boy had an arsy-varsy way of complying with his mother's orders that threatened to send the poor woman back to her psychiatrist.”

atrabilious (A-tre-BIL-yes)

From Latin atra bilis, meaning “black bile.”

The noun bili or bilis, translated as “bile or gall,” is still seen in English in the adjective “bilious,” meaning “suffering a surfeit of bile.” And atrabilious is sometimes given as atrabiliar (A-tre-BIL-yer).

But you and I don't concern ourselves with our production of bile. So what does atrabilious mean to us? To find out what an excess of black bile can cause, read on, but also see bilious.

1. irritable, bad-tempered.

“Trying to navigate a six-lane highway jammed with the same vehicles every day and overcome the road rage he felt left him an atrabilious pill-swallower unfit for the day's work he faced.”

2. melancholy; gloomy; morose.

“Would you ever believe the breakup of the young man's marriage would leave him an atrabilious middle-aged man?”

Related word: atrabiliousness (A-tre-BIL-yes-nis) noun.

autochthonous. See heterochthonous.

avuncular (e-VUNG-kye-ler)

From Latin avunculus, meaning “maternal uncle”; from Latin avus, meaning “grandfather or ancestor.”

of or pertaining to a kindly uncle or to someone playing that part.

“If there's anything that all young people find objectionable, it may be the well-meant but insufferable attention given by an avuncular relative or friend.”

Related words: avuncularly (e-VUNG-kye-ler-lee) adverb; avuncularity (e-VUNG-kye-LAR-i-tee) noun.

axillary (AK-se-LER-ee)

From Latin axilla, meaning “armpit,” plural axillae.

Also used as a noun in English, axillar (AK-se-ler), meaning “a bird's axillary feather.”

pertaining to the human armpit, or to the corresponding underside of a portion of a bird wing.

“A rite of passage for adolescent boys is the inevitable appearance of axillary hair, entitling them to smug satisfaction despite having to face a lifetime of exasperatingly dull razors.”

B

bacchanal. See bacchanalian.

bacchanalian (BAK-e-NAYL-yen)

From Latin Bacchanalia, from Greek Bákhos, both nouns meaning “a festival in honor of Bacchus,” the ancient god of wine.

1. characterized by drunken feasting or by roistering.

“Try as the students would, their festivities came as close to truly bacchanalian intensity as does candle blowing at a child's first birthday party.”

2. usually capitalized: relating to a Roman bacchanal (BAH-ke-NAHL).

“What had been supposed to be a wild all-night party turned out to be nothing like the authentic Bacchanalian orgy we expected from a department of classical scholars.”

Related words: Bacchus (BAK-es), Bacchae (BAK-ee), bacchante (be-KAN-tee), and bacchanalianism (BAK-e-NAYL-yen-iz-em) all nouns; bacchant (BAK-ent) noun and adjective; bacchantic (ba-KAN-tik) and Bacchic (BAK-ik) both adjectives.

bacciferous. See baccivorous.

baccivorous. (bak-SIV-er-es)

From Latin bacca, meaning “berry,” + vorus, meaning “devouring,” together meaning “feeding on berries.”

living chiefly on berries.

“Helen explained that baccivorous game birds living in and over brush were much sweeter to eat than birds living on fish.”

Related word: bacciferous (bak-SIF-er-es) adjective, meaning producing berries: “Maine's bacciferous cranberry vines have established the state as a leading supplier of the unique holiday berries.”

balaustine (be-LAW-stin)

From Latin balaustium from Greek balaústion, both meaning “pomegranate.”

pertaining to the pomegranate.

“Our old-fashioned physician introduced us to poultices made of balaustine flowers for treating everyday wounds.”

baleful (BAYL-fel)

From Old English bealu-full, meaning “in pain.”

pernicious; destructive; noxious.

“His intent was anything but baleful, yet he was always considered an outsider in the little town.”

Related words: balefulness (BAYL-fel-nis) noun; balefully (BAYL-fel-ee) adverb.

balneal (BAL-nee-el)

From Latin balneum from Greek balaneîon, both meaning “a bath, bathhouse.”

pertaining to bathing or baths.

“A seaside town willing to clean its beaches and build bathhouses can create a balneal industry that will bring in fresh revenues.”

banausic (be-NAW-sik)

From Greek banausikós, meaning “for mechanics.”

practical; merely mechanical.

“Frederick claims he is willing to take any kind of job but, when offered an opportunity, describes the work offered as banausic and clearly beneath him.”

basilic (be-SIL-ik)

From French basilique, from Latin basilicus, from Greek basilikós, all meaning “royal.”

royal, kingly.

“The subjects appeared to stand in awe of her basilic majesty, willing to withstand any hardship, face any danger in her behalf.”

Related words: basilican (be-SIL-i-ken) and basilical (be-SIL-i-kel) both adjectives; basilica (be-SIL-i-ke) noun, meaning a type of church, from Greek basiliké oikía, literally “royal house.”

The most interesting of related words in this group is a medical term, basilic vein, meaning a large vein of great importance located on the inner side of the arm. From Latin vena basilica, meaning “royal vein,” reminiscent of the Spanish Camino Real, literally “royal road.”

bassackwards (BAS-AK-werdz)

From English slang, popular deliberate spoonerism of assbackwards, meaning “in reverse order”; feebly masking the true origin of the word and its supposed vulgarity. Also used as an adverb.

in reverse order.

“My boss frequently gave me the very devil for what he called my daily bassackwards routine for organizing the day's work.”

benign. See benignant.

benignant (bi-NIG-nent)

From the well-known English benign + -ant, a suffix meaning “characterized by.”

1. gracious; kind, especially to inferiors.

“Elizabeth was not admired for her benignant manner toward her household servants, whom she considered her inferiors.”

2. beneficial; exerting an advantageous influence.

“We were amazed by the immediately benignant effect the appointment had on the sagging morale of our company.”

Related words: benign (bi-NIN) adjective; benignantly (bi-NIG-nent-lee) adverb; benignancy (bi-NIG-nen-see) noun.

bibulous (BIB-ye-les)

From Latin bibulus, meaning “fond of drink”; from bibere, meaning “to drink.”

1. fond of alcoholic drink.

“In my undergraduate days I spent many long hours exhibiting my bibulous proclivity, so it is no wonder I cannot remember much of what I heard and read in four years at school.”

2. spongy; absorbent.

“The bibulous cloth seemed to swell to twice its normal size moments after it was dipped in water.”

Related words: bibulously (BIB-ye-les-lee) adverb; bibulousness (BIB-ye-les-nis) and bibulosity (BIB-ye-LOS-i-tee) both nouns.

bilious (BIL-yes)

From Latin biliosus, meaning “a choleric or bilious man,” from bilis, meaning “bile or gall, the greenish liquid produced by the liver that assists digestion.”

Bile is one of the four principal humors—fluids—in the body: phlegm, blood, choler, and black bile. The predominance of one of these humors in a person was thought to determine the nature of the person's mind and body. Are you phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric, or melancholic?

ill-tempered, peevish, cranky; suffering too great a secretion of bile.

“Newspaper reporters, always under pressure of time and the scrutiny of editors, used to be known for their bilious dispositions.”

Related words: biliously (BIL-yes-lee) adverb; biliousness (BIL-yes-nis) noun.

blasé (blah-ZAY)

From French, past participle of blaser, meaning “to sicken from excess.”

bored with too much of a good thing; bored with excessive worldly pleasures.

“You could tell from the first moment you met him that this was a blasé young man who surely would bore or depress all around him.”

blasphemous (BLAS-fe-mes)

From Latin blasphemus and Greek blásphemos, meaning “defaming, speaking evil.”

impiously irreverent; profane.

“It was only when the minister began to employ blasphemous language in his sermons that we had the first inkling something was seriously affecting him.”

Related words: blasphemously (BLAS-fe-mes-lee) adverb; blasphemousness (BLAS-fe-mes-nis), blasphemy (BLAS-fe-mee), and blasphemer (blas-FEE-mer) all nouns; blaspheme (blas-FEEM) verb.

blithe. See blithesome.

blithesome (BLITH-sem)

From English blithe “joyous” + -some, a suffix indicating “a quality.”

cheerful; merry; lighthearted.

“All of us were sitting together, gloomy about the dangerous operation, but once Alice joined us her blithesome spirit lifted our hearts and enabled us to endure.”

Related words: blithe (blIth) and blitheful (BLITH-fel) both adjectives; blithefully (BLITH-fe-lee), blithely (BLITH-lee), and blithesomely (BLITH-sem-lee) all adverbs; blithesomeness (BLITH-sem-nis) and blitheness (BLITH-nis) both nouns.

bodacious (boh-DAY-shes)

From English dialectical bowldacious, meaning “brazen.”

1. thorough; unmistakable.

“The shepherd was known as a bodacious liar and champion gossip whose word could never be trusted.”

2. bold; brazen.

“How could the child have turned out well when he had only the support of a bodacious father and a simpering mother to guide him?”

3. outstanding; remarkable.

“An hour spent waiting his turn in the barber's chair gave him enough bodacious yarns to fill a month's columns in the country weekly he wrote for.”

Related word: bodaciously (boh-DAY-shes-lee) adverb.

bogus (BOH-ges)

From American, origin uncertain.

sham; spurious; counterfeit.

“Considering how much time and skill it takes to create and pass a few bogus ten-dollar bills, I always wonder whether he couldn't have managed his life better with a respectable job.”

bombastic (bom-BAS-tik)

From English bombast, meaning “pretentious words,” + -ic, an adjectival suffix meaning “in the style of.”

Also given as bombastical (bom-BAS-ti-kel). See also bromidic for further explanation of -ic.

of expression: high-flown, inflated, pretentious.

“Where do you suppose the brother of a monk who had taken a vow of silence gets his gift of bombastic oratory from?”

Related word: bombastically (bom-BAS-ti-ke-lee) adverb.

bovine (BOH-vIn)

From Latin bovinus, from bos, meaning “ox or cow.”

cowlike; oxlike; dull; stolid.

“The bright college student thought cows deserved their reputations for bovine impassivity because they would deliver tons of milk every year without once betraying any interest in the extraction procedure.”

brachycephalic. See cephalic.

bromide. See bromidic.

bromidic (broh-MID-ik)

From American bromide, meaning “a platitude,” + -ic, a suffix that forms an adjective of other parts of speech; thus, for example, poet + -ic = poetic.

trite; platitudinous.

“Our naive hostess made the mistake of inviting the bromidic mayor of the town to her dinner party, only to see the other guests race through dinner in order to escape the boredom of the mayor's storytelling.”

Related words: bromide (BROH-mId) noun; bromidically (broh-MID-i-ke-lee) adverb.

bulimia. See bulimic.

bulimic (byoo-LIM-ik)

From Greek boulimia, meaning “great hunger.”

Also given as bulimiac (byoo-LIM-ee-AK).

affected by uncontrollable pathological craving for food.

“Spells of food binging, followed by retching and vomiting, and then more eating were characteristic of his bulimic patients.”

Related word: bulimia (byoo-LIM-ee-e) noun.

bumptious (BUMP-shes)

From English bump + -tious, an adjectival suffix.

obtrusively and noisily self-assertive.

“We may be offended by bumptious young people who think they are the center of the world, but we cannot help being amused by their antics.”

Related words: bumptiously (BUMP-shes-lee) adverb; bumptiousness (BUMP-shes-nis) noun.

Bunyanesque (BUN-ye-NESK)

From the name of Paul Bunyan, a legendary lumberjack in American social history; and from the name of John Bunyan, seventeenth-century preacher and author of the allegory Pilgrim's Progress.

1. alluding to Paul Bunyan: of the fantastic size and unlikely exploits of characters in Paul Bunyan's legends.

“Returning combat veterans have been known to devise exaggerated accounts of their Bunyanesque exploits that had really been accomplished by others.”

2. alluding to John Bunyan: suggestive of the allegorical writings of John Bunyan.

“To hear Edmund speak of his Bunyanesque climb through the Slough of Despond to the top of the literary world, we were asked to believe he had conquered almost insurmountable obstacles without any help.”

C

cacophonic. See cacophonous.

cacophonous (ke-KOF-e-nes)

From Greek kakophónos, from caco- meaning “bad” + phone, meaning “speech sound” + suffix -ous, together meaning “having bad speech sound.”

The English adjective is also given as cacophonic (KAK-e-FON-ik).

harsh; discordant.

“The cacophonous sounds ground out by our school's junior symphony and identified mysteriously as ‘the music of Wagner,’ constitute a general invitation to leave the auditorium.”

Related words: cacophonously (ke-KOF-e-nes-lee) adverb; cacophony (ke-KOF-e-nee) noun.

caduceus. See caducous.

caducous (ke-DOO-kes)

From Latin caducus, meaning “transitory or falling”; from verb cadere, meaning “to fall.”

Not to be confused with caduceus (ke-DOO-see-es), a noun that derives from the Latin caduceum and Greek karykeion, both meaning “a herald's wand,” adopted as the emblem of the medical profession.

fleeting; transitory; perishable; falling off before the usual time.

“People once were said to have lived more than three score and ten years, but the emergence of certain untreatable infections has rendered our lives caducous.”

Related word: caducity (ke-DOO-si-tee) noun.

calcareous (kal-KAIR-ee-es)

From Latin calcarius, meaning “of lime.”

chalky; containing calcium carbonate.

“British farmers raising crops on calcareous land sometimes find that their ancient forebears carved soil away, revealing scatological figures underneath.”

Related words: calcareously (kal-KAIR-ee-es-lee) adverb; calcareousness (kal-KAIR-ee-es-nis) noun.

calliope. See calliopean.

calliopean (ke-LI-e-PEE-en)

From American calliope, meaning “steam organ,” from Greek kalliópé, meaning “beautiful-voiced.” Circus fans know this as a stretch of the imagination.

piercingly loud; imitative of a calliope.

“Only one song was known by the inventor of the machine we marched behind in those days, a screeching, calliopean version of Stars and Stripes.”

Related word: calliope (ke-LI-e-pee) noun

callipygian (KAL-e-PIJ-ee-en)

From Greek kallipygos, meaning “having beautiful buttocks”; from kalli- “beautiful” + pyge “rump,” + -os an adjectival suffix.

The adjective is also given as callipygous (KAL-e-PI-ges).

having shapely buttocks.

“Mr. Lorimer's criteria for engaging new secretaries were based on their callipygian gifts rather than their office skills.”

callow (KAL-oh)

From Old English calu, meaning “bald.” Just as early in its life an unfledged bird is bald—featherless.

inexperienced; immature.

“What more can you expect of a callow youth who has never had much contact with the real world?”

Related word: callowness (KAL-oh-nis) noun.

calumnious (ke-LUM-nee-es)

From Latin calumniosus, meaning “full of tricks.”

defamatory; slanderous; given to making malicious statements.

“Crawford habitually fabricates calumnious claims that cast his opponents in a bad light and win elections.”

Related words: calumniously (ke-LUM-nee-es-lee) adverb; calumniatory (ke-LUM-nee-e-TOR-ee) adjective; calumny (KAL-em-nee), calumniation (ke-LUM-nee-AY-shen), and calumniator (ke-LUM-nee-AY-ter) all nouns; calumniate (ke-LUM-nee-AYT) verb.

campestral (kam-PES-trel)

From Latin campestris, meaning “flat”; from campus, meaning “field” + -estris, an adjectival suffix.

rural; rustic; pertaining to fields or open country.

“Sonja carried a beautiful campestral bouquet, all the flowers looking as though they had just been cut from living wild plants growing by the wayside as the bridal party traveled in horse-drawn coach toward the site of the wedding.”

Cantabrigian (KAN-te-BRIJ-ee-en)

From Latin Cantabrigia, meaning “Cambridge.”

1. of Cambridge, England; or of Cambridge University.

“I have been told that Cantabrigian undergraduates no longer are required to sport their traditional academic gowns.”

2. of Cambridge, Massachusetts; or of Harvard University.

“Years ago, a Cantabrigian law-school class in Massachusetts always accepted a goodly number of City College alumni, who were sought after because of their established academic ability.”

caprine (KAP-rIn)

From Latin adjective caprinus, from caper, meaning “he-goat.”

goatlike; of or pertaining to goats.

“Following an introductory lecture on animal mating, we were treated to an hour-long film of caprine copulation that put most of us to sleep.”

captious (KAP-shes)

From Middle English capcious, from Latin captiosus, meaning “deceptive; dangerous; captious.”

1. faultfinding; inclined to overstress one's faults and to make objections.

“His captious nature did nothing to endear him to his classmates or his teachers.”

2. calculated to perplex, especially to trap an adversary in argument.

“Her captious questions usually bore no resemblance to the gist of a discussion under way but were meant to ensnare an opponent unversed in the intricacies of a topic.”

Related words: captiously (KAP-shes-lee) adverb; captiousness (KAP-shes-nis) noun.

caries. See cariogenic.

cariogenic (KAR-ee-e-JEN-ik)

From English caries, from Latin caries, meaning “decay”; + the suffix -genic, meaning “producing.”

promoting development of tooth decay.

“By the time Jose reached adolescence, potent cariogenic factors had done their work, and he was told he would have to suffer many hours in a dentist's chair.”

Related words: caries (KAIR-eez) and cariogenicity (KAIR-ee-oh-je-NIS-i-tee) both nouns; carious (KAIR-ee-es) adjective.

carminative (kahr-MIN-e-tiv)

From Latin carminatus, past participle of infinitive carminare, meaning “to card (an animal's wool).”

having the quality of expelling gas from the bowel or stomach.

“Cowboys subsisting on a diet of baked beans and little else showed no amazement that they openly discussed the carminative quality of their boring rations.”

carnivorous (kahr-NIV-er-es)

From Latin carnivorus, meaning “flesh-eating.”

flesh-eating; meat-eating.

“Decreases in the number of carnivorous people and accompanying increases in the number of vegetarians have been mentioned by most observers.”

Related words: carnivore (KAHR-ne-VOR), carnivorism (kahr-NIV-e-rizm), and carnivorousness (kahr-NIV-e-res-nis) all nouns; carnivorously (kahr-NIV-e-res-lee) adverb.

caseous (KAY-see-es)

From Latin caseus, meaning “cheese” + -ous, an adjectival suffix meaning “possessing.”

of or like cheese.

“She said the cheese I had bought had an unforgivably caseous stench and would not allow it in the house.”

casuistic (KAZH-oo-IS-tik)

From Spanish casuista, meaning “casuistry,” from Latin casus, meaning “a fall.”

The adjective is also given as casuistical (KAZH-oo-IS-ti-kel).

overly subtle; intellectually dishonest.

“I ask you to forego your casuistic observations, which confuse me and your classmates.”

Related words: casuistically (KAZH-oo-IS-ti-ke-lee) adverb; casuist (KAZH-oo-ist) and casuistry (KAZH-oo-e-stree) both nouns.

casuistry. See casuistic.

catholic (KATH-e-lik)

From Latin catholicus, from Greek katholikós, both meaning “universal.” Sometimes capitalized. See definition 2 below.

1. wide-ranging (in interests); universal in scope.

“You will find that many of your teachers are catholic in their tastes and willing to read papers on any subject related to the content of their courses.”

2. usually capitalized: pertaining to all Christian peoples.

“The New World soon broadened the definitions of Catholic to encompass Christian churches of various practices and disparate ethnic groups.”

Related words: catholicly (ke-THOL-ik-lee) adverb; catholicness (KATH-e-lik-nis), catholicalness (ke-THOL-ik-el-nis), and catholicity (KATH-e-LIS-i-tee) all nouns.

censorable. See censurable.

censurable (SEN-sher-e-bel)

From English censure, meaning “reprove.”

deserving blame or censure.

“Our party's list of censurable acts and the punishment such acts merit are so clearly written that no one ever debates their validity.”

Do not confuse censurable or any of its cognates with censorable (SEN-se-re-bel) or its cognates. To censor is to play the role of censor, which enables a designated official, called censor (SEN-ser), to remove from public view any part or all of a publication, play, or the like.

To censure, by contrast, is to criticize or reprove vehemently or harshly. Whereas someone who censors is first given some kind of official status, any person may censure.

Related words: censurableness (SEN-sher-e-bel-nis), censurability (SEN-sher-e-BIL-i-tee), and censurer (SEN-sher-er) all nouns; censurably (SEN-sher-e-blee) adverb; censure (SEN-sher) noun and verb.

centripetal (sen-TRIP-i-tl)

From Modern Latin centripetus, meaning “center-seeking.”

tending toward the center.

“Politics has its own law of the centripetal, which is why candidates for high office often seek the center in imitation of senselessly spinning physical bodies.”

Related words: centripetally (sen-TRIP-i-te-lee) adverb; centripetalism (sen-TRIP-i-tel-izm) noun.

cephalic (se-FAL-ik)

From Latin cephalicus, from Greek kephalikós, both meaning “pertaining to the head.”

of the nature of a head; directed toward the head.

“Long before much knowledge was available concerning the workings of the brain, teachers of anthropology and psychology made a great stir about persons' differences in head shapes and fashioned a cephalic index as a means of categorizing the races of mankind.”

It was thought that mankind exhibited three sizes and types of heads: brachycephalic (BRAK-ee-se-FAL-ik) short-headed, mesocephalic (MEZ-oh-se-FAL-ik) midway between short-headed and longheaded, and dolichocephalic (DOL-i-koh-se-FAL-ik) long-headed.

ceriferous (si-RIF-er-es)

From Latin cera, meaning “wax” + i + -ferous, meaning “producing or secreting wax.”

secreting or producing cerumen, or earwax.

“Any man told he is going deaf may well be afflicted with excessively ceriferous ears and have to put up with periodic cleansing of those organs.”

chapfallen (CHAP-FAW-len)

From a former English noun chap, meaning “lower jaw,” + the adjective fallen.

The word is also given as chopfallen (CHOP-FAW-len), characterizing dispirited or dejected persons with their lower jaws hanging loosely.

mentally depressed; dejected; chagrined.

“Once the initial results of the election were posted, the winning candidates were ebullient and most losers were chapfallen.”

chary (CHAIR-ee)

From Middle English and Old English cearig, meaning “sorrowful” and their linguistic descendants, finally reaching German karg, meaning “scanty.”

1. wary; discreetly cautious because of apparent risks.

“Many of the chary children disappointed their parents by refusing outright to enter the gloomy caves the family had traveled so far to see.”

2. disinclined; discreetly cautious because of inherent slowness in granting compliments, etc.

“When the old coach also proved chary of writing a letter of commendation, it was obvious Emily would have to look elsewhere for a sponsor.”

Related words: charily (CHAIR-i-lee) adverb; chariness (CHAIR-ee-nis) noun.

cheeseparing (CHEEZ-pair-ing)

From English cheese + paring, meaning “trimming.”

parsimonious; miserly.

“I soon had all I could of his cheeseparing ways, surely acquired from both his parents, as I found out during a miserable afternoon spent with two of the cheapest old people I had ever met.”

Related word: cheeseparer (CHEEZ-PAIR-er) noun.

chimerical (kI-MER-i-kel)

From English chimera, literally meaning “she-goat,” + -ical, a suffix used to form adjectives from nouns.

The adjective is also given as chimeric (kI-MER-ik).

whimsical; given to fantastic schemes; unreal, imaginary; wildly fanciful.

“As usual, the best he could offer was a chimerical explanation of exactly how an ordinary goat had been induced to make its own way to the peaked roof of a twelve-story building.”

Related words: chimerically (kI-MER-i-klee) adverb; chimera (kI-MEER-e) noun.

cholera. See choleric.

choleric (KOL-er-ik)

From Middle English colerik, from Latin colericus, from Greek cholerikós, all meaning “bilious.”

irascible; hot-tempered; quick to fly off the handle.

“His choleric disposition scarcely subsided over the years until after his emergency heart bypass operation.”

Related words: cholera (KOL-er-e) and cholericness (KOL-er-ik-nis) both nouns; cholerically (KOL-er-i-klee) adverb.

chopfallen. See chapfallen.

chthonian (THOH-nee-en)

From Greek chthónios, meaning “beneath the earth.”

The adjective is also given as chthonic (THON-ik).

dwelling in or under the surface of the earth.

“Jerry seemed convinced that in an earlier life he had been one of many chthonian spirits whom he would rejoin once he died.”

churlish (CHUR-lish)

From Middle English and from Old English ceorl, meaning “man.”

1. rude, vulgar, boorish; mean; ungracious; surly.

“Nobody was willing to accept churlish people like him who never missed a chance to act insultingly.”

2. of soil: intractable; hard to work with.

“How he longed for the rich loam of the old country instead of the churlish hardpan he had to face every day of his arduous life in the New World.”

Related words: churlishly (CHUR-lish-lee) adverb; churl (churl) and churlishness (CHUR-lish-nis) both nouns.

cinereous (si-NEER-ee-es)

From Latin cinereus, meaning “ash-colored.”

The adjective is also given as cineritious (SIN-e-RISH-es).

1. reduced to ashes; ashen.

“In less than an hour fire had reduced the shed and its contents to a cinereous residue.”

2. ash-colored; grayish.

“No matter how hard I tried I was unable to see, much less photograph, the slender cinereous bird.”

Related words: cinerarium (SIN-e-RAIR-ee-em) noun; cinerary (SIN-e-RAIR-ee) adjective.

circumjacent (SUR-kem-JAY-sent)

From Latin present participle of circumjacere, meaning “to lie around, border on.”

surrounding; lying or situated around.

“What centuries before us had been a town with vast green circumjacent fields was now a sooty slum residue of coal-hungry industries that had departed generations ago.”

Related words: circumjacency (SUR-kem-JAY-sen-see) and circumjacence (SUR-kem-JAY-sens) both nouns.

clandestine (klan-DES-tin)

From Latin clandestinus, meaning “secret.”

secret; private, implying deception.

“It was understood that the entire operation would be clandestine, since the safety of an infantry battalion lay in the balance.”

Related words: clandestinely (klan-DES-tin-lee) adverb; clandestineness (klan-DES-tin-nis) noun.

claustral (KLAW-strel)

From Latin claustrum, meaning “cloister,” from claustra, meaning “bolt or lock.”

cloisterlike; pertaining to a cloister.

“A kind of claustral solemnity pervaded the house she lived in, making for an unnatural silence among her entire family.”

climactic (klI-MAK-tik)

From English climax, meaning “highest point,” from Greek kliméx, meaning “ladder.”

The adjective is also given as climactical (klI-MAK-ti-kel).

Climactic is included here because it is often mistakenly confused with climatic (klI-MAT-ik), an adjective that concerns climate, not a climax. What happens is that the middle consonant “c” in climactic often goes unvoiced, and listeners are not certain whether climactic or climatic is intended.

Speakers of English are freely distributed between those who never make this mistake and those who regularly do.

relating to or coming to a climax.

“Engraved on my memory is the climactic spectacle of a lone runner in an Olympic marathon managing to finish long after darkness had fallen, facing spectators who had waited hours to be able to see a singular display of courage and heroism for love of country.”

Related word: climactically (klI-MAK-ti-ke-lee) adverb.

climatic. See climactic.

clinquant (KLING-kent)

From French clinquant, meaning “flashy,” present participle of clinquer, “to clink.”

spangled; tinseled; garishly ornamented.

“The matron made her appearance at the awards ceremony in an unbelievably clinquant gown embroidered with thousands of rhinestones and gold sequins.”

cliquish (KLEE-kish)

From English clique, meaning “belonging to a coterie.”

The adjective is also given as cliquey or cliquy, both pronounced (KLEE-kee).

as a term of reproach: accepting only members of a select group.

“Their cliquish exclusion extended to anyone who had not been thrown out of or at least once attended a fashionable Eastern prep school.”

Related words: cliqueless (KLEEK-lis) adjective; cliquishly (KLEE-kish-lee) adverb; clique (kleek), cliquism (KLEEK-izm), and cliquishness (KLEE-kish-nis) all nouns.

cloying (KLOY-ing)

From English cloy, meaning “satiate,” + -ing, a suffix forming the present participles of verbs, often used as participial adjectives.

From Middle English acloyen, from Latin inclavare, meaning “to nail in.”

1. satiating; tending to cause disgust through excess.

“Above all, he seeks to wring out of his verse every last vestige of the cloying religiosity that usually besets him.”

2. overly sentimental or ingratiating.

“In a failed attempt to show genuine interest in the young man, Felicia came through as a transparently cloying middle-aged mother-of-the-bride-over-your-dead-body.”

Related word: cloyingly (KLOY-ing-lee) adverb.

cockamamie (KOK-e-MAY-mee)

From American slang, an alteration of decalcomania (di-KAL-ke-MAY-nee-e), meaning literally “a means of transferring pictures from specially prepared paper to another surface.”

ridiculous, implausible; pointlessly complicated.

“Only a feeble-minded person standing on his head could have created the cockamamie organization chart my new supervisor just distributed.”

cogent (KOH-jent)

From Latin present participle cogens of cogere, an infinitive meaning “to drive together.”

1. telling; powerful; convincing because of effective presentation.

“By the time she had completed her cogent plea for the release of the accused man, there wasn't a doubt in the world that he was innocent, nor was there a dry eye in the audience.”

2. pertinent; relevant; to the point.

“Everything the woman said was cogent up to the time when she offered to answer any questions from the audience, questions she knew nothing about and scarcely understood.”

Related words: cogently (KOH-jent-lee) adverb; cogency (KOH-jen-see) noun.

cognoscible (kog-NOS-e-bel)

From Latin cognoscere, meaning “to know.”

knowable; capable of being known.

“How many times in the history of mankind have wise men declared nothing remains in the physical world that is cognoscible?”

Related word: cognoscibility (kog-NOS-e-BIL-i-tee) noun.

coltish (KOHL-tish)

From English colt, meaning “young horse” + adjectival suffix -ish.

resembling a young horse; wild, frisky, untamed; frolicsome, playful.

“The last children's nurse she hired lasted less than a month because of the twins' coltish behavior, which was unacceptable to their parents as well as to any other reasonably intelligent adult.”

Related words: coltishly (KOHL-tish-lee) adverb; coltishness (KOHL-tish-nis) noun.

colubrine (KOL-e-BRIN)

From Latin coluber, meaning “snakelike.”

snakelike; cunning; wily; resembling a snake.

“The colubrine candidate had astounded us all by insinuating his way to the top in a single year without attracting undue notice.”

Related word: colubrid (KOL-e-brid) noun.

comate. See comose.

comatose (KOM-e-TOHS)

From Greek kôma, meaning “sleep.”

1. torpid; lacking alertness.

“My comatose sons understand fully the need for greater care in managing the ranch they one day will inherit.”

2. affected with coma.

“After many hours in a comatose state, the patient appeared incapable of being roused.”

Related words: comatosely (KOM-e-TOHS-lee) adverb; comatoseness (KOM-e-TOHS-nis) and comatosity (KOM-e-TOS-i-tee) both nouns.

comestible (ke-MES-te-bel)

From Latin comestibilis, from comedere, meaning “to devour.”

edible; eatable; fit to eat.

“Anything remotely comestible disappears within minutes after my voracious sons get home from school.”

Related word: comestibles (ke-MES-te-belz) noun.

comose (KOH-mohs)

From Latin comosus, meaning “shaggy”; from Greek kóme, meaning “hair.”

The adjective is also given as comate (KOH-mayt).

hairy; comate, tufted.

“Gone are the days when comose young men brought shame upon a family when they managed to avoid sneaking into a barbershop for their semiannual shearing.”

compendious (kem-PEN-dee-es)

From Middle English, from Latin compendiosus, meaning “advantageous, abridged.”

succinct, concise; containing the substance of a subject in compact form.

“What they were looking for was a compendious treatment of all the world's best literature without having to read the originals.”

Related words: compendiously (kem-PEN-dee-es-lee) adverb; compendiousness (kem-PEN-dee-es-nis) and compendium (kem-PEN-dee-em) both nouns.

compendium. See compendious.

complacent (kem-PLAY-sent)

From present participle of Latin infinitive complacere, meaning “to please.” See the meaning of complaisant in the next entry.

1. self-satisfied; smug; feeling pleasure in one's own condition.

“Above all, I was warned, never show that you are complacent about your dog's chances of being named best in show.”

2. pleasant; complaisant.

“I was entirely complacent about my failure to win a medal in the competition until I saw that the two leaders were faced with suspension for interference with one another during the race.”

Related words: complacently (kem-PLAY-sent-lee) adverb; complacency (kem-PLAY-sen-see) and complacence (kem-PLAY-sens) both nouns.

complaisant (kem-PLAY-sent)

From French complaisance, present participle of complaire; from present participle of Latin complacere, both the French and Latin infinitives meaning “to please.”

There is less feeling of smugness in complaisant than there is in complacent, even though the meanings of the two words are coming together.

agreeable, obliging, accommodating; disposed to please; hypocritically indifferent to strict moral standards.

“The child's complaisant ways did not go unnoticed, I am glad to say, even though good manners in the young are often overlooked.”

Related words: complaisantly (kem-PLAY-sent-lee) adverb; complaisance (kem-PLAY-sens) noun.

compunction. See compunctious.

compunctious (kem-PUNGK-shes)

From English compunction, meaning “contrition or remorse.”

regretful; remorseful; causing or feeling compunction.

“Although Jane had no part in the botched plot, I cannot see why she insists on feeling compunctious about it.”

Related words: compunctiously (kem-PUNGK-shes-lee) adverb; compunctionless (kem-PUNGK-shen-lis) adjective; compunction (kem-PUNGK-shen) noun.

concinnous (ken-SIN-es)

From Latin concinnus, meaning “symmetrical, polished.”

agreeable, harmonious; elegant, graceful.

“Ethel was well liked and admired by her coworkers for her concinnous manners.”

Related words: concinnity (ken-SIN-i-tee) noun; concinnate (KON-se-NAYT) verb.

concupiscent (kon-KYOO-pi-sent)

From Latin concupiscens, present participle of concupiscere, meaning “to covet, desire, long for (someone).”

lustful; eagerly desirous.

“Plato, the lecturer said, saw the soul at the same time as rational, impatient, and concupiscent, giving us a further indication of the complexity of human emotions as seen in ancient Greece.”

Related words: concupiscence (kon-KYOO-pi-sens) noun; concupiscible (kon-KYOO-pi-se-bel) adjective.

condign (ken-DIN)

From Latin condignus, meaning “very worthy.”

well deserved; appropriate; fitting.

“Because of the severity of the crimes committed, the prisoner's sentence satisfied us as being condign.”

Related words: condignly (ken-DIN-lee) adverb; condignity (ken-DIG-ni-tee) and condignness (ken-DIN-nis) both nouns.

congruent. See congruous.

congruous (KONG-groo-es)

From Latin congruus, meaning “agreeable.”

The adjective is also given as congruent (KONG-groo-ent).

suitable; conformable; appropriate, coherent; meeting requirements; being in agreement or harmony.

“The present international commission seems to be incapable of bringing all three nations together in a congruous settlement.”

Related words: congruously (KONG-groo-es-lee) and congruently (KONG-groo-ent-lee) both adverbs; congruousness (KONG-groo-es-nis), congruity (ken-GROO-i-tee), congruence (KONG-groo-ens), and congruency (KONG-groo-en-see) all nouns.

consanguineous (KON-sang-GWIN-ee-es)

From Latin consanguineus, meaning “of the same blood.” (In Latin, the noun blood is given as sanguis.)

The adjective is also given as consanguine (kon-SANG-gwin) and consanguineal (kon-sang-GWIN-ee-el).

of the same blood; having the same ancestry.

“Almost every society, from the least advanced to the most highly sophisticated, has a taboo on consanguineous marriage, which prevents siblings and cousins from intermarrying.”

Related words: consanguineously (KON-sang-GWIN-ee-es-lee) adverb; consanguinity (KON-sang-GWIN-i-tee) noun.

consuetudinary (KON-swi-TOOD-in-ER-ee)

From Latin consuetudinarius, adjectival form of consuetudo, meaning “custom, habit.”

customary; traditional.

“Even in complex societies, matters of everyday life are often subject to regulation by consuetudinary law.”

Related word: consuetude (KON-swi-TOOD) noun.

contemporaneous (ken-TEM-pe-RAY-nee-es)

From Latin contemporaneus, meaning “contemporary.” (In Latin, “time” is given as tempus.)

Contemporaneous is similar in form to contemporary. The essential difference between these two rests in that contemporaneous applies to events, and contemporary applies to people and the things they have, as shown below.

Contemporaneous. “Failing memory being what it is, contemporaneous accounts of great events usually deserve more credence than historical accounts.”

Contemporary. “Franklin D. Roosevelt is remembered affectionately by most contemporary journalists, politicians, and statesmen.”

said of events: existing or occurring during the same time; belonging to the same period.

“Long experience with the unreliability of recalled testimony forced the attorney to seek witnesses who could give good contemporary accounts of the crime.”

Related words: contemporaneously (ken-TEM-pe-RAY-nee-es-lee) adverb; contemporaneity (ken-TEM-pe-re-NEE-i-tee) and contemporaneousness (ken-TEM-pe-RAY-nee-es-nis) both nouns.

contemporary (ken-TEM-pe-RER-ee)

For word origin and discussion of differences in meaning, see contemporaneous.

1. belonging to the same time or period; living together in time.

“After much study he is still surprised to find a lack of interest among contemporary foreign-language newspapers in the onset of a major economic depression.”

2. simultaneous; characteristic of the same time or period.

“My brother and Jonas Salk, considered representative contemporary physicians of their time, were completely unaware of antibiotics until after they had completed their formal studies.”

3. modern; characteristic of the same period.

“The editor of our newspaper shows no interest in contemporary architecture, apparently considering it only an aberration.”

Related words: contemporarily (ken-TEM-pe-RER-i-lee) adverb; contemporariness (ken-TEM-pe-RER-i-nes); contemporize (ken-TEM-pe-RIZ) verb.

continual (ken-TIN-yoo-el)

From Latin continuus, meaning “uninterrupted,” from continere, meaning “to hang together.” Similar in form to continuous.

Continual and continuous are almost always used interchangeably, even by the best writers, yet language devotees insist on differentiating the troublesome pair.

The definitions given in the remainder of this entry, continual, and the next entry, continuous, begin by showing the strict interpretation of young writers and academics and end with a relaxed attitude.

Continual. Characterized by occasional pauses, as though to regroup: “After not being heard for a few hours, there he was again, with his continual yawping.”

1. frequently recurring; often repeating, intermittent.

“My daughter's continual tears got her nowhere and were soon replaced by dry-eyed smiles.”

2. unceasing; incessant; always; perpetual.

“Continual presence of one or more adults is now a requirement in day schools.”

Related words: continually (ken-TIN-yoo-e-lee) adverb; continuable (ken-TIN-yoo-e-bel) adjective; continuality (ken-TIN-yoo-AL-i-tee), continuance (ken-TIN-yoo-ens), continuation (ken-TIN-yoo-AY-shen), and continualness (ken-TIN-yoo-el-nis) all nouns; continue (ken-TIN-yoo) verb.

continuous (ke-TIN-yoo-es)

From Latin continuus, meaning “uninterrupted,” from continere, meaning “to hang together.”

The English adjective is also given as continued (ken-TIN-yood) and continual.

Continuous. Never pausing, not even for a moment: “How happy I was to hear once again the continuous roar of Niagara Falls, knowing the torrent would not slow to a trickle in the lifetime of my granddaughter.”

1. ceaseless; uninterrupted in time.

“We had to put up with continuous dialing and ringing every day when the children were home from school.”

2. unbroken; never ending.

“I am seeking a high-fidelity machine that will play a continuous tape.”

Related words: continuously (ken-TIN-yoo-es-lee) adverb; continuousness (ken-TIN-yoo-es-nis) and continuum (ken-TIN-yoo-em) both nouns.

contumacious (KON-tuu-MAY-shes)

From Latin contumax, meaning “obstinate.”

stubbornly perverse; insubordinate, rebellious.

“His contumacious behavior is disrupting the smooth operation of the company.”

Related words: contumaciously (KON-too-MAY-shes-lee) adverb; contumacy (KON-too-me-see), contumaciousness (KON-too-MAY-shes-nis), and contumacity (KON-too-MAS-i-tee) all nouns.

contumelious (KON-too-MEE-lee-es)

From Latin noun contumelia, meaning “invective; an insult, a libel.”

displaying contempt in words or actions; tending to convey humiliation.

“They expressed themselves in such contumelious language during the negotiation that we wondered if they were trying to sabotage us.”

Related words: contumely (KON-tuu-me-lee) and contumeliousness (KON-too-MEE-lee-es-nis) both nouns; contumeliously (KON-too-MEE-lee-es-lee) adverb.

coriaceous (KOR-ee-AY-shes)

From Late Latin coriaceus, meaning “leathern”: from Latin corium, meaning “hide, leather.”

resembling leather.

“Years of exposure to the sun left him with weather-beaten, coriaceous skin that identified him as a true cowboy and made him a favorite with all the impressionable young women guests.”

corrigible (KOR-i-je-bel)

From Latin corrigere, meaning “to correct.”

The English word corrigible is much better known in its antonym incorrigible, which doesn't say much for our social structure.

1. rectifiable; capable of being corrected.

“Many heretofore lethal medical conditions are now corrigible by surgical intervention or by antibiotics.”

2. of faults: capable of being amended, improved, or reformed.

“The new warden brought to his job the hope and possibility that all crimes were corrigible.”

3. of persons: open to correction.

“The child's parents long ago decided he was not corrigible and sent him off to a so-called military prep school.”

Related words: corrigibly (KOR-ri-je-blee) adverb; corrigibility (KOR-ri-je-BIL-i-tee) and corrigibleness (KOR-ri-je-bel-nis) both nouns.

coruscant (ke-RUS-kent)

From Latin infinitive coruscare, meaning “to flash, quiver.”

scintillating; coruscating; sparkling or gleaming.

“The star's splendid, coruscant gown reflected the brilliant lights of Oscar night and brought rounds of applause as she made her way into the theater.”

Related words: coruscate (KOR-e-skayt) verb; coruscation (KOR-e-SKAY-shen) noun.

corvine (KOR-vIn)

From Latin corvinus, meaning “a crow.”

resembling or pertaining to a crow.

“Ornithologists have observed that corvine birds are susceptible to heretofore unobserved fatal viral infections.”

corybantic (KOR-e-BAN-tik)

From Latin and Greek Corybas, a mythologic spirit given to wildness.

Also given as Corybantian (KOR-e-BAN-shen) and Corybantine (KOR-e-BAN-tin).

unrestrained; frenzied.

“Late in the evening of heavy imbibing, the band broke into a wild number and the crowd worked itself up into a traditional corybantic dance the local people had not seen the match of in years.”

costive (KOS-tiv)

From Middle English costif through intermediate European languages back to Latin constipatus, meaning “tightfisted” as well as “constipated.”

Constipatus is a past participle of constipare, literally meaning “to crowd or press together.” A beautiful example of linguistic imagination.

1. constipated; suffering from hardness and retention of feces.

“The patient complained he was occasionally costive, but when told he should have a colonoscopy, he refused, saying all he wanted was a prescription for an effective laxative.”

2. reticent; slow or reluctant to act or to express opinions.

“Our team could never decide whether Sean was slow-witted or merely costive, but they did know they needed a coach who was more assertive.”

Related words: costively (KOS-tiv-lee) adverb; costiveness (KOS-tiv-nis) noun.

couth (kooth)

A back formation from the more popular English word uncouth, meaning “unsophisticated; lacking in polish.”

sophisticated; refined; polished.

“No one seems to know where a hayseed like him could have learned his manners—he was even known to kiss ladies' hands—but there was no doubt his couth behavior was in sharp contrast to that of country bumpkins.”

crapulent. See crapulous.

crapulous (KRAP-ye-les)

From Latin crapula, meaning “drunkenness”; from Greek kraipále, meaning “drunkenness, hangover.”

Also given as crapulent (KRAP-ye-lent).

While some lexicographers try hard to differentiate the meanings of the adjectives crapulent and crapulous, nothing is gained by this pursuit. Drunk is drunk. And hung over is hung over.

1. intemperate; inclined to drunkenness or overeating.

“Monthly dinners with his crapulous friends invariably led to excessive consumption of rich food and strong drink.”

2. suffering ill effects of such excess; resulting from drunkenness.

“The crapulous hangovers, pounding headaches, and wrenching nausea made him certain it was time he became a teetotaler.”

Related words: crapulously (KRAP-ye-les-lee) adverb; crapulence (KRAP-ye-lens), crapulency (KRAP-ye-len-see), and crapulousness (KRAP-you-les-nis) all nouns.

credible. See credulous.

credulous (KREJ-e-les)

From Latin credulus, meaning “trusting,” from credere, meaning “to believe.”

Not to be confused with credible (KRED-e-bel), meaning “believable, trustworthy”; incompetent newscasters commonly make this mistake.

1. of a person: gullible; disposed to believe too readily.

“I was exasperated by my credulous mother's ready acceptance of everything she read in the daily newspaper.”

2. of things: arising from trusting too readily.

“The police procedure was sufficiently credulous that the detectives were willing to let him go free even though several witnesses claimed they had seen him commit the crime.”

Related words: credulously (KREJ-e-les-lee) adverb; credulousness (KREJ-e-les-nis) and credulity (kre-DOO-li-tee) both nouns.

crepuscular (kri-PUS-kye-ler)

From English crepuscule, meaning “twilight, dusk”; from Latin crepusculum, of the same meanings, from the Latin adjective creper, meaning “dark, doubtful.”

dim; of or resembling twilight.

“As I sat at my desk and wrote, I could only summon up unsatisfactory crepuscular images of my formative years.”

Related words: crepuscule (kri-PUS-kyool) and crepuscle (kri-PUS-el) both nouns.

cunctative (KUNGK-te-tiv)

From Latin cunctatio, meaning “delay”; from cunctatus, meaning “hesitated,” past participle of cunctari “to delay.”

dilatory; procrastinative; prone to delay.

“After three years of his brand of leadership, we have become so accustomed to his cunctative style that notions of efficiency have all but vanished from our discourse.”

Related words: cunctatious (kungk-TAY-shes) and cunctatory (KUNGK-te-TOR-ee) both adjectives; cunctator (kungk-TAY-ter) and cunctatorship (kungk-TAY-ter-SHIP) both nouns.

cuneal (KYOO-nee-el)

From Latin cuneatus, meaning “wedge-shaped”; from cuneus, meaning “wedge.”

The adjective is also given as cuneate (KYOO-nee-it).

cuneiform; wedge-shaped.

“Her mysteriously marked cuneal cookies, labeled ‘Egyptian Mummy Cookies,’ put off some superstitious customers.”

Related words: cuneated (KYOO-nee-AYT-id), cuneatic (KYOO-nee-AT-ik), and cuneiform (kyoo-NEE-e-FORM) all adjectives.

cupreous (KYOO-pree-es)

From Latin cupreus, meaning “of copper.”

copperlike; resembling copper; copper-colored; reddish-brown; containing or consisting of copper.

“Our place is high above a stream cutting through a valley that is said to be cupreous, but no one has tried to mine there in many years.”

Related words: cupric (KYOO-prik), cuprous (KYOO-pres), and cupriferous (kyoo-PRIF-er-es) all adjectives.

curmudgeonly (ker-MUJ-en-lee)

Derivation unknown beyond the English noun curmudgeon, meaning “a miser or stingy person.”

Those meanings and the adjectival meanings, known by the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary to have existed from the sixteenth century into the nineteenth, led to the following.

difficult; cantankerous; bad-tempered.

“Some persons forgive his curmudgeonly behavior by saying he had an unhappy childhood or is in a bad marriage, but I think he was just born mean.”

cyaneous (sI-AN-ee-es)

From Latin cyaneus, from Greek kyáneos, from kyános, meaning “dark blue.”

of the color deep blue; azure.

“The pretty young girl's cyaneous eyes reminded me of the sky on a clear day.”

Related word: cyanic (sI-AN-ik) adjective.

D

daedal (DEED-l)

From Latin daedalus, from Greek daídalos, both meaning “skillful.”

Also from Daedalus, of Greek mythology. This skilled artificer constructed the Cretan labyrinth and made wings for himself and his son Icarus to enable them to escape from Crete.

1. skillful; ingenious.

“Try as I would, the conjurer's daedal finger work with cards had me thoroughly confused in no time at all.”

2. marvelously intricate.

“I managed to spend half an hour examining Sophie's prize-winning comforter, which displayed her daedal stitchery.”

Related words: Daedalian and Daedalean (both di-DAY-lee-en), and Daedalic (di-DAL-ik) all adjectives.

dastardly (DAS-terd-lee)

From English dastard, about which little more is known.

The adjective is also given as dastard (DAS-terd).

1. of a person: cowardly; sneaking.

“About the only thing you can be sure of is that a dastardly companion will never change the baseness of his ways.”

2. of an act: pusillanimous; showing cowardice.

“Desertion at the first sign of danger showed clearly the dastardly behavior we could expect of the likes of him.”

Related words: dastard (DAS-terd) and dastardliness (DAS-terd-lee-nis) both nouns; dastardly (DAS-terd-lee) also adverb.

daunting (DAWN-ting)

See Latin origin given below for dauntless.

frightful; intimidating; disheartening; discouraging.

“Most important of all the things they were told prior to the invasion was to be ready to stand together and fight off anything enemy propagandists would say about the daunting battle they were about to face.”

Related words: dauntingly (DAWN-ting-lee) adverb; dauntingness (DAWN-ting-nis) noun.

dauntless (DAWNT-lis)

From English daunt, meaning “to intimidate”; from Latin domitare, meaning “to conquer.”

While you and I aspire to be dauntless rather than have to face a daunting world, we both know that the two words come from the same Latin source.

intrepid; indomitable; fearless; not to be intimidated.

“By his actions during the initial assault on the enemy-held hill, our dauntless leader somehow was able to stir his troops to valor previously unsurpassed in the history of the division.”

Related words: daunt (dawnt) verb; dauntlessly (DAWNT-lis-lee) adverb; dauntlessness (DAWNT-lis-nis) noun.

decalcomania. See cockamamie.

decamerous (di-KAM-er-es)

From Latin deca, meaning “ten,” + -merous, a combining form meaning “having parts”: together, “ten-parted.”

having ten divisions or parts.

“The dreary decamerous story was ideally suited for inducing sleep in overcharged young campers.”

Related words, in homage to Boccaccio: Decameron (di-KAM-er-en) noun; Decameronic (di-KAM-e-RON-ik) adjective.

declivitous (di-KLIV-i-tes)

From Latin declivitas, meaning “sloping ground.”

having a somewhat steep or considerably downward slope.

“I will never again buy a house that is cursed with a declivitous driveway, no matter how attractive the price.”

Related words: declivity (di-KLIV-i-tee) noun; declivous (di-KLIV-es) and declivent (di-KLIV-ent) both adjectives.

decumbent (di-KUM-bent)

From Latin decumbens, present participle of decumbere, meaning “to recline.”

recumbent; lying down.

“I am told that in those days a patient hospitalized after repair of a detached retina was told to remain decumbent for at least two weeks before trying to get out of bed.”

Related words: decumbently (di-KUM-bent-lee) adverb; decumbence (di-KUM-bens) and decumbency (di-KUM-ben-see) both nouns.

defeasible (di-FEE-ze-bel)

From Anglo-French defesible, meaning “capable of being undone.”

Defeasible, of course, is an antonym of the English word feasible, as is indefeasible (IN-di-FEE-ze-bel).

capable of being terminated or annulled.

“The judge explained to the woman asking for a divorce that, once granted, the writ would not be defeasible.”

Related words: defease (di-FEEZ) verb; defeasance (di-FEE-zens), defeasibility (di-FEE-zi-BIL-i-tee), and defeasibleness (di-FEE-zi-bel-nis) all nouns.

deferential (DEF-e-REN-shel)

From French déférence, meaning “showing respect.”

respectful; showing deference; characterized by deference.

“Young interns were always deferential when dealing with their superiors.”

Related words: deferentially (DEF-e-REN-she-lee) adverb; deferent (DEF-er-ent) adjective; deference (DEF-er-ens) noun.

dégagé (day-gah-ZHAY)

From French past participle dégagé of infinitive dégager, meaning “to put at ease.”

in manner: detached, unconstrained; without emotional involvement.

“While you may be inclined to be emotionally involved in the family crisis, dégagé behavior would be more useful.”

dehiscent (di-HIS-ent)

From Latin dehiscere, meaning “to gape, yawn; burst open.”

in surgery: open; gaping.

“After my operation had begun to heal I was told to my dismay that my wound was dehiscent and had to be sewn together once more.”

Related word: dehisce (di-HIS) verb.

deiform (DEE-e-FORM)

From Latin deus, meaning “god,” + -formis, a suffix meaning “having the form of.”

godlike; divine; having the form or nature of a god.

“According to the minister, at that very moment the entire congregation stood as one person and vividly saw a deiform creature rise from the pulpit and vanish into air.”

Related word: deiformity (DEE-e-FORM-i-tee) noun.

deleterious (DEL-i-TEER-ee-es)

From Greek deletérios, meaning “destructive.”

1. noxious; damaging to health.

“Something she served at dinner turned out to be deleterious, and eventually the entire party ended up in the emergency room.”

2. injurious; mentally or morally harmful.

“Tommy's parents withdrew him from the school when they decided his studies were having a deleterious effect on him.”

Related words: deleteriously (DEL-i-TEER-ee-es-lee) adverb; deleteriousness (DEL-i-TEER-ee-es-nis) noun; delete (di-LEET) verb; deletable (di-LEET-e-bel) adjective.

Delphic (DEL-fik)

From Latin Delphicus, from Greek Delphikós, both referring to the ancient Greek city of Delphi, which was the site of an oracle of Apollo.

Delphic, also given as Delphian (DEL-fee-en), means “referring to the city, to Apollo, or to the other oracles.” Of greater importance for the modern reader, however, is the meaning given below.

also given as delphic: oracular, obscure, ambiguous.

“There is complete agreement that any delphic answer I give will sound intelligent but not be clearly understood.”

Related word: delphically (DEL-fi-klee) adverb.

demimondaine (DEM-ee-mon-DAYN)

From French demimonde, literally “half-world,” + -aine, a French adjectival suffix.

A demimondaine, as a noun, is a woman of the demimonde (DEM-ee-MOND), which is this “half-world.”

concerning the half-world peopled by a class of women of doubtful reputations.

“Without being particularly aware of sliding downward in reputation, Nana found her life as a sought-after member of demimondaine Paris quite exciting—at least for a time.”

démodé (day-maw-DAY)

From French démodé, past participle of démoder, meaning “to put out of fashion.”

Also given as the more anglicized demoded (dee-MOH-did), with the same meaning.

out of fashion.

“Sylvia's flowered démodé dresses embarrassed her fashion-conscious daughters.”

demotic (di-MOT-ik)

From Greek demotikós, meaning “popular.”

1. in linguistics: vernacular; pertaining to everyday language.

“His baseball stories captured colorful American demotic speech in a way no other writing since has managed to do.”

2. popular; pertaining to ordinary people.

“In searching for a winning presidential candidate, major parties are aware of the importance of the demotic personality, a trait that says to us this candidate is quite smart, but no better than you or I.”

demulcent (di-MUL-sent)

From Latin demulcens, present participle of demulcere, meaning “to stroke,” from infinitive mulcere, meaning “to soothe.”

in medicine: soothing; allaying irritation.

“About all we could do for the injured man was employ demulcent ointments in hope they would allay his severe irritation.”

dendrophagous (den-DROF-e-ges)

From Latin dendro-, meaning “tree,” + combining form -phagous, meaning “feeding on.”

of insects: feeding on the wood of trees.

“Not until we saw clear evidence of their depredations did we know that dendrophagous beetles had been at work, and by then it was too late to save the trees.”

dentulous (DEN-che-les)

A back formation of English edentulous, meaning “toothless, possessing no teeth.”

The key to the word is the prefix e-, meaning “without.” Removing this prefix miraculously restores the missing teeth.

bearing or possessing teeth.

“The puppy left an ample supply of chewed shoes as evidence that he was dentulous.”

Related words: dentist (DEN-tist), dentistry (DEN-te-stree), dentition (den-TISH-en), denture (DEN-cher), and denturism (DEN-che-RIZ-em) all nouns; dentoid (DEN-toyd) adjective.

deprecative (DEP-ri-KAY-tiv)

From French déprécatif from Latin deprecativus, both meaning “disparaging, expressive of earnest disapproval.”

Also intended by deprecatory (DEP-ri-ke-TOR-ee).

Both deprecative and deprecatory are related to the verb deprecate (DEP-ri-KAYT), which expresses the disapproving action or feelings conveyed by the two adjectives: “My opponent, obviously finding fault with everything I say or think, unsurprisingly deprecates every suggestion I make.”

Do not confuse the verbs depreciate (di-PREE-shee-AYT) and deprecate. Depreciate means (1) make or become lower in value, as well as (2) disparage.

disparaging: serving to express disapproval.

“He was warned that deprecative remarks would discourage his son, whereas words of encouragement would assure the boy of support.”

Related words: deprecatively (DEP-ri-KAY-tiv-lee), deprecatorily (DEP-ri-ke-TOR-i-lee), and deprecatingly (DEP-ri-KAYT-ing-lee) all adverbs; deprecation (DEP-ri-KAY-shen) and deprecator (DEP-ri-kay-tor) both nouns.

deprecatory See deprecative.

depreciative See deprecative.

derisive (di-RI-siv)

From the English noun derision, meaning “mockery,” from Latin infinitive deridere, meaning “to laugh at.”

The English adjective derisive is also given as derisory (di-RI-se-ree), usually meaning “worthy of ridicule,” as in “selling damaged books at derisory prices.”

scoffing; contemptuous; mocking; expressing derision.

“I have been told that the cheerleaders advocate leading derisive cheers against the other team, thinking sophisticated spectators will perceive the cheers as mockery.”

Related words: derisively (di-RI-siv-lee) adverb; derisible (di-RIZ-e-bel) adjective; derisiveness (di-RI-siv-nis) and derision (di-RIZH-en) both nouns.

derogatory (di-ROG-e-TOR-ee)

From Late Latin derogatorius, meaning “cursing.”

Also given far less frequently as derogative (di-ROG-e-tiv).

disparaging; disrespectful; lowering the reputation of someone.

“All the derogatory opinions directed toward him seemed to have no effect on his determination to pursue the coveted nomination.”

Related words: derogatorily (di-ROG-e-TOR-i-lee) and derogatively (di-ROG-e-tiv-lee) both adverbs; derogatoriness (di-ROG-e-TOR-ee-nis) noun.

desiderative (di-SID-er-e-tiv)

From Latin desideratus, past participle of desiderare, meaning “to require.”

having or expressing desire.

“In the life he leads, he considers expensive clothing, summer cottages, and the latest restaurants desiderative indulgences.”

Related words: desiderate (di-SID-e-RAYT) verb; desideratum (di-SID-e-RAH-tem) and desiderium (DES-i-DEER-ee-em) both nouns.

detersive (di-TUR-siv)

From Middle French détersif, from Latin detersus, past participle of detergere, meaning “to clean.”

Detersive is also used as a noun, meaning “a detergent.”

tending to cleanse; having the quality of cleansing.

“To my surprise the detersive agent lived up to the wild claims made for its cleansing ability.”

Related words: detersively (di-TUR-siv-lee) adverb; detersiveness (di-TUR-siv-nis) noun.

detumescent (DEE-too-MES-ent)

From Latin infinitive detumescere, meaning “to become less swollen.”

Antonym of tumescent (too-MES-ent).

becoming less swollen, less nearly erect.

“A stand-up comic suggested that if the drug called Viagra could be such a success, there ought to be a marketing niche for a detumescent drug called Falls.”

Related word: detumescence (DEE-too-MES-ens) noun.

dewy-eyed (DOO-ee-ID)

From English dewy, meaning “moist,” + eyed, meaning “having eyes.”

credulously innocent; trusting; romantically naive.

“How could you have been so cruel as to have taken advantage of a dewy-eyed ingenue?”

dexterous (DEK-stres)

From Latin dexter, meaning “right hand.” Also given as dextrous.

1. right-handed; adroit in the use of hands and body.

“Elaine was the most dexterous of the potters she knew, rarely having to discard any of her work.”

2. clever; mentally acute.

“It took many years of hard work and many mistakes to become so dexterous in the management of her money.”

Related words: dextral (DEK-strel) adjective; dexterously (DEK-ster-es-lee) adverb; dexterity (dek-STER-i-tee), dexterousness (DEK-stres-nis), and dextrality (dek-STRAL-i-tee) all nouns.

diaphaneity See diaphanous.

diaphanous (dI-AF-e-nes)

From Medieval Latin diaphanus, from Greek diaphaínen, meaning “to show through.”

pellucid, translucent; permitting passage of light and vision.

“Whether dancers intent on attracting spirited young men choose to wear diaphanous gowns is entirely their own decision.”

Related words: diaphanously (dI-AF-e-nes-lee) adverb; diaphanousness (dI-AF-e-nes-nis) and diaphaneity (dI-AF-e-NEE-i-tee) both nouns.

dichotomous (dI-KOT-e-mes)

From Medieval Latin dichotomos, from Greek dichótomos, both meaning “cut in half.”

divided or dividing into two.

“The acrimonious primary elections exposed the growing feeling that sooner or later there would be a dichotomous movement within each party.”

Related words: dichotomously (dI-KOT-e-mes-lee) adverb; dichotomy (dI-KOT-e-mee), dichotomousness (dI-KOT-e-mes-nis), dichotomist (dI-KOT-e-mist), and dichotomization (dI-KOT-e-mi-ZAY-shen) all nouns; dichotomize (dI-KOT-e-MIZ) verb; dichotomistic (dI-KOT-e-MIS-tik) adjective.

diffident (DIF-i-dent)

From Latin diffidens, present participle of infinitive diffidere, meaning “to distrust.”

1. shy; timid; wanting in self-confidence.

“By accident I discovered that his diffident demeanor vanished when he was with friends and not with his parents.”

2. restrained in manner.

“I have never been able to understand why he kept his diffident manner even after he had become a big Broadway star.”

Related words: diffidently (DIF-i-dent-lee) adverb; diffidentness (DIF-i-dent-nis) and diffidence (DIF-i-dens) both nouns.

dilettante (DIL-i-TAHNT)

From Italian dilettante, meaning “a lover of the arts”; from Latin delectare, meaning “to delight, amuse.”

of or pertaining to those who take up an art merely as a pastime.

“Our conductor condemned absence or lateness for a rehearsal as a sign of dilettante indulgence that would never be acceptable among professionals.”

Related words: dilettantish (DIL-i-TAHN-tish) adjective; dilettantism (DIL-i-tahn-TIZ-em) noun.

dipsomaniacal (DIP-se-me-NI-e-kel)

From English dipsomania, meaning “alcoholism, an irresistible craving for drink”; from Greek dipsa, meaning “thirst,” + the well-understood word maniac.

This term, once popular, is hardly ever heard today.

affected with alcoholism.

“Strangely enough, no one in Jerry's family drank beer, wine, or whiskey at all, yet he was dipsomaniacal before he left college, and died of overdrinking by the time he was thirty.”

Related words: dipsomania (DIP-se-MAY-nee-e) and dipsomaniac (DIP-se-MAY-nee-AK) both nouns.

disaffected (DIS-e-FEK-tid)

From English disaffect, meaning “to estrange.” A verb in the past tense and an adjective.

unfriendly, hostile, as toward government or authority.

“His former supporters became disaffected by his bad judgment, questionable appointments, and hints of scandal in his first administration.”

Related words: disaffectedly (DIS-e-FEK-tid-lee) adverb; disaffectedness (DIS-e-FEK-tid-nis) and disaffection (DIS-e-FEK-shen) both nouns; disaffect (DIS-e-FEKT) verb.

discommodious (DIS-ke-MOH-dee-es)

From English prefix dis-, with a negative meaning, + commodious, meaning “roomy.”

troublesome; inconvenient; disadvantageous.

“When Peter finally found out that running away meant leaving the comforts of home and being able to afford only a discommodious one-room apartment and meals taken invariably in a greasy spoon, regret began to seep in and eventually overwhelm him.”

Related words: discommodiously (DIS-ke-MOH-dee-es-lee) adverb; discommodiousness (DIS-ke-MOH-dee-es-nis) noun; discommode (DIS-ke-MOHD) verb.

discreet (di-SKREET)

From Middle English discret, meaning “circumspect, wise”; and Latin discretus, with the same meanings.

See also discrete for the difference in spelling and for the difference in meanings that have arisen in the many years since discreet and discrete became discrete English words.

1. circumspect; showing discernment or good judgment in speech and actions.

“My father always stressed the importance of the work he did for the government and the need for my being discreet in my speech, especially when people outside the family might be listening.”

2. unostentatious; modest.

“The discreet jewelry she habitually wore never attracted attention, and few people even noticed it.”

Related words: discreetly (di-SKREET-lee) adverb; discreetness (di-SKREET-nis) noun.

discrete (di-SKREET)

From the same Middle English and Latin sources as discreet.

You may wonder how English can have two words spelled so nearly alike yet have distinct meanings. From about the fourteenth century on, the intention was that there would be only one word. That the word soon was spelled in two different ways is not surprising because spelling had not yet become standardized, and discreet and discrete were going their merry ways.

When correct spelling grew to be considered rather important, in approximately the sixteenth century, men and women who wrote didactic spellers—spelling books whose main purpose was to teach—decided they would define the two words differently. They severed their meanings so each received a fair share, and the words were spelled approximately the way the words are spelled today.

distinct and discontinuous; detached from others.

“The challenging route to a million-dollar prize required that one answer fifteen discrete questions, some quite easy, a few extremely difficult.”

See also indiscrete.

Related words: discretely (di-SKREET-lee) adverb; discreteness (di-SKREET-nis) noun.

discursive (di-SKUR-siv)

From Latin discurrere, meaning “to run to and fro.”

1. digressive; chattering aimlessly.

“I might have paid more attention to the lecturer if she had been less discursive and better organized.”

2. ratiocinative; moving ahead by reasoning and logic.

“All six lectures in the series proved splendidly discursive and easily absorbed by those who think logically.”

Related words: discursively (di-SKUR-siv-lee) adverb; discursiveness (di-SKUR-siv-nis) and discursion (di-SKUR-zhen) both nouns.

disembodied (DIS-em-BOD-eed)

From English dis-, a prefix here meaning “apart,” + embody, meaning “embrace.”

of a spirit: divested of a body; separated from that in which it had been embodied.

“In the comedy the disembodied spirit of the man's first wife completely upsets his second marriage.”

Related words: disembody (DIS-em-BOD-ee) verb; disembodiment (DIS-em-BOD-ee-mint) noun.

dishy (DISH-ee)

From British slang dish, meaning “an attractive woman,” + -y, an adjectival suffix.

1. British slang: very attractive.

“He always chose to go to pubs that attracted a generous assortment of dishy girls.”

2. slang: gossipy.

“Give her a dishy novel and a quiet room and you won't hear a word from her for hours.”

disingenuous (DIS-in-JEN-yoo-es)

From English ingenuous, meaning “naive.”

Ingenuous used to be heard more often when we lived in simpler times, but as our history unfolds, we seem to have increased need for the meanings of disingenuous.

insincere; lacking in candor; hypocritically sincere.

“One had to be disingenuous rather than merely honest and hardworking to advance in that company.”

Related words: disingenuously (DIS-in-JEN-yoo-es-lee) adverb; disingenuousness (DIS-in-JEN-yoo-es-nis) noun.

disinterested (dis-IN-te-RES-tid)

From English interested, meaning “having a financial or other interest.” Thus, a disinterested person has no financial or other interest in a company.

Even though many authorities suggest that disinterested also means “lacking interest,” as in “I am disinterested in economics,” be assured that nothing is gained from using the adjective in this misguided way. Indeed, nothing important will be lost from your writing if you use disinterested only in the sense given below—it might also be said your readers will understand you more easily if you never use disinterested in any other sense but the one now given.

unbiased; free of selfish motives.

“Many times he was accepted by attorneys for service on a jury because he appeared to be disinterested in the possible outcome of a trial.”

Related words: disinterestedly (dis-IN-te-RES-tid-lee) adverb; disinterestedness (dis-IN-te-RES-tid-nis) noun.

disparate (DIS-per-it)

From Latin disparatus, past participle of disparare, meaning “to segregate, divide.”

dissimilar; essentially diverse in kind.

“They were a disparate group who found it difficult to cooperate with others toward what seemed to be a common goal.”

Related words: disparately (DIS-per-it-lee) adverb; disparateness (DIS-per-it-nis) and disparity (di-SPA-ri-tee) both nouns.

dispirited (di-SPIR-i-tid)

From English verb dispirit, meaning “to deprive of spirit.”

gloomy; discouraged; disheartened; dejected.

“I must report that my sister-in-law is still dispirited, many months after her son's untimely death.”

Related words: dispirit (di-SPIR-it) verb; dispiritedly (di-SPIR-i-tid-lee) adverb; dispiritedness (di-SPIR-i-tid-nis) noun.

distingué (dee-stang-GAY)

From French distingué, past participle of distinguer, meaning “to distinguish.”

distinguished; having an air of distinction.

“I always watched Dayton smoke his ivory-tipped cigarettes, which made him look so distingué; in my mind's eye, I could not hope to see myself ever looking that smart.”

Related word: distinguished (di-STING-gwisht) adjective.

ditokous (DIT-e-kes)

From Greek ditókos, meaning “twin-bearing.”

producing two young, or laying two eggs at a time.

“His rarest specimens were ditokous, but since one of the eggs in every clutch invariably broke, he almost never had any birds for sale.”

ditsy (DIT-see)

Slang, origin unknown. Also given as ditzy, with the same pronunciation.

dizzy; eccentrically giddy, silly, inane.

“I have never become accustomed to all of Dora's ditsy ways, but my friends and I find her completely charming.”

ditzy. See ditsy.

doctrinaire (DOK-tre-NAIR)

From French doctrinaire, meaning “dogmatic; pompous, sententious”; from Latin doctrina, meaning “doctrine.” See sententious.

dogmatic; wedded to a particular philosophy and seeking to apply it in all circumstances.

“Crowley's doctrinaire attitudes in some areas lessened the true value of his scholarship.”

Related words: doctrinal (DOK-tre-nl) adjective; doctrinally (DOK-tre-ne-lee) adverb; doctrinality (DOK-tri-NAL-i-tee) and doctrine (DOK-trin) both nouns.

doddering (DOD-er-ing)

From Middle English dadiren, meaning “to tremble.”

An adjective also given as doddery (DOD-e-ree).

tottering; shaky or trembling as from age.

“Ferdinand, since I saw him last, has become a doddering old man who would be lost without his cane.”

Related word: dodder (DOD-er) verb.

dodgy (DOJ-ee)

From English infinitive dodge, meaning “to evade.”

evasive; tricky; artful.

“Apparently because of his dodgy manner, no one trusts him, and trust is what he needs if he is to succeed in business.”

Related words: dodge (doj) verb; dodging (DOJ-ing) and dodger (DOJ-er) both nouns.

dolichocephalic (DOL-i-koh-se-FAL-ik)

From Greek dolichés, meaning “long,” + kephalikós, meaning “pertaining to the head.”

Also given as dolichocephalous (DOL-i-koh-SEF-e-les).

longheaded; having a skull whose width is about three-quarters of its length.

“Our anthropologists made careful measurements of all the aboriginal men and women we encountered and determined that the entire group clearly fell within the classification of dolichocephalic adults.”

Related words: dolichocephaly (DOL-i-koh-SEF-e-lee) and dolichocephalism (DOL-i-koh-SEF-e-LIZ-em) both nouns.

See cephalic.

donnish (DON-ish)

From English don, meaning “a tutor.”

bookish; pedantic; pedantic in manner.

“He was put off by the donnish atmosphere and tried to avoid the company of his stuffy colleagues.”

Related words: donnishly (DON-ish-lee) adverb; donnishness (DON-ish-nis) and donnism (DON-izm) both nouns.

dorky (DOR-kee)

Slang. Perhaps derived from vulgar slang dork, meaning “penis.”

inept; foolishly stupid.

“You may think you have never heard anything more dorky in your life, but wait until you are treated to the full stupidity of my brother-in-law.”

Related word: dork (dork) noun.

doughty (DOW-tee, rhymes with loud he)

From Middle English douty, meaning “worthy.”

valiant; brave; formidable; steadfastly courageous.

“The marvelous old lady was fond of telling her grandchildren stories about their doughty father, who had served his country in two wars and been decorated twice for gallantry in action.”

Related words: doughtily (DOW-ti-lee) adverb; doughtiness (DOW-ti-nis) noun.

dour (duur)

From Middle English, from Latin durus, meaning “harsh.”

1. severe; hard; hardy.

“Sven had led a dour life trying to farm the rocky soil in the cruel northern climate.”

2. stubborn; obstinate; hard to move; sullen.

“After Drew returned from his scouting mission beyond enemy lines, he became withdrawn, even dour, and remained that way, hardly ever speaking until long after the war was over.”

Related words: dourly (DUUR-lee) adverb; dourness (DUUR-nis) noun.

Draconian (dray-KOH-nee-en)

From Latin Draco, the name of a severe ancient Athenian jurist.

Also given as draconic and Draconic (both pronounced dray-KON-ik) and draconian.

1. characteristic of Draco or his harsh laws.

“The seventh century B.C. is the period we identify first with Draconian justice, a legal code notorious for its uncompromising criminal sentences.”

2. rigorous; harsh; severe; cruel.

“Any law so draconian must surely be tested carefully before being applied, lest innocent or marginally guilty persons be punished unduly.”

Related word: Draconianism (dray-KOH-nee-en-izm) noun.

drossy (DRAW-see)

From Middle English drosse, from Old English dros, both meaning “dregs”; from English dross, meaning “scum or waste matter.”

1. containing waste matter.

“The goldsmith was chagrined to find that the gold jewelry he recently bought had been stolen and was surely drossy.”

2. worthless; resembling waste matter.

“Reputable art auction houses are scrupulous about refusing to sponsor drossy collections, no matter how highly the public regards the collections.”

Related words: dross (draws) and drossiness (DRAW-see-nis) both nouns.

droughty (DROW-tee)

From English drought, meaning “an extended dry spell.”

Also given as drouthy (DROW-thee).

arid, dry; deficient in rainfall.

“By the time the third year of droughty conditions had passed, the apple growers in Alfred's valley had sold their acreage and moved out.”

Related words: drought (drowt) and droughtiness (DROWT-ee-nis) both nouns.

duplicitous (doo-PLIS-i-tes)

From English duplicity, meaning “deceit, double-dealing.”

characterized by dishonesty or double-dealing.

“Our town was too small to enable an obviously duplicitous person to perform his shenanigans unnoticed.”

Related words: duplicity (doo-PLIS-i-tee) noun; duplicitously (doo-PLIS-i-tes-lee) adverb.

duteous (DOO-tee-es)

From English duty, meaning “obligation.”

obedient; subservient; dutiful.

“The maid was at all times duteous and quiet while she was at work, but on her day off each week she seemed never silent.”

Related words: duteously (DOO-tee-es-lee) adverb; duteousness (DOO-tee-es-nis) noun.

E

ebullient (i-BUUL-yent)

From Latin ebulliens, present participle of infinitive ebullire, meaning “to bubble up.”

1. highly enthusiastic; bubbling over with enthusiasm.

“The entire country burst out in an ebullient celebration when World War II officially ended.”

2. agitated; boiling; as if boiling.

“When they reached the platform the department had built fifty yards from the top of the volcano, the temperature was so elevated that they were able to observe the ebullient lava for no more than a few minutes at a time.”

Related words: ebullience (i-BUUL-yens) and ebullition (EB-e-LISH-en) both nouns; ebulliently (i-BUUL-yent-lee) adverb.

eclectic (i-KLEK-tik)

From Greek eklektikós, meaning “selective.”

heterogeneous, selecting from diverse doctrines, methods, and the like.

“They claimed that an eclectic approach offered a wider perspective than strict adherence to established methodology.”

Related words: eclectically (i-KLEK-ti-klee) adverb; eclecticism (i-KLEK-te-SIZ-em) and eclecticist (i-KLEK-te-sist) both nouns.

edacious (i-DAY-shes)

From English noun edacity, from Latin edacitas, meaning “gluttony.”

voracious; devoted to eating.

“We soon took to calling him edacious Eddy or hungry Eddy, but he never seemed to gain an ounce in weight.”

edacity. See edacious.

edentulous (ee-DEN-che-les)

From Latin edentulus, meaning “toothless.”

Also given as edentate (ee-DEN-tayt).

toothless; having no teeth.

“The young social worker admitted that her textbooks had not prepared her for anything like the old hag's edentulous smile.”

effable (EF-e-bel)

From former French effable, from Latin effabilis, meaning “capable of being expressed.”

Effable is scarcely heard anymore, but it is currently hidden within the English word ineffable, meaning “indescribable or unspeakable”: “She experienced an ineffable happiness that showed in her every action.”

expressible; utterable.

“I was stunned to find her effable when she received the horrible news.”

effete (i-FEET)

From Latin masculine effetus, meaning “exhausted”; Latin feminine effeta, meaning “exhausted from bearing young.”

1. degenerate; decadent.

“His entire family was clearly effete after generations of profligate living on the great-grandfather's fortune.”

2. enervated; exhausted; worn out; sterile.

“The great political party his father once represented was now seen as effete, incapable of mounting a vigorous campaign and losing election after election by increasing margins.”

Related words: effetely (i-FEET-lee) adverb; effeteness (i-FEET-nis) noun.

efficacious (EF-i-KAY-shes)

From Latin efficax, meaning “effective, capable.”

of an object, instrument, etc.: having the strength to produce a desired effect.

“Human sweat is known for its inglorious but efficacious power of helping us achieve the impossible.”

Related words: efficaciously (EF-i-KAY-shes-lee) adverb; efficaciousness (EF-i-KAY-shes-nis), efficacy (EF-i-ke-see), and efficacity (EF-i-KAS-i-tee) all nouns.

effulgent (i-FUL-jent)

From Latin effulgens, present participle of infinitive effulgere, meaning “to shine out, blaze.”

resplendent, radiant; shining forth brilliantly.

“The effulgent lake shimmered in the setting sun, hiding our children from view.”

Related words: effulgently (i-FUL-jent-lee) adverb; effulgence (i-FUL-jens) noun.

effusive (i-FYOO-siv)

From English effuse, meaning “to pour out” + -ive, an adjectival suffix.

of emotions: irrepressible; unduly demonstrative.

“Eloise's parents were effusive in praise of their daughter's timorous fiancé, who stood before them in full anticipation of rejection.”

Related words: effusively (i-FYOO-siv-lee) adverb; effuse (i-FYOOZ) verb; effusiveness (i-FYOO-siv-nis) and effusion (i-FYOO-zhen) both nouns.

egregious (i-GREE-jes)

From Latin adjective egregius, meaning “illustrious”; from e-, meaning “outside,” + grex, meaning “flock,” + -ius, an adjectival suffix.

A word suggesting beautifully that a black sheep always stands out in a flock of snow-white creatures.

conspicuously bad in a flagrant way.

“He grumbled that I was an egregious liar, but I felt sure he had no real evidence of my misdeeds.”

Related words: egregiously (i-GREE-jes-lee) adverb; egregiousness (i-GREE-jes-nis) noun.

eldritch (EL-drich)

From Middle English elfriche, meaning “fairyland.”

spooky, weird, eerie; hideous.

“That night I searched for him in the eldritch town, with bats, cats, and indistinct figures lurking in the shadows.”

eleemosynary (EL-e-MOS-e-NER-ee)

From Middle Latin eleemosynarius, meaning “compassionate.”

1. supported by charity or dependent on it.

“There is good reason to treat eleemosynary institutions as tax-exempt entities as long as they can show their funds are mostly dependent on charitable work.”

2. gratuitous; charitable in purpose.

“Together, the board members of the eleemosynary organization managed to contribute enough money to fund operation of the children's athletic teams for the entire season.”

emeritus (i-MER-i-tes)

From Latin emeritus, meaning “having fully earned”; past participle of emerere, meaning “to deserve, earn fully.”

One of the most interesting aspects of the term emeritus is that it has a second meaning, that of “being worn out.”

Everyone who has firsthand acquaintance with emeritus professors or with emerita (feminine) professors knows that retired scholars neither fade away nor wear out. More likely, they collapse from fatigue and boredom.

By contrast, those who receive honorary degrees—because they have never taught a day in their lives but have given honor to the institution, or lots of money—leave immediately after the ceremony completely rested, to tee up at an exclusive golf course.

honorably retired from active service and with the same title held before retirement.

“Two of our oldest department heads this year will be given emeritus titles in recognition of their distinguished careers as teachers and scholars.”

Related word: emerita (i-MER-i-te) adjective.

emollient (i-MOL-yent)

From Latin emolliens, meaning “softening up,” present participle of emollire, meaning “to soften.”

Not to be confused with the noun emolument (i-MOL-ye-ment), “a fee or other money payment for services rendered.”

soothing; having the power of softening, especially the skin.

“Mr. Cowperthwaite made his fortune by selling a line of patent medicines, beginning with emollient salves for skin overexposed to sun and wind.”

Related word: emollience (i-MOL-yens) noun.

emolument. See emollient.

emulous (EM-ye-les)

From Latin aemulus, meaning “rivaling; jealous.”

desirous of rivaling or surpassing.

“Girls, emulous of their older sisters, cannot wait to begin using lipstick and eye makeup in preparation for important dates.”

Related words: emulously (EM-ye-les-lee) adverb; emulate (EM-ye-LAYT) verb; emulative (EM-ye-LAY-tiv) adjective; emulousness (EM-ye-les-nis) noun.

emunctory (i-MUNGK-te-ree)

From Modern Latin emunctorius, meaning “excretory,” from Latin emungere, meaning “to wipe the nose.”

excretory; of the blowing of the nose.

“During the season of winter colds, our concerts were punctuated with annoying emunctory activity.”

encomiastic (en-KOH-mee-AS-tik)

From Greek enkomiastés, from enkómion, meaning “a eulogy,” + -astes, a suffix meaning “one who (delivers).”

eulogistic; laudatory, commendatory.

“The encomiastic master of ceremonies is unsurpassed at introducing speakers, missing not a single beat in delivering anything desired, from a few ounces of faint praise to wild exaggeration.”

Related words: encomium (en-KOH-mee-em) noun; encomiastically (en-KOH-mee-AS-ti-kal-ee) adverb.

enervated (EN-er-VAY-tid)

From Latin enervatus, meaning “weakened,” past participle of enervare, “to weaken; unman.”

Also given as the adjectives enervate (i-NUR-vit) and enervative (EN-er-VAY-tiv), with the same meanings.

languid; without vigor or strength; effeminate.

“The enervated senior counsel lacks the determination needed to make a vigorous case in defense of the accused.”

Related words: enervation (EN-er-VAY-shen) and enervator (EN-er-VAY-ter) both nouns.

entomophagous (EN-te-MOF-e-ges)

From English entomo-, a combining form meaning “insect,” + -phagous, a combining form meaning “eating or feeding on.”

insectivorous; insect eating.

“For twelve years he has been happily dissecting the innards of entomophagous beetles in hope of identifying all their prey.”

ephemeral (i-FEM-er-el)

From Greek ephémeros, meaning “lasting only for a day.”

Also given as ephemerous (i-FEM-er-es).

1. of reputation, popularity, institutions, and the like: transitory; short-lived.

“Little did they know it, but the democracy they extolled was ephemeral, built not on a secure footing but in conformity with a poorly understood model.”

2. of insects or anything else deemed to be short-lived: lasting only a day or the equivalent.

“When all the dot.coms were in their heyday, nobody really knew whether any of them would prove to be more than ephemeral.”

Related words: ephemerally (i-FEM-er-el-ee) adverb; ephemeralness (i-FEM-er-el-nis), ephemera (i-FEM-er-e), ephemerality (i-FEM-e-RAL-i-tee), ephemeron (i-FEM-e-RON), plural ephemera (i-FEM-e-re), all nouns.

It is interesting to note that the singular ephemeron, in the sense of “anything ephemeral,” is rarely heard, while the plural ephemera in the sense of “items intended to be used for a short time,” is much more common. And what does that say about our civilization?

epicene (EP-i-SEEN)

From Latin epicoenus, meaning “of both genders,” from Greek epíkoinos, meaning “common to many.”

1. possessing characteristics of both sexes.

“Now, in our haste to speak and write of so-called genderless everythings, we are treated to epicene fashions, unisex barber shops, and his-and-her cigar clubs.”

2. feeble; flaccid.

“Fans of his rip-roaring adventure novels are surprised by his epicene handshake.”

3. effeminate.

“We soon found that our epicene new department head was a severe person, brooking no foolishness from his subordinates.”

Related word: epicenism (EP-i-SEEN-iz-em) noun.

epidemic. See pandemic.

epistolary (i-PIS-te-LER-ee)

From Latin epistolaris, meaning “belonging to a letter.”

Also given as epistolic (EP-e-STOL-ik) and as epistolical (EP-e-STOL-i-kel).

carried on or contained in letters.

“The epistolary novel can be an exciting form when writers reveal insights they understand and feel.”

Related words: epistle (i-PIS-el), epistoler (i-PIS-tl-er), epistolist (i-PIS-te-list), and epistler (i-PIS-ler) all nouns; epistolize (i-PIS-tl-IZ) verb.

eponymous (e-PON-e-mes)

From Greek epónymos, meaning “giving name (to).”

giving one's name to a people, place, etc.

“Brut, said to have been a grandson of Aeneas, is generally considered the eponymous progenitor of Britain.”

Related words: eponym (EP-e-nim) and eponymy (e-PON-e-mee) both nouns.

eristic (e-RIS-tik)

From Greek eristikós, “wrangling.”

Also given as eristical (e-RIS-ti-kel).

controversial; pertaining to controversy or disputation.

“Adler's philosophy classes consisted of thirteen weeks of eristic exercises, undeniably a tribute to Eris, the ancient Greek goddess of discord, but ostensibly intended to teach the art of disputation.”

Related word: eristically (er-IS-ti-ke-lee).

eructative (i-RUK-te-tiv)

From Latin eructatus, meaning “thrown up”; from infinitive eructare, meaning “to belch, emit.”

1. of a person: given to belching or vomiting.

“By the time the attending physicians had completed their analysis, Timothy was in danger of succumbing to a continuous state of eructative activity.”

2. of a volcano: given to belching matter.

“Last night, I was given the privilege of seeing two hours of rough footage of eructative volcanoes.”

Related words: eruct (i-RUKT) and eructate (i-RUK-tayt) both verbs; eructation (i-ruk-TAY-shen) noun.

esculent (ES-kye-lent)

From Latin esculentus, meaning “edible, tasty”; from esca, meaning “food, tidbits.”

edible, eatable; suitable as food.

“Many beginners were surprised to learn how many esculent plants could be found growing as weeds.”

esurient (i-SUUR-ee-ent)

From Latin esuriens, meaning “hungering,” present participle of infinitive esurire, meaning “to be hungry for, to hunger.”

greedy; hungry.

“Some esurient young lawyers are willing to take any case that comes their way but soon enough commit their time only to cases that promise big fees.”

evanescent (EV-e-NES-ent)

From Latin evanescens, present participle of verb evanescere, meaning “to vanish.”

fleeting; fading away or quickly vanishing.

“As the days of summer went on, Joe saw his evanescent chances of victory gradually disappearing.”

Related words: evanesce (EV-e-NES) verb; evanescence (EV-e-NES-ens) noun; evanescible (EV-e-NES-i-bel) adjective; evanescently (EV-e-NES-ent-lee) adverb.

excrementitious (EK-skre-men-TISH-es)

From English excrement, meaning “feces,” + -itious, an adjectival suffix; from Latin excrementum, meaning “waste matter.”

of the nature of excrement; like waste matter.

“Almost all insects are seen to emit drops of excrementitious matter each time they ingest food.”

Related words: excrete (ik-SKREET) verb; excrement (EK-skre-ment), excreta (ik-SKREE-te), and excretion (ik-SKREE-shen) all nouns; excrementous (EK-skre-MEN-tes) and excretal (ik-SKREE-tel) both adjectives; excrementitiously (EK-skre-men-TISH-es-lee) and excrementally (EK-skre-MEN-te-lee) both adverbs.

excrescent (ik-SKRES-ent)

From Latin excrescens, present participle of excrescere, meaning “to grow, rise up.”

growing abnormally out of something else.

“The emergency room at our hospital is busy night and day, treating patients, sewing wounds, and occasionally arranging for consultations on excrescent growths.”

Related words: excrescently (ik-SKRES-ent-lee) adverb; excrescence (ik-SKRES-ens) and excrescency (ik-SKRES-en-see) both nouns.

exculpatory (ik-SKUL-pe-TOR-ee)

From English exculpate, meaning “free from blame”; from Medieval Latin infinitive exculpare, meaning “to declare guiltless.”

of evidence, argument, etc.: tending to clear from blame.

“My exculpatory deposition, along with the testimony of several character witnesses, appeared to help the defendant's case somewhat.”

Related words: exculpate (EK-skul-PAYT) verb; exculpable (ik-SKUL-pe-bel) adjective; exculpation (IK-skul-PAY-shen) noun.

execrable (EK-si-kre-bel)

From Middle English execrable from Latin execrabilis, meaning “accursed, detestable; deadly.”

1. of persons and things: abominable; deserving to be cursed.

“In our little town, this execrable pedophile is going to have a difficult time finding a disinterested jury and an experienced lawyer to defend him.”

2. bad beyond description.

“Any soprano so tuneless, so limited in range, can expect to be attacked in the press and even characterized as execrable.”

Related words: execrably (EK-si-kre-blee) and execratively (EK-si-KRAY-tiv-lee) both adverbs; execration (EK-si-KRAY-shen) and execrableness (EK-si-kre-bel-nis) both nouns; execrate (EK-si-KRAYT) verb; execrative (EK-si-KRAY-tiv) and execratory (EK-si-kre-TOR-ee) both adjectives.

exegetic (EK-si-JET-ik)

From Greek exegetikós, meaning “to interpret, guide, or lead.”

Also given in English as the adjective exegetical (EK-si-JET-ik-el).

interpretive: explanatory.

“The minister's feeble attempts to provide an exegetic framework for the sermon served only to further complicate matters.”

Related words: exegetically (EK-si-JET-ik-e-lee) adverb; exegesis (EK-si-JEE-ses), exegete (EK-si-JEET), and exegetist (EK-si-JET-ist) all nouns.

exiguous (ig-ZIG-yoo-es)

From Latin exiguus, meaning “meager, small.”

scanty; small; meager; slender; diminutive.

“On his exiguous income, the couple were able to get along somehow and even support a small child.”

Related words: exiguously (ig-ZIG-yoo-es-lee) adverb; exiguity (EK-si-GYOO-i-tee) and exiguousness (ek-ZIG-yoo-es-nis) both nouns.

expiable (EK-spee-e-bel)

From Late Latin expiabilis, meaning “capable of being atoned”; from the Latin infinitive expiare, meaning “to make satisfaction.”

capable of expiating; atoning for; making amends.

“Business sins may be expiable merely by confessing, but felonious crimes frequently must be paid for in considerable time spent behind bars.”

Related words: expiate (EK-spee-AYT) verb; expiator (EK-spee-AY-tor) and expiation (EK-spee-AY-shen) both nouns; expiational (EK-spee-AY-shen-el) and expiatory (EK-spee-e-TOR-ee) both adjectives.

expostulatory (ik-SPOS-che-le-TOR-ee)

From English expostulate, meaning “remonstrate”; from Latin expostulatus, past participle of infinitive expostulare, meaning “to demand urgently; protest, complain of.”

Expostulatory is also given as the adjective expostulative (ik-SPOS-che-LAY-tiv).

by way of remonstrance; conveying or characterized by expostulation.

“Mary tried again to write an earnest expostulatory letter to the ecclesiastical court but failed to complete it and soon abandoned her quest for adjudication.”

Related words: expostulatingly (ik-SPOS-che-LAY-ting-lee) adverb; expostulator (ik-SPOS-che-LAY-ter) and expostulation (ik-SPOS-che-LAY-shen) both nouns.

expugnable (ek-SPYOO-ne-bel)

From Latin expugnabilis, meaning “capable of being taken by storm,” from ex-, a prefix meaning “thoroughly,” + pugnare, meaning “to fight.”

Considered by some an archaic word, nevertheless included here because it is so attractive.

While most of us know the word impugn, meaning “to challenge someone for speaking or acting falsely” and its related word impugnable, we scarcely hear of expugnable. So we regularly impugn someone's motives, but we almost never consider anything expugnable. Might you say we are more and more suspicious but less and less eager for a fight?

conquerable; that may be overcome.

“I know my supervisor's position on this matter is expugnable, but I also know he and his associates will never forgive me for being correct.”

extra-virgin (EK-stre-VUR-jin)

A verbal curiosity, included here to have some fun. The adjective derives of course from the English extra and virgin. It also, of course, lacks direct connection to the meanings of these two words. It does, however, relate to virgin—pure as the driven snow. And extra appears to be an instance of the hyperbole that advertising geniuses regularly exploit.

Virgin oil actually is the oil obtained, usually from olives, by the first pressing of the fruit without application of heat. And what does that have to do with virginity, the chaste condition that human females and other females generally start out life with? Could the use of pressure in the extra-virgin process without applying heat have something to with the flavor of the oil? Or is there some conditional mode of human behavior associated with first-time oil-extraction or first-time sex? Whatever the advantage of this mysterious first-time pressing of oil from olives, we are inevitably confronted with the implication that this is no ordinary oil extraction.

“Remember, an olive oil may be extra-virgin, in the sense of even more pure than merely virginal, and usually thought of as better than expected.”

It is not some additional pressure exerted on unmarried women.

F

fabular (FAB-ye-ler)

From Latin fabularis, meaning “fabular,” from fabula, meaning “story, fable, etc.” See also fabulous.

of the nature of a fable; fabulous.

“Although we knew most of his stories were predominantly fabular, they held especial fascination for us.”

Related words: fabulist (FAB-ye-list) noun; fabled (FAY-beld) adjective.

fabulous (FAB-ye-les)

From Latin fabulosus, meaning “legendary”; see fabular.

1. incredible: difficult to believe.

“The fabulous feats the freshman team achieved brought them a collection of gold medals that surpassed those of any other team.”

2. imaginary, entirely mythical: told in fables.

“As a child I never tired of reading accounts of the fabulous achievements of the Martian warriors, of the depredations of terrible dragons, and of the havoc wrought by fire-breathing monsters.”

Related words: fabulously (FAB-ye-les-lee) adverb; fabulousness (FAB-ye-les-nis) noun.

facetious (fe-SEE-shes)

From French facétieux, meaning “facetious, mischievous”; from Latin plural facetiae, meaning “wit, clever talk”; from facetus, meaning “witty, clever.”

1. not intended to be taken seriously.

“Walter's annoying habit of injecting facetious remarks into otherwise serious conversations finally got him into real trouble with his fiancée's father and threatened to delay his marriage indefinitely.”

2. jocular: lacking serious purpose.

“When I first met Brenda in school, I saw her as a facetious scholar, interested only in enjoying her allotted four years and seriously intent on learning nothing.”

Related words: facetiously (fe-SEE-shes-lee) adverb; facetiousness (fe-SEE-shes-nis) noun.

factious (FAK-shes)

From Latin factiosus, meaning “contentious, quarrelsome, dissentious.”

1. given to discord or dissension.

“Strong leadership does not tolerate factious divisiveness, which robs an organization of its effectiveness.”

2. proceeding from factional interest.

“Not much happened in most of our meetings, steeped as they were in factious quarrels that ended in hopeless deadlocks.”

Related words: factiously (FAK-shes-lee) adverb; factiousness (FAK-shes-nis), faction (FAK-shen), factoid (FAK-toid) all nouns; factional (FAK-she-nl) adjective.

factitious (fak-TISH-es)

From Latin facticius, meaning “artificial.”

artificial; unspontaneous; manufactured.

“I'm tired of factitious sitcoms, with their canned laughter and applause, with their pretended nudity, and their absence of entertainment value.”

Related words: factitiously (fak-TISH-es-lee) adverb; factitiousness (fak-TISH-es-nis) noun.

falcate (FAL-kayt)

From Latin falcatus, meaning “sickle shaped.”

Also given as falciform (FAL-se-FORM) and as falcated (FAL-kay-tid).

hooked; curved like a sickle.

“The eagle has a falcate beak, which enables the bird to pull apart its prey while sailing high in the sky.”

Related words: falx (falks) and falcon (FAWL-ken) both nouns; falcial (FAL-shel) adjective.

Falstaffian (fawl-STAF-ee-en)

From the name of Sir John Falstaff, the fat, self-indulgent, and jovial braggart of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2.

having the qualities of Falstaff; bawdy-humored, rascally, and bragging.

“By the time Barry reached adulthood, he had eaten and drunk his way into becoming a Falstaffian figure and was scarcely regarded seriously by his contemporaries.”

fantabulous (fan-TAB-ye-les)

An English slang blend of fantastic + fabulous.

of almost incredible excellence.

“Joe, Mickey, and the Babe were three of a handful of fantabulous sluggers who established and sustained the Yankee mystique of the century past.”

farraginous (fe-RAJ-e-nes)

From Latin noun farrago, meaning “a hodgepodge; mash, medley of grains,” taken into English + English suffix -ous, meaning “full of.”

heterogeneous; miscellaneous.

“What we finally had on hand after so many hours of aimless library research and almost aimless writing was a farraginous aggregation of stray information, much of it useless for our project.”

Related word: farrago (fe-RAH-goh) noun.

fastuous (FAS-choo-es)

From Latin fastuosus, from fastus, meaning “haughtiness, arrogance.”

haughty, arrogant; pretentious, ostentatious.

“From the moment he took office, he appeared to be transformed from the trustworthy good old boy we thought we had elected into a fastuous windbag.”

Related word: fastuously (FAS-choo-es-lee) adverb.

fatidic (fay-TID-ik)

From Latin fatidicus, meaning “prophetic.”

Also given as fatidical (fay-TID-ik-el).

prophetic.

“Jean doesn't seem to mind that her fatidic pronouncements invariably prove incorrect.”

Related word: fatidically (fay-TID-i-ke-lee) adverb.

fatigable (FAT-i-ge-bel)

From Latin fatigabilis, from infinitive fatigare, meaning “to tire.”

Another of those words that are better known in the negative, indefatigable (in-di-FAT-i-ge-bel), than in the positive, fatigable. Perhaps, whether true or not, an indication of the backbone inherent in all English speakers: we do not tire easily. At any rate we do have the word fatigable, also given as fatiguable (fe-TEEG-e-bel) and as fatigued (fe-TEEGD).

subject to fatigue; easily tired.

“Less than halfway through the arduous climb, many of the fatigable group acknowledged that they had not prepared adequately for the expedition.”

Related words: fatigableness (FAT-i-ge-bel-nis) and fatigability (FAT-i-ge-BIL-e-tee) both nouns; fatigueless (fe-TEEG-lis) adjective; fatiguingly (fe-TEEG-ing-lee) adverb.

fatuous (FACH-oo-es)

From Latin fatuus, meaning “foolish, silly, insipid.”

Also given as fatuitous (fe-TOO-i-tes).

of persons or their actions: foolish, silly, inane, especially in a complacent manner.

“Herbert's fatuous disregard for his wife's feelings was entirely reprehensible in one who professed to be a decent and honorable man.”

Related words: fatuously (FACH-oo-es-lee) adverb; fatuity (fe-TOO-i-tee) and fatuousness (FACH-oo-es-nis) both nouns.

favonian (fe-VOH-nee-en)

From Latin Favonianus, “the west wind”; from the name Favonius, an ancient Roman personification of the west wind; from infinitive favere, meaning “to favor, befriend, support.”

propitious; pertaining to the west wind, therefore mild or favorable.

“The preacher went about within his church, opening all the windows in hope, he said, of attracting favonian zephyrs laden with the aromas of spring.”

febrifacient (FEB-re-FAY-shent)

From Latin febris, meaning “fever,” + -facient, a combining form meaning “making.” From present participle of facere, meaning “to make,” thus “fever-making.”

Also given as febriferous (fi-BRIF-er-es).

fever-producing.

“My grandfather believed a strong shot of scotch, in which he saw febrifacient qualities, plus a protracted spell in bed did more to induce sweating and cure sickness than all the medicines known to man.”

Related words: febricity (fi-BRIS-i-tee) noun; febrific (fi-BRIF-ik), febrifugal (fi-BRIF-ye-gel), and febrile (FEB-rel) all adjectives; febrifuge (FEB-re-FYOOJ) adjective and noun.

febriferous. See febrifacient.

febrific. See febrifacient.

febrile. See febrifacient.

fecaloid (FE-ke-LOYD)

From English feces, meaning “excrement,” + -oid, an adjectival suffix meaning “like.”

resembling feces.

“The repulsive vomit he expelled was fecaloid in odor and made us all gag.”

feckless (FEK-lis)

From Scottish and northern English feck, meaning “effect,” + -less, an adjectival suffix meaning “without,” thus “without effect.”

Which makes one wonder whether there also is a feckful and, as it turns out, there once was a feckful in Scottish and in the English spoken in England's north. It meant “efficient, powerful.” Apparently, nothing beats being full of feck.

of people: ineffective, incompetent; weak, helpless; indifferent, lazy, irresponsible.

“The family blamed the loss of their fortune on bad luck and the dishonesty of others, but the truth is they were feckless and frittered it away.”

Related words: fecklessly (FEK-lis-lee) adverb; fecklessness (FEK-lis-nis) noun.

feculent (FEK-ye-lent)

From Latin faeculentus, meaning “full of dregs”; from Latin faeces, singular faex, meaning “grounds, sediment; feces.”

foul, turbid; polluted with feces.

“Obviously, the feculent water was not fit to drink, nor would it be drunk until a drenching rain had a chance to clarify the stream.”

Related words: fecula (FEK-ye-le) and feculence (FEK-ye-lens) both nouns.

fecund (FEE-kuund)

From Latin fecundus, meaning “fruitful.”

1. of animals, the earth, etc.: capable of reproduction, capable of abundant growth.

“After several years of composting, the sod had become so fecund that we were able to grow enough vegetables for our own family and several others.”

2. intellectually creative.

“Our century has not produced all the musical geniuses we may have wanted, but it still could be considered fecund even without Bach, Beethoven, or Brahms.”

Related words: fecundity (fi-KUN-di-tee) and fecundation (FEE-kun-DAY-shen) both nouns; fecundatory (fi-KUN-de-TOR-ee) adjective; fecundate (FEE-ken-DAYT) verb.

feisty (FI-stee)

From American slang; from feist, meaning “a mutt,” + -y, a suffix meaning “like a (something).”

aggressive; excitable; touchy; troublesome.

“My wife's grandfather was a feisty old man who could deal with anyone who tried to take advantage of him.”

Related words: feist (fIst) noun; feistily (FIST-e-lee) adverb; feistiness (FIST-ee-nis) noun.

fell (fel)

From Middle English fel, meaning “savage”; from Old French felon, meaning “wicked.”

1. of animals and people: cruel, ruthless; dreadful.

“They exhibited fell ferocity toward those they considered their enemies and killed them in great numbers.”

2. of poison: deadly, destructive.

“Scientists agreed that fell poisons had been administered by the mass murderer, who had to have been someone with access to such materials.”

Related words: felly (FEL-ee) adverb; fellness (FEL-nis) noun.

fenestrated (FEN-e-STRAY-tid)

From Latin fenestratus, meaning “equipped with windows,” from fenestra, meaning “window.”

Fenestrated is also given as the adjective fenestrate (fe-NES-trayt).

having windows.

“By the time Western homes were adequately fenestrated, windows were expected to do much more for the occupants than provide portholes for shooting arrows at marauders.”

Related words: fenestra (fi-NES-tre) and fenestration (FEN-e-STRAY-shen) both nouns.

feral (FER-el)

From Medieval Latin feralis, meaning “wild, bestial”; from Latin fera, meaning “wild beast.”

1. of an animal or plant: wild, undomesticated.

“The gamekeeper testified he was set upon by a pack of feral hounds and had no other means of self-defense but his rifle and a limited number of shells.”

2. of a human: resembling a wild beast; brutal, savage.

“Crusoe had no way of knowing for certain whether the feral men and women he came upon were cannibals.”

ferruginous (fe-ROO-je-nes)

From Latin ferrugineus, meaning “color of rust, dark,” from ferrum, meaning “iron.”

1. reddish-brown: resembling the color of iron rust.

“The ditsy interior decorator unfortunately chose ferruginous wall-paper to decorate the steel magnate's dining room.”

2. relating to or containing iron.

“A pocket compass is of little use when one is hiking near cliffs containing ferruginous ores.”

fescennine (FES-e-NIN)

From Latin Fescenninus, meaning “a ribald song”; also meaning “pertaining to Fescennia,” an Etrurian town famous for its jeering dialogues in verse.

licentious, obscene, scurrilous.

“The best man's fescennine speech might have been more appropriate at a stag party than at the wedding dinner.”

festinate (FES-te-NAYT)

From Latin festinatus, meaning “hasty, hurried”; past participle of infinitive festinare, meaning “to hurry; hasten.”

hasty, hurried.

“Her festinate packing of their three big suitcases made for much jollity when all the contents spilled across the table of the customs officer.”

Related words: festinately (FES-te-NAYT-lee) adverb; festination (FES-te-NAY-shen) noun.

fetid (FET-id)

From Latin fetidus, meaning “stinking,” from infinitive fetere, meaning “to have an offensive smell.”

stinking; having an offensive smell.

“Secaucus, a New Jersey town that once was the center of pig breeding in metropolitan New York, was so well known for its fetid odor that pig farming there had to be made illegal.”

Related words: fetidly (FET-id-lee) adverb; fetidness (FET-id-nis) and fetidity (fe-TID-i-tee) both nouns.

fictile (FIK-tl)

From Latin fictilis, meaning “earthen, moldable”; from past participle of fingere, meaning “to shape or fashion.”

Which tells us metaphorically that fiction—unlike the book you are now reading—is molded of earth by artists. But solely metaphorically. See fictitious.

1. capable of being made of earth by a potter.

“Ancient battles and love affairs lent themselves to exploitation in permanent fictile creativity by the great artisans then at work.”

2. of or pertaining to the manufacture of pottery.

“For unknown reasons the fictile craft flourished in Ohio early in the twentieth century.”

fictional. See fictitious.

fictitious (fik-TISH-es)

From Latin ficticius, meaning “artificial”; from fictus, past participle of fingere, meaning “to form, shape.”

Observe that fictitious is sometimes given the meaning of fictional, as shown in the second definition below, but fictional is preferable in that sense, since it is generally taken as more restricted in meaning.

1. false; created for the purpose of concealment.

“As part of his plan for evading the law, Stephen adopted a fictitious name and identity.”

2. fictional; imaginary; created by the imagination.

“A popular hero of the young in my day was Superman, a fictitious Übermensch, for whom no hardship was insuperable.”

Better to have written “fictional Übermensch…”

Related words: fictitiously (fik-TISH-es-lee) adverb; fictitiousness (fik-TISH-es-nis) noun; fictionalize (FIK-she-nl-IZ) verb.

filose (FI-lohs)

From Latin filum, “a thread,” + -ose, an adjectival suffix meaning “like.”

Also given as filiform (FIL-e-FORM), as in “The cardiac surgeon had the unenviable job of cutting away all the flesh around a filiform vein without abrading it.”

threadlike; having a threadlike structure.

“On close examination I found the insect's filose antennae not quite broken through but clearly functioning imperfectly.”

finicky (FIN-i-kee)

Of unknown origin, although several sources have been suggested. All of them seem to converge on the old reliable adjective fine.

Finicky is also given as finical (FIN-i-kel).

fussy; inordinately fastidious; hard to please.

“It was not so much that she was finicky when ordering in a restaurant and tried the patience of waiters, but that she seemingly took forever to make up her mind and just moments to change it again.”

Related word: finick (FIN-ik) verb.

fissile (FIS-el)

From Latin fissilis, meaning “easy to split,” a term now heard mainly in connection with nuclear physics, but formerly with log splitting.

cleavable; capable of being divided or split into parts.

“Care was taken to make sure sufficient fissile material would be stored in warehouses and available at the time planned for explosion of the early nuclear bombs.”

Related words: fission (FISH-en) and fissionability (FISH-en-e-BIL-i-tee) both nouns; fissionable (FISH-e-ne-bel) adjective.

flaccid (FLAK-sid)

From Latin flaccidus, meaning “flabby, feeble”; from infinitive flaccere, meaning “to flag, lose heart.”

1. not firm; lacking normal firmness.

“Weeks of bed rest had robbed his body of its vitality, and the nurses knew his flaccid muscles would require careful treatment and exercise.”

2. weak; lacking vigor or force.

“The flaccid paragraphs he turned in were not at all characteristic of the strong prose style to which we had been accustomed.”

Related words: flaccidly (FLAK-sid-lee) adverb; flaccidity (flak-SID-i-tee) and flaccidness (FLAK-sid-nis) both nouns.

flagitious (fle-JISH-es)

From Latin flagitiosus, meaning “shameful crime”; also “disgraceful, profligate.”

We must understand that the Romans did not always agree on what was considered flagitiosus.

1. of people or their actions: shamefully wicked, extraordinarily criminal.

“Is it possible that the definition of a flagitious criminal has been weakened in the past century, which saw slaughter of ethnic groups numbering in the millions?”

2. of crime: villainous, infamous; heinous, flagrant.

“The mayor gleefully announced that the number of flagitious crimes had fallen 10 percent in the past year, but we wondered how many actual crimes in all were reported.”

Related words: flagitiously (fle-JISH-es-lee) adverb; flagitiousness (fle-JISH-es-nis) noun.

flannelmouthed (FLAN-l-MOUTHD)

A contemptuous term from American flannel, “a soft fabric,” + mouth + -ed, an adjectival suffix.

1. loudmouthed; boastful.

“That double-talking flannelmouthed neighbor of mine is embarrassing as well as boring.”

2. deceptive in speech.

“His flannelmouthed responses to our forthright questions cause him to appear evasive and certainly shed no light on the problems we face.”

Related words: flannelmouth (FLAN-l-MOUTH) noun; flannelly (FLAN-l-ee) adjective.

flatulent (FLACH-e-lent)

From Modern Latin flatulentus, meaning “gassy,” from flatus, “a blowing,” + -ulent, an adjectival suffix meaning “full of.”

Latin, always interesting, also defines flatulentus as “arrogance.” See what English has done to flatulent.

1. of a disease: generating gas in the intestinal tract.

“Her condition was often accompanied by flatulent episodes for which her physician's prescriptions did little good.”

2. of a person: suffering an excess of such gas.

“Edmund, embarrassed by his obviously flatulent condition, almost never attended dinner parties in those days.”

3. windy, pretentious; pompous, turgid.

“He was often taken to task by literary critics for his flatulent style, so loved by some writers.”

See also luculent for a change of pace.

Related words: flatus (FLAY-tes), flatulence (FLACH-e-lens), and flatulency (FLACH-e-len-see) all nouns; flatulently (FLACH-e-lent-lee) adverb.

flavescent (fle-VES-ent)

From Latin flavescens, present participle of infinitive flavescere, meaning “to become yellow,” from flavens “yellow, golden.”

yellowish; turning pale yellow.

“Alphonse finally achieved his goal of developing a distinctively flavescent hibiscus.”

flexuous (FLEK-shoo-es)

From Latin flexuosus, meaning “winding, full of curves”; from flexus, past participle of infinitive flectere, meaning “to bend, turn, turn aside.”

sinuous; having curves or turns.

“The Russian ballerina's lithe body moved with a flexuous grace rarely found in someone her age.”

Related words: flexuously (FLEK-shoo-es-lee) adverb; flexural (FLEK-sher-el) adjective; flexuousness (FLEK-shoo-es-nis) and flexure (FLEK-sher) both nouns.

flinty (FLIN-tee)

From English flint, meaning “a form of silica.”

1. containing flint.

“By the time we established that our collection of what we thought were valuable stones was almost exclusively flinty rock, it was time to give up and get back to the city.”

2. obdurate; stern; unyielding; hardhearted.

“Our newest warden had a flinty manner that was exactly what we were looking for in a person who would have to spend most of his time refusing earnest requests from staff and prisoners.”

Related words: flintily (FLIN-ti-lee) adverb; flintiness (FLIN-tee-nis) noun.

fluvial (FLOO-vee-el)

From Latin fluvialis, from fluvius “river,” + -alis, an adjectival suffix.

Also given as fluviatile (FLOO-vee-e-til).

pertaining to a river; found in a river.

“We spent the afternoon on the riverbank taking pictures of the fluvial plants we saw growing there.”

footloose (FUUT-LOOS)

From American foot + loose.

unencumbered; free to move about.

“Once Emily's husband died, she felt footloose and from then on did exactly what she pleased, always telling herself she was completely happy and not realizing how lonely she felt.”

foppish (FOP-ish)

From English fop, meaning “a dandy,” + -ish, an adjectival suffix meaning “somewhat.”

excessively fastidious, particularly in behavior and dress.

“Once James was promoted to manager, he suddenly became ridiculously foppish and was mocked behind his back.”

Related words: foppishly (FOP-ish-lee) adverb; fop (fop), foppery (FOP-e-ree), and foppishness (FOP-ish-nis) all nouns.

forensic (fe-REN-sik)

From Latin forensis, meaning “public, of the marketplace.”

1. argumentative, rhetorical; suited to argumentation; connected with the law or public debate.

“It was while Jonathan was quite young that we began to be subjected to his affinity for endless argumentation and soon became aware of his remarkable forensic skills.”

2. dealing with the application of scientific knowledge to problems of law.

“With the growing acceptance of DNA as legal evidence, forensic biology has reached new heights of public awareness.”

Related words: forensically (fe-REN-si-ke-lee) adverb; forensicality (fe-REN-si-KAL-i-tee) and forensics (fe-REN-siks) both nouns.

formic (FOR-mik)

From Latin formica, meaning “an ant.”

of or pertaining to ants.

“Every spring there is a formic onslaught on our peonies, but the flowers appear unharmed by it.”

Related words: formicary (FOR-mi-KER-ee), formicarium (FOR-mi-KAIR-ee-em), and formication (FOR-mi-KAY-shen) all nouns.

fortuitous (for-TOO-i-tes)

From Latin fortuitus, meaning “accidental”; perhaps related to fors, fortis, meaning “chance, luck.”

As you probably know, the big pitfall is thinking that fortuitous and fortunate are synonyms. They are not.

1. accidental: happening by chance.

“First in my day of fortuitous encounters was a meeting with my son Dick, in from London, in a bar in Seattle, where I had gone on business that morning; second, as we sat with drinks, his best friend, a New Yorker like me, came in completely unannounced and asked to sit with us.”

2. INCORRECTLY: lucky, fortunate.

“How fortuitous it was that we met that day!”

Sentence 2 illustrates a well-known and incorrect use of fortuitous, a word easy to read incorrectly as fortunate. In the opinion of the writer, this was the unhappy result of a person's reading of a word he did not immediately understand and firmly resisted looking up in a dictionary.

After uncounted repetitions of this incorrect definition—with the kind compliance of so-called descriptive lexicographers who insist they are not de facto arbiters of usage but really are—this incorrect definition eventually made its way into one of the leading American dictionaries. Once there, of course, it soon was stolen by other lexicographers for their own submissive—they call it descriptive—dictionaries. Alas.

Why are these dictionaries here called submissive? Because their writers quietly accept any outrage and, when the outrage has been repeated sufficiently, submit to it openly and slip it into their dictionaries. They are the Little Jack Horners of dictionary writing. Faced with a chance to interpret a word in a novel sense, they stick in a thumb, pull out a linguistic plum, and say, “What a good boy am I!”

The result is that anyone who writes of how fortuitous something may be, is telling us how accidental it was. Now really! How accidental can anything be?

A happening or minor event can be accidental, but not more or less accidental—even though the illiterates among us are apt to characterize an event as “completely accidental” and the like. More prop-erly, then, encounters, discoveries, and the like can be fortunate, even more or less fortunate, but not more or less accidental.

Related words: fortuitously (for-TOO-i-tes-lee) adverb; fortuity (for-TOO-i-tee) and fortuitousness (for-TOO-i-tes-nis) both nouns.

fortunate. See fortuitous.

frabjous (FRAB-jes)

From a coinage, perhaps suggesting fabulous and delicious, in Through the Looking-Glass, by C. L. Dodgson, a nineteenth-century mathematician writing under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll.

first-class; wonderful, elegant.

“Carroll's immortal words were ‘O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!’ so what could be as good?”

Related word: frabjously (FRAB-jes-lee) adverb.

fractious (FRAK-shes)

From English fraction, meaning “a rupture or interruption (obsolete meanings)” + -ous, an adjectival suffix.

1. of a child: unruly; stubborn.

“In my childhood I was known for my fractious ways, never missing a chance to be contrary and otherwise difficult.”

2. of an adult: petulant; irritable; quick to anger.

“Adulthood and its responsibilities have not improved him a bit; he is the same fractious fellow he always was.”

Related words: fractiously (FRAK-shes-lee) adverb; fractiousness (FRAK-shes-nis) noun.

frangible (FRAN-je-bel)

From Middle English, from Latin infinitive frangere, meaning “to shatter, break.”

breakable; capable of being broken; easily broken.

“Almost everything in the china shop is frangible, and signs here and there warn customers, ‘If you break it, you've bought it.’”

Related words: frangibility (FRAN-je-BIL-i-tee) adverb; frangibleness (FRAN-je-bel-nis) noun.

frenetic (fri-NET-ik)

From Middle English frenetik, meaning “insane,” from Latin phreneticus, meaning “delirious”; from Greek phrenetikós.

Also given as frenetical and phrenetical (both pronounced fri-NET-i-kel).

frenzied; frantic.

“Once the great ship began to sink, delirium set in and frenetic activity overwhelmed the crew, which until then, had been commendably calm and composed.”

Related words: frenetically (fri-NET-i-ke-lee) adverb; freneticism (fri-NET-i-sizm) noun.

friable (FRI-e-bel)

From Latin friabilis, meaning “crumbly,” from infinitive friare, meaning “to crumble into small pieces.”

easily crumbled or pulverized.

“Alfred trenched his many acres, laid pipe in the trenches, and then covered them, thus draining the land and making it suitably friable for all his young apple trees.”

Related words: friability (FRI-e-BIL-e-tee) and friableness (FRI-e-bel-nis) both nouns.

fribble (FRIB-el)

Origin unknown.

frivolous; trifling, foolish, ridiculous.

“Newspaper commentators are accusing one of the candidates of giving the voters fribble campaigning, for example, running commercials showing how much he likes children.”

Related words: fribble (FRIB-el) verb; fribbler (FRIB-ler) noun.

frigorific (FRIG-e-RIF-ik)

From Latin frigorificus, meaning “cooling”; from frigus, meaning “cold; death; indifference.”

cooling: causing or producing cold.

“The frigorific influence of Arctic ice on the temperature of the rest of the globe, particularly that of the world's oceans, is beginning to be understood.”

fructiferous (fruk-TIF-er-es)

From Latin fructiferus, meaning “fruit-bearing,” from Latin fructus, meaning “fruit.”

bearing or producing fruit.

“Some tropical regions are known for their fructiferous trees, which are said to produce bountiful crops almost from their first year.”

Related words: fructiferously (fruk-TIF-er-es-lee) adverb; fructification (FRUK-te-fi-KAY-shen) noun; fructificative (FRUK-te-fi-KAY-tiv) and fructuous (FRUK-choo-es) both adjectives; fructify (FRUK-te-FI) verb.

frugivorous (froo-JIV-er-es)

From Latin frux, meaning “fruit,” + -vorus, a combining form meaning “devouring.”

eating or feeding on fruit.

“Frugivorous mammals, which eat nothing but fruit, are said unreliably to produce meat of excellent taste and quality for humans.”

Related word: frugivore (FROO-je-VOR) noun.

fulgent (FUL-jent)

From Latin fulgens, present participle of infinitive fulgere, meaning “to flash, shine; be illustrious.”

resplendent; dazzling, shining brightly.

“In their fulgent gowns, perfect for the spotlights on the ceiling high above them, the debutantes took the ball by storm as they danced with their dates.”

Related words: fulgently (FUL-jent-lee) adverb; fulgentness (FUL-jent-nis) noun.

Usually given as refulgent, which see.

fulgurous (FUL-gyer-es)

From Latin fulgur, meaning “lightning; splendor.”

resembling lightning; charged with lightning.

“During dinner we were fortunate to observe an awesomely fulgurous display in the western sky.”

Related words: fulgurant (FUL-gyer-ent), fulgurating (FUL-gye-RAY-ting) both adjectives.

fuliginous (fyoo-LIJ-e-nes)

From Latin fuliginosus, meaning “full of soot”; from fuligo, meaning “soot,” + -osus, an adjectival suffix meaning “full of.”

sooty; smoky; blackened with soot.

“Manchester, England, long had been notorious for its yellow, fuliginous air and coughing residents.”

Related words: fuliginously (fyoo-LIJ-e-nes-lee) adverb; fuliginousness (fyoo-LIJ-e-nes-nis) noun.

fulminant (FUL-me-nent)

From Latin fulminans, present participle of infinitive fulminare, meaning “to lighten, strike with lightning.”

fulminating; highly explosive; suddenly occurring.

“Cynical epidemiologists claim that the fulminant West Nile virus, which thus far has hardly ever killed anybody, owes much of its virulence and notoriety to the exotic name it sports.”

Related words: fulminate (FUL-me-NAYT) verb; fulminator (FUL-me-NAY-ter) and fulmination (FUL-me-NAY-shen) both nouns; fulminatory (FUL-me-NAY-te-ree) and fulminic (ful-MIN-ik) both adjectives.

fulsome (FUUL-sem)

Possibly from Middle English fulsom, meaning “copious, cloying.” A word of various modern and obsolete meanings.

Today's meanings demonstrate adequately the generally negative tone of the word. Yet, many modern readers and writers—with the complicity of many of their dastardly dictionaries—misinterpret fulsome as an approving term, roughly defining it as “copious.” Too bad.

1. of a person: generally offensive, particularly in regard to aesthetics or morals.

“When he finally made his political feelings clear, we all could see he was a fulsome liar.”

2. of a thing: offensive to good taste.

“After waiting many weeks for an invitation to view the newly decorated apartment, we were finally rewarded with a display of the fulsome vulgarity for which their designer was famous.”

Related words: fulsomely (FUUL-sem-lee) adverb; fulsomeness (FUUL-sem-nis) noun.

fungible (FUN-je-bel)

From Medieval Latin fungibilis, from Latin infinitive fungi, meaning “to perform or discharge; do.”

of goods, etc.: freely exchangeable for something else; interchangeable.

“The ultimate example of a fungible item is money, especially the money of a firmly established country of excellent credit.”

Related word: fungibility (FUN-je-BIL-e-tee) noun.

fuscous (FUS-kes)

From Latin fuscus, meaning “dark, dusky.”

of a dark or somber hue; brownish gray.

“He took no notice of his wife's depressed state until he realized she had abandoned the colorful prints she formerly enjoyed and was wearing nothing but fuscous clothes.”

fusty (FUS-tee)

From Middle English and Old French fusti, meaning “wine cask, tree trunk”; from Latin fustis, meaning “stick, club, cudgel.”

1. of food: moldy.

“I wouldn't mind a fusty cold lamb if the chef at least tried to disguise it with a hot, spicy sauce.”

2. of places: stuffy, close.

“When we finally got rooms at the inn, they were so fusty we had to open the windows wide to air them out.”

3. of persons or styles: old-fashioned, old fogyish.

“If you insist on wearing those fusty tweed jackets everywhere, you had better become accustomed to knowing no one will ever hire you to design anything at all modern.”

Related words: fustily (FUS-ti-lee) adverb; fustiness (FUS-ti-nis) noun.

G

gainful (GAYN-fel)

From English gain, a well-known word, + -ful, an adjectival suffix meaning “characterized by.” A happier word than gainless (GAYN-lis), its antonym.

In most cases in which gainful is used, it characterizes activities generally assumed to be examples of lucrative gain, apparently leaving other types of gains for the moralist.

profitable; lucrative; remunerative.

“She took the volunteer job that was offered in hope that in no more than a few months it would lead to gainful employment.”

Related words: gainfully (GAYN-fe-lee) adverb; gainfulness (GAYN-fel-nis) noun.

gainly (GAYN-lee)

Possibly a back formation from ungainly, meaning “clumsy; homely.”

of appearance or behavior: graceful; handsome; comely.

“All she could remember of her younger brother was that he had been gainly and, unlike many others his age, always obliging.”

Related word: gainliness (GAYN-lee-nis) noun.

galactopoietic (ge-LAK-te-poy-ET-ik)

From English galacto-, a combining form meaning “milk,” + -poietic, a combining form meaning “making.”

increasing the production of milk.

“She was given what they said would be a galactopoietic diet, suggesting it would help her nurse the baby successfully.”

Related word: galactopoiesis (ge-LAK-te-poy-EE-sis) noun.

gamesome (GAYM-sem)

From English game, meaning “pastime,” + -some, an adjectival suffix, together meaning “like a game.”

playful; sportive; full of play.

“Evelyn, as gamesome as ever, claimed she surely would beat the boys at any sport they chose.”

Related words: gamesomely (GAYM-sem-lee) adverb; gamesomeness (GAYM-sem-nis) noun.

garrulous (GAR-e-les)

From Latin garrulus, meaning “talkative, babbling”; from infinitive garrire, meaning “to chatter.”

1. of a person: excessively talkative, especially about trivial matters.

“The chairperson of the committee had to dismiss the garrulous aide because her chatter interfered with their work.”

2. of a speech or paper: diffuse; excessively wordy.

“Al was furious when he saw the bill submitted by the speechwriter for the boring and garrulous speech he had written.”

Related words: garrulity (ge-ROO-li-tee) and garrulousness (GAR-e-les-nis) both nouns; garrulously (GAR-e-les-lee) adverb.

gelid (JEL-id)

From Latin gelidus, meaning “icy cold; numb.”

1. of temperature: extremely cold.

“All he knew for certain was that the dessert had to be gelid in order for it to set properly.”

2. of people and their emotions: cold as ice.

“We knew Joe had discovered our prank when we saw his gelid expression.”

Related words: gelidly (JEL-id-lee) adverb; gelidity (je-LID-i-tee) and gelidness (JEL-id-nis) both nouns.

geminate (JEM-e-nit)

From Latin geminatus, meaning “doubled,” past participle of geminare, meaning “to repeat, double”; from geminus, “a twin.”

Also given as geminated (JEM-e-NAYT-id).

duplicated; twin; combined in pairs.

“After long consideration of all the photographs they had, the astronomers agreed that what they were seeing was the latest in a series of new geminate stars.”

Related words: geminate (JEM-e-NAYT) verb; geminately (JEM-e-nit-lee) adverb; gemination (JEM-e-NAY-shen) noun.

generic (je-NER-ik)

From Latin genus, meaning “kind, sort, species.”

1. general; applicable to all members of a specific class, etc.

“His art history teacher asked the class to compile a documented list of generic traits found in the work of outstanding eighteenth-century Flemish painters.”

2. unprotected by trademark.

“I asked my physician whether I could buy a low-priced generic drug instead of the expensive proprietary drug he recommended.”

Related words: generically (je-NER-i-ke-lee) adverb; genericness (je-NER-ik-nis) noun.

german (JUR-men)

From Middle English germain from Latin germanus, meaning “of the same parents”; from Latin germen, meaning “bud or branch; embryo.”

1. closely related; of the same parent.

“Few people know that David and I, because we appear to be unrelated, are actually brothers-german.”

2. first cousin; of a son or daughter of one's uncle or aunt.

“Uncle Max and Aunt Mary were so prolific that I can boast of having eleven cousins-german.”

germane (jer-MAYN)

From Middle English germain, meaning “having the same parents”; from Latin germanus (see etymology of german above).

of a statement, etc.: fitting; at the same time both relevant and pertinent.

“Nothing he ever said was uninteresting, but the fact is that things he said often were not germane, and much as we would have liked to understand his discussion, we really could not.”

Related word: germanely (jer-MAYN-lee) adverb; germaneness (jer-MAYN-nis) noun.

gestic (JES-tik)

From Latin gestus, meaning “gesticulation, gesture; movement of the limbs”; from gesta, meaning “exploits.”

Also given as gestical (JES-ti-kel).

of or pertaining to bodily movement, especially in dancing.

“Her gestic magic entranced her Lincoln Center devotees, astonishing them with the grace and ease she showed in all her movements.”

Related words: gest and geste (both pronounced “jest”) nouns.

glabrous (GLAY-bres)

From Latin glaber, meaning “smooth, bald.”

Also given as glabrate (GLAY-brayt).

in science: hairless; smooth-surfaced.

“She began to specialize in completely glabrous houseplants after she found they were often overlooked in most private collections.”

Related word: glabrescent (glay-BRES-ent) adjective.

glaucous (GLAW-kes)

From Latin glaucus, meaning “bluish gray; silvery”; from Greek glaukós.

greenish blue; bluish gray.

“In late August, the field's purple grapes were suddenly covered with a glaucous powder, signaling to all believers that the field could be harvested in three or four weeks.”

Related word: glaucously (GLAW-kes-lee) adverb.

glutinous (GLOOT-n-es)

From Latin glutinosus, meaning “sticky, gluey.”

Not to be confused with the well-understood gluttonous (GLUT-n-es), “compulsive overeaters,” from Latin infinitive glutire, “to wolf down, swallow.”

sticky; viscid; gluey.

“Unfortunately, the child put his hands on the fresh paint and found that its somewhat glutinous surface yielded enough pleasure to invite repeated attempts to leave his mark.”

Related words: glutinously (GLOOT-n-es-lee) adverb; glutinousness (GLOOT-n-es-nis) noun.

gluttonous. See glutinous.

glyptic (GLIP-tik)

From Greek glyptikós, meaning “of engraving”; from infinitive glyphein, meaning “to engrave.”

of gems: pertaining to engraving or carving.

“As the number of highly publicized jewel thefts increased, there arose a demand for persons skilled in creating tiny glyptic identifications that would thwart thieves.”

Related words: glyph (glif), glyptics (GLIP-tiks), glyptograph (GLIP-te-GRAF), glyptography (glip-TOG-re-fee), and glyptographer (glip-TOG-re-fer) all nouns.

gnathonic (na-THON-ik)

From Latin gnathonicus, meaning “subservient”; from the name Gnatho, a fawning character in a Roman comedy by Terence, second century B.C.

sycophantic; bootlicking; parasitical.

“The outgoing vice president fortunately had reached the stage at which he no longer saw it necessary to act the gnathonic jester, seemingly agreeing with everything the boss said even before he said it.”

Related word: gnathonically (na-THON-i-kal-ee) adverb.

goutish (GOW-tish, rhymes with loutish)

From Middle English goute, from Latin gutta, meaning “a drop, a speck,” + -ish, an adjectival suffix meaning “belonging to.”

affected with or suffering from gout; swollen as if from gout.

“The patient may exhibit an excess of uric acid in the blood, giving rise to an excruciating goutish pain in the big toe of a foot that once encountered is never forgotten.”

Related words: gout (gowt) and goutiness (GOW-tee-nis) both nouns; gouty (GOW-tee) adjective; goutily (GOW-ti-lee) adverb.

gramineous (gre-MIN-ee-es)

From Latin gramineus, meaning “grassy.” See also graminivorous.

grassy.

“After we finished building our house, we established a gramineous field around it and fenced it in to accommodate our dogs and horses.”

Related word: gramineousness (gre-MIN-ee-es-nis) noun.

graminivorous (GRAM-e-NIV-er-es)

From Latin gramen, meaning “grass,” + -i- + English -vorous, a combining form meaning “eating.”

feeding on grass.

“Range-fed steers are graminivorous animals, yielding tasteful if not always tender beef.”

grandiloquent (gran-DIL-e-kwent)

From English grandiloquence, meaning “lofty speech”; from Latin grandiloquus, meaning “grand speaker, boaster.”

of a person: characterized by swollen or pompous speech.

“At the convention all those who spoke, whether future local postmasters or illiterate state governors, were grandiloquent lackeys coached by the speechwriters of the party nominee.”

Related words: grandiloquence (gran-DIL-e-kwens) noun; grandiloquently (gran-DIL-e-kwent-lee) adverb.

gratuitous (gre-TOO-i-tes)

From Latin gratuitus, meaning “free, gratuitous.”

free; given without payment or other remuneration or justification.

“Seemingly without justification he always impugned the motives of other guests with his gratuitous insults.”

Related words: gratuitously (gre-TOO-i-tes-lee) adverb; gratuitousness (gre-TOO-i-tes-nis) and gratuity (gre-TOO-i-tee) both nouns.

gravid (GRAV-id)

From Latin gravidus, meaning “pregnant, full.”

pregnant.

“All the guppies in my tank of tropical fish appeared to be gravid during the latter part of my wife's first pregnancy.”

Related words: gravidity (gre-VID-i-tee) and gravidness (GRAV-id-nis) both nouns; gravidly (GRAV-id-lee) adverb.

gregarious (gri-GAR-ee-es)

From Latin gregarius, meaning “common; belonging to a flock.”

1. of persons: fond of company; sociable.

“No matter where they are, my gregarious brothers always strike up conversations with strangers.”

2. of animals: living in flocks or herds of others of the same species.

“He particularly liked a village in Wales where serene, gregarious sheep could be observed wherever one decided to live.”

Related words: gregariously (gri-GAR-ee-es-lee) adverb; gregariousness (gri-GAR-ee-es-nis) noun.

grueling (GROO-e-ling)

From the past participle of an obsolete English verb gruel, meaning “to exhaust or disable.”

punishing to the point of exhaustion; exhausting.

“The grueling race was over, but the exhausted athletes were unable to speak, much less hold press conferences.”

Related word: gruelingly (GROO-e-ling-lee) adverb.

guileless (GIL-lis)

From English guile, meaning “insidious cunning,” + -less, an adjectival suffix meaning “without.”

straightforward; frank; innocent; devoid of guile.

“Jonny soon learned not to be so guileless with his older siblings after he had confessed to them that he deliberately manipulated them.”

Related words: guile (gIl) noun; guileful (GIL-fel) adjective; guilefulness (GIL-fel-nis) noun; guilelessly (GIL-lis-lee) adverb; guilelessness (GIL-lis-nis) noun.

guttiform (GUT-e-FORM)

From Latin gutta, meaning “a drop,” + -form, together meaning “shaped like a drop.”

drop shaped.

“The slow drip froze and thawed alternately, leading to guttiform shapes that gradually covered the entire surface.”

H

hackneyed (HAK-need)

From a place-name in the county of Middlesex, England. In Middle English called hakeney and in English called Hackney.

The adjective hackney meant “let out,” and the verb hackney meant “make stale, usually by overuse.” Hackneyed is the past participle of the verb hackney.

banal; made trite, stale, commonplace.

“My sister and I groaned quietly behind our uncle's back at the boring, hackneyed jokes with which he regaled us.”

hagridden (HAG-RID-n)

Perhaps from Middle English hagge, meaning “witch,”+ ridden, a combining form meaning “overwhelmed by,” past participle of “to ride.”

harassed by a nightmare.

“My hagridden nights, populated with shrieking witches, are leaving me tormented and unrefreshed, scarcely able to face the demands of a new day.”

Related words: hagride (HAG-RID) verb; hagrider (HAG-rId-er) noun.

halcyon (HAL-see-en)

From Latin halcyon, from Greek halkyón, meaning “kingfisher”; from hals, “the sea,” + kuo, “to brood on.”

Ancients believed the kingfisher laid its eggs on the surface of the sea and incubated them for two weeks, called “the halcyon days,” during which, according to tradition, the waves were always unruffled; hence the expression halcyon days to describe a serene time.

tranquil, peaceful; undisturbed; prosperous.

“The sudden cessation of warfare combined with the unexpected beginnings of a vigorous economy had given us halcyon days.”

hapless (HAP-lis)

From Old Norse happ, meaning “luck or chance; good luck.”

Another of those terms for which one would expect to have an antonym. Yet no one is ever known as hapful, which would be a good name for a Las Vegas gambling house—or gaming casino, as it surely would prefer to be called.

unlucky, unfortunate; luckless.

“The casino was full of gamblers, most of them hapless veterans, the rest a scant sprinkling of lucky ones.”

Related words: haplessly (HAP-lis-lee) adverb; haplessness (HAP-lis-nis) noun.

hardscrabble (HAHRD-SKRAB-el)

From American hard, meaning “difficult,” + the verb scrabble, meaning “to scratch out.”

demanding; yielding little in return for hard work.

“Jess eked out enough income from the hardscrabble farm he and his father worked for many years to enable him to go to college.”

haughty (HAW-tee)

From Middle English haute, from Medieval French haut, both from Latin altus, meaning “high.”

high in one's own estimation; proud, arrogant; snobbish.

“How strange it was that someone born as well as Patricia and educated at the finest schools could be made to feel inferior by a haughty receptionist.”

Related words: haughtily (HAW-ti-lee) adverb; haughtiness (HAW-tee-nis) noun.

hedonic (hee-DON-ik)

From Greek hedonikós, meaning “pleasurable.”

pertaining to pleasure or pleasantness.

“When he began to recover from his cardiac operation, he looked on his new life as a hedonic experience.”

Related words: hedonics (hee-DON-iks) and hedonism (HEED-n-IZ-em) both nouns; hedonically (hee-DON-ik-el-ee) adverb.

heinous (HAY-nes)

From Middle English heynous, from French haineux, meaning “hateful.”

of persons or their acts: odious; abominable.

“The close of the twentieth century, unmatched for cruelty, has brought no cessation of heinous crimes against humanity.”

Related words: heinously (HAY-nes-lee) adverb; heinousness (HAY-nes-nis) noun.

hemathermal (HE-me-THUR-mel)

From English hema-, a combining form meaning “blood,” + thermal, meaning “pertaining to heat.”

Also given as homoiothermal (hoh-MOY-e-THUR-mel).

warm-blooded; characterized by having a relatively constant temperature.

“Humans, along with other mammals, are hemathermal creatures, making them able to thrive in an enormous range of ambient temperatures.”

Hemingwayesque (HEM-ing-way-ESK)

From the name of Ernest Hemingway, twentieth-century American novelist and short-story writer, + -esque, an adjectival suffix indicating resemblance.

characteristic of the style or works of Hemingway, direct and unadorned.

“In what he mistakenly hoped would become a Hemingwayesque story, spare and replete with simple, declarative sentences, the young writer revealed his total lack of talent and individuality.”

herbivorous (hur-BIV-er-es)

From Modern Latin herbivorus, meaning “herb-eating.”

plant-eating.

“Cows, large herbivorous animals that appear in summer to eat nothing but grass, must spend many hours every day munching away on their feed.”

Related words: herbivore (HUR-be-VOR) noun; herbivorously (hur-BIV-er-es-lee) adverb.

hermaphroditic (hur-MAF-re-DIT-ik)

From Latin hermaphroditus from Greek hermaphróditos, both of which mean “hermaphrodite,” also, capitalized, the proper name of the son of Hermes and Aphrodite.

And what is a hermaphrodite? A person or other creature that contains sexual characteristics of both male and female. The adjective is also given as hermaphroditical (hur-MAF-re-DIT-i-kel).

combining male and female characteristics.

“Our cousins, in their first trip to the big city, said they wanted to see a show featuring hermaphroditic performers.”

Related words: hermaphrodite (hur-MAF-re-DIT) and hermaphroditism (hur-MAF-re-dI-TIZ-em) both nouns.

hermeneutic (HUR-me-NOO-tik)

From Greek hermeneútikós, meaning “skilled in interpreting”; from hermeneús, “an interpreter”; from Hermes, messenger of the gods.

Also given as hermeneutical (HUR-me-NOO-ti-kel).

concerned with interpretation; explanatory; interpretive.

“The hermeneutic skill he showed in his celebrated lecture on interpreting poetry dazzled the entire faculty.”

Related words: hermeneutically (HUR-me-NOO-ti-ke-lee) adverb; hermeneutics (HUR-me-NOO-tiks) noun.

hermitic (hur-MIT-ik). See troglodytic.

heterochthonous (HET-e-ROK-the-nes)

From Greek hetero-, a combining form meaning “different,” from Greek héteros, meaning “the other,” + chthón, meaning “earth,” + -ous, an adjectival suffix.

Much less common than the adjective autochthonous (aw-TOK-the-nes), which means “native, indigenous.”

foreign; not indigenous, not native.

“Once the ancient city had been uncovered, we traced its successive invasions by foreign forces through examining fossilized remains of heterochthonous plants, giving us a botanical map of the movement of ancient armies making their way along the Mediterranean.”

heterodox (HET-er-e-DOKS)

From Greek heteródoxos, meaning “of another opinion”; from Greek hetero-, a combining form meaning “different,” + dóx, meaning “an opinion,” + -os, an adjectival suffix.

of persons, of beliefs: unorthodox; holding unorthodox ideas.

“In the first speech the new principal gave before our parent's club he pleased some parents with his heterodox ideas and filled others with apprehension.”

Related words: heterodoxy (HET-er-e-DOK-see) noun; heterodoxy (HET-er-e-DOKS-lee) adverb.

heuristic (hyuu-RIS-tik)

From New Latin heuristicus, from Greek heuriskein, meaning “to find out”; the Latin -isticus is an adjectival suffix meaning “in other words.”

serving to find out or discover (something).

“Obviously, the heuristic problems selected by the instructor were welcome, because students had not learned anything from the rote exercises they had previously been doing.”

Related word: heuristically (hyuu-RIS-ti-klee) adverb.

hibernal (hI-BUR-nl)

From Latin hibernalis, from hibernus, meaning “wintry,” + -alis, an adjectival suffix appearing mostly in scientific terms.

wintry; pertaining to winter; appearing in winter.

“Some of the animals began appearing in their hibernal coats, and some then retired into their winter caves, a clear sign that the rest of us had better leave for home.”

Related words: hibernate (HI-ber-NAYT) verb; hibernation (HI-ber-NAY-shen) and hibernator (HI-ber-NAY-ter) both nouns.

hircine (HUR-sIn)

From the Latin adjective hircinus, meaning “of a goat.”

1. resembling a goat in color, smell, etc.

“The goat cheese farm Miles established gave off a distinctly hircine aroma that made it possible for a visitor to identify the spread without having to find a direction sign.”

2. lustful.

“Harry was surprised to find that his adolescent companions referred to him as Hircine Harry, suggesting he yearned for girls.”

hirsute (hur-SOOT)

From Latin hirsutus, meaning “shaggy; bristly; uncouth.”

1. hairy; having rough or shaggy hair.

“In the days when it was cool to go about hirsute, I sometimes had trouble recognizing my own sons.”

2. pertaining to hair.

“Most men who are serious about their desire to find suitable employment take pains to appear clean-shaven, totally devoid of hirsute ornament.”

Related words: hirsuteness (hur-SOOT-nis) and hirsutism (hur-SOO-tiz-em) both nouns.

histrionic (HIS-tree-ON-ik)

From Late Latin histrionicus, meaning “of actors,” from histrio, “an actor,” or from histrionalis, “of an actor.”

Also given in English as histrionical (HIS-tree-ON-i-kel).

1. overly dramatic; hypocritical; deceitful.

“John's histrionic final speech to the jury is said to have lost his case.”

2. dramatic; theatrical.

“The young mother proved no match for the lachrymose demands of her histrionic daughter, who was able to turn her tears on and off at will.”

Related words: histrionically (HIS-tree-ON-i-ke-lee) adverb; histrionics (HIS-tree-ON-iks) noun.

homoiothermal. See hemathermal.

hortatory (HOR-te-TOR-ee)

From Late Latin hortatorius, meaning “encouraging,” from Latin infinitive hortari, “to encourage.”

Also given as hortative (HOR-te-tiv).

characterized by exhorting, encouraging; pertaining to exhortation, encouragement.

“I found reasoning and dialogue more effective than hortatory speeches.”

Related words: hortatorily (HOR-te-TOR-i-lee) and hortatively (HOR-te-tiv-lee) both adverbs.

huffish (HUF-ish)

From English huff, meaning “a fit of resentment or petulance,” + -ish, an adjectival suffix meaning “like.”

arrogant; insolent; bullying; petulant.

“His father would turn huffish at some fancied insult—for example, an imagined challenge to his intelligence—and make the rest of family dinners impossible to enjoy.”

Related words: huffy (HUF-ee) adjective; huffishly (HUF-ish-lee) and huffily (HUF-i-lee) both adverbs; huffishness (HUF-ish-nis) and huffiness (HUF-i-nis) both nouns.

I

iatric (I-A-trik)

From Greek iatrikós, meaning “of healing,” from iatrós, “healer, physician.”

Also given in English as iatrical (I-AT-ri-kel).

medical, medicinal; pertaining to a physician or medicine.

“The iatric art has helped mankind by reducing pain, preventing illness, and curing undesirable conditions.”

See iatrogenic.

iatrogenic (I-A-tre-JEN-ik)

From English iatro-, a combining form meaning “healer, physician, medicine,” + -genic, a combining form meaning “causing.”

of a medical condition: unintentionally caused by the diagnosis or treatment of a physician.

“Some of our major hospitals have seen fit to establish departments that monitor physicians' medical practices and evaluate patients' complaints of what are considered to be iatrogenic conditions.”

Related word: iatrogenicity (I-A-tre-je-NIS-i-tee) noun.

See also iatric.

idoneous (I-DOH-nee-es)

From Latin idoneus, meaning “fit, proper, suitable.”

apt; fit; suitable.

“On the basis of their idoneous qualifications, all three finalists were given four-month appointments as summer interns to determine how they would respond to the demands of a working environment.”

Related words: idoneity (ID-n-EE-i-tee) and idoneousness (I-DOH-nee-es-nis) both nouns.

idyllic (I-DIL-ik)

From English idyll, from Latin idyllium, from Greek eidyllion, all meaning “a short descriptive poem.”

charmingly simple or rustic; forming a suitable theme for a poem.

“For two blissful weeks we led an idyllic existence in the Vermont countryside.”

Related words: idyll (ID-l) and idyllist (ID-l-ist) both nouns; idyllically (I-DIL-i-klee) adverb.

ignescent (ig-NES-ent)

From Latin ignescens, present participle of ignescere, meaning “to burst into flames; burn.”

bursting into flames; emitting real or figurative sparks.

“He was blessed with the type of ignescent personality that quickly burst into a five-alarm fire at the slightest provocation.”

Related word: igneous (IG-nee-es) adjective.

ignominious (IG-ne-MIN-ee-es)

From Latin ignominiosus, meaning “degraded, disgraced; shameful.”

humiliating; contemptible.

“The team's bumbling errors finally were capped by an ignominious kick into our own goal.”

Related words: ignominiously (ig-ne-MIN-ee-es-lee) adverb; ignominy (IG-ne-MIN-ee) and ignominiousness (ig-ne-MIN-ee-es-nis) both nouns.

illicit (i-LIS-it)

From Latin illicitus, meaning “unlawful.”

not authorized or allowed; unlawful, forbidden.

“Illicit production of whiskey has been known to cause deaths in my home state.”

Related words: illicitly (i-LIS-it-lee) adverb; illicitness (i-LIS-it-nis) noun.

imitable (IM-i-te-bel)

From Latin imitabilis, meaning “imitable,” from infinitive imitare, meaning “to imitate.”

This adjective is nowhere near as well known as its opposite, inimitable, meaning “incapable of being imitated or copied.” See inimitable.

capable of being imitated.

“Few of the new engineers do entirely original work, instead depending for their inspiration on the imitable work of their predecessors.”

Related words: imitability (IM-i-te-BIL-i-tee) and imitableness (IM-i-te-bel-nis) both nouns.

imminent (IM-e-nent)

From Latin imminens, present participle of infinitive imminere, meaning “to overhang; threaten.”

impending; hanging over one's head; likely to occur at any moment.

“The feeling he had of imminent disaster proved untrue, of course, but it robbed him of the self-confidence he needed to meet all the demands we put on him.”

Related words: imminently (IM-e-nent-lee) adverb; imminence (IM-e-nens) and imminentness (IM-e-nent-nis) both nouns.

immutable (i-MYOO-te-bel)

From Latin immutabilis, meaning “unalterable.”

unchangeable; unalterable; changeless.

“As the final scenes of the trial played out, the only things immutable in the courtroom were the heavy wooden furniture and the expression on the judge's face.”

Related words: immutably (i-MYOO-te-blee) adverb; immutability (i-MYOO-te-BIL-i-tee) and immutableness (i-MYOO-te-bel-nis) both nouns.

impassive (im-PAS-iv)

From English well-known passive + im-, meaning “not.”

1. not subject to suffering.

“Of all the inmates in the camp, the ones who disturbed their captors most were those who managed somehow to appear impassive no matter how the guards tortured them.”

2. apathetic; without emotion; insensible; calm, serene.

“We could read nothing in the impassive faces of the jury, even when grisly testimony was being given.”

Related words: impassively (im-PAS-iv-lee) adverb; impassivity (IM-pa-SIV-i-tee) and impassiveness (im-PAS-iv-nis) both nouns.

impeachable. See unimpeachable.

impeccable (im-PEK-e-bel)

From Latin impeccabilis, meaning “faultless, free of sin”; from infinitive peccare, meaning “to make a mistake; go wrong; offend.”

Giving us a picture of an earlier day, when sin could take several forms, not solely that of transgression against divine law.

1. not capable of or liable to sin.

“The general, albeit incorrect, perception of the attorney was that he was impeccable and would so remain until he died.”

2. irreproachable; flawless, faultless.

“As strange as it sounds, while his manners were always impeccable, even on a social evening he never missed a chance to cheat at cards.”

See also peccable.

Related words: impeccably (im-PEK-e-blee) adverb; impeccability (im-PEK-e-BIL-i-tee) noun.

impecunious (IM-pi-KYOO-nee-es)

From Latin im-, meaning “not,” + pecuniosus, meaning “moneyed, well-off.”

poor; having no money.

“Strangely, the only happy branch of our family is the impecunious one, whose members never seem to worry about their apparent lack of cash.”

Related words: impecuniously (IM-pi-KYOO-nee-es-lee) adverb; impecuniousness (IM-pi-KYOO-nee-es-nis) and impecuniosity (IM-pi-KYOO-nee-OS-i-tee) both nouns.

implacable (im-PLAK-e-bel)

From Latin implacabilis, meaning “unforgiving; not placable.”

While the verb placate and the adjective implacable are often heard and well understood, placable, meaning “forgiving,” is rarely encountered. It seems this is another of those English constructions in which the negative wins out over the positive. Or is it just another example of the stiff-upper-lip English locutions that make so much of sterling character?

irreconcilable; inexorable; incapable of being appeased.

“Once the republican leader fully understood all the machinations of the ousted royal family, he and his party became implacable enemies of despotism.”

Related words: implacably (im-PLAK-e-blee) adverb; implacability (im-PLAK-e-BIL-i-tee) and implacableness (im-PLAK-e-bel-nis) both nouns.

implausible (im-PLAW-ze-bel)

From English im-, meaning “not,” + plausible, meaning “believable”; from Latin plausibilis, meaning “praiseworthy.”

not plausible; not having the appearance of truth.

“His stories about his adventures at Princeton seemed implausible, but years later they were verified by classmates, who said they remembered every one of his wild escapades.”

Related words: implausibly (im-PLAW-ze-blee) adverb; implausibility (im-PLAW-ze-BIL-e-tee) and implausibleness (im-PLAW-ze-bel-nis) both nouns.

importunate (im-POR-che-nit)

From Latin importunus, meaning “unsuitable, troublesome.”

1. pertinacious; persistent in solicitation; relentless.

“I dread tomorrow's visit by the committee, openly intended to harass me once more with their importunate demands.”

2. annoying; troublesome.

“No matter how the couple tried to avoid their importunate creditors, at last they had to admit defeat.”

Related words: importune (IM-por-TOON) verb; importunately (im-POR-che-nit-lee) adverb; importunateness (im-POR-che-nit-nis) noun.

impuissant (im-PYOO-e-sent)

From Latin potens, present participle of infinitive posse, meaning “to have power,” + im-, prefix meaning “not”; more recently from French puissant, meaning “powerful,” + im-.

feeble; weak, lacking power.

“Richard could scarcely be termed an impuissant monarch when all he lacked was a large retinue of strong and good friends and an ample store of good luck.”

Related word: impuissance (im-PYOO-e-sens) noun.

imputrescible (IM-pyoo-TRES-e-bel)

From Late Latin imputrescibilis, meaning “not prone to rotting; imputrescible”; from Latin infinitive putrescere, meaning “to rot.”

A cousin of the common adjective putrid, from Latin putridus, meaning “rotten, decayed; withered.”

not liable to putrefaction; incorruptible.

“An advantage of cooked food is that it is said to be more nearly imputrescible than untreated food.”

inapposite (in-AP-e-zit)

From English apposite, meaning “pertinent,” + in-, meaning “not.”

not to the point; not pertinent.

“Many of the arguments he presented were immediately found to be thoroughly inapposite and so were disqualified from consideration.”

Related words: inappositely (in-AP-e-zit-lee) adverb; inappositeness (in-AP-e-zit-nis) noun.

inauspicious (IN-aw-SPISH-es)

From Latin auspicium, meaning “favorable omen,” + in-, meaning “not.”

It is words like this one that take us back to the good old days when people saw omens—some good and some bad—in all sorts of things, and the rest of us paid attention to them.

The Latin name for such omens comes from avis, meaning “a bird” + the infinitive specere, meaning “to observe,” and the name for the soothsayers was auspices, singular auspex, since these wise men and women, in Latin and English often called augurs, used birds and other phenomena to determine the meanings of such signs. And an augur would observe auspices to determine whether the gods favored or disfavored a proposed action.

ill-omened; unlucky, unfortunate; boding ill.

“Each Monday morning we would watch anxiously for any inauspicious sign on the face of our boss, apparently suggesting that business was bad and we would soon close permanently.”

Related words: inauspiciously (IN-aw-SPISH-es-lee) adverb; inauspiciousness (IN-aw-SPISH-es-nis) noun.

inchoate (in-KOH-it)

From Latin inchoatus, more properly incohatus, past participle of inchoare, more properly incohare, meaning “to begin, start work on.”

victim of a linguistic mishap.

And wouldn't life have been easier if a copyist's transposition of letters “h” and “o” had not occurred back in Latin and saddened students of two languages? But life hasn't been easier, and we are left with both etymologically incomprehensible inch words.

1. rudimentary; immature; not fully developed.

“We made the gross error of inviting the press in to hear our story even though our plans were still inchoate.”

2. incipient; in an initial stage; just begun.

“As usual, Edith's inchoate ideas came tumbling out and were adopted immediately, when another week or two of rumination would have done wonders for us.”

Related words: inchoately (in-KOH-it-lee) adverb; inchoative (in-KOH-e-tiv) adjective; inchoation (IN-koh-AY-shen) and inchoateness (in-KOH-it-nis) both nouns.

incredulous (in-KREJ-e-les)

From Latin incredulus, from in-, meaning “not,” + credulus, meaning “believing.”

Not to be confused with incredible, meaning “unbelievable,” a word universally known and widely misapplied by broadcasters and sports enthusiasts, who contaminate almost everything they touch. They apparently think misuse of incredulous earns more brownie points than correct use of incredible.

Whatever they think, people who find it hard to believe something are correctly said to be incredulous, while the stories you tell that are hard to believe are properly incredible.

skeptical; unbelieving; not ready to believe; showing disbelief.

“Pat's incredulous stare at the witness then giving testimony did not go unnoticed by the jury.”

Related words: incredulously (in-KREJ-e-les-lee) adverb; incredulity (IN-kri-DOO-li-tee) and incredulousness (in-KEJ-e-les-nis) both nouns.

inculpable (in-KUL-pe-bel)

From Latin inculpabilis, meaning “not culpable.”

Not to be confused with the infinitive inculpate, which means “to incriminate; accuse.”

free from blame; guiltless; not culpable.

“Sometimes, inculpable defendants who are subjected to skillful cross-examination can be made to seem guilty of the crimes with which they are charged.”

Related words: inculpably (in-KUL-pe-blee) adverb; inculpability (in-KUL-pe-BIL-i-tee) and inculpableness (in-KUL-pe-bel-nis) both nouns.

indefatigable (IN-di-FAT-i-ge-bel)

From Latin indefatigabilis, from in-, meaning “not,” + defatigare, an infinitive meaning “to tire out, exhaust.”

untiring; not yielding to fatigue; incapable of being worn out.

“Her indefatigable energy attracted many supporters to her cause, seeing in her capacity for hard work the solution to all their problems.”

Related words: indefatigably (IN-di-FAT-i-ge-blee) adverb; indefatigability (IN-di-FAT-i-ge-BIL-i-tee) and indefatigableness (IN-di-FAT-i-ge-bel-nis) both nouns.

indigenous (in-DIJ-e-nes)

From Latin adjective indigen, meaning “native”; from gignere an infinitive meaning “to beget, bear.”

1. native to a country, a region, etc.

“Strangely, the indigenous population was never cruelly exploited by the invaders.”

2. inborn; innate; natural.

“Despite the suggestions of certain anthropologists, nobody has offered acceptable proof that emotions are indigenous to all humans.”

Related words: indigenously (in-DIJ-e-nes-lee) adverb; indigenousness (in-DIJ-e-nes-nis) noun.

indiscrete (IN-di-SKREET)

From Latin indiscretus, meaning “undivided.”

Not to be confused with the universally understood indiscreet (same pronunciation), meaning “lacking good judgment.” See discrete.

not divided into distinct parts; not detached, not discrete.

“To our chagrin, we found an indiscrete mass of miscellany that we would have to sort out.”

indomitable (in-DOM-i-te-bel)

From Latin indomitus, meaning “untamed; ungovernable.”

unconquerable; unyielding.

“All those present expressed admiration for the indomitable chief operating officer, who had accepted the challenge of working for a company about to go bankrupt and in a single year had turned it into a profitable enterprise.”

Related words: indomitably (in-DOM-i-te-blee) adverb; indomitability (in-DOM-i-te-BIL-i-tee) and indomitableness (in-DOM-i-te-bel-nis) both nouns.

indurate (IN-duu-rit)

From Latin induratus, past participle of infinitive indurare, meaning “to harden.”

callous; hardened; unfeeling.

“After careful consideration he came to the conclusion that Emily's indurate response had clearly been thought out, and there was nothing to do but abandon the possibility of marriage.”

Related word: induration (IN-duu-RAY-shen) noun.

See also obdurate.

ineffable (in-EF-e-bel)

From Latin ineffabilis, meaning “unutterable,” from in-, meaning “not,” + effabilis, meaning “utterable.”

And while there is the English word effable, meaning “utterable,” you probably will seldom hear or read this word. At the same time, now that you have the word ineffable, be ready to hear it over and over again in years to come. Sometimes used without an understanding of what this popular word means.

unutterable; inexpressible; unspeakable.

“I was gripped by ineffable joy at hearing I would soon be given a promotion to a job worth doing.”

Related words: ineffably (in-EF-e-blee) adverb; ineffability (in-EF-e-BIL-i-tee) and ineffableness (in-EF-e-bel-nis) both nouns.

ineluctable (IN-i-LUK-te-bel)

From Latin ineluctabilis, meaning “insurmountable,” from in-, meaning “not,” + eluctari, meaning “to surmount,” + -ible, meaning “able.”

inescapable; unavoidable.

“It appeared that an ineluctable force had him in its grip, and while he was certain he could never escape, he knew he had to continue struggling.”

Related words: ineluctably (IN-i-LUK-te-blee) adverb; ineluctability (IN-i-LUK-te-BIL-e-tee) noun.

inexorable (in-EK-ser-e-bel)

From Latin inexorabilis, meaning “incapable of being entreated.”

unalterable; relentless; unyielding; unyielding to prayer or entreaty.

“He had been warned to stay away from banks that lend money too easily, and now he found out why—generous lenders at the drop of a hat had suddenly become inexorable creditors.”

Related words: inexorably (in-EK-ser-e-blee) adverb; inexorability (in-EK-ser-e-BIL-e-tee) and inexorableness (in-EK-ser-e-bel-nis) both nouns.

infrangible (in-FRAN-je-bel)

From Latin infrangibilis, meaning “unbreakable.”

inviolable; which cannot be broken or infringed.

“She soon found out that the parietal rules at her new college were really intended to be infrangible, even though she considered them old-fashioned.”

Related words: infrangibly (in-FRAN-je-blee) adverb; infrangibility (in-FRAN-je-BIL-i-tee) and infrangibleness (in-FRAN-je-bel-nis) both nouns.

ingenuous. See disingenuous.

inimitable (i-NIM-i-te-bel)

From Latin inimitabilis, meaning “incapable of imitation”; from imitabilis, meaning “imitable.”

Far more successful as a negative word than the positive imitable (IM-i-te-bel), the implication being that while imitation may be thought to be the sincerest form of flattery, impossibility of imitation trumps the possibility of imitation.

unmatched; peerless; defying imitation.

“The family's inimitable skill on the high wire made the Wallendas the greatest circus attraction for generations.”

Related words: inimitable (i-NIM-i-te-blee) adverb; inimitability (i-NIM-i-te-BIL-i-tee) and inimitableness (i-NIM-i-te-bel-nis) both nouns.

innocuous (i-NOK-yoo-es)

From Latin innocuus, meaning “harmless,” from Latin in-, meaning “not” + noxius, meaning “poisonous,” whence came English nocuous (NOK-yoo-es), meaning “poisonous,” and innocuous.

harmless; not injurious; unlikely to offend.

“While the supervisor's innocuous remarks accomplished their overall purpose of giving offense to no one, they did little to instill confidence in her leadership.”

Related words: innocuously (i-NOK-yoo-es-lee) adverb; innocuousness (i-NOK-yoo-es-nis) noun.

inordinate (in-OR-dn-it)

From Latin inordinatus, meaning “disordered, irregular.”

excessive; not within proper limits; immoderate, uncontrolled.

“Everyone at the table noticed that during dinner the couple drank inordinate amounts of red wine.”

Related words: inordinately (in-OR-dn-it-lee) adverb; inordinateness (in-OR-dn-it-nis) noun.

insalubrious (IN-se-LOO-bree-es)

From Latin in-, meaning “not,” + salubris, meaning “health-giving, wholesome.”

of climate, etc.: unwholesome; detrimental to health.

“In the tropics, where insalubrious nights follow sweltering days, the desire to work hard on his novel is easily defeated.”

Related words: insalubriously (IN-se-LOO-bree-es-lee) adverb; insalubrity (IN-se-LOO-bri-tee) noun.

insentient (in-SEN-shent)

From English in-, meaning “not,” + sentient, meaning “perceiving”; from Latin infinitive sentire, meaning “to feel.”

inanimate; indifferent; destitute of physical feeling.

“What beauty and emotion the sculptor was capable of obtaining from insentient stone!”

Related words: insentience (in-SEN-shens) and insentiency (in-SEN-shen-see) both nouns.

intemerate (in-TEM-er-it)

From Latin intemeratus, meaning “unblemished”; from in-, meaning “not,” + past participle of infinitive temerare, meaning “to violate.”

Not to be confused with intemperate (in-TEM-per-it), which deals most often with questions of a person's abstinence from booze but also with other questions of temperament (TEM-per-e-ment), such as the ability to hold one's temper.

inviolable; undefiled; unblemished.

“The new senator was widely thought to be a lady of intemerate reputation and unsullied character, who would ably represent us in Washington.”

Related words: intemerately (in-TEM-er-it-lee) adverb; intemerateness (in-TEM-er-it-nis) noun.

intemperate. See intemerate.

internecine (IN-ter-NEE-seen)

From Latin internecinus, meaning “murderous,” from the infinitive verb internecare, meaning “to kill.”

Can this etymology be your first clue to the fact that internecine says nothing of things happening between people or organizations? Forget for a moment the ordinary meanings of the Latin and English prefix inter- that you know so well. Especially forget the meaning “between peoples” that is often understood by the half educated.

Nevertheless, you are in good company when you consider that the person responsible for introducing and making respectable this misinformed idea was none other than Dr. Johnson himself, the idiosyncratic lexicographer who misdefined internecine as “endeavouring mutual destruction.”

deadly; destructive; war to the death.

“Civilization has advanced to the point at which internecine warfare is considered successful when an opposing army is rendered less than fully effective, not when one side or the other is completely exterminated.”

intestate (in-TES-tayt)

From Latin intestatus, from in-, meaning “not,” + testatus, the past participle of testari, meaning “to bear witness; to make a will.” See also testate.

1. of a person; not having made a will.

“The vain old man, without giving a thought to what would happen to his survivors, but happy that he could avoid letting anyone know how old he was, died intestate.”

2. of a thing: not disposed of by will; belonging to the estate of a person who dies without having made a will.

“Believe it or not, that woman's property was said to remain intestate for almost half a century after her death, and not a single heir has yet turned up.”

intrepid. See trepid.

inveterate (in-VET-er-it)

From Latin inveteratus, the past participle of verb inveterare, meaning “to grow old; preserve.” Inveteratus is usually translated as “of long standing; inveterate.”

chronic; habitual; long established; deep-rooted.

“By all accounts, Desmond has been an inveterate liar about his past and has never been confronted by anyone who knew the truth about him.”

Related words: inveterately (in-VET-er-it-lee) adverb; inveterateness (in-VET-er-it-nis) noun.

invidious (in-VID-ee-es)

From Latin invidiosus, meaning “envious; spiteful”; from invidia, meaning “envy; ill will.”

1. obnoxious; intended to give offense.

“His special weakness after a few drinks is his propensity to make invidious comparisons that offend everyone within earshot.”

2. injurious; tending to cause envy or resentment.

“Their father's invidious remarks unintentionally fed the siblings' long-festering rivalry.”

Related words: invidiously (in-VID-ee-es-lee) adverb; invidiousness (in-VID-ee-es-nis) noun.

invincible. See vincible.

irascible (i-RAS-e-bel)

From Latin irascibilis, from irasci, meaning “to grow angry.”

irritable; hot-tempered; quick to anger.

“Eileen's wit and glib tongue did not lessen the sting of her irascible outbursts.”

Related words: irascibly (i-RAS-e-blee) adverb; irascibility (i-RAS-i-BIL-i-tee) and irascibleness (i-RAS-i-bel-nis) both nouns.

irenic (i-REN-ik)

From Greek eirenikós, meaning “pacific; peaceful.”

Also given as irenical (i-REN-i-kel).

conciliatory; tending to promote peace or reconciliation.

“Much to our surprise, the most irenic elements in the government tended to be men who had spent their earlier careers as commanders in the military.”

Related word: irenically (i-REN-i-klee) adverb.

iridescent. See opalescent.

irrefragable (i-REF-re-ge-bel)

From Latin irrefragabilis, from ir-, meaning “not,” + infinitive refragari, meaning “to oppose, thwart,” + -bilis, a suffix meaning “able.”

incontestable; indisputable; incontrovertible.

“Soon we found that her arguments were irrefragable, and nothing could be gained by continuing the dispute.”

Related words: irrefragably (i-REF-re-ge-blee) adverb; irrefragability (i-REF-re-ge-BIL-i-tee) and irrefragableness (i-REF-re-ge-bel-nis) both nouns.

irrefrangible (IR-i-FRAN-je-bel)

From English ir-, meaning “not,” + frangible, meaning “breakable,” from the Latin infinitive frangere, meaning “to break.”

A verb form of special interest because its past participle fractum gives us the English word fracture.

inviolable; not to be violated; not to be broken.

“For a school that claims to be entirely open and relaxed in its discipline, Excelsior Prep enforces a great number of irrefrangible regulations.”

Related words: irrefrangibly (IR-i-FRAN-je-blee) adverb; irrefrangibility (IR-i-FRAN-je-BIL-i-tee) and irrefrangibleness (IR-i-FRAN-je-bel-nis) both nouns.

ithyphallic (ITH-e-FAL-ik)

From Latin ithyphallicus, from Greek ithyphallikós from ithy, meaning “straight or erect,” + phallós, meaning “phallus,” + -ikos, having the same meaning as the English suffix -ic.

Although ithyphallic has denotations concerned with festivals of the ancient god Bacchus, one of whose titles was that of god of wine, the emphasis here is on a modern meaning of this term. Yet we must recognize that statues of Bacchus portrayed him as a man with enviably ramrod intensity.

grossly indecent; obscene.

“A Supreme Court justice is reputed to have said of ithyphallic writing, ‘I can't define it but I know it when I see it.’”

J

jackbooted (JAK-BOO-tid)

Straight out of the Harley-Davidson popular image: from English jackboot, meaning “a popular style of leather boot,” + a suffix signifying a past participle, -ed.

1. wearing jackboots, especially said of those who ride motorcycles.

“When the jackbooted crowd roared into town, women gripped their purses tighter and ordinary men did their best to find shelter without allowing themselves to appear frightened.”

2. characterized by rough, bullying tactics.

“The diner was suddenly crowded with jackbooted, tattooed, hirsute men.”

Janus-faced (JAY-nes-FAYST)

From the name of the ancient god Janus, a two-faced personage, who was in charge of guarding the gates to heaven. His extraordinary number of faces was of special interest.

1. two-faced; deceitful.

“If you had listened carefully to what the Janus-faced supervisor was saying, you would have known he was the treacherous man we all had to fear.”

2. having one face looking ahead, the other looking other backward.

“Most historical accounts I have read seem Janus-faced, more interested in making judgments on the events of the twentieth century than predictions on the twenty-first.”

jaundiced (JAWN-dist)

From English jaundice, from Old French jaunisse, from Latin galbinus, all meaning “greenish yellow.”

1. showing prejudice, as from envy, etc.

“We distrusted her judgment of her colleagues, knowing as we did that she regarded them with a jaundiced eye.”

2. affected with jaundice.

“The young physician immediately suspected that I was jaundicedwhen he saw my yellow skin.”

jejune (ji-JOON)

From Latin ieiunus, meaning “fasting; hungry; meager; feeble.”

1. dull, insipid; juvenile, immature.

“His maundering conversation was surprisingly jejune for someone who held such an important position.”

2. of a diet: lacking in nutritive value.

“I fear the children are malnourished on the jejune diet they are receiving.”

Related words: jejunely (ji-JOON-lee) adverb; jejuneness (ji-JOON-nis) and jejunity (ji-JOON-ni-tee) both nouns.

jiggered (JIG-erd)

Colloquial, origin unknown.

exhausted; damned; devitalized.

“At the disappointing news, the poor man spat out, ‘I'll be jiggered,’ and fell silent, apparently feeling better because he had taken a load off his mind.”

jocose (joh-KOHS)

From Latin iocus, meaning “joking,” + -osus, meaning “full of.”

of persons or activities: given to joking or jesting; playful; sportive.

“The games were accompanied by much jocose banter occasioned particularly by our host's social pretensions.”

Related words: jocosely (joh-KOHS-lee) adverb; jocoseness (joh-KOHS-nis) and jocosity (joh-KOS-i-tee) both nouns.

jocular (JOK-ye-ler)

From Latin iocularis, meaning “little joke,” from iocus, meaning “joke,” + -ulus, a diminutive suffix.

given to joking or jesting.

“She made the error of submitting as her first paper a short piece sprinkled with inappropriately jocular remarks.”

Related words: jocularly (JOK-ye-ler-lee) adverb; jocularity (JOK-ye-LAR-i-tee) noun.

jocund (JOK-end)

From Latin iocundus or iucundus, meaning “pleasant”; from the infinitive iuvare, meaning “to assist,” + -cundus, an adjectival suffix.

merry; blithe; glad.

“The seriousness of the situation was leavened by his jocund repartee, which never stopped for a moment.”

Related words: jocundly (JOK-end-lee) adverb; jocundity (joh-KUND-i-tee) noun.

judicable (JOO-di-ke-bel)

From Late Latin iudicabilis, from infinitive iudicare, meaning “to judge,” + -abilis, a suffix meaning “able.”

capable of being judged; liable to judgment.

“In the judgment of the Queen's Counsel, the question is only marginally judicable and, therefore, should not be taken up in the courts.”

judicious (joo-DISH-es)

From French judicieux and Italian giudizioso, both from Latin iudictum, meaning “judgment.”

wise; exercising sound judgment.

“By judicious apportionment of your time, one-half for study of your three courses and the other half for the major examinations you will face in two months, you will surely be able to handle the demands put upon you.”

Related words: judiciously (joo-DISH-es-lee) adverb; judiciousness (joo-DISH-es-nis) noun.

juridical (juu-RID-i-kel)

From Latin juridicialis, meaning “of law, juridical.”

Also given as juridic (juu-RID-ik).

relating to the administration of law or judicial proceedings.

“I have learned much of juridical ins and outs from watching Law and Order and other TV shows relating to the law.”

Related word: juridically (juu-RID-i-kel-ee) adverb.

juvenescent (JOO-ve-NES-ent)

From Latin iuvenescens, present participle of infinitive iuvenescere, meaning “to become youthful.”

growing young or youthful.

“The old man decided to give up tennis at his club, because his erstwhile partners were discouragingly juvenescent and never tired of chasing balls he could not reach.”

Related word: juvenescence (JOO-ve-NES-ens) noun.

K

Kafkaesque (KAHF-ke-ESK)

From the name of Franz Kafka (1883-1924), an Austrian novelist and short-story writer.

suggesting a nightmarish or illogical quality to events; resembling the literary work of Kafka.

“Imagine a Kafkaesque situation in which a person who may either be innocent or guilty of a crime is imprisoned and interrogated endlessly by police without knowing what crime the police have in mind.”

kaput (kah-PUUT)

Slang. From German kaputt, from French (être) capot, meaning “(to be) trickless in the game of piquet” and, therefore, “ruined.”

ruined; unable to continue; bankrupt.

“Many of the companies whose stock prices soared in the late '90s were kaput in the new millennium.”

kempt (kempt)

From Old English cemb (also spelled many other ways), past participle of infinitive cemban, meaning “to comb.”

One of those words that have been written off as archaic many times in their thousand years of life but are still kicking. How it holds up against the competition of unkempt (un-KEMPT) is not known for certain. After all, people who comb their hair just now and then far outnumber those who do so regularly.

of a home: neat; tidy; of someone's hair: combed.

“When we consider that electricity was far from a reality in the coal mining villages of an earlier century, we must wonder how housewives were able to keep their homes kempt and their many children's hair washed and untangled.”

kittenish (KIT-n-ish)

From the English familiar word kitten + -ish, an adjectival suffix meaning “like.”

playful; like a kitten.

“Away from the watchful eye of her grandmother, Gigi became irrepressibly kittenish.”

Related words: kittenishly (KIT-n-ish-lee) adverb; kittenishness (KIT-n-ish-nis) noun.

kleptomaniac (KLEP-te-MAY-nee-AK)

From English kleptomania (KLEP-te-MAY-nee-e), from Greek klepto, a combining form of kléptes, meaning “thief,” + the familiar mania.

Also given as cleptomaniac (same pronunciation).

If one examines words originally used to describe what our modern intelligentsia consider mental diseases, we would find quite a few with -mania and -maniac imbedded in them—consider “dipsomania” and “dipsomaniac.” How prescient, how mistaken we were!

pertaining to a person who is described as having an irresistible urge to steal.

“Our townspeople learned to pity and tolerate kleptomaniac behavior when they realized how compulsive it was.”

Related word: kleptomania (KLEP-te-MAY-nee-e) noun.

klutzy (KLUT-see)

American slang, from Yiddish klots, literally “a wooden block,” + -y, a suffix meaning “inclined to.”

awkward, clumsy; socially inept; foolish.

“The klutzy ladies of the back line in a cheap burlesque house were not thought of as dancers, but as overweight sex objects.”

Related words: klutz (kluts) and klutziness (KLUT-see-nis) both nouns.

knurled (nurld)

Possibly from Middle English knorre, meaning “a knot,” + -ed, an adjectival suffix.

of a knob, etc.: having small ridges on a surface.

“Without the knurled edge, neither my wife nor I would ever have been able to open a jar of martini onions.”

Related words: knur (nur) and knurling (NUR-ling) both nouns; knurly (NUR-lee) adjective.

L

labyrinthine (LAB-e-RIN-thin)

From English labyrinth, meaning “a maze,” + -ine, an adjectival suffix meaning “like.” From Latin labyrinthus, from Greek labyrinthós, both meaning “labyrinth or maze.”

Also given as labyrinthian (LAB-e-RIN-thee-en).

1. of the nature of a maze.

“We would not have built an interesting, labyrinthine kitchen if we had known you cooked only occasionally and didn't mind getting lost in your own home.”

2. intricate; complicated; involved.

“I tried hard but could scarcely follow his endless labyrinthine sentences, with here and there an interesting word or phrase incorporated to sustain my interest.”

Related words: labyrinth (LAB-e-rinth) noun; labyrinthic (LAB-e-RIN-thik) adjective; labyrinthically (LAB-e-RIN-thi-ke-lee) adverb.

lachrymose (LAK-re-MOHS)

From Latin lacrimosus, meaning “tearful, lamentable”; from lacrima, meaning “a tear,” + -osus, an adjectival suffix meaning “given to.”

1. mournful; given to shedding tears.

“The sentimental film evoked a lachrymose response from the impressionable young girls.”

2. tearful; tending to provoke tears.

“The child actress was amazingly adept at delivering a lachrymose performance at will.”

Related words: lachrymosely (LAK-re-MOHS-lee) adverb; lachrymosity (LAK-re-MOS-i-tee) noun.

laconic (le-KON-ik)

From Latin Laconicus, from Greek Lakonikós, both meaning “a Laconian”—a Spartan—ancient Sparta having been the capital of Laconia.

And, of course, Laconians were famous for their laconic—brusque and aphoristic—speech, as were the Spartans for their courage, frugality, and stern discipline.

in speech and writing: concise, brief, and crammed with wisdom.

“What my boss expects most are laconic replies to his questions, but they must be written, not spoken, and be submitted quickly.”

Related words: laconically (le-KON-ik-e-lee) adverb; laconism (LAK-e-NIZ-em) noun.

lambent (LAM-bent)

From Latin lambens, present participle of lambere, meaning “to wash, to lick.”

1. of light or fire: playing lightly over a surface.

“The coals had long been gray, but lambent tongues of flame continued to dance over the embers occasionally.”

2. of wit, style, etc.: playing lightly or brilliantly over its subject.

“Once again, with his lambent wit and good humor, M. DeBeauvivier managed to entice his students into working on a difficult project that would teach them something that excited them intellectually.”

Related words: lambently (LAM-bent-lee) adverb; lambency (LAM-ben-see) noun.

languid (LANG-gwid)

From Latin languidus, meaning “faint, sluggish,” from languere, meaning “to languish.”

1. wanting in vigor or vitality.

“It was obvious that his recent illness had left him languid and weak.”

2. apathetic; showing little interest or concern.

“I could tell from his languid attitude he had little chance to survive his initial interview, much less the entire series of meetings we normally scheduled.”

Related words: languidly (LANG-gwid-lee) adverb; languidness (LANG-gwid-nis) noun; languishing (LANG-gwi-shing) adjective.

See also languorous.

languorous (LANG-ger-es)

From English languor, meaning “sluggishness,” + -ous “full of”; from Middle English langour “sickness”; from Latin infinitive languere, meaning “to languish.”

inducing lassitude or weakness; languid.

“A torpor came over him, a languorous inability to rouse himself from the apathy that was beginning to grip him and would soon have him in its clutches.”

Related words: languorously (LANG-ger-es-lee) adverb; languorousness (LANG-ger-eus-nis) noun.

lanuginose (le-NOO-je-NOHS)

From Latin lanuginosus, meaning “downy,” from lanugo, meaning “wooliness,” + -osus, an adjectival suffix meaning “abounding in.”

Also given as lanuginous (le-NOO-je-nes).

downy; covered with soft down.

“Where we had expected to find a scaly outer skin, we were surprised to find the creature had a lanuginose covering from neck to tail.”

Related words: lanugo (le-NOO-goh) and lanuginousness (le-NOO-je-nes-nis) both nouns.

Laodicean (lay-OD-e-SEE-en)

From Laodicea, the ancient name of Latakia, Syria, whose inhabitants were said to care little about Christianity.

in religious or political beliefs: indifferent; lukewarm.

“Anne told me her entire family maintained a Laodicean attitude toward matters of churchgoing and other religious observances, thus absolving them of the guilt associated with neglect of duties toward God.”

lascivious (le-SIV-ee-es)

From Latin lascivia, meaning “playfulness, impudence, lewdness.”

1. wanton; inclined to lust.

“The boy, scarcely more than ten years old, was reported by his classmates to have made lascivious gestures and remarks.”

2. arousing; inciting to lust.

“Some of the photographs of undraped figures were considered lascivious, and the photographer was asked to eliminate them from the exhibit.”

Related words: lasciviously (le-SIV-ee-es-lee) adverb; lasciviousness (le-SIV-ee-es-nis) noun.

laudable (LAW-de-bel)

From Latin laudabilis, meaning “praiseworthy”; from infinitive laudare, meaning “to praise.”

of things and actions: commendable; deserving praise.

“The judges were nearly unanimous in finding the neophyte composer's works laudable in form and originality.”

Related words: laudably (LAW-de-blee) adverb; laudableness (LAW-de-bel-nis), laudability (LAW-de-BIL-i-tee), and laudation (law-DAY-shen) all nouns.

See laudatory.

laudatory (LAW-de-TOR-ee)

From Latin laudatorius, meaning “expressive of praise”; from the infinitive laudare, meaning “to praise.”

Also given as laudative (LAW-de-tiv). See also laudable.

eulogistic; expressing or containing praise.

“I soon found it quite easy to give a laudatory speech introducing my friend, as he is a man I much admire.”

Related word: laudatorily (LAW-de-TOR-i-lee) adverb.

leonine (LEE-e-NIN)

From Latin leoninus, meaning “lionlike.”

lionlike; resembling or suggestive of a lion.

“The old senator with his leonine appearance and booming voice easily commanded the attention of Washington reporters and members of the House of Representatives.”

libidinous (li-BID-n-es)

From Latin libidinosis, meaning “willful, arbitrary; sensual, lustful”; from libido, meaning “lust,” + -osus, meaning “full of.”

Also given as libidinal (li-BID-n-el).

lustful, lewd, lecherous, lascivious.

“An elderly, libidinous gentleman these days is often referred to as a dirty old man.”

Related words: libido (li-BEE-doh) and libidinousness (li-BID-n-es-nis) both nouns; libidinally (li-BID-n-e-lee) and libidinously (li-BID-n-es-lee) both adverbs.

licentious (lI-SEN-shes)

From Latin licentiosus, meaning “unrestrained,” from licentia, meaning “license.”

sexually unrestrained; immoral, lawless; lascivious, libertine.

“Greek-letter fraternities on some campuses provide beer, whiskey, food, women, and venues for licentious parties.”

Related words: licentiously (lI-SEN-shes-lee) adverb; licentiousness (lI-SEN-shes-nis) noun.

licit (LIS-it)

From Latin licitus, meaning “lawful,” past participle of infinitive licere, meaning “it is permitted or it is lawful.”

allowable, permissible; lawful.

“People being what they are, the adjective illicit is far better known than licit, and far more useful.”

Related word: licitly (LIS-it-lee) adverb.

light-fingered (LIT-FING-gerd)

From well-known English light, and fingered, meaning “having fingers.”

thieving; skilled at picking pockets and shoplifting.

“We usually would remember to lock the silver when my father's light-fingered associate came to the house.”

Related word: light-fingeredness (LIT-FING-gerd-nis) noun.

Lilliputian (LIL-i-PYOO-shen)

From Lilliput, the name of the tiny people of an imaginary country in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.

1. of persons: diminutive, extremely small.

“It did not enter her mind for a moment that her Lilliputian husband-to-be was at least six inches shorter than she.”

2. of worldly matters: petty; trivial.

“When Joan finally had time to stop and think, she realized her portion of the estate was Lilliputian and might pay for a month's supply of first-class postage stamps.”

lily-livered (LIL-ee-LIV-erd)

From well-known English lily and liver + -ed, enabling livered to function as a past participle.

An old superstition had it that a coward's liver contained no blood, so a person said to be cowardly was considered lily-livered.

pusillanimous; lacking in courage.

“Most people were afraid of me when I was a young man, but I knew I was lily-livered and was grateful that no one challenged me.”

limpid (LIM-pid)

From Latin limpidus, meaning “clear.” One of those wonderful words telling us everything is A-OK.

1. of liquid: transparent, clear, pellucid.

“Julian's martinis were as limpid and cold as an alpine stream.”

2. of writing: lucid, free from obscurity.

“I admired his limpid writing, which clarified the most abstruse problems.”

3. of emotion: free from worry, completely calm.

“What she really longed for was a limpid existence, a life moving seamlessly from day to day without fear of interruption.”

Related words: limpidly (LIM-pid-lee) adverb; limpidness (LIM-pid-nis) and limpidity (lim-PID-i-tee) both nouns.

lissome (LIS-em)

Possibly a contracted form of the adjective lithesome, reflecting a linguistic practice of the British. After all, the British taught us to pronounce the name Worcester as though it were written Wooster. And now, at least in the United States, we have places named Wooster and at least one college by that name.

So lissome seems to have become a spelling of lithesome, and both terms came from the German lind, meaning “mild,” and from the Latin lentus, meaning “slow.”

Also given as lissom, with the same pronunciation.

lithe; flexible; supple; agile.

“The leopard's lissome gait astonished all who had never before seen the animal in hot pursuit of game.”

Related words: lissomely (LIS-em-lee) adverb; lissomeness (LIS-em-nis) noun.

litigious (li-TIJ-es)

From Latin litigiosus, meaning “quarrelsome, contentious,” from litigium, meaning “a quarrel.”

1. contentious; inclined readily to sue.

“After serving a year's apprenticeship in a litigious New York firm, Spencer found himself unable to adjust to the relaxed practice of law in the Maine backwoods where he chose to live.”

2. pertaining to lawsuits or litigation.

“The young attorney's litigious experience is far from adequate to consider asking him to see their case through.”

Related words: litigiously (li-TIJ-es-lee) adverb; litigiousness (li-TIJ-es-nis) and litigiosity (li-TIJ-ee-OS-i-tee) both nouns.

littoral (LIT-er-el)

From Latin littoralis or litoralis, meaning “of the shore,” from litus, meaning “shore, coast, bank.”

pertaining to the shore or beach, etc., of a body of water.

“Rich colonies of littoral bivalves once found along the Erie are rarely seen today because of the large vessels on the lake and the many thriving industries long established there.”

liverish (LIV-er-ish)

From English liver, “a bodily organ” + -ish, an adjectival suffix meaning “like.”

A function of the liver, once thought to be the seat of love, is to purify the blood, a vital function.

1. disagreeable, melancholy.

“It once was common for a liverish person to blame the uncontrollable malfunctioning of his bodily organs for the way he behaved.”

2. bilious; having a liver disorder.

“My oldest uncle found it convenient to complain of being liverish when all he had to do was stop eating and drinking so much.”

loathsome (LOHTH-sem)

From Middle English lothsom from loth or lath, meaning “evil,” + the adjectival suffix -some.

repulsive; causing disgust or loathing; hateful, odious, shocking.

“The skin condition that plagued him was a loathsome case of psoriasis, which often made it necessary for him to be hospitalized.”

Related words: loathsomely (LOHTH-sem-lee) adverb; loathsomeness (LOHTH-sem-nis) noun.

loquacious (loh-KWAY-shes)

From English noun loquacity, meaning “talkativeness,” + -ous, “given to”; from Latin loquax, meaning “talkative, chattering”; from the Latin infinitive loqui, meaning “to talk.”

garrulous; talkative; chattering, babbling.

“Our loquacious neighbor cast a pall over the party, with her inane chatter stifling any attempt to start an interesting conversation.”

Related words: loquaciously (loh-KWAY-shes-lee) adverb; loquaciousness (loh-KWAY-shes-nis) and loquacity (loh-KWAS-i-tee) both nouns.

louche (loosh)

From French louche, meaning “squinting,” from Latin luscus, meaning “one-eyed.”

oblique, not straightforward; shady, disreputable.

“There was something louche about the caretaker we had recently hired, and we regretted having entrusted our house keys to him.”

lubricious (loo-BRISH-es)

From English lubric, an archaic word meaning “shifty,” + -ious, meaning “characteristically.”

Also given as lubricous (LOO-bri-kes), not used much.

slippery, smooth; slimy, oily; lustful, lecherous.

“Not often do we find a lubricious person who proves eventually to be upstanding and trustworthy.”

Related words: lubriciously (loo-BRISH-es-lee) adverb; lubricity (loo-BRIS-i-tee) noun.

luculent (LOO-kyuu-lent)

From Latin luculentus, meaning “bright, brilliant, rich”; from lux, meaning “light,” + -ulentus, a Latin adjectival suffix meaning “full of,” translated into English as -ulent with the same meaning, for example, as in flatulent.

1. lucid; clear.

“Above all, his ability to write luculent prose brought him to the attention of the army command.”

2. convincing, pertinent.

“The luculent argument she presented to the jury in her summary was the best oration I have ever heard her give.”

Related word: luculently (LUU-kyuu-lent-lee) adverb.

Lucullan (loo-KUL-en)

From the Roman name Lucullus, known principally as the name of a wealthy ancient general and administrator who liked his food and spared no expense in entertaining.

In Lucullus's later years food became the center of his life. It was said that even when he dined alone his table was superb, and he left his mark in the sentence “Lucullus will sup tonight with Lucullus,” which has become the trademark of a glutton who eats alone.

Lucullan is given also as Lucullean and as Lucullian (both pronounced LOO-ke-LEE-en).

of banquets and the like: sumptuous.

“Once Edgar became head of his company he achieved fame for the Lucullan feasts he provided for his numerous guests at his monthly first-Thursday-night galas.”

lugubrious (luu-GOO-bree-es)

From Latin lugubris, meaning “mournful.”

exaggeratedly doleful, mournful, sorrowful.

“He wanted to relieve the oppressiveness of the lugubrious occasion by leaving instructions for those who would be called on to speak at his funeral to tell funny stories about his life.”

Related words: lugubriously (luu-GOO-bree-es-lee) adverb; lugubriousness (luu-GOO-bree-es-nis) and lugubriosity (le-GOO-bree-OS-i-tee) both nouns.

lupine (LOO-pIn)

From Latin lupinus, meaning “of a wolf.”

having the qualities of a wolf; savage; predatory.

“An inexperienced person trying to make her way in Hollywood on her own might find the motion picture way of doing business lupine, to say the least.”

Not to be confused with the plant called lupine (LOO-pin)—notice the difference in pronunciation—whose name also derives from lupinus, originally perhaps a German word, Wolfsbohne, literally “wolf bean.”

lurid (LUUR-id)

From Latin luridus, meaning “pale yellow, ghastly, wan.”

1. revolting; horrible, gruesome.

“I don't know why Jon insists on relating all the lurid details of everything he reads about in the tabloid newspapers.”

2. shocking; ghastly, ominous.

“I have had enough of the lurid tales complete with mangled corpses and noisy gunfire that occupy moviemakers and television shows night after night.”

Related words: luridly (LOO-rid-lee) adverb; luridness (LOO-rid-nis) noun.

M

Machiavellian (MAK-ee-e-VEL-ee-en)

From the name of Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), the celebrated Florentinian statesman and author of Il principe (The Prince), on the art of government. To his surname is added the adjectival suffix -ian, meaning “characteristic of.”

Also given as Machiavelian (same pronunciation).

astute; practicing duplicity in statecraft or in general conduct.

“Cynicism has become so widespread that many persons attribute Machiavellian motives to leaders in all walks of life.”

Related word: Machiavellianly (MAK-ee-e-VEL-ee-en-lee) adverb.

macroscopic (MAK-re-SKOP-ik)

From English macro “large” + -scope, a combining form meaning “instrument for viewing” + -ic, an adjectival suffix meaning “like.”

Also given as macroscopical (MAK-re-SKOP-ik-el).

visible to the unassisted eye.

“The pathologist explained that after she conducts a macroscopic examination of the corpse to obtain an overall impression, it is her practice to then conduct a microscopic examination of tissues from the damaged portions of the body.”

Related word: macroscopically (MAK-re-SKOP-ik-e-lee) adverb.

maculate (MAK-ye-lit)

From Latin maculatus, meaning “stained, defiled”; past participle of infinitive maculare, meaning “to stain, defile.”

It speaks well of us universally that we far better know the adjective immaculate (i-MAK-ye-lit), which means “spotlessly clean,” even as we eschew the term in describing our own behavior or reputations.

stained, spotted.

“Her unfortunately maculate record in mathematics fresh in her mind, the poor sophomore wondered whether she could keep the rest of her grades high enough to compete for a good scholarship against her brilliant classmates.”

Related words: macula (MAK-ye-le) and maculation (MAK-ye-LAY-shen) both nouns.

magnanimous (mag-NAN-e-mes)

From Latin magnanimus, meaning “great, brave”; from Latin magnus, meaning “great,” + animus, meaning “mind, soul.”

1. generously forgiving; free of vindictiveness.

“The losing candidate was entirely magnanimous in immediately acknowledging defeat at the hands of the challenger.”

2. noble in conduct; high-minded.

“His contemporaries considered their leader a kind and magnanimous ruler who would ensure that all citizens are given fair treatment.”

Related words: magnanimously (mag-NAN-e-mes-lee) adverb; magnanimousness (mag-NAN-e-mes-nis) and magnanimity (MAG-ne-NIM-i-tee) both nouns.

magniloquent (mag-NIL-e-kwent)

From Latin magniloquus, meaning “boastful.”

bombastic; pompous; ambitious in expression.

“We had been led to believe he was a stimulating speaker and were disappointed to find he was nothing but a magniloquent bore.”

Related words: magniloquently (mag-NIL-e-kwent-lee) adverb; magniloquence (mag-NIL-e-kwens) noun.

majuscule. See minuscule.

maladroit (MAL-e-DROYT)

From French maladroit, meaning “clumsy, awkward.”

Fortunately, we also have the frequently used word adroit (e-DROYT) with meanings opposite to those of maladroit.

awkward; bungling; tactless.

“Benjamin is a disaster at parties, adroit at putting his foot into his mouth whenever he speaks and maladroit on the dance floor, as though dancing with two left feet.”

Related words: maladroitly (MAL-e-DROYT-lee) adverb; maladroitness (MAL-e-DROYT-nis) noun.

malapropos (MAL-ap-re-POH)

From French mal à propos, meaning “inopportune,” literally “badly (suited) to the purpose.”

inappropriate; inopportune.

“Sara had a knack for choosing malapropos moments for asking personal questions.”

malevolent (me-LEV-e-lent)

From Latin malevolens, meaning “spiteful”; from the combining form male, meaning “evil,” + volens, the present participle of the infinitive velle, meaning “to want or desire.”

wishing evil to others; evil, injurious.

“I find it mystifying that an otherwise pleasant person can harbor such malevolent intentions toward anyone he has just met.”

Related words: malevolently (me-LEV-e-lent-lee) adverb; malevolence (me-LEV-e-lens) noun.

malodorous (mal-OH-der-es)

From English mal-, a combining form meaning “bad,” + odorous, meaning “yielding an odor.”

evil smelling; having an unpleasant odor.

“At the general election, voters made it clear they did not want the malodorous pig farms anywhere near their town.”

Related words: malodorously (mal-OH-der-es-lee) adverb; malodor (mal-OH-der) and malodorousness (mal-OH-der-es-nis) both nouns.

marmoreal (mahr-MOR-ee-el)

From Latin marmoreus, meaning “of marble, like marble”; from Greek mármaros, meaning “marble.”

Also given as marmorean (mahr-MOR-ee-en).

made of or like marble.

“After we enjoyed the marmoreal pleasures of the Greek galleries, we sampled the armoreal offerings of the medieval rooms.”

Related word: marmoreally (mahr-MOR-ee-e-lee) adverb.

matutinal (me-TOOT-n-l)

From Latin matutinalis, meaning “early, of the morning”; from matutinus, meaning “of the morning,” after Matuta, goddess of dawn.

early; performed in the morning.

“Without being asked, the young boy performed his matutinal chores of taking out garbage and putting clean dishes on their shelves.”

Related word: matutinally (me-TOOT-n-e-lee) adverb.

maudlin (MAWD-lin)

From a variant form of the name Mary Magdalene—in Latin and in Greek, of course—a penitent whose eyes were often represented in art as swollen from weeping.

foolishly sentimental: mawkishly emotional.

“He managed to keep body and soul together by writing maudlin stories about little boys and girls deserted by their parents and forced to find their own way through life.”

Related words: maudlinly (MAWD-lin-lee) adverb; maudlinness (MAWD-lin-nis) and maudlinism (MAWD-lin-iz-m) both nouns.

mediocre (MEE-dee-OH-ker)

From Latin mediocris, meaning “middling, average; at middling height.”

of indifferent qualities; neither good nor bad, talented or untalented, etc.

“Meagan seemed to be content with doing mediocre work, never extending herself to her capability.”

Related word: mediocrity (MEE-dee-OK-ri-tee) noun.

mellifluous (me-LIF-loo-es)

From Latin mellifluus, from mel, meaning “honey,” + the infinitive fluere, meaning “to flow,” + -us, an adjectival suffix meaning “full of.”

Also given as mellifluent (me-LIF-loo-ent) with the same English meaning given below.

sweet as honey; sweet-sounding; smoothly flowing.

“We were transported by the sweet sound of the soprano's mellifluous voice.”

Related words: mellifluously (me-LIF-loo-es-lee) adverb; mellifluousness (me-LIF-loo-es-nis) noun.

mendacious (men-DAY-shes)

From Latin mendax, meaning “lying, deceiving,” + -ous, an adjectival suffix meaning “full of.”

telling lies; untruthful; false.

“When I found out that my mendacious cousin was the source of the rumor, I was hurt and angry.”

Related words: mendaciously (men-DAY-shes-lee) adverb; mendaciousness (men-DAY-shes-nis) and mendacity (men-DAS-i-tee) both nouns.

mephitic (me-FIT-ik)

From Latin mephiticus, an adjectival form of the noun mephitis, which means “noxious vapor.”

From the accounts of an ancient people who sought protection against such vapors sent from a goddess in charge of the pertinent phenomena. Truly understandable. Well into modern times it was thought the disease called malaria was caused by vapors arising from the earth in swampy areas.

noxious; poisonous, pestilential; offensive to the smell.

“The mephitic fumes in the air-conditioned laboratory alerted us to a big problem.”

Related words: mephitically (me-FIT-ik-el-ee) adverb; mephitis (me-FI-tis) noun.

meretricious (MER-i-TRISH-es)

From Latin meretricius, meaning “of a prostitute”; from infinitive merere, meaning “to earn money”—which may help us look differently at the economic role of prostitutes.

1. tawdry: flashy, vulgarly attractive.

“In spite of the meretricious gaudiness of Las Vegas, I must admit it was amusing and interesting for its half-dressed show girls.”

2. pretentious, insincere.

“The meretricious ceremonies that accompanied his elevation to the presidency seemed entirely inappropriate for a democracy.”

3. characteristic of a prostitute.

“Her father told her the clothing and makeup she wore appeared meretricious and to go to her room and not come back until she looked more respectable.”

Related words: meretriciously (MER-i-TRISH-es-lee) adverb; meretriciousness (MER-i-TRISH-es-nis) noun.

mettlesome (MET-l-sem)

From English mettle, meaning “courage,” + -some, an adjectival suffix.

of persons or animals: courageous; spirited.

“A mettlesome Olympic runner suddenly appeared to leave the pack and move almost effortlessly into the lead, never to be caught again by the others.”

microscopic. See macroscopic.

mimetic (mi-MET-ik)

From Greek mimetikós, meaning “imitative” from mímesis, meaning “imitation”; giving us the English noun mimesis (mi-MEE-sis), meaning “imitation” or “mimicry.”

characterized by the nature of imitation or mimicry.

“Mimetic primates readily learn to imitate repeated movements by their handlers and can mistakenly be thought to be in communication with them.”

Related words: mimetism (MIM-i-TIZ-em) noun; mimetically (mi-MET-i-ke-lee) adverb.

minacious (mi-NAY-shes)

From Latin minax, meaning “overhanging,” + -ius, an adjectival suffix.

Also given as minatory (MIN-e-TOR-ee) and minatorial (MIN-e-TOR-ee-el), meaning “threatening.”

menacing, threatening; full of threats.

“Implicit in the diplomat's words was a clearly minacious message to the effect that our country would respond immediately if missiles were launched at any of our friends.”

Related words: minaciously (mi-NAY-shes-lee) and minatorily (MIN-e-TOR-i-lee) both adverbs; minaciousness (mi-NAY-shes-nis) and minacity (mi-NAS-i-tee) both nouns.

minatory. See minacious.

mingy (MIN-jee)

From English m(ean) and (st)ingy, “mean and stingy.”

disappointingly small; niggardly, mean, stingy.

“Whoever designed my electronic wristwatch forgot that almost every adult has fingers that are too large to handle the mingy controls.”

minuscule (MIN-e-SKYOOL)

From Latin minusculus, meaning “smallish.”

Also given as minuscular (mi-NUS-kyoo-ler), with the same meaning.

1. extremely small.

“How can we condone the tens of millions of dollars spent on this project to achieve minuscule gains when the same amount could have been spent on substantial improvements in public housing?”

2. small; not written as capital letters, lowercase.

“My children were encouraged for years to write all their school-work in minuscule letters and never did achieve comfort in writing ordinary letters, some capitalized, others not.”

miscreant (MIS-kree-ent)

From Middle French mescreant, meaning “unbelieving.”

depraved, villainous, base.

“The cashier seemed to be such an upstanding citizen that we were shocked to learn of her miscreant behavior.”

Related words: miscreance (MIS-kree-ens) and miscreancy (MIS-kree-en-see) both nouns.

mnemonic (ni-MON-ik)

From Greek mnemonikós, meaning “relating to memory; mindful.”

of or pertaining to memory; intended to aid the memory.

“She was fortunate in mastering certain clever mnemonic devices that helped her recall such unimportant facts as the names of all English monarchs in chronological order.”

Related words: mnemonically (ni-MON-i-ke-lee) adverb; mnemonics (ni-MON-iks) and mnemotechnics (NEE-moh-TEK-niks) both nouns.

mollescent (me-LES-ent)

From Latin mollescens, present participle of mollescere, meaning “to soften, become effeminate”; from mollis, meaning “soft,” + -escent, an adjectival suffix.

Revealing for us once again the Romans' perception of women in the male versus female competition.

softening; tending to become soft.

“As he watched, the mollescent tissue on his table appeared to evolve into the pulpy state he was waiting to observe.”

Related word: mollescence (me-LES-ens).

moonstruck (MOON-STRUK)

From English moon + struck, past participle of strike. One of many mystical allusions to the supposed power of the moon.

Also given as moonstricken (MOON-STRIK-en).

1. hopelessly romantic; lost in the fantasy of love.

“The American musical stage often depicts a pair of moonstruck young lovers ensnared by mutual affection and unable to think rationally until the final act.”

2. crazed as though by the influence of the moon.

“We watched in dismay as the incongruously moonstruck old woman wandered aimlessly in her garden, unaware of her beautiful surroundings.”

mordacious (mor-DAY-shes)

From Latin mordax, meaning “biting, sharp”; from infinitive mordere, meaning “to bite.” See mordant.

1. biting; given to biting.

“The mordacious child, so difficult to control, was refused admission to nursery school.”

2. of speech or writing: caustic in style or tone; mordant.

“It is far easier to write mordacious book reviews than to write books, a truth that book reviewers seem to forget.”

Related words: mordaciously (mor-DAY-shes-lee) adverb; mordacity (mor-DAS-i-tee) noun.

mordant (MOR-dnt)

From Latin infinitive mordere, meaning “to bite.” See mordacious.

1. of a speaker or writer: caustic, sarcastic, mordacious.

“Unfortunately, Stanley's conversation was imbued with a mordant wit that could not be suppressed even when he tried to be civil.”

2. pungent; burning.

“The swimmer's every move seemed to indicate the onset of mordant pain, hampering her normally fluid strokes.”

Related words: mordantly (MOR-dnt-lee) adverb; mordancy (MOR-dn-see) noun.

moribund (MOR-e-BUND)

From Latin moribundus, meaning “dying; mortal; deadly”; from infinitive mori, meaning “to die.”

1. at the point of death; stagnant, not progressing.

“More than once, moribund patients have been revived and, within days, sent home to live through whatever life remained for them.”

2. on the verge of extinction.

“The membership had dwindled to the point at which it was no longer feasible to keep the moribund institution open.”

Related words: moribundly (MOR-e-BUND-lee) adverb; moribundity (MOR-e-BUN-di-tee) noun.

morose (me-ROHS)

From Latin morosus, meaning “peevish, difficult.”

ill-humored: sullen, gloomy; expressing bad humor.

“Bob was so morose about the loss of his job that the rest of the family became depressed along with him.”

Related words: morosely (me-ROHS-lee) adverb; moroseness (me-ROHS-nis) noun.

mundane (mun-DAYN)

From Latin mundanus, from mundus, meaning “clean and neat.”

banal; ordinary, common, everyday; earthly: pertaining to this world, not to heaven.

“No matter how distasteful mundane responsibilities may seem to the young, such as working for a living or keeping oneself presentable, they give a structure to life that keeps one going.”

Related words: mundanely (mun-DAYN-lee) adverb; mundaneness (mun-DAYN-nis) and mundanity (mun-DAN-i-tee) both nouns.

N

nascent (NAY-sent)

From Latin nascens, present participle of infinitive nasci, meaning “to arise, to be born.”

arising; beginning to form; coming into existence.

“The international agency, recognizing the outpouring of support, did everything possible to encourage the nascent democracy.”

Related words: nascence (NAY-sens) and nascency (NAY-sen-see) both nouns.

nauseous (NAW-shes)

From Latin nauseosus from nausea, also given as nausia, from Greek nausía, meaning “seasickness.”

The fastidious—enjoying the game of gotcha—like to cite one or another of the italicized words given in the paragraph above in order to suggest their own correct—actually incorrect—English usage.

It may have started generations ago when an English teacher misled by dreams of lexical eminence saw and grabbed her opportunity for linguistic immortality, proclaiming there was something wrong with nauseous that put it beyond the pale. To this day girls and boys passing through the classrooms of ill-advised arbiters of language have been exposed to similar nonsense. Yet, there is nothing wrong with the word nauseous, as you will soon see. For hundreds of years, as documented by the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary, there has been the word nauseous, with its multiple meanings, and always the word of choice for the masses and eschewed by the half educated. Read on.

1. nauseated; sick to one's stomach.

“Within an hour of leaving their home port, all passengers aboard were nauseous, to the point of retching, even vomiting.”

2. nauseating; sickening, causing nausea.

“The nauseous diet they served, particularly the greasy fish and baked insects, killed our appetites.”

3. loathsome; disgusting; highly offensive.

“His masterful command of nauseous language, which he did not hesitate to employ even in the company of my daughters, did not endear him to me.”

Related words: nauseating (NAW-zee-AY-ting) adjective; nauseously (NAW-shes-lee) adverb; nausea (NAW-zee-e) and nauseousness (NAW-shes-nis) both nouns; nauseate (NAW-zee-AYT) verb.

nebulous (NEB-ye-les)

From Latin nebulosis, meaning “misty, cloudy,” from Latin nebula, meaning “mist, vapor, cloud.”

1. indistinct; vague, hazy, confused; cloudy.

“Because of her relative unfamiliarity with the subjects they had begun to study, Miriam had only a nebulous idea of where her efforts might lead.”

2. nebular; resembling a cluster of interstellar stars.

“From the time he had first perceived a cloud of nebulous material during a session in the observatory, he began to spend all his nights there, trying to identify everything he saw.”

Related words: nebulously (NEB-ye-les-lee) adverb; nebulose (NEB-ye-lohs) adjective; nebulize (NEB-ye-LIZ) verb; nebula (NEB-ye-le), nebulousness (NEB-ye-les-nis), and nebulosity (NEB-ye-LOS-i-tee) all nouns.

necessitous (ne-SES-i-tes)

From the familiar English noun necessity + -ous, an adjectival suffix meaning “full of.”

impoverished; hard up; poor, needy; requiring assistance, attention, or action.

“We knew from his increasingly necessitous demands that his financial situation had worsened since we first had come upon him.”

Related words: necessitously (ne-SES-i-tes-lee) adverb; necessitate (ne-SES-i-TAYT) verb; necessity (ne-SES-i-tee) and necessitousness (ne-SES-i-tes-nis) both nouns.

nefarious (ni-FAIR-ee-es)

From Latin nefarius, meaning “heinous, criminal”; from nefas, meaning “wickedness, sin, wrong”; from ne-, a negative prefix, + fas, meaning “divine law,” + -ius, an adjectival suffix.

iniquitous; wicked; villainous.

“They had all conspired for the same nefarious purpose, to swindle the charity out of all the proceeds of the bazaar.”

Related words: nefariously (ni-FAIR-ee-es-lee) adverb; nefariousness (ni-FAIR-ee-es-nis) noun.

neoteric (NEE-e-TER-ik)

From Latin neotericus, meaning “new, modern”; from Greek neoterikós, meaning “youthful, young.”

recent, new; modern.

“Little more can be said for those shameless neoteric writers who find no subject too degrading for them to write about.”

Related words: neoterically (NEE-e-TER-i-ke-lee) adverb; neoterism (nee-OT-e-RIZ-em) noun.

nescient (NESH-ent)

From Latin nescientia, meaning “ignorance”; from ne-, meaning “not,” + scientia, meaning “knowledge.”

ignorant; agnostic.

“Only the nescient person, whether an ignoramus or an unbeliever, would take no position at all on matters of such importance.”

Related word: nescience (NESH-ens) noun.

nettlesome (NET-l-sem)

From English nettle, meaning “a stinging plant,” + -some, an adjectival suffix.

irritable: easily annoyed.

“In that nettlesome teacher's class we had learned to behave warily lest we be punished for some minor infraction.”

nice-nelly (NIS-NEL-ee)

From the given name Nelly.

Also given as nice-Nelly.

prudish, genteel; excessively prudish or genteel.

“When Stephen realized that Evelyn was always going to be one of those nice-nelly girls, he decided he would be better off looking elsewhere.”

Related words: nice-nellyism or nice-Nellyism (NIS-NEL-ee-IZ-em) both nouns.

niveous (NIV-ee-es)

From Latin niveus, meaning “snowy; snow-white.”

snowy; resembling snow.

“My old cottage looked imposingly dressed, the would-be poet said, just waiting to be escorted to a formal dance in the niveous stole of winter.”

noctambulous (nok-TAM-bye-les)

From Latin noct-, a combining form meaning “night,” + the infinitive ambulare, meaning “to walk, travel,” + -ous.

Also given as noctambulant (nok-TAM-bye-lent) and as noctambulistic (nok-TAM-bye-LIS-tik).

given to sleepwalking.

“We had to make certain that William, who is known to be noctambulous, is not assigned an upper berth aboard ship lest he fall to the floor at the start of one of his nightly jaunts.”

Related words: noctambulism (nok-TAM-bye-LIZ-em), noctambulist (nok-TAM-bye-list), and noctambule (nok-TAM-byool) all nouns.

nocuous (NOK-yoo-es)

From Latin nocuus, meaning “harmful, injurious,” from infinitive nocere, meaning “to harm, to hurt” + -uus an adjectival suffix.

A tribute to the generosity and competence of our species, in that we hear far more the word innocuous than nocuous. Could it be because we don't often need to express the latter thought? See also noxious.

noxious; hurtful; poisonous, venomous.

“She soon became expert at recognizing the differences between edible mushrooms and the many types of nocuous ones.”

Related words: nocuously (NOK-yoo-es-lee) adverb; nocuousness (NOK-yoo-es-nis) noun.

noetic (noh-ET-ik)

From Greek noetikós, meaning “intelligent,” from nóesis, meaning “mind,” + -tikos, an adjectival suffix.

pertaining to the intellect; originating in the mind.

“Jason has not yet reached the stage in intellectual development at which he can express noetic perceptions.”

Related words: noesis (noh-EE-sis) and noetics (noh-ET-iks) both nouns.

noisome (NOY-sem)

From Middle English noy, a form of “annoy,” + -some, an adjectival suffix.

Notice that noisome has nothing to do with “noise,” a common misperception.

1. of an odor: ill-smelling; offensive to the sense of smell.

“Generations of illegal dumping have made our once-beautiful New England countrysides the repositories of noisome garbage and discarded metals, which pollute our lives and rob us of chances of enjoying health and dignity.”

2. harmful; injurious; noxious.

“In ill-lighted, noisome cellars all over Chinatown, immigrant women worked for twelve hours a day, seven days a week in order for their children one day to enjoy the benefits of American life.”

Related words: noisomely (NOY-sem-lee) adverb; noisomeness (NOY-sem-nis) noun.

nonpareil (NON-pe-REL)

From Middle French nonpareil, from the prefix non-, meaning “not,” + pareil, meaning “equal.”

peerless; having no equal.

“When he actually characterized her unmelodious voice as nonpareil, I became aware at once he was either stupid or a charlatan.”

noxious (NOK-shes)

From Latin noxius, meaning “harmful, guilty”; from the noun noxa, meaning “hurt, damage,” + -ius, an adjectival suffix. See also nocuous.

nocuous; injurious, hurtful, harmful; unwholesome.

“Once cool weather sets in, a noxious wind can be expected to blow for hours after lunch, so children will have to remain in their classrooms until the wind dies down after dark.”

Related words: noxiously (NOK-shes-lee) adverb; noxiousness (NOK-shes-nis) noun.

nubile (NOO-bIl)

From Latin nubilis, meaning “marriageable”; from infinitive nubere, meaning “to marry,” + -ilis, an adjectival suffix expressing capability.

Do not confuse nubilis, meaning “marriageable,” with nubilus, meaning “cloudy” or “gloomy,” mentioned in the next entry, no matter how strong the impulse to confuse the two states.

of a young woman: attractive and sexually developed; marriageable.

“You would think the old lady, ever the marriage broker, kept a list of two classifications of candidate girls in her purse, those who were nubile and those who were within a year of attaining that state.”

Related word: nubility (noo-BIL-i-tee) noun.

nubilous (NOO-be-les)

From Latin nubilus, meaning “cloudy, gloomy”; from the noun nubes, meaning “cloud,” + -lus, an adjectival suffix meaning “full of.”

See also nubile, which derives from the Latin nubilis, meaning “marriageable.”

obscure, vague; cloudy, foggy.

“The new manager, not Joe, had only a nubilous understanding of what his team was able to accomplish in a short series.”

nugacious. See nugatory.

nugatory (NOO-ge-TOR-ee)

From Latin nugatorius, meaning “futile”; from infinitive nugari, meaning “to trifle,” + -torius, an adjectival suffix.

Also occasionally given as nugacious (noo-GAY-shes), which has the same meanings, but derives from Latin nugax, meaning “frivolous.”

worthless, useless; futile, vain; not valid.

“Most of the small improvements you are making are nugatory, making me think what we need is an overhaul of the entire system.”

nuncupative (NUNG-kye-PAY-tiv)

From Latin nuncupatus, past participle of infinitive nuncupare, meaning “to name; declare.”

of wills: oral, not written.

“It long had been the custom to authorize soldiers and sailors on dangerous duty far from their home countries to make nuncupative wills, which were considered to be binding and fully within the law.”

O

obdurate (OB-duu-rit)

From Latin obduratus, past participle of infinitive obdurare, meaning “to harden in heart, persist”; from prefix ob-, meaning “toward,” + durus, meaning “hard,” + -atus, an adjectival suffix. See also indurate.

unyielding to persuasion; resistant to moral influence; impenitent.

“It all might have gone differently if the son had not been an even more obdurate sinner than his father had been.”

Related words: obdurately (OB-duu-rit-lee) adverb; obdurateness (OB-duu-rit-nis) and obduracy (OB-duu-rue-see) both nouns.

objurgatory (ob-JUR-ge-TOR-ee)

From Latin obiurgatorius, meaning “reproachful,” from infinitive obiurgare, meaning “to scold, rebuke.”

Also given as objurgative (ob-JUR-ge-tiv).

uttering or constituting a scolding or sharp rebuke.

“Her objurgatory tone, which she adopted as soon as knew she had been caught, could reduce me to tears.”

Related words: objurgatorily (ob-JUR-ge-TOR-i-lee) and objurgatively (ob-JUR-ge-tiv-lee) both adverbs; objurgation (OB-jur-GAY-shen) and objurgator (OB-jur-GAY-tor) both nouns.

oblivious (e-BLIV-ee-es)

From Latin obliviosus, meaning “forgetful,” from infinitive oblivisci, meaning “to forget,” + -osus, an adjectival suffix.

unmindful; unaware or unconscious of; forgetful.

“I voted confidently, convinced my candidate was going to win, and oblivious to the hostile, partisan stares I had been exposed to ever since I entered the polling station.”

Related words: obliviously (e-BLIV-ee-es-lee) adverb; oblivion (e-BLIV-ee-en) and obliviousness (e-BLIV-ee-es-nis) both nouns.

obnoxious (eb-NOK-shes)

From Latin obnoxiosus, meaning “submissive”; from obnoxius, meaning “exposed to harm.”

odious; objectionable; highly offensive.

“The large, noisy party at the next table was obnoxious and cast a pall over our evening out.”

Related words: obnoxiously (eb-NOK-shes-lee) adverb; obnoxiousness (eb-NOK-shes-nis) noun.

obsequious (eb-SEE-kwee-es)

From Latin obsequiosus, meaning “compliant, obedient”; from infinitive obsequi, meaning “to comply with, yield to.”

fawning, showing servility; compliant, deferential, sycophantic; ignobly obedient.

“I was flummoxed by his immediate transformation into an obsequious bootlicker when he saw his boss enter the room.”

Related words: obsequiously (eb-SEE-kwee-es-lee) adverb; obsequiousness (eb-SEE-kwee-es-nis) and obsequence (OB-si-kwens) both nouns.

obtrusive (eb-TROO-siv)

From Latin obtrusus, past participle of infinitive obtrudere, meaning “to force on to.”

projecting so as to be in the way; forcing oneself or one's opinions into prominence.

“We agreed we had been astonished to see how obtrusive she was in presenting her opinions, obviously thinking such behavior would advance her cause.”

Related words: obtrusively (eb-TROO-siv-lee) adverb; obtrusiveness (eb-TROO-siv-nis), obtrusion (eb-TROO-zhen), and obtruder (eb-TROOD-er) all nouns.

obtuse (eb-TOOS)

From Latin obtusus, meaning “dulled,” past participle of infinitive obtundere, meaning “to beat, to thump.”

insensitive; not acutely perceptive.

“Unfortunately, I was entirely too obtuse to understand she was trying to express confidence in me by sending me out of the country to open new markets.”

Related words: obtusely (eb-TOOS-lee) adverb; obtuseness (eb-TOOS-nis) noun.

odious (OH-dee-es)

From Latin odiosus, from odium, meaning “hatred, displeasure”; from odi- “I hate,” + -osus, an adjectival suffix meaning “full of.”

repulsive; highly offensive; deserving hatred, causing hatred or repugnance.

“The century past was filled paradoxically with some of the most laudable achievements of mankind and some of the most odious manifestations of its evil potential.”

Related words: odium (OH-dee-em) and odiousness (OH-dee-es-nis) both nouns; odiously (OH-dee-es-lee) adverb.

oedipal (ED-e-pel)

From the name Oedipus, literally meaning “swollen-footed,” a legendary Theban hero who unwittingly killed his father, Laius, and married his mother, Jocasta. Neither mother nor son knew of their family relationship.

The adjective oedipal would have little to do with the rest of this if Sigmund Freud had not become acquainted with the play Oedipus Tyrannus, which Sophocles wrote about the legend.

The plot of the play follows closely the legend of Oedipus and the others, and Freud gave the name Oedipus complex to the sexual desire of a son for his mother and, conversely, the hatred of a son for his father, both emotions being unknown to the principals.

Also given as Oedipal: characterized by a psychoanalytic complex in which a strong desire is felt for a parent of the opposite sex.

“The powerful final scene of the play clearly identifies the oedipal nature of the emotions felt by the protagonist and his mother.”

Related words: Oedipean (ED-e-PEE-en) adjective; Oedipus (ED-e-pes) noun.

officious (e-FISH-es)

From Latin officiosus, meaning “obliging, dutiful.” From the Latin offici(um), meaning “service, attention,” + -osus, an adjectival suffix meaning “full of.”

Clearly a word that warns us against doing more good than is desired.

meddlesome; offering one's unasked-for help.

“Penny is so officious there is no aspect of her sister-in-law's life she does not try to invade and offer to improve through her advice.”

Related words: officiously (e-FISH-es-lee) adverb; officiousness (e-FISH-es-nis) noun.

oleaginous (OH-lee-AJ-e-nes)

From Latin oleaginus, meaning “of the olive tree”; from olea, meaning “olive tree.”

Oil has made wheels turn smoothly and salads taste better in societies from pre-Roman times to the present, possibly into the foreseeable future. So why can one oily olive differ from other oily olives? Simple, too much oil. And in this case when oil becomes too much oil, it becomes a hindrance—fatty, greasy—instead of a help. Hence the most important meaning of oleaginous.

unctuous; fawning; fatty, greasy.

“My mother wanted to be ingratiating, but her oleaginous manner was truly repellent.”

Related word: oleaginousness (OH-lee-AJ-e-nes-nis) noun.

olfactory (ol-FAK-te-ree)

From Latin olfactorius, from the infinitive olfacere, meaning “to smell at”; from olere, meaning “to smell,” + facere, meaning “to make,” + -torius, an adjectival suffix.

pertaining to the sense of smell.

“The laboratory where Elaine works is concerned solely with olfactory experiments, mostly leading to selection of various contemplated scents.”

Related words: olfactorily (ol-FAK-te-ri-lee) adverb; olfaction (ol-FAK-shen) noun.

ominous (OM-e-nes)

From Latin ominosus, meaning “portentous”; from omen, meaning “omen,” + -osus, an adjectival suffix meaning “possessing.”

inauspicious; foreboding evil.

“Shortly before the beginning of the championship game we were given the ominous news that several of our players had failed their drug tests and would be kept off the team.”

Related words: ominously (OM-i-nes-lee) adverb; ominousness (OM-e-ne-nis) noun.

onerous (ON-er-es)

From Latin onerosus, meaning “heavy, burdensome, irksome”; from onus, meaning “load, burden,” + -osus, an adjectival suffix meaning “full of.”

burdensome; oppressive, troublesome; of the nature of a legal obligation.

“The duties of the U.S. president are so onerous that one must wonder why so many people seem to aspire to that office.”

Related words: onerously (ON-er-es-lee) adverb; onerousness (ON-er-es-nis) noun.

opalescent (OH-pe-LES-ent)

From English opal, meaning “a type of gem,” + -escent, an adjectival suffix.

iridescent; exhibiting a play of colors of an opal; having a milky play of changing colors.

“The sea and sky along with softly colored buildings combine to give Venice an opalescent glow.”

Related words: opalesce (OH-pe-LES) verb; opalescently (OH-pe-LES-ent-lee) adverb; opalescence (OH-pe-LES-ens) noun.

operose (OP-e-ROHS)

From Latin operosus, meaning “industrious, active; laborious, elaborate”; from opus, meaning “a work; workmanship; building.”

of a person: industrious; of a task: tedious; done with much labor.

“It did not take them long to devise a plan that was much less operose and could be done quickly.”

Related words: operosely (OP-e-ROHS-lee) adverb; operoseness (OP-e-ROHS-nis) noun.

opiate (OH-pee-it)

From Medieval Latin opiatus, meaning “bringing sleep,” past participle of infinitive opiare, meaning “to cause sleep.”

Opiate is often used as a noun.

soporific; narcotic, inducing sleep; inducing drowsiness.

“A splendid lecture delivered inaudibly in a monotone and covering a subject certain to be excluded from the final examination has an opiate effect on most classes.”

Related word: opiatic (OH-pee-AT-ik) adjective.

oppidan (OP-i-den)

From Latin oppidanus, meaning “provincial”; from oppidum, meaning “town.”

Also used as a noun: “He was known as an oppidan.”

urban; of a town, as opposed to the country.

“Try as he would, he was unable to make people think he was an oppidan type rather than the hick he thought he had outgrown.”

opprobrious (e-PROH-bree-es)

From Late Latin opprobriosus, from Latin opprobrium, a noun meaning “disgrace, reproach, scandal”; from opprobare, meaning “to taunt.”

contumelious; vituperative; conveying injurious reproach.

“The speaker was subjected to opprobrious cries that subsided only when he completely stopped speaking and sat down, a chastened man.”

Related words: opprobriously (e-PROH-bree-es-lee) adverb; opprobrium (e-PROH-bree-em) and opprobriousness (e-PROH-bree-es-nis) both nouns.

oppugnant (e-PUG-nent)

From Latin oppugnans, present participle of oppugnare, meaning “to attack, to assault.”

opposing, antagonistic, contrary, repugnant.

“Suggestions that we consider splitting the marketing department in three were immediately derided as oppugnant to the individual interests of all members of the group.”

Related word: oppugnancy (e-PUG-nen-see) noun.

oracular (aw-RAK-ye-ler)

From Latin oraculum, meaning “oracle, prophecy.”

1. of a person: speaking or writing as though he or she were an oracle.

“I am tired of the opinions and predictions delivered by the so-called oracular pundits, who actually know little more than you and I.”

2. of a statement: sententious; delivered as though by divine inspiration; ominous, infallible.

“After a while we realized that his oracular opinions were based on nothing more than his hunches and personal prejudices.”

3. ambiguous, obscure.

“His sports predictions were made intentionally oracular to enable him to claim second sight no matter which side won.”

Related words: oracularly (aw-RAK-ye-ler-lee) adverb; oracle (OR-e-kel), oracularity (aw-RAK-ye-LAR-i-tee), and oracularness (aw-RAK-ye-ler-nis) all nouns.

ordurous (OR-je-res)

From Middle English and Middle French ord, meaning “filthy”; from Latin horridus, meaning “horrid.”

of the nature of excrement or dung; filthy.

“Little boys Jonny's age took great delight in displaying their ordurous vocabularies.”

Related word: ordure (OR-jer) noun.

orotund (OR-e-TUND)

From Latin phrase ore rotundo, literally translated as “with round mouth”; meaning “with round, well-turned speech.”

1. of the voice or speech: full, rich, strong.

“As soon as James began to sing, it was obvious that his classical training had given him a resonant, orotund voice.”

2. of speaking style: magniloquent; inflated or pompous; bombastic.

“Instead of being treated to a talk rich in meaning we were confronted by an orotund linguistic display devoid of good sense.”

Related word: orotundity (OR-e-TUN-di-tee) noun.

oscitant (OS-i-tent)

From Latin oscitans, present participle of oscitare, meaning “to be drowsy, yawn.”

gaping from drowsiness, yawning; drowsy, dull, indolent, inattentive, negligent.

“From their oscitant demeanor, I wondered whether they were bored or possibly drugged.”

Related words: oscitancy (OS-i-ten-see) and oscitance (OS-i-tens) both nouns.

ostensible (o-STEN-se-bel)

From Latin ostensus or ostentus, past participle of infinitive ostendere, meaning “to hold out, display, reveal.”

Also given as ostensive (o-STEN-siv).

professed, pretended; intended, evident.

“His ostensible purpose was to interview the rebel leader for the press, masking his intention to assassinate the man.”

Related words: ostensibly (o-STEN-se-blee) and ostensively (o-STEN-siv-lee) both adverbs.

ostentatious (OS-ten-TAY-shes)

From English ostentation; from Latin ostentatio, from ostentatus, past participle of infinitive ostendere, meaning “to hold out, display, reveal.” See also ostensible.

of manners, etc.: calculated to attract notice; of a person: given to conspicuous show.

“The new widower had established himself next to the open casket in an attitude of ostentatious bereavement, with an intensity that rose each time an attractive young woman drew near.”

Related words: ostentatiously (OS-ten-TAY-shes-lee) adverb; ostentation (OS-ten-TAY-shen) and ostentatiousness (OS-ten-TAY-shes-nis) both nouns.

otiose (OH-shee-ohs)

From Latin otiosus, meaning “at leisure, unemployed; out of public affairs.”

1. indolent; lazy; unemployed, idle.

“Many of the men and women seen smoking behind the student center are not students at all, but otiose dropouts with nothing better to do.”

2. nugatory; superfluous, futile, ineffective.

“You are wrong to think an action of the kind I have been discussing is completely otiose, rather than helpful to our cause.”

outré (oo-TRAY)

From French past participle of outrer, meaning “to go beyond limits; push to excess.”

unconventional, bizarre, unusual, eccentric; beyond what is considered correct.

“Although some of Emily's critics found her work outré, most thought it original and worthy of consideration.”

overriding (OH-ver-RI-ding)

From English over + ride, meaning “to prevail.”

dominating; taking precedence over other considerations.

“My overriding concern is that harm not befall the innocent children no matter what provocation they give you.”

oversolicitous (OH-ver-se-LIS-i-tes)

From English over + solicitous, meaning “concerned.”

excessively or unduly solicitous.

“The actions of oversolicitous parents can cause even more damage than that caused by parents who show insufficient concern.”

overweening (OH-ver-WEE-ning)

From Middle English overwening, from ofer, meaning “over,” + wenen, meaning “to expect.”

excessively conceited; overconfident or proud; arrogant; excessive, exaggerated.

“I always wondered how one so young could exhibit such overweening self-confidence even though his record was well below average.”

Related words: overweeningly (OH-ver-WEE-ning-lee) adverb; overweeningness (OH-ver-WEE-ning-nis) noun.

overwrought (OH-ver-RAWT)

From Middle English ofer, meaning “over,” + wroght, past participle of worchen, meaning “to work.”

1. excessively excited or agitated.

“My aunt would not let Grandma watch wrestling on television because she thought it left the old lady overwrought.”

2. excessively ornate.

“When I realized my writing had become overwrought, I set about trying to simplify my style.”

P

pachydermatous (PAK-i-DUR-me-tes)

From Greek pachy, meaning “thick,” + -dermatos, a suffix meaning “skinned.”

1. thick-skinned; insensitive to rebuff or to external abuses.

“A person as pachydermatous as he cannot be expected to understand that his attentions are not welcome.”

2. characteristic of an elephant and other creatures like it.

“The huge, lumbering pachydermatous creature showed remarkable ability to locate and follow its small prey.”

Related word: pachydermatously (PAK-i-DUR-me-tes-lee) adverb; pachyderm (PAK-i-DURM) noun; pachydermal (PAK-i-DUR-mel), pachydermous (PAK-i-DUR-mes), and pachydermic (PAK-i-DUR-mik) all adjectives.

palliative (PAL-ee-e-tiv)

From French palliatif, meaning “palliative”; from Latin palliativus, past participle of infinitive palliare, meaning “to cloak, cover.”

ameliorative; serving to relieve (disease, etc.) temporarily.

“Until discovery of antibiotics, drugs were considered merely palliative rather than curative, at best controlling excessive body temperature.”

Related words: palliatively (PAL-ee-e-tiv-lee) adverb; palliate (PAL-ee-AYT) verb; palliation (PAL-ee-AY-shen) and palliator (PAL-ee-AY-ter) both nouns.

pallid (PAL-id)

From Latin pallidus, meaning “pale, sallow,” from infinitive pallere, meaning “to be pale,” + -idus, an adjectival suffix.

1. unspirited; lacking liveliness.

“Technical competence will not be sufficient to outweigh his pallid interpretation of great music.”

2. wan; deficient in color.

“Her pallid complexion was an uncharacteristic sign of possible physical problems that would have to be investigated.”

Related words: pallidly (PAL-id-lee) adverb; pallidness (PAL-id-nis) noun.

palpable (PAL-pe-bel)

From Latin palpabilis, meaning “which can be touched”; from infinitive palpare, meaning “to caress, coax, flatter.”

1. tangible; sensible; capable of being touched or felt.

“A competent physician employing no more than her sense of touch can often detect palpable conditions indicating the presence of certain physical ab ties.”

2. noticeable; readily perceptible.

“The average juror may think that a shifty-eyed witness is a palpable perjurer and should not be trusted.

Do not confuse palpable with palpebral (see below).

Related words: palpably (PAL-pe-blee) adverb; palpability (PAL-pe-BIL-i-tee) and palpableness (PAL-pe-bel-nis) both nouns.

palpebral (PAL-pe-brel)

From Latin palpebralis, meaning “of the eyelids,” from palpebra, meaning “eyelid.” Do not confuse with palpable.

pertaining to the eyelids.

“His rapid palpebral fluttering occurred most often when he was deep in thought and close to a decision.”

Related word: palpebrate (PAL-pe-BRAYT) adjective.

palsied (PAWL-zeed)

From English palsy, meaning “a form of paralysis.”

paralyzed; afflicted by palsy; unable to control certain muscles.

“His palsied movements made many relatively simple tasks difficult for him.”

Related word: palsy (PAWL-zee) noun.

paludal (pe-LOOD-l)

From Latin palus, meaning “swamp, marsh, lake.”

pertaining to a marsh; arising from or produced by a marsh.

“The heroine of the novel had been warned she could expect to encounter malaria if she insisted on spending summers so close to Rome, but she ignored the warning and soon contracted the paludal disease.”

pandemic (pan-DEM-ik)

From Latin pandemus, from Greek pándemos, meaning “public, common”; from pan-, meaning “all,” + demos, meaning “the people,” + -os, an adjectival suffix.

There is general confusion over the meaning of the word epidemic (EP-i-DEM-ik) and near-total ignorance of the word pandemic. Learn first that a pandemic (noun) or a pandemic (adjective) disease is extremely widespread. Learn also that an epidemic (noun) or epidemic (adjective) disease is confined, although it may be part of a worldwide pandemic (noun). So epidemic connotes limitation to a smaller area than pandemic.

1. of a disease: encountered throughout a country, continent, or the entire world.

“My father talked often about the epidemic flu—he meant pandemic flu—that he lived through in 1918, when more than 20 million people died.”

2. universal, general; epidemic over a wide area.

“In the twentieth century we were treated to journalistic invention of a pandemic condition called Beatlemania, which was characterized by screaming, sometimes fainting young women.”

Related word: pandemicity (PAN-de-MIS-i-tee) noun.

panegyrical (PAN-i-JIR-i-kel)

From Latin panegyricus, meaning “of a public eulogy,” from Greek panegyrikós, meaning “fit for a public festival”; from panégyris, meaning “solemn assembly.”

eulogistic; encomiastic, laudatory; publicly or elaborately expressing praise.

“The panegyrical funeral oration was entirely fitting for a person who had made a truly great contribution to modern life.”

Related words: panegyrically (PAN-i-JIR-i-ke-lee) adverb; panegyric (PAN-i-JIR-ik) and panegyrist (PAN-i-JIR-ist) both nouns; panegyrize (PAN-i-je-RIZ) verb.

See also encomiastic.

Panglossian (pan-GLOS-ee-en)

From Pangloss, the name of the naive tutor-philosopher in Voltaire's eighteenth-century novel Candide, who coined the impossibly optimistic legend “All is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.” The name Pangloss is from Greek panglossia, meaning “wordiness.”

unduly optimistic, especially when facing overwhelming odds.

“Will, who knew what life held for an unemployed person of middle age, was exasperated by his mother's Panglossian outlook on life.”

Paphian (PAY-fee-en)

From Latin Paphius, from Greek Páphios, variously meaning “of Paphos, of Aphrodite (Roman) or of Venus (Greek).” Paphos was a city of Cyprus, where the goddess Aphrodite was worshiped.

The lowercase English noun paphian means “a prostitute”; we also recall that the words “aphrodisiac” and “anaphrodisiac” are linguistically related to “Aphrodite.”

erotic; devoted to unlawful sexual love; pertaining to Aphrodite or to the worship of Aphrodite.

“Countless stories were told of Oscar's campus apartment, where Paphian orgies were said to be the rule of the day and the night and made college life palatable during the long, desolate winter.”

parietal (pe-RI-e-tl)

From Latin parietalis, meaning “of or belonging to walls.”

Beyond several biological and anatomical meanings, there is a single meaning of this term that is known or ought to be known by every undergraduate who goes to college away from home and its inevitable restrictions.

having authority over visitation regulations within the walls of a college or university campus.

“In the past decade, parietal regulations at our most distinguished undergraduate institutions have been relaxed to a great degree, and the general public has no idea of whether such relaxation has improved or harmed student life.”

parsimonious (PAHR-se-MOH-nee-es)

From English parsimony, meaning “stinginess.”

frugal; stingy, avaricious; careful in the use of money.

“How surprised Edna was when her new husband showed his true colors—he was parsimonious to a fault, completely uncharitable, and seemingly possessed by the need to invest every penny he could put his hands on.”

Related words: parsimony (PAHR-se-MOH-nee) and parsimoniousness (PAHR-se-MOH-nee-es-nis) both nouns; parsimoniously (PAHR-se-MOH-nee-es-lee) adverb.

partible (PAHR-te-bel)

From Latin partibilis, meaning “divisible,” from infinitive partiri, meaning “to divide.”

separable, divisible: capable of being separated or parted.

“The law made it certain their father's land would be partible even though partition in the manner required would surely rob the estate of much of its value to the heirs.”

Related word: partibility (PAHR-te-BIL-i-tee) noun.

parturient (pahr-TUUR-ee-ent)

From Latin parturiens, meaning “being in labor,” present participle of infinitive parturire, meaning “to be in labor, to be pregnant.”

1. bearing fruit; about to bring forth a child or to give birth.

“It did not take long for the physician to realize that her young patient was parturient and in immediate need of attention by a well-prepared team of doctors and nurses.”

2. ready to bring forth or produce an idea, etc.

“Once a week the staff of ten parturient writers got together for one hour to select the theme for the next broadcast.”

Related words: parturiency (pahr-TUUR-ee-en-see) and parturition (PAHR-tuu-RISH-en) both nouns.

patulous (PACH-e-les)

From Latin patulus, meaning “spreading, broad; standing wide open”; from infinitive patere, meaning “to be open, extend.”

said often of the boughs of a tree: open, expanded, rather widely open.

“His patulous lips, unusually large and always in motion, produced flurries of words that said much and meant little.”

Related words: patulously (PACH-e-les-lee) adverb; patulousness (PACH-e-les-nis) noun.

pavid (PAV-id)

From Latin pavidus, meaning “quaking, terrified,” from infinitive pavere, meaning “to quake with fear; to dread.”

afraid, fearful, frightened.

“The kindergarten teacher had no idea the children would be so pavid in the Halloween horrors house that they could not control their screams and shrieks.”

Related word: pavidity (pe-VID-i-tee) noun.

pavonine (PAV-e-NIN)

From Latin pavoninus, from pavo, meaning “peacock.”

of, like, or resembling a peacock or its colors.

“He enjoyed watching the old ladies make their entrances through the ballroom doors, parading like pavonine latter-day saints.”

peccable (PEK-e-bel)

From Medieval Latin peccabilis, from infinitive peccare, meaning “to sin, go wrong.”

The infinitive form, given here, is the progenitor of the famous Peccavi, “I have sinned,” a single word in Latin, three in English, signaling that the declaimer is about to spill the beans. In the unlikely event there is nothing to show or tell, we speak of that person's moral record as being impeccable.

capable of sinning, liable to sin.

“Let him who has never been peccable cast the first pellet.”

Related word: peccability (PEK-e-BIL-i-tee) noun.

See also peccant.

peccant (PEK-ent)

From Latin peccans, present participle of infinitive peccare, meaning “to sin, go wrong.”

sinning; offending; faulty, wrong; violating a rule.

“When confronted by clear evidence of peccant behavior, the two scoundrels fell to their knees almost simultaneously, each pointing at the other and saying, ‘He told me to do it.’”

Related words: peccantly (PEK-ent-lee) adverb; peccancy (PEK-en-see) and peccantness (PEK-ent-nis) both nouns.

Pecksniffian (pek-SNIF-ee-en)

From fictional name Seth Pecksniff, a character in Dickens's nineteenth-century novel Martin Chuzzlewit.

Dickens characterized Pecksniff as a “paltry, despicable” person. Also given as Pecksniffish (PEK-snif-ish).

unctuously hypocritical and habitually boasting of benevolence, etc.

“Our congregation had its fill of one Pecksniffian loudmouth, who boasted of his charitable nature because, like a Rockefeller, he habitually gave dimes to pathetic vagrants.”

Related words: Pecksniffism (PEK-snif-iz-em) and Pecksniffianism (pek-SNIF-ee-en-iz-em) both nouns.

pedicular (pe-DIK-ye-ler)

From Latin pedicularis from pediculus, diminutive of pedis, meaning “a louse,” + -cule a diminutive adjectival suffix.

Also given as pediculous (pe-DIK-ye-les).

lousy; of or pertaining to lice.

“Once a pedicular outbreak was reported, the school nurse began to make a systematic inspection of the condition of our children's scalps.”

Related words: pediculicide (pe-DIK-ye-le-SID) adjective and noun; pediculosis (pe-DIK-ye-LOH-sis) noun.

pedophiliac (PEE-de-FIL-ee-ak)

From English pedophilia, meaning “pertaining to an abnormal sexual desire in an adult for a child.”

Also given as pedophilic (PEE-de-FIL-ik).

of, pertaining to, or given to an abnormal sexual desire in an adult for a child.

“Rumors of a pedophiliac vagrant in the neighborhood caused near-panic among the parents.”

Related words: pedophilia (PEE-de-FIL-ee-e) and pedophile (PEE-de-FIL) both nouns.

pejorative (pi-JOR-e-tiv)

From Latin peioratus, past participle of infinitive peiorare, meaning “to worsen,” from peior, meaning “worse.”

disparaging; having a derogatory or belittling effect.

“Our dean never missed an opportunity to say something pejorative about any candidate for promotion whom he had not himself nominated.”

Related words: pejoratively (pi-JOR-e-tiv-lee) adverb; pejoration (PEJ-e-RAY-shen) noun.

pelagic (pe-LAJ-ik)

From Latin pelagicus, from Greek pelagikós, meaning “of the open sea”; from pelag, “the sea,” + -ikos, an adjectival suffix.

oceanic; living on or near the surface of the sea.

“The richness of pelagic life seemed always to excite experienced divers and the crew members who tended their mother boats.”

pellucid (pe-LOO-sid)

From Latin pellucidus, a variant form of perlucidus, meaning “transparent, bright”; from infinitive perlucere, meaning “to shine through.”

1. limpid, clear in writing style, in expression.

“Her seemingly effortless, pellucid style was actually the product of much painstaking work.”

2. translucent, transparent; like glass, allowing maximum passage of light.

“Imagine his delight when he realized the sea was pellucid beneath the surface, enabling him to see great schools of delightfully colored fish.”

Related words: pellucidly (pe-LOO-sid-lee) adverb; pellucidity (PEL-oo-SID-i-tee) and pellucidness (pe-LOO-sid-nis) both nouns.

pendulous (PEN-je-les)

From Latin pendulus, meaning “hanging, swinging”; from Latin infinitive pendere, meaning “to hang, depend, be suspended,” + -ulous, an adjectival English suffix meaning “habitually engaging in.”

1. hanging down loosely; swinging freely, oscillating.

“Since these birds' nests are always suspended from above, they will always be pendulous and one day will probably fall.”

2. wavering; vacillating, undecided.

“As long as you appear to be pendulous whenever a vote is scheduled, you cannot hope to acquire leadership in our legislature.”

Related words: pendulously (PEN-je-les-lee) adverb; pendulousness (PEN-je-les-nis) and pendulum (PEN-je-lem) both nouns.

penultimate (pi-NUL-te-mit)

From Latin paene, meaning “almost,” + ultima or ultimus, meaning “last.”

next before the last of a series.

“I was surprised to realize I had reached the penultimate chapter of her latest book and until that point had found nothing suggesting there would be a logical resolution of the plot.”

Related word: penult (PEE-nult) noun.

penurious (pe-NUUR-ee-es)

From Latin penuria, meaning “a want, a need.”

1. parsimonious; stingy; miserly.

“His penurious mode of living may have gratified some instinct within him, but the rest of us found his miserly behavior difficult to understand.”

2. indigent; destitute, extremely poverty-stricken.

“Despite everything he had done to conserve his small inheritance, by the time he reached old age he was penurious, lacking even enough to pay his rent and buy the loaves of bread he lived on.”

Related words: penuriously (pe-NUUR-ee-es-lee) adverb; penuriousness (pe-NUUR-ee-es-nis) noun.

percipient (per-SIP-ee-ent)

From Latin percipiens, present participle of infinitive percipere, meaning “to perceive, get hold of, learn.”

discerning; discriminating; capable of grasping; conscious.

“I never fail to marvel at percipient critics whose sensitive minds are instantly alert to the insights of the novelists they study.”

Related words: percipience (per-SIP-ee-ens) and percipiency (per-SIP-ee-en-see) both nouns.

perdurable (per-DUUR-e-bel)

From Late Latin perdurabilis, from infinitive perdurare, meaning “to endure, hold out”; from infinitive durare, meaning “to stiffen; make hardy.”

imperishable; very durable; permanent; eternal, everlasting.

“The ancient Romans looked upon themselves as perdurable and could not conceive of a time when the Roman Empire would no longer exist.”

Related words: perdure (per-DUUR) verb; perdurably (per-DUUR-e-blee) adverb; perdurability (per-DUUR-e-BIL-i-tee) and perdurableness (per-DUUR-e-bel-nis) both nouns.

peregrine (PER-i-grin)

From Latin peregrinus, meaning “foreign, strange”; from the adverb peregre, meaning “abroad, away from home”; from per-, a prefix meaning “through,” + ager, a noun meaning “field, territory.”

foreign, alien; belonging to another country; strange, outlandish.

“The native wildflowers in our meadow are being strangled by peregrine plants introduced by well-meaning neighbors.”

Related words: peregrinate (PER-i-gre-NAYT) verb; peregrinator (PER-i-gre-NAY-ter) and peregrinity (PER-i-GRIN-i-tee) both nouns.

peremptory (pe-REMP-te-ree)

From Latin peremptorius, meaning “deadly, mortal, destructive”; from peremptus, past participle of infinitive perimere, meaning “to kill, destroy, prevent.”

1. incontrovertible; settling the matter.

“The peremptory judgment of the court appeared to deliver a definitive answer to the town's biggest problem.”

2. obstinate; stubborn; self-willed.

“When you insist on being peremptory, it is impossible to arrive at an amicable agreement.”

3. dogmatic: overconfident; intolerant of contradiction.

“Again and again Herbert adopted the peremptory attitude that repelled many of those attending the meeting.”

Related words: peremptorily (pe-REMP-te-re-lee) adverb; peremptoriness (pe-REMP-te-ree-nis) noun.

perfervid (per-FUR-vid)

From Modern Latin perfervidus, from fervidus, meaning “hot; fiery; violent,” + per-, meaning “very.”

impassioned; very fervent; glowing, ardent.

“She found the time to pursue her perfervid interest in art by never missing a chance to spend her weekends in museums and art galleries.”

Related words: perfervidly (per-FUR-fid-lee) adverb; perfervidity (per-fer-VID-i-tee), perfervidness (per-FUR-vid-nis), and perfervor (per-FUR-ver) all nouns.

perfunctory (per-FUNGK-te-ree)

From Late Latin perfunctorius, from infinitive perfungi, meaning “to perform, discharge, get done with.”

1. apathetic; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm.

“Selma and I thought we were shown only the smallest of courtesies when we received a perfunctory thank-you after I returned the lost wallet.”

2. hasty and superficial; performed merely as a routine duty.

“I needed less than a few minutes to read his perfunctory evaluation of the paper I had worked over for so many hours.”

Related words: perfunctorily (per-FUNGK-te-re-lee) adverb; perfunctoriness (per-FUNGK-te-ree-nis) noun.

peripatetic (PER-e-pe-TET-ik)

From Latin peripateticus, from Greek peripatetikós, literally meaning “walking about,” and translated as “given to walking about.”

An allusion to the habit of Aristotle, a man given to walking about while teaching his students in the Lyceum of Athens.

itinerant; walking or traveling about as, for example, a peddler going from door to door.

“Many of the successful department stores in the New World had their start in the peripatetic efforts of determined hawkers of clothing, pots and pans, and the like.”

Related word: peripatetically (PER-e-pe-TET-i-ke-lee) adverb.

pernicious (per-NISH-es)

From Latin perniciosus, meaning “ruinous”; from pernicies, meaning “destruction, ruin, death.”

1. ruinous; causing treacherous harm; hurtful.

“After years of hiding behind a facade of wealth and respectability, Susan was exposed as a pernicious schemer.”

2. fatal; deadly.

“Physicians attending the old poet began to see signs of anemia and soon identified his illness as pernicious anemia, a condition they could not treat at that time.”

Related words: perniciously (per-NISH-es-lee) adverb; perniciousness (per-NISH-es-nis) noun.

perspicacious (PUR-spi-KAY-shes)

From English perspicacity, meaning “discernment, penetration”; from Latin infinitive perspicere, meaning “to look through, look closely into.” See also perspicuous.

discerning; having keen mental perception; clear-sighted.

“Ellen was thought by her colleagues to be an outstanding person of perspicacious judgment.”

Related words: perspicaciously (PUR-spi-KAY-shes-lee) adverb; perspicacity (PUR-spi-KAS-i-tee) and perspicaciousness (PUR-spi-KAY-shes-nis) both nouns.

perspicuous (per-SPIK-yoo-es)

From Latin perspicuus, meaning “transparent; clear, evident”; from infinitive perspicere, meaning “to look through, look closely into.” See also perspicacious.

lucid; easy to understand; evident; perspicacious.

“Even a beginning law student could usually grasp the perspicuous opinions written by Justice Stevens.”

Related words: perspicuously (per-SPIK-yoo-es-lee) adverb; perspicuity (PUR-spi-KYOO-i-tee) and perspicuousness (per-SPIK-yoo-es-nis) both nouns.

pertinacious (PUR-tn-AY-shes)

From English pertinacity, from Latin pertinacia, meaning “perseverance, stubbornness”; from Latin pertinax, meaning “unyielding, stubborn.”

1. resolute; holding to a position determinedly.

“The admirably pertinacious manner of the young politician alerted us to the likelihood that one day she would hold an important office.”

2. obstinate; objectionably persistent.

“His pertinacious way of pursuing the meaning of every jot of evidence, no matter how minuscule, drives judges up the wall.”

Related words: pertinaciously (PUR-tn-AY-shes-lee) adverb; pertinacity (PUR-tn-AS-i-tee) and pertinaciousness (PUR-tn-AY-shes-nis) both nouns.

perverse (per-VURS)

From Latin perversus, meaning “awry; wrong, perverse”; past participle of infinitive pervertere, meaning “to overthrow, overturn, upset.”

contrary, obstinate, cantankerous; disposed to go counter to what is expected or espoused.

“Jerome Daly has become so perverse that he challenges everything proposed at our board meetings.”

Related words: perversely (per-VURS-lee) adverb; perverseness (per-VURS-nis) and perversity (per-VUR-si-tee) both nouns.

pervicacious (PUR-vi-KAY-shes)

From Latin pervicax, meaning “dogged, stubborn, willful”; from infinitive pervincere, meaning “to conquer.”

refractory; obstinate; extremely willful; stubborn.

“A truly pervicacious opponent in debate, you will find, never gives in under any conditions.”

Related words: pervicaciously (PUR-vi-KAY-shes-lee) adverb; pervicaciousness (PUR-vi-KAY-shes-nis) noun.

pervious (PUR-vee-es)

From Latin pervius, meaning “passable, accessible.”

This is one of those adjectives that are far better known in the negative, impervious (im-PUR-vee-es), than in the positive sense, as here. But in the second sense below, see how it opens discussion to a sense that must not be ignored.

1. permeable; allowing of passage through it.

“Fortunately, the selected cloth shielded seedlings from the hot sun but still was pervious to rain.”

2. intelligible; open to reason or argument.

“George apparently thought that nobody in the entire world but the speaker himself was fully pervious to new attitudes or hypotheses.”

Related word: perviousness (PUR-vee-es-nis) noun.

pettifogging (PET-ee-FOG-ing)

From English pettifog, meaning “bicker, quibble”; from Middle Dutch pettifogger, meaning “a fixer, one who arranges things.”

petty; insignificant, shifty; unethical even in minor matters.

“A miscreant I cannot abide is the pettifogging thief who openly shoplifts candy and robs poor boxes yet never admits to committing armed robbery.”

Related words: pettifog (PET-ee-fog) verb; pettifogger (PET-ee-FOG-er) and pettifoggery (PET-ee-FOG-e-ree) both nouns.

petulant (PECH-e-lent)

From Latin petulans, meaning “pert, impudent; lascivious.”

displaying peevish impatience.

“She's the kind of person who takes an hour to choose a pair of shoes she wants and then is surprised to find her salesperson is somewhat petulant.”

Related words: petulance (PECH-e-lens) and petulancy (PECH-e-len-see) both nouns; petulantly (PECH-e-lent-lee) adverb.

phlegmatic (fleg-MAT-ik)

From Late Latin phlegmaticus, from Greek phlegmatikós, meaning “pertaining to phlegm,” phlegm being a bodily humor thought when excessive to induce apathy.

Also given as phlegmatical (fleg-MAT-i-kel).

sluggish, apathetic; lacking enthusiasm; cool, collected.

“It seemed as if David was born phlegmatic, since from his earliest days he never showed interest or excitement for anything that intrigues ordinary mortals.”

Related words: phlegm (flem) noun; phlegmatically (fleg-MAT-i-ke-lee) adverb; phlegmaticalness (fleg-MAT-i-kel-nis) and phlegmaticness (fleg-MAT-ik-nis) both nouns.

phocine (FOH-sin)

From Latin phoca, from Greek phóke, both meaning the animal known as “a seal.”

seallike, of or pertaining to seals.

“The primary phocine area at our local zoo attracts crowds whenever the weather is good, accommodating adults as well as children who are fascinated by marvelous displays of diving and underwater swimming.”

Related word: phocomelia (FOH-koh-MEE-lee-e) noun.

phrenetic. See frenetic.

piacular (pI-AK-ye-ler)

From Latin piacularis, an adjective meaning “atoning, expiating”; related to piacula, a noun meaning “sin offering,” and to infinitive piare, meaning “to appease.”

1. expiatory; atoning.

“The novitiate developed his own set of piacular acts he would perform until he could feel he had completed his essential rites of atonement.”

2. culpable; wicked, requiring expiation.

“She was instilled with a sense of guilt in early childhood and often brooded over her piacular deeds.”

Related words: piacularly (pI-AK-ye-ler-lee) adverb; piacularness (pI-AK-ye-ler-nis) noun.

picaresque (PIK-e-RESK)

From Spanish picaresco, meaning “roguish.”

resembling rogues; characterizing a type of fiction dealing with picaresque adventures.

“Many television shows, such as The Mark of Zorro, appealed to youngsters by centering about engaging fictional characters who weekly have picaresque encounters with their enemies.”

Related words: picara (PIK-er-e), picaro (PIK-e-ROH), and picaroon (PIK-e-ROON) all nouns.

picayune (PIK-e-YOON)

From Portuguese picaioun, from French picaillon, names of old copper coins of small value.

Also given as picayunish (PIK-e-YOON-ish).

trifling, carping; mean, paltry.

“The new manager's criticism was mean-spirited and picayune rather than constructive.”

Related words: picayunishly (PIK-e-YOON-ish-lee) adverb, picayunishness (PIK-e-YOON-ish-nis) noun.

piffling (PIF-ling)

Origin uncertain.

trifling, piddling; of little worth.

“In organized baseball, intentionally throwing a bat is considered much more than a piffling act.”

Related word: piffle (PIF-el) noun and verb.

pilose (PI-lohs)

From Latin pilosus, meaning “hairy.”

Also given as pilous (PI-les)

furry; covered with hair, especially soft hair.

“Our pet had a pilose covering that made her fun to hold and stroke but always left behind handfuls of hair.”

Related word: pilosity (pI-LOS-i-tee) noun.

pinguid (PING-gwid)

From Latin pinguis, from Greek píon, both meaning “fat, fertile.”

oily; abounding in fat.

“My pinguid cuisine managed to fell so many victims that I have generally been excused from taking my turn at cooking for the entire crowd.”

Related word: pinguidity (ping-GWID-i-tee) noun.

piquant (PEE-kahnt)

From French piquant, present participle of piquer, literally meaning “to prick”; generally interpreted as “to gall, irritate.”

1. of food: agreeably pungent or sharp of taste.

“Almost everything he cooked, whether fish or fowl, was accented by a piquant sauce he had learned to prepare in the Far East.”

2. of wit, etc.: pleasantly provocative or stimulating.

“Naomi was blessed with a piquant manner and good humor that enlivened any occasion.”

Related words: piquantly (PEE-kahnt-lee) adverb; piquancy (PEE-kahn-see) and piquantness (PEE-kahnt-nis) both nouns.

piteous (PIT-ee-es)

From Medieval Latin pietosus, from Latin pietas, both nouns meaning “a pity.”

Also given as pitiful (PIT-i-fel).

pathetic; deserving of pity; evoking pity.

“Once I had heard her piteous story from beginning to end, I resolved to give her all the help I could.”

Related words: piteously (PIT-ee-es-lee) adverb; piteousness (PIT-ee-es-nis) noun.

pixilated (PIK-se-LAY-tid)

Perhaps from American pixie, meaning “a sprite.”

eccentric; mentally confused; fey, whimsical, silly.

“When once I had met the two old women, I decided they were charming but obviously pixilated and would need a watchful eye.”

Related word: pixilation (PIK-se-LAY-shen) noun.

placable (PLAYK-e-bel)

From Latin placabilis, from placatus past participle of placare, meaning “to calm, appease, reconcile.”

Much better known in the negative, implacable (im-PLAYK-e-bel), translated as “unforgiving,” says a great deal about our society.

forgiving; gentle, easily appeased.

“Strangely enough, the daughters of that harridan turned out to be entirely placable creatures and not at all like their mother.”

Related words: placabilitity (PLAYK-e-BIL-i-tee) and placableness (PLAYK-e-bel-nis) both nouns.

placatory (PLAY-ke-TOR-ee)

From Late Latin placatorius, meaning “appeasing, propitiatory”; from infinitive placare, meaning “to appease.”

Also given as placative (PLAY-ke-tiv).

conciliatory; tending to placate.

“His initial response was entirely placatory and lulled us into thinking we were going to achieve the kind of resolution we all had hoped for.”

Related words: placate (PLAY-kayt) verb; placater (PLAY-kayt-er) and placation (play-KAY-shen) both nouns.

plangent (PLAN-jent)

From Latin plangens, present participle of infinitive plangere, meaning “to beat the breast in grief; lament loudly.”

loud sounding, especially with a mournful sound.

“The plangent church bell rang that Sunday with a somber, rarely heard sound, as though everyone knew we churchgoers had sad business ahead of us.”

Related words: plangently (PLAN-jent-lee) adverb; plangency (PLAN-jen-see) noun.

plethoric (ple-THOR-ik)

From Latin plethoricus, Greek plethóra, both meaning “fullness.”

turgid; inflated, overfull; full to excess.

“In his speech the dean gave his usual plethoric masterpiece of eighteenth-century prose, unintentionally but effectively putting three hundred incoming freshmen to sleep.”

Related words: plethora (PLETH-er-e) noun; plethorically (ple-THOR-i-ke-lee) adverb.

pluvious (PLOO-vee-es)

From Latin pluviosus, meaning “rainy.”

Also given as pluvial (PLOO-vee-el).

rainy; pertaining to rain.

“We wondered how the town committee managed in each of the past ten years to select the only pluvious Saturday afternoon for our annual picnic in an otherwise parched month and to do so unerringly six months in advance.”

Related word: pluviosity (PLOO-vee-OS-i-tee) noun.

pococurante (POH-koh-kuu-RAN-tee)

From Italian poco, meaning “little,” + curante, present participle of curare, meaning “to care.”

This adjective is more often used as a noun, meaning “a nonchalant person.”

nonchalant; indifferent, caring little.

“After weeks of trying to get him to help us, we finally realized that he was pococurante and would never get involved.”

Related words: pococurantism (POH-koh-kuu-RAN-tiz-em) and pococuranteism (POH-koh-kuu-RAN-tee-iz-em) both nouns.

porcine (POR-sIn)

From Latin porcinus, meaning “swinish; belonging to a hog.”

piggish; swinish; resembling swine in appearance or manners; pertaining to swine.

“A porcine appearance was not at all what he had in mind when he decided to shave his face clean, yet that was what he saw when he looked into his mirror.”

postprandial (pohst-PRAN-dee-el)

From Latin post-, meaning “after,” + prandium, meaning “lunch; a meal.”

after a meal, especially after dinner.

“It did not take long for me to develop a physical need for a postprandial brandy or two, which soon was transformed into brandy without dinner.”

Related word: postprandially (pohst-PRAN-dee-e-lee) adverb.

See also preprandial.

pot-valiant (POT-VAL-yent)

From English pot, meaning “container,” and valiant, meaning “brave.”

courageous only because of the support of alcoholic drink.

“When our pot-valiant platoon leader issued strong shots of whiskey at lunch before a night patrol, he surely knew what lay ahead of us.”

Related words: pot-valiantly (POT-VAL-yent-lee) adverb; pot-valor (POT-VAL-er) and pot-valiancy (POT-VAL-yen-see) both nouns.

prandial (PRAN-dee-el)

From Latin prandium, meaning “lunch” or “dinner.”

See also postprandial and preprandial.

pertaining to a meal, especially dinner.

“Each time he went on the road, he was careful to make suitable notations in his diary for transportation, lodging, and prandial expenses.”

Related word: prandially (PRAN-dee-e-lee) adverb.

preceptive (pri-SEP-tiv)

From Latin praeceptivus, meaning “instructive, encouraging.”

1. instructive; conveying information.

“Almost everything she publishes is intended to be entertaining but too often ends up being merely preceptive.”

2. mandatory; conveying a command.

“Ownership of an automobile carries a responsibility to be aware of certain regulations and to follow their preceptive requirements.”

Related words: precept (PREE-sept) noun; preceptively (pri-SEP-tiv-lee) adverb.

precipitate (pri-SIP-i-tit)

From Latin praecipitatus, past participle of infinitive praecipitare, meaning “to rush headlong; throw down.”

Also given as precipitative (pri-SIP-i-TAY-tiv). See also precipitous, once a different word but now almost completely merged with precipitate, to no one's gain and purists' loss.

headlong; rushing onward; sudden, overhasty.

“Her parents believe Ella will surely have to pay for her precipitate decision to marry someone she had just met, but who knows whether she really made a mistake?”

Related words: precipitately (pri-SIP-i-tit-lee) adverb; precipitateness (pri-SIP-i-tit-nis), precipitation (pri-SIP-i-TAY-shen), and precipitator (pri-SIP-i-TAY-ter) all nouns.

precipitous (pri-SIP-i-tes)

From obsolete French précipiteux, meaning “dangerously steep.”

Save precipitous for this meaning. Use precipitate for “sudden” and the like.

of terrain: dangerously steep or characterized by the presence of precipices.

“We would have made much better time if we had not been faced with so many precipitous rock slides that we had to ascend.”

Related words: precipitously (pri-SIP-i-tes-lee) adverb; precipitousness (pri-SIP-i-tes-nis) noun.

predacious (pri-DAY-shes)

From English predatory, from Latin praedatorius, meaning “marauding.”

Also given as predaceous.

raptorial; rapacious, predatory.

“The biologist was concerned principally with investigating newborn goslings to learn how to protect them from predacious birds nesting nearby.”

Related words: predaciousness (pri-DAY-shes-nis) and predacity (pri-DAS-i-tee) both nouns.

prelapsarian (PREE-lap-SAIR-ee-en)

From Latin pre-, prefix meaning “before,” + lapsus, meaning “the fall.” The fall, of course, was the original fall of mankind from virtue.

pertaining to any innocent period of life; occurring before the original fall from grace.

“What I liked best about the summer with our many grandchildren was the prelapsarian spirit they ebulliently showed in all their games.”

preprandial (pree-PRAN-dee-el)

For etymology, see postprandial.

before a meal, especially dinner.

“I was annoyed by her insistence that we all refrain from preprandial exercise, as though such exercise would hurt us in some way.”

preternatural (PREE-ter-NACH-er-el)

From Latin phrase praeter naturam, meaning “beyond or outside nature.”

supernatural; exceptional or abnormal.

“Fanny appeared to have a preternatural ability to hear the unexpressed thoughts of those near her.”

Related words: preternaturally (PREE-ter-NACH-e-rel-ee) adverb; preternaturalism (PREE-ter-NACH-e-rel-iz-em), preternaturality (PREE-ter-NACH-e-RAL-i-tee), and preternaturalness (PREE-ter-NACH-e-rel-nis) all nouns.

proceleusmatic (PROS-e-loos-MAT-ik)

From Greek prokeleusmatikós, meaning “incitement”.

animating; inspiring; serving to inspire.

“Before the game, the band gave us a spirited, proceleusmatic rendition of the school song, but that did not prevent our first-string from losing the game without making a single hit.”

procrustean (proh-KRUS-tee-en)

From the name of the mythical robber Procrustes, who cruelly stretched the limbs of a captured traveler to make them fit the length of his bed.

tending to produce uniformity by violent and arbitrary means.

“Our leader assured compliance within his staff by assigning the most savage and loyal of his soldiers to employ procrustean methods in enforcing his peremptory orders.”

prolegomenous (PROH-li-GOM-e-nes)

From Greek prolegómenon, meaning “saying beforehand.”

prefatory; introductory; especially, given to making tedious opening remarks.

“Edward knew his mother was warming up to deliver a stern rebuke when she would clear her throat audibly and then launch into one of her favorite prolegomenous attacks before finally announcing the punishment she had already selected.”

Related words: prolegomenon (PROH-li-GOM-e-NON) singular noun; prolegomena (PROH-li-GOM-e-nah) plural noun.

prolix (proh-LIKS)

From Latin prolixus, meaning “long, wide, extended.”

1. of speech or writing: verbose, wordy; overly long.

“By May I was gratified to find that many students had learned to prune their prolix sentences.”

2. of a person: given to verbosity or wordiness.

“It seems that prolix neighbors never miss a chance to catch me and won't stop talking when I'm in a hurry.”

Related words: prolixly (proh-LIKS-lee) adverb; prolixity (proh-LIK-si-tee) noun.

propitious (pre-PISH-es)

From Latin propitius, meaning “favorable, gracious”; from infinitive petere, meaning “to aim at, attack.”

auspicious; favorable, presenting favorable conditions.

“Everyone agreed that conditions were propitious for starting a new dot.com, in fact for starting any new enterprise.”

Related words: propitiously (pre-PISH-es-lee) adverb; propitiousness (pre-PISH-es-nis) noun.

protean (PROH-tee-en)

From the name Proteus, the mythical god who could prophesy and could change his shape at will.

variable in form; assuming at will various forms or characters.

“Voters appear to have punished the governor for his protean positions on important matters of public interest.”

Related word: proteanism (PROH-tee-e-niz-em) noun.

prurient (PRUUR-ee-ent)

From Latin pruriens, present participle of prurire, meaning “to itch, be wanton.”

given to lewd thoughts; impure-minded.

“Our prurient public censor has confessed to spending much of his office time poring over magazines featuring photographs of nude men and women and advertising collections of similar photographs.”

Related words: pruriently (PRUUR-ee-ent-lee) adverb; prurience (PRUUR-ee-ens) and pruriency (PRUUR-ee-en-see) both nouns.

puerperal (pyoo-UR-per-el)

From Neo-Latin puerperalis, meaning “of childbirth”; from Latin puerperium, meaning “childbirth.”

accompanied by or resulting from childbirth.

“My sister-in-law's case of puerperal fever was quickly cured after application of modern antibiotics.”

pusillanimous (PYOO-se-LAN-e-mes)

From Late Latin pusillus, meaning “paltry,” + animus, meaning “disposition.”

cowardly; fainthearted; lacking resolution; manifesting cowardliness.

“The pusillanimous measures of the administration were met with almost universal condemnation.”

Related words: pusillanimously (PYOO-se-LAN-e-mes-lee) adverb; pusillanimity (PYOO-se-le-NIM-i-tee) noun.

putative (PYOO-te-tiv)

From Late Latin putativus, from Latin putatus, past participle of putare, meaning “to suppose.”

reputed, supposed; commonly regarded as so by reputation.

“After months of dreary and repetitious courtroom argument, Albert was seen as the putative winner of the hard-fought case.”

Related word: putatively (PYOO-te-tiv-lee) adverb.

putrescible (pyoo-TRES-e-bel)

From Latin infinitive putrescere, meaning “to grow rotten.”

Also given as putrescent (pyoo-TRES-ent).

liable to rot or become putrid.

“The putrescible odor told me that the vegetables were on the verge and I'd better throw them out.”

Related words: putrefy (PYOO-tre-FI) verb; putrefaction (PYOO-tre-FAK-shen), putrescence (pyoo-TRES-ens), putrescency (pyoo-TRES-en-see), and putrescibility (pyoo-TRES-i-BIL-i-tee) all nouns.

Q

quadrennial (kwo-DREN-ee-el)

From Latin quadriennium, meaning “four years.”

Also given as quadriennial (KWOD-ree-EN-ee-el).

1. occurring every fourth year.

“The quadrennial election was almost at hand, affecting almost all political decisions that had to be made.”

2. lasting for four years.

“The chairman knew that a quadrennial budget would have to be formulated and voted upon before the new term.”

Related words: quadrennium (kwo-DREN-ee-em) and quadriennium (KWOD-ree-EN-ee-em) both nouns.

qualmish (KWAH-mish)

From English qualm, meaning “compunction,” + -ish, meaning “inclined to.” The source of qualm is unknown.

1. apt to have uneasy feelings or pangs of conscience.

“Her recent unfortunate experiences have left Ellen qualmish about doing anything to help our cause.”

2. apt to cause uneasy feelings.

“No matter what I told the committee chairman about the secret intentions of the minority, he would do nothing to disturb their qualmish plans.”

3. nauseated.

“Without fail, every time our ship leaves port I immediately feel qualmish even though I have never actually become sick to my stomach.”

Related words: qualmishly (KWAH-mish-lee) adverb; qualm (kwahm) and qualmishness (KWAH-mish-nis) both nouns.

quaquaversal (KWAY-kwe-VUR-sel)

From Latin quaqua, literally meaning “whatever way,” + versus, meaning “toward”; together meaning “turned everywhere.”

Although this seldom-encountered word is a legitimate part of the English lexicon, it is included here primarily to show that our glorious language has a word for every situation.

of a geological formation: dipping down from the center in all directions.

“At the presumed top of the universe, you are said to find a quaquaversal pinnacle large enough to stand upon even though the conception is anything but real.”

Related word: quaquaversally (KWAY-kwue-VUR-se-lee) adverb.

queasy (KWEE-zee)

Possibly from Middle English qweisy or coisy, meaning “uneasy.”

1. of persons: liable to become sick; feeling nausea; uneasy, feeling uncomfortable.

“My youngest granddaughter says the only thing she doesn't like about our local diner is that she feels queasy after she eats there.”

2. nauseating; tending to cause nausea.

“Ann thinks she is clever when she combines heterogeneous leftovers of any origin in a queasy glop that she calls soup.”

Related words: queasily (KWEE-zi-lee) adverb; queasiness (KWEE-zi-nis) noun.

quercine (KWUR-sIn)

From Latin quercus, meaning “oak tree” + -ine, an adjectival suffix.

made of oak, oaken.

“Our quercine staircase was admired by all those who saw it, but my wife and I were always aware of the squeaks it gave off at every step.”

querulous (KWER-e-les)

From Latin querulus, meaning “complaining; plaintive.”

1. given to complaining; full of complaints.

“Whenever we visited my querulous aunt, she regaled us with blow-by-blow accounts of terrible experiences she enjoyed.”

2. peevish; uttered in complaint.

“Fred's querulous admonitions were too frequent and too unvarying to be taken seriously.”

Related words: querulously (KWER-e-les-lee) adverb; querulousness (KWER-e-les-nis) noun.

quiescent (kwee-ES-ent)

From Latin quiescens, present participle of infinitive quiescere, meaning “to keep quiet; be at peace.”

motionless; at rest, inactive.

“The quiescent state a wounded soldier must exhibit to evade capture by enemy troops was more than I bargained for.”

Related words: quiescently (kwee-ES-ent-lee) adverb; quiescence (kwee-ES-ens) and quiescency (kwee-ES-en-see) both nouns.

quixotic (kwik-SOT-ik)

From the name of the visionary hero of Don Quixote by Cervantes.

Also given as quixotical (kwik-SOT-i-kel).

1. of a person: resembling the personality of Quixote, therefore striving with enthusiasm for visionary ideals.

“There was no way to convert his quixotic idealism into realistic goals that would enable him to raise his income substantially.”

2. impractical; impulsive, rashly unpredictable.

“It was difficult to convince our quixotic leader that swimming miles across the bay after darkness was not feasible, since he was not an experienced distance swimmer.”

Related words: quixotically (kwik-SOT-i-kel-ee) adverb; quixotism (KWIK-se-TIZ-em) noun.

quotidian (kwoh-TID-ee-en)

From Latin quotidianus, also given as cottidianus, meaning “daily, everyday, ordinary.”

daily, everyday; ordinary, commonplace.

“Wednesday began as a day like all other days: on his desk lay the quotidian head counts arranged by departments with totals and subtotals supplied, even though he could not recall why he had asked for them in the first place.”

Related words: quotidianly (kwoh-TID-ee-en-lee) adverb; quotidianness (kwoh-TID-ee-en-nis) noun.

R

rabid (RAB-id)

From Latin rabidus, meaning “raving, mad, impetuous”; from infinitive rabere, meaning “to rave.”

1. furious, raging; violent in nature or opinion.

“There are rabid baseball fans and there are rabid Yankee fans, the latter being irrational forms of the former.”

2. afflicted with rabies—an infectious disease formerly called hydrophobia.

“If your pet has been properly inoculated, chances are it will probably never be rabid.”

Related words: rabidly (RAB-id-lee) adverb; rabidity (re-BID-i-tee) and rabidness (RAB-id-nis) both nouns.

raffish (RAF-ish)

From English raff, said to be from riffraff, meaning “common people; rabble.”

1. tawdry; vulgar, cheap.

“She knew her coworkers considered her manner of dress raffish, but she would not change, saying she felt comfortable in her ways.”

2. engagingly disreputable.

“He had the raffish good looks that wealthy middle-aged women apparently found attractive.”

Related words: raffishly (RAF-ish-lee) adverb; raffishness (RAF-ish-nis) noun.

rakish (RAY-kish)

From English rake, meaning “a profligate, licentious, wild person.”

of one's appearance: smart, jaunty, dashing.

“Most of all it was the newcomer's rakish hat and affected walking stick combined with a swagger that made him the darling of women but unacceptable among men his own age.”

Related words: rakishly (RAY-kish-lee) adverb; rakishness (RAY-kish-nis) noun.

rambunctious (ram-BUNGK-shes)

A word of uncertain origin.

of persons and encounters: uncontrollable, boisterous, noisy.

“Once it became clear unlimited hard liquor was free for the asking, the party was sure to become rambunctious and end unpredictably, so our friends left as soon as possible.”

Related words: rambunctiously (ram-BUNGK-shes-lee) adverb; rambunctiousness (ram-BUNGK-shes-nis) noun.

rancorous (RANG-ker-es)

From English rancor, meaning “malice,” from Latin adjective rancens, meaning “putrid.”

venomous; full of resentment; showing ill feeling.

“So rancorous was his envy, so sharp the wound he suffered, that he could not bear even to look at his opponent.”

Related words: rancorously (RANG-ker-es-lee) adverb; rancorousness (RANG-ker-es-nis) noun.

rapacious (re-PAY-shes)

From Latin rapax, meaning “greedy, grasping, ravenous”; from rapere, infinitive meaning “to seize, carry off by force.”

The infamous verb “to rape” is scarcely able to hide its origins.

1. predatory; exceptionally greedy, extortionate.

“It was shocking to find that the rapacious burglars did not overlook even the tiniest gem in her pathetic collection.”

2. given to seizing for the satisfaction of greed.

“She practiced a rapacious management style that landed her in deep trouble with antitrust laws.”

Related words: rapaciously (re-PAY-shes-lee) adverb; rapacity (re-PAS-i-tee) and rapaciousness (re-PAY-shes-nis) both nouns.

raunchy (RAWN-chee)

Of uncertain origin.

vulgar, smutty, dirty; lecherous, suggestive.

“The comedian's raunchy stories actually seemed to offend some persons, but most of his audience found them very funny and gave his career a big boost.”

Related words: raunchily (RAWN-chi-lee) adverb; raunch (rawnch) and raunchiness (RAWN-chee-nis) both nouns.

rebarbative (ree-BAHR-be-tiv)

From French feminine adjective rébarbative—masculine rébarbatif—meaning “unprepossessing, repellent, unattractive”; from rébarber, meaning “to be unattractive,” and from French barbe and Latin barba, both meaning “beard.”

As the synonyms for beard come to mind, think how beards once made the man and how since then these hairy appurtenances have gone in and out of style.

unattractive, dull; forbidding; causing aversion; unpleasant, objectionable.

“His friends, always willing to stand firm in their decisiveness, said his rebarbative personality matched his homely face.”

Related words: rebarbatively (ree-BAHR-be-tiv-lee) adverb; rebarbativity (ree-BAHR-be-TIV-i-tee) and rebarbativeness (ree-BAHR-be-tiv-nis) both nouns.

recalcitrant (ri-KAL-si-trent)

From recalcitrans, present participle of infinitive recalcitrare, meaning “to kick back.”

refractory; obstinately disobedient; difficult to manage.

“The novice teacher was at wit's end trying to find a solution to the problem of how to handle recalcitrant students.”

Related words: recalcitrancy (ri-KAL-si-tren-see) and recalcitrance (ri-KAL-si-trens) both nouns.

recherché (re-SHAIR-shay)

From French past participle of infinitive rechercher, meaning “to search for assiduously.”

carefully sought after; arcane, choice, rare; pretentious.

“The antiques dealer's apartment proved astonishing, full of the most recherché treasures the young couple had ever seen.”

recondite (REK-en-DIT)

From Latin reconditus, past participle of infinitive recondere, meaning “to hide, put away.”

abstruse; deep, profound; esoteric; obscure.

“It was almost a year after my illness had passed before I began to recover my strength and became able to resume my recondite research.”

Related words: reconditely (REK-en-DIT-lee) adverb; reconditeness (REK-en-DIT-nis) noun.

recumbent (ri-KUM-bent)

From Latin recumbens, present participle of infinitive recumbere, meaning “to lie down, recline; sink down.”

lying down; reclining; prostrate; leaning; idle.

“When I first saw her at the beach, she was recumbent and seemed unwilling to stir herself even though she was obviously getting a bad burn.”

Related words: recumbently (ri-KUM-bent-lee) adverb; recumbency (ri-KUM-ben-see) and recumbence (ri-KUM-bens) both nouns.

redivivus (RED-e-VEE-ves)

From Latin redivivus, meaning “renovated, revived.”

An example of a Latin word taken into English without change.

revived; living again; come back to life.

“From the way that new pitcher throws, he's Christy Mathewson redivivus or I don't know the first thing about baseball.”

redolent (RED-l-ent)

From the present participle of the Latin infinitive redolere, meaning “to give off a smell, smell of.”

fragrant; smelling; reminiscent.

“When I first entered the sitting room, which was so redolent of jasmine, it seemed for a moment I had entered a different culture.”

Related words: redolently (RED-l-ent-lee) adverb; redolence (RED-l-ens) and redolency (RED-l-en-see) both nouns.

redoubtable (ri-DOW-te-bel)

From French redoutable, meaning “formidable, terrible.”

formidable; to be feared; evoking respect.

“From the way the new president acted at the meeting it was obvious that this redoubtable man would soon have his problems under control.”

Related words: redoubted (ri-DOW-tid) adjective; redoubtably (ri-DOW-te-blee) adverb; redoubtableness (ri-DOW-te-bel-nis) noun.

refractory (ri-FRAK-te-ree)

From Latin refractarius, meaning “obstinate, stubborn.”

unmanageable; stubborn, perverse, rebellious.

“It was clear the refractory child represented much more than an ordinary case of disobedience and would have to be treated with the greatest of care and professional skill.”

Related words: refractorily (ri-FRAK-te-re-lee) adverb; refractoriness (ri-FRAK-te-ree-nis) noun.

refulgent (ri-FUL-jent)

From Latin refulgens, present participle of refulgere, meaning “to flash back, radiate light.”

radiant; resplendent, shining brightly; reflecting a brilliant light.

“Although the woman's jewelry was demonstrably fake, it had been made so skillfully that its refulgent brilliance was dazzling.”

Related words: refulgently (ri-FUL-jent-lee) adverb; refulgence (ri-FUL-jens), refulgency (ri-FUL-jen-see), and refulgentness (ri-FUL-jent-nis) all nouns.

relevant (REL-e-vent)

From Latin relevans, present participle of infinitive relevare, meaning “to lift up, lighten; comfort.”

pertinent; bearing on the matter at hand.

“My students were informed at the start of the term that they could always say anything they wanted as long as their remarks were relevant to subjects under discussion at the time.”

Related words: relevantly (REL-e-vent-lee) adverb; relevance (REL-e-vens) and relevancy (REL-e-ven-see) both nouns.

renitent (REN-i-tent)

From Latin renitens present participle of infinitive reniti, meaning “to struggle, resist.”

recalcitrant; opposing assiduously; resistant, resisting pressure.

“Despite his determinedly renitent stance, he found himself unable to overcome the council's pressure to oust him.”

Related words: renitence (REN-i-tens) and renitency (REN-i-ten-see) both nouns.

reprobate (REP-re-BAYT)

From Latin reprobatus, past participle of infinitive reprobare, meaning “to reprove.”

Also given as a noun and as the adjective reprobative (REP-re-BAY-tiv).

morally depraved; unprincipled; beyond hope of salvation.

“He was pleased to find that the club would not tolerate reprobate conduct and had recently blackballed prospective members when they were found to have less than impeccable reputations.”

Related words: reprobation (REP-re-BAY-shen), reprobacy (REP-re-be-see), and reprobateness (REP-re-BAYT-nis), all nouns.

retroussé (RE-troo-SAY)

From French past participle of retrousser, meaning “to turn up.”

said especially of the nose: turned up.

“Undoubtedly there are some who think a retroussé nose indicates a person of spunk.”

riant (REE-ent)

From French riant, present participle of rire, meaning “to laugh”; from Latin ridere, with the same meaning.

Also given as rident (RID-nt).

cheerful; laughing, smiling; gay.

“Ruth is a happy child, almost always riant in demeanor, loving to tell and hear jokes.”

Related word: riantly (REE-ent-lee) adverb.

rinky-dink (RING-kee-DINGK)

Slang; origin unknown.

worthless; outmoded, generally inferior.

“He was advised to seek employment only at reputable companies with solid financial statements and to avoid rinky-dink companies promising rosy futures for their new staff members.”

risible (RIZ-e-bel)

From Late Latin risibilis, meaning “laughable”; from Latin infinitive ridere, meaning “to laugh.”

ludicrous; comical; pertaining to laughter; given to laughter.

“Buster Keaton's silent movies may have been intended only to be risible, but they were also ingeniously perceptive of human motivations.”

Related word: risibility (RIZ-e-BIL-i-tee) noun.

ritzy (RIT-see)

From the name of the sumptuous hotels operated by César Ritz, a Swiss hotelier of the early twentieth century.

posh; elegant; fashionable and luxurious.

“Not only did he insist on staying at ritzy hotels, but he ran up enormous bills for room service meals for his friends and himself.”

Related words: ritzily (RITS-i-lee) adverb; ritziness (RITS-i-nis) noun.

robustious (roh-BUS-ches)

From English robust, meaning “vigorous,” + -ious, an adjectival suffix.

robust, boisterous; rough, strong.

“The table was dominated by six robustious frontiersmen who, to my great relief, had been required by the management to remove and surrender their firearms before the game could begin.”

Related word: robustiously (roh-BUS-ches-lee) adverb.

rubescent (roo-BES-ent)

From Latin rubescens, present participle of infinitive rubescere, meaning “to redden, blush”; from ruber, meaning “red.”

blushing; tending to redness.

“Hank's only problem when playing poker was his incurably rubescent visage, which forever was the tip-off to a winning hand he was holding.”

Related word: rubescence (roo-BES-ens) noun.

rubicund (ROO-bi-KUND)

From Latin rubicundus, meaning “red, ruddy”; from ruber, meaning “red.”

reddish; flushed, inclined to redness attributed to good living.

“Zane's rubicund good looks apparently masked years of high living, which finally took their toll when he died at fifty-five.”

Related word: rubicundity (ROO-bi-KUN-di-tee) noun.

ruthful (ROOTH-fel)

From Middle English ruthe, meaning “pity, regret.”

The English word ruthful is almost never heard, in contrast with ruthless—meaning “cruel, without compassion”—which rears its head every day.

compassionate; sorrowful; causing sorrow; feeling remorse.

“It was Ron's way to suppress any tendency to feel ruthful about conditions he could neither understand nor repair.”

Related words: ruthfully (ROOTH-fe-lee) adverb; ruthfulness (ROOTH-fel-nis) noun.

ruthless. See ruthful.

rutilant (ROOT-l-nt)

From Latin rutilans, present participle of infinitive rutilare, meaning “to glow red, color red”; from rutilus, meaning “reddish, golden, shining.”

scintillating with golden or reddish light; shining, gleaming, glittering.

“Her living room, ready for the Christmas season, was rutilant with beautiful colored lights.”

S

sabulous (SAB-ye-les)

From Latin sabulosus, meaning “sandy”; from sabulum, meaning “sand.”

'Swonderful, 'sfabulous was a songwriter's tribute to Hollywood love, but sabulous is the unwelcome adornment you take on at a beach.

arenaceous (a geologist's term); sandy; consisting of sand.

“Lenny thought it extraordinary that his sabulous property on Long Island, nothing more than a small mountain of sand, ended ‘only a few miles from Europe,’ as he put it.”

Related word: sabulosity (SAB-ye-LOS-i-tee) noun.

saccadic (sa-KAHD-ik)

From English saccade (sa-KAHD), meaning “a jerky movement.”

jerky; characterized by discontinuous movement.

“I finally had a chance to use a camera capable of photographing the saccadic movements made by the eyes during reading.”

sacerdotal (SAS-er-DOHT-el)

From Latin sacerdotalis, from sacerdotium, meaning “priesthood.”

Often mispronounced by semiliterate pretenders as though it were spelled sacridotal.

priestly; befitting a priest.

“The sacerdotal robes worn during the ordination of several cardinals were ornate and heavy, entirely befitting the gravity of the occasion.”

Related words: sacerdotally (SAS-er-DOH-te-lee) adverb; sacerdotalism (SAS-er-DOH-te-LIZ-em) and sacerdotalist (SAS-er-DOHT-el-ist) both nouns.

sacrilegious (SAK-re-LEE-jes)

From Middle English sacrilegiose, from Latin sacrilegium, from sacrilegus, meaning “one who steals sacred things.”

The adjective sacrilegious should not be confused with the adjective religious either in pronunciation or in definition.

pertaining to the profaning of anything sacred; guilty of stealing such things.

“When you go there, be mindful of local customs lest you say or do something considered sacrilegious.”

Related words: sacrilegiously (SAK-re-LEE-jes-lee) adverb; sacrilege (SAK-re-lij) and sacrilegiousness (SAK-re-LEE-jes-nis) both nouns.

sacrosanct (SAK-re-SANGKT)

From Latin sacrosanctus, meaning “inviolable,” from sacro sanctus, meaning “made holy by sacred rite.”

1. sacred, inviolable; secured by a religious sanction from violation or infringement.

“The old city was finally declared sacrosanct and from then on was considered safe against any modern encroachment.”

2. beyond criticism or change.

“Dora thought her parents' way of doing things was sacrosanct and was offended by any suggestion of improvement.”

Related words: sacrosanctness (SAK-re-SANGKT-nis) and sacrosanctity (SAK-re-SANGK-ti-tee) both nouns.

sagacious (se-GAY-shes)

From English sagacity, from Latin sagacitas, both meaning “wisdom.”

shrewd, having exceptional mental discernment.

“Harry clearly was the more sagacious of the two lawyers, but he lacked the ability to take on a task and see it through to completion.”

Related words: sagaciously (se-GAY-shes-lee) adverb; sagacity (se-GAS-i-tee) and sagaciousness (se-GAY-shes-nis) both nouns.

salacious (se-LAY-shes)

From Latin salax, meaning “lustful”; from infinitive salire, meaning “to leap, spring, throb.”

lecherous, lustful; obscene.

“Readers of salacious novels were said once upon a time to have disguised their reading matter in plain brown wrappers.”

Related words: salaciously (se-LAY-shes-lee) adverb; salaciousness (se-LAY-shes-nis) and salacity (se-LAS-i-tee) both nouns.

salubrious (se-LOO-bree-es)

From Latin salubris, meaning “health-giving, wholesome”; from salus, meaning “health, welfare.”

Also given as salutary, which see.

healthful; conducive to health.

“The prescribed diet is undeniably salubrious, yet one might hope for something more appetizing.”

Related words: salubriously (se-LOO-bree-es-lee) adverb; salubriousness (se-LOO-bree-es-nis) noun.

salutary (SAL-ye-TER-ee)

From Latin salutaris, meaning “wholesome, healthy, beneficial”; from salus, meaning “health, welfare.”

Also given as salubrious.

healthful; wholesome; promoting health.

“Many physicians recommend a regime of moderate exercise and carefully selected diet among other things as a salutary style of living.”

Related words: salutarily (SAL-ye-TER-e-lee) adverb; salutariness (SAL-ye-TER-e-nis) noun.

sanguinary (SANG-gwe-NER-ee)

From Latin sanguinarius, meaning “bloodthirsty, pertaining to blood.”

Not to be confused with sanguine, which see.

bloody; bloodthirsty; marked with blood; delighting in carnage; characterized by slaughter.

“The famous general was portrayed cinematically as a person who reveled in sanguinary military encounters.”

Related words: sanguinarily (SANG-gwe-NER-i-lee) adverb; sanguinariness (SANG-gwe-NER-ee-nis) noun.

sanguine (SANG-gwin)

From Latin sanguineus, meaning “bloody”; from sanguis, meaning “blood.”

Notice that the synonyms supplied do not give license to use sanguinary as an alternative for sanguine, which means “optimistic” or “ruddy.”

1. cheerfully optimistic; hopeful, confident.

“Edwina may not be sanguine about her chance to land the coveted job, but she has certainly not given up hope.”

2. ruddy; reddish.

“Alice's sanguine cheeks fool her family into thinking she is healthier than her friends, when the fact is she has a physical problem that causes her high color.”

Related words: sanguinely (SANG-gwin-lee) adverb; sanguinness (SANG-gwin-nis) and sanguinity (sang-GWIN-i-tee) both nouns; sanguineous (sang-GWIN-ee-es), sanguinolent (sang-GWIN-e-lent), and sanguivorous (sang-GWIV-er-es) all adjectives.

saporific (SAP-e-RIF-ik)

From Neo-Latin saporificus, meaning “tasty”; from sapor, meaning “taste.”

Notice that saporific bears no relationship to soporific (SOP-e-RIF-ik), an adjective that means “causing sleep.” See soporiferous.

imparting flavor, producing flavor.

“The directions his books supply for preparing most dishes neglect the spices needed by anyone who wants to achieve saporific results.”

Related words: saporous (SAP-er-es) adjective; saporosity (SAP-e-ROS-i-tee) and sapor (SAY-per) both nouns.

sardonic (sahr-DON-ik)

From Latin sardonius, from Greek sardónios, both meaning “of Sardinia.”

Lest you think you have to be in on a Sardinian joke known only to a few, read on. Old botany textbooks suggest that any of the bitter plants that grow in Sardinia produce in hapless diners a painful grimace that is accompanied by convulsions of laughter and eventual death. Are these the first recorded instances of persons who laughed themselves to death?

sneering, cynical; bitter, scornful, mocking.

“The lecturer's sardonic manner intimidated his students.”

Related words: sardonically (sahr-DON-i-ke-lee) adverb; sardonicism (sahr-DON-e-SIZ-em) noun.

scathing (SKAY-thing)

From English scathe, meaning “to criticize harshly.”

searing; severe; injurious.

“Donald Ross, your freshman writing instructor, doesn't seem to understand that his scathing public criticisms of the classes' papers wound the writers and do not teach.”

Related words: scathe (skayth) verb; scatheless (SKAYTH-lis) adjective; scathelessly (SKAYTH-lis-lee) and scathingly (SKAYTH-ing-lee) both adverbs.

scilicet (SIL-e-SET)

From Latin scilicet, short for scire licet, literally meaning “it is permitted to know.” Scilicet is usually abbreviated as sc. or as scil.

namely; that is to say; to wit; evidently, of course.

“I believe there were three principal reasons why the German navy did not invade Great Britain during World War II, sc. the British army, the British air force, and the British navy.

scrofulous (SKROF-ye-les)

From English scrofula, meaning “a type of tuberculosis,” + -ous, an adjectival suffix meaning “full of.”

morally corrupt; affected with scrofula.

“The prudish teacher would not accept reports on any books she considered scrofulous.”

Related words: scrofulously (SKROF-ye-les-lee) adverb; scrofula (SKROF-ye-le) and scrofulousness (SKROF-ye-les-nis) both nouns.

scurrilous (SKUR-e-les)

From English scurrile, an archaic word from Latin scurrilis, meaning “jeering”; from Latin scurra, meaning “buffoon; dandy.”

of language or behavior: coarsely opprobrious; obscenely abusive.

“After one semester away from home, Jeanette had acquired the entire scurrilous vocabulary of a drunken sailor on shore leave.”

Related words: scurrilously (SKUR-e-les-lee) adverb; scurrilousness (SKUR-e-les-nis) and scurrility (ske-RIL-i-tee) both nouns.

sedulous (SEJ-e-les)

From Latin sedulus, meaning “careful, assiduous, diligent.”

1. of actions: persistent, constant.

“The company no longer was known for the sedulous attention to customers' welfare that had put it on the map.”

2. of persons: diligent, persistent, assiduous.

“Professor Thirlwall was known as a sedulous scholar whose writings were clear, concise, and authoritative.”

Related words: sedulously (SEJ-e-les-lee) adverb; sedulousness (SEJ-e-les-nis) and sedulity (si-DOO-li-tee) both nouns.

sempiternal (SEM-pi-TUR-nel)

From Late Latin sempiternalis, from Latin sempiternus, meaning “everlasting.”

as a literary word: everlasting: enduring constantly and continually.

“We were treated to the most exciting of dinners, featuring various patés, the clearest of broths, and the sempiternal English roast beef.”

Related word: sempiternally (SEM-pi-TUR-ne-lee) adverb.

senescent (si-NES-ent)

From Latin senescens, present participle of the infinitive senescere, meaning “to grow old.”

growing old; elderly.

“When Lawrence heard that his children considered him senescent and fit only for life in a rest home, he packed his few things and moved to his country retreat, there to be alone until the end of his life.”

Related word: senescence (si-NES-ens) noun.

sensual (SEN-shoo-el)

From Latin sensualis from sensus, meaning “sense, sensation.”

Compare sensual with sensuous.

carnal; fleshly; worldly, materialistic; lewd, unchaste; inclined to gratification of the senses.

“Suddenly free of the puritanical constraints of home, Hastings indulged in the sensual temptations of his new environment.”

Related words: sensualism (SEN-shoo-e-LIZ-em), sensualist (SEN-shoo-e-list), sensuality (SEN-shoo-AL-i-tee), and sensualization (SEN-shoo-el-i-ZAY-shen) all nouns.

sensuous (SEN-shoo-es)

From Latin sensus, meaning “sense.”

This adjective refers to communication, not to carnal instincts. Compare sensuous with sensual.

received through one or more senses; pertaining to the senses.

“The aroma of the fruit, the color and shape of the vegetables, the cries of the merchants hawking their offerings—all these made shopping for dinner a sensuous adventure.”

Related words: sensuously (SEN-shoo-es-lee) adverb; sensuousness (SEN-shoo-es-nis) and sensuosity (SEN-shoo-OS-i-tee) both nouns.

sententious (sen-TEN-shes)

From Latin sententiosus, meaning “pithy; meaningful.”

1. of a person: self-righteous; given to pompous moralizing or to over-use of pithy maxims; putting on an air of wisdom.

“He fancied himself an eloquent wise man, but the sententious ex-senator actually was nothing more than a tedious windbag.”

2. of writing: self-righteous; abounding in aphorisms or maxims; dull and moralizing.

“His writing style was sententious, full of old saws and gratuitous advice.”

Related words: sententiously (sen-TEN-shes-lee) adverb; sententiousness (sen-TEN-shes-nis) and sententiosity (sen-TEN-shee-OS-i-tee) both nouns.

sentient (SEN-shent)

From Latin sentiens, present participle of infinitive sentire, meaning “to feel.”

conscious; having the power of perception by the senses.

“A sentient individual cannot fail to understand the signs of imminent warfare and what armed conflict will eventually mean to all of us.”

Related words: sentiently (SEN-shent-lee) adverb; sentience (SEN-shens) noun.

serendipitous (SER-en-DIP-i-tes)

From English serendipity, meaning “luck,” based on Serendip, an ancient name of Ceylon, today called Sri Lanka.

Coinage of serendipitous is credited to the eighteenth-century English novelist Horace Walpole, who published a fairy tale called “The Three Princes of Serendip,” telling of three princes who were always discovering things they had not been looking for. And this is the heart of serendipity and its adjective serendipitous.

1. fortuitous; found by accident.

“The prospectors made their serendipitous discovery of gold in the mountains of California.”

2. beneficial; favorable; welcome.

“Many of the century's serendipitous chemical innovations can be attributed to nothing more than chance and a willingness to work day and night.”

Related words: serendipitously (SER-en-DIP-i-tes-lee) adverb; serendipity (SER-en-DIP-i-tee), serendipiter (SER-en-DIP-i-ter), serendipitist (SER-en-DIP-i-tist), and serendipper (SER-en-DIP-er) all nouns.

simplistic (sim-PLIS-tik)

From English simple, a word that is well understood.

Simplistic, on the other hand, is one of the words that bedevil people who fail to understand its correct use in English.

oversimplified.

“One great danger is to approach a very complex problem with a simplistic solution in mind.”

Related words: simplistically (sim-PLIS-ti-ke-lee) adverb; simplism (SIM-pliz-em) noun.

sinistrous (SIN-e-stres)

From Latin sinister, meaning “left, on the left hand”; also, as one might expect, “perverse, unfavorable.”

Also given as sinistral (SIN-e-strel).

Now you can understand why our superstitious society traditionally has been less than fair with left-handed persons.

inauspicious; baleful, ill-omened, disastrous.

“He looked upon every instance of bad luck as a sinistrous omen of what was awaiting him in the future.”

Related word: sinistrously (SIN-e-stres-lee) adverb.

Sisyphean (SIS-e-FEE-en)

From the name Sisyphus (SIS-e-fes), in transliterated Greek written Sisypheios, a minor figure in Greek legend who was condemned for his trickery and punished by the gods by being forced forever to roll a boulder uphill.

Unfortunately for him, each time he got near the top the boulder would slip from his grasp and roll all the way downhill. This gave us the phrases Sisyphean task, Sisyphean labor, and the rest for an “impossibly hard, never-ending job.”

of a task: endless and unavailing.

“Among the many Sisyphean odd jobs he was told to do was that of daily scrubbing the many lavatories and their toilets, which were used and abused all day and night.”

slatternly (SLAT-ern-lee)

An ugly English word from English slattern, meaning “slut, harlot”; perhaps from slatter, an archaic verb meaning “to spill or splash.”

of persons: slovenly, untidy; having such ways.

“When she left her job, she began to neglect her appearance and soon became slatternly.”

Related words: slatternly (SLAT-ern-lee) adverb; slattern (SLAT-ern) noun.

sloe-eyed (SLOH-ID)

From German Schlehe, meaning “sloe; wild plum,” + English -eyed.

The sloe is Prunus spinosa, a name that suggests thorny or prickly fruit, and anyone who has been privy to a shot of sloe gin knows its very taste is also thorny or prickly, if that can be imagined. At any rate, we owe thanks to the unrecorded originator of the famous Ramos Gin Fizz, a native New Orleans concoction delicious to the taste, which lives on to this day to remind us that in the right quantity the thorniest addition to any substance can result in a thing of beauty.

dark-eyed; having very dark eyes naturally or through artifice.

“Whenever the sloe-eyed girl known as Tangerine entered any nightclub in the French Quarter, the music stopped at once, and the band went immediately into her theme song.”

Related word: sloe (sloh) noun.

sluggardly (SLUG-erd-lee)

From the English noun sluggard, from slug, an archaic verb meaning “to be sluggish”; from Middle English slogarde, a noun meaning “sluggardly or slothful person.” The adjective is also given as sluggard (SLUG-erd).

slothful; lazy, indolent.

“There was no question that a sluggardly person unused to the rapid-fire questions facing him every day would not last very long in the new job.”

Related words: sluggard (SLUG-erd) noun and adjective; sluggardliness (SLUG-erd-lee-nis) noun.

See also cunctative.

snafu (sna-FOO)

From American World War II military slang, acronym for “situation normal: all fucked up,” expressing the dogged resignation of infantrymen who are accustomed to periods of waiting and to uncomfortable and generally disagreeable conditions induced by uncaring and inexperienced second lieutenants who lack even perfunctory knowledge of combat.

Also given as “situation normal: all fouled up” when explaining the vicissitudes of warfare to innocent civilians and to baby-faced lieutenants.

Our rich language also attempted to establish fubar (FOO-bar) to convey the same meaning given by snafu, suggesting fucked up beyond all recognition, with the bowdlerized fouled up also provided as more suitable than fucked up for a younger audience. But this fanciful acronym seems to have disappeared.

chaotic, confused, muddled.

“Anyone who knows the fellow and his ways will surely understand why everything he does is usually snafu.”

snide (snId)

Of uncertain origin.

1. slyly derogatory.

“Larry was a snide smart aleck who used public criticism of his students to show off his superiority.”

2. insinuating, sneering.

“The agony of sitting through one hour of the young professor's snide evaluations of our term papers would readily show why we object to his gaining tenure.”

Related word: snideness (SNID-nis) noun.

soigné (swahn-YAY)

From the French past participle of the infinitive soigner, meaning “to take care of”; from soin, meaning “a care.” Also given in the feminine form as soignée.

well groomed; carefully prepared, designed, or dressed; sophisticated.

“The aging actress was still perfectly soignée when she appeared in public even though she had not made a movie in years.”

solicitous (se-LIS-i-tes)

From Latin sollicitus, meaning “anxious, troubled”; from infinitive sollicitare, meaning “to agitate, excite.”

eager; anxious and concerned about; taking utmost heed or care.

“He was always solicitous of his mother's well-being even when there were others to look after her.”

Related words: solicit (se-LIS-it) verb; solicitor (se-LIS-i-ter), solicitation (se-LIS-i-TAY-shen), solicitude (se-LIS-i-TOOD), and solicitousness (se-LIS-i-tes-nis), all nouns; solicitously (se-LIS-i-tes-lee) adverb.

somnolent (SOM-ne-lent)

From Latin somnolentus, from somnus, meaning “sleep,” + -ulent, an English suffix borrowed from Latin suffix -ulentus and also meaning “full of.”

Also given as somnifacient (SOM-ne-FAY-shent) and somniferous (som-NIF-er-es). See also soporiferous.

of persons: drowsy, sleepy, heavy with sleep; of conditions or drugs: tending to induce sleep.

“There's nothing like the lapping noise of a gentle oceanfront to induce a much-needed somnolent state in overstressed men and women.”

Related words: somnolence (SOM-ne-lens) and somnolency (SOM-ne-len-see) both nouns; somnolently (SOM-ne-lent-lee) adverb.

soporiferous (SOP-e-RIF-er-es)

From Latin soporifer, meaning “drowsy; causing sleep.” See also somnolent.

soporific; sleepy, drowsy; inducing sleep.

“His specialty was soporiferous explanation of phenomena no one cared about or listened to.”

Related words: soporiferously (SOP-e-RIF-er-es-lee) adverb; soporiferousness (SOP-e-RIF-er-es-nis) noun.

specious (SPEE-shes)

From Latin speciosus, meaning “showy, beautiful; fair.”

superficially pleasing; intended to make a favorable impression though lacking real merit.

“We had become accustomed to his specious arguments and regarded his promotion to a high position with the greatest skepticism.”

Related words: speciously (SPEE-shes-lee) adverb; speciosity (SPEE-shee-OS-i-tee) and speciousness (SPEE-shes-nis) both nouns.

splenetic (spli-NET-ik)

From Late Latin spleneticus, from splen, meaning the noun “spleen,” the organ of the body that old-time physicians used to blame for all who showed signs of peevishness or irritability.

Also given as splenetical (spli-NET-i-kel) and as splenic (SPLEE-nik).

Whereas modern physicians identify the psyche—wherever that is—as the source of some persons' physical ailments, it earlier was the custom to blame a specific bodily organ or a misfunctioning thereof for any mystifying symptom, thus enriching our language—splenetic, an adjective made from “spleen,” is a linguistic hangover of this tendency.

irascible; testy, irritable, spiteful.

“We had to be careful in their house not to irritate their splenetic grandfather.”

Related word: splenetically (spli-NET-i-ke-lee) adverb.

spumescent (spyoo-MES-ent)

From English spume, from Latin spuma, meaning “foam, froth,” + -escent, an adjectival suffix meaning “becoming.”

foamlike, frothy; foamy.

“The motorboat sped by, leaving a spumescent trail hundreds of feet long and rocking all the little boats in its wake.”

Related word: spumescence (spyoo-MES-ens) noun.

spurious (SPYUUR-ee-es)

From Latin spurius, meaning “bastard; false.”

not genuine; of illegitimate birth, bastard; adulterous.

“Not until he had been on the job for several years did we learn that his credentials were entirely spurious.”

Related words: spuriously (SPYUUR-ee-es-lee) adverb; spuriousness (SPYUUR-ee-es-nis) noun.

staid (stayd)

Adjectival use of English stayed, past participle of stay.

of a person: of grave deportment, settled in character, dignified in conduct.

“Much to Owen's surprise, his staid manners appealed to parents but turned off young girls.”

Related words: staidly (STAYD-lee) adverb; staidness (STAYD-nis) noun.

steatopygic (stee-AT-e-PI-jik)

From Greek prefix steat, meaning “fat,” + o, to make steato, a combining form meaning fat + pyge, meaning “buttocks.”

Also given as steatopygous (stee-AT-e-PI-ges).

said especially of women: given to steatopygia, excessive development of fat on the buttocks.

“In some cultures a steatopygic physique is considered attractive, in others just something to work off at the gym.”

Related word: steatopygia (stee-AT-e-PI-jee-e) noun.

stentorian (sten-TOR-ee-en)

From Stentor, the name of a Greek warrior in the Trojan War. According to Homer, “his voice was as powerful as fifty combined voices of other men.”

Also given as stentorious (sten-TOR-ee-es).

of the voice or uttered sounds: very loud or powerful.

“The principal's stentorian commands needed no microphone to amplify his orders.”

Related words: stentorianly (sten-TOR-ee-en-lee) and stentoriously (sten-TOR-ee-es-lee) both adverbs.

stertorous (STUR-ter-es)

From English stertor, meaning “a heavy snoring sound,” from Latin infinitive stertere, meaning “to snore.”

sounding like breathing in the manner of snoring; characterized by snoring.

“His stertorous breathing indicated that he was finally asleep, but the snoring was keeping me awake.”

Related words: stertorously (STUR-ter-es-lee) adverb; stertorousness (STUR-ter-es-nis) noun.

straitlaced (STRAYT-LAYST)

From Middle English streit, from Latin strictus, past participle of infinitive stringere, meaning “to bind,” + laced, past participle of infinitive laqueare, meaning “to enclose in a noose”; from laqueus, meaning “a noose, snare, halter, trap.”

of persons: prudish, puritanical, excessively strict in conduct or morality. Mistakenly spelled straightlaced.

“Most of my friends are careful in their customs and behavior, but not to the point of being straitlaced.”

Related words: straitlacedly (STRAYT-LAY-sid-lee) adverb; straitlacedness (STRAYT-LAY-sid-nis) noun.

stramineous (stre-MIN-ee-es)

From Latin stramineus, meaning “of straw”; from stramen or stramentum, meaning “straw, litter,” which is straw, hay, or the like used as bedding for animals.

resembling straw; straw colored.

“Rebecca, out in the sun all summer, had seen her hair turn stramineous.”

strepitous (STREP-i-tes)

From Latin strepitus, meaning “noise, clatter”; from strepere, infinitive meaning “to make a noise,” and Italian strepitoso, meaning “noisy,” generally a musical term.

Also given as strepitant (STREP-i-tent).

noisy, boisterous; accompanied by much noise.

“I found the sound track so strepitous that I could not follow the dialogue.”

stridulous (STRIJ-e-les)

From Latin stridulus, meaning “creaking, hissing, whistling”; from infinitive stridere, meaning “to creak, hiss, shriek, whistle.”

Also given as stridulant (STRIJ-e-lent).

emitting or producing a shrill grating sound; of a voice or sound: harsh, shrill, grating.

“The piercing screaming of her stridulous children gave me a headache.”

Related words: stridulously (STRIJ-e-les-lee) adverb; stridulousness (STRIJ-e-les-nis) noun.

stupefacient (STOO-pe-FAY-shent)

From Latin stupefaciens, present participle of infinitive stupefacere, meaning “to stun, astound.”

Also given as stupefactive (STOO-pe-FAK-tiv).

stupefying; producing stupor.

“By the time he had sipped enough of the liquor to realize it was stupefacient, he knew he had already begun to lapse into happy unconsciousness.”

Related words: stupefyingly (STOO-pe-FI-ing-lee) adverb; stupefaction (STOO-pe-FAK-shen), stupefiedness (STOO-pe-FID-nis), and stupefier (STOO-pe-FI-er), all nouns; stupefy (STOO-pe-FI) verb.

subfuscous (sub-FUS-kes)

From Latin subfuscus, from prefix sub-, meaning “nearly,” + fuscus, meaning “dark, swarthy.”

Also given as slang subfusc (sub-FUSK).

of dusky, somber, or dull hue; dingy, drab.

“She had a sunny, optimistic disposition, so I was surprised when I saw her painting to discover that she used a subfuscous palette.”

succedent (sek-SEED-nt)

From Latin succedens, present participle of infinitive succedere, meaning “to succeed.”

Also given as succeeding (sek-SEE-ding).

subsequent; following, succeeding.

“Little is known of the formal proceedings of the society in its first years, but succedent generations have left detailed, informative accounts of the monthly meetings.”

Related words: succeed (sek-SEED) verb; succeedingly (sek-SEED-ing-lee) adverb; succeedable (sek-SEED-e-bel) adjective; succeeder (sek-SEED-er) noun.

succinct (sek-SINGKT)

From Latin succinctus, past participle of infinitive succingere, from sub-, meaning “under,” + cingere, meaning “to gird.”

We can think of succingere, then, as “to prepare for action: gird up, tuck up, equip, arm.” And we can understand how all these latter definitions can be part of preparing for action.

of a story: brief and concise; compressed, expressed in few words.

“Professor Goodman made much of the importance of offering succinct verbal pictures in order to achieve realistic, fast-moving fiction.”

Related words: succinctly (sek-SINGKT-lee) adverb; succinctness (sek-SINGKT-nis) noun.

sudorific (SOO-de-RIF-ik)

From Latin sudorificus, from sudor, meaning “sweat, perspiration; hard work, exertion”; from infinitive sudare, meaning “to sweat.”

Also given as sudoriferous (SOO-de-RIF-er-es) and sudoriparous (SOO-de-RIP-er-es).

diaphoretic; perspiratory; promoting or causing perspiration.

“Eating has a sudorific effect on Andy Sipowicz, which he feels impelled to explain to his dates.”

Related word: sudoriferousness (SOO-de-RIF-er-es-nis) noun.

superannuated (SOO-per-AN-yoo-AY-tid)

From Medieval Latin superannatus, said of cattle and meaning “over a year old,” from super “beyond” + annum “a year.”

1. of persons: disqualified or incapacitated by age or infirmities.

“Only when it happens to you can you begin to understand what it means to be told you are superannuated and must, therefore, accept the idea there is no place for you anymore in the organization to which you have given most of your life.”

2. of things or abstractions: antiquated, worn out, obsolete.

“Most of my own ideas have been discarded as superannuated even though I believe they are as good as anything around today.”

Related words: superannuate (SOO-per-AN-yoo-AYT) verb; superannuation (SOO-per-AN-yoo-AY-shen) noun.

supercilious (SOO-per-SIL-ee-es)

From Latin superciliosus, from supercilium, meaning “eyebrow,” from super-, a prefix meaning “above” + cilium, meaning “eyelid.”

The most interesting aspect of supercilium is that it also means “arrogance.” So now we understand an important rôle of the eyebrow.

haughtily contemptuous in character or behavior; marked by an air of contemptuous superiority or disdain; dictatorial, arbitrary, overbearing.

“His supercilious arrogance is deflated only when he is discovered to have made a flagrant error.”

Related words: superciliously (SOO-per-SIL-ee-es-lee) adverb; superciliary (SOO-per-SIL-ee-ER-ee) adjective; superciliousness (SOO-per-SIL-ee-es-nis) noun.

supine (soo-PIN)

From Latin supinus, meaning “lying on one's back faceup” and “inactive.”

These definitions lent the imprimatur of Roman notions of character to our stern schoolmasters of generations past who endlessly preached the need for industrious scholars to sit straight up in their seats if they wanted ever to achieve anything worthwhile in life.

1. lying on the back; face or front upward.

“He understood that landing supine after an enemy bomb had exploded near him had kept his nose above the sea of mud around

him and made it possible for him to breathe until he was rescued by men in his squad.”

2. morally or mentally inactive; inert, indolent.

“Fortunately, Edmund soon realized he had been leading a supine life unsuitable for a person of his great talent and mental ability.”

Related words: supinely (soo-PIN-lee) adverb; supineness (soo-PIN-nis) noun.

susurrant (suu-SUR-ent)

From Latin susurrans, present participle of infinitive susurrare, meaning “to murmur, buzz, whisper.”

The adjective susurrous (suu-SUR-es) is also heard.

of the nature of a whisper; full of whispering or murmuring sounds.

“The susurrant wind in the trees had the effect of lulling me to sleep.”

Related words: susurration (SOO-se-RAY-shen) and susurrus (suu-SUR-es) both nouns.

synergetic (SIN-er-JET-ik)

From Greek synergetikós, from prefix syn-, meaning “together,” + ergetikos, a form of the infinitive ergein, meaning “to be active.”

cooperative; working together.

“One of his goals was to exploit the full benefits of synergetic activity in his department so that each element would profit from cooperation with other elements.”

Related words: synergism (SIN-er-JIZ-em) and synergy (SIN-er-jee) both nouns; synergistic (SIN-er-JIS-tik) and synergic (si-NUR-jik) both adjectives; synergistically (SIN-er-JIS-tik-ke-lee) adverb.

T

tabescent (te-BES-ent)

From Latin tabescens, present participle of tabescere, meaning “beginning to waste away”; from infinitive tabere, meaning “to waste away.”

Also given as tabetic (te-BET-ik).

becoming emaciated; wasting away.

“The tabescent model's appearance led us to wonder whether she would survive the demands of our autumn schedule.”

Related words: tabes (TAY-beez) and tabescence (te-BES-ens) both nouns.

tacit (TAS-it)

From Latin tacitus, meaning “silent,” past participle of infinitive tacere, meaning “to be silent.” See also taciturn.

implicit, understood; unspoken, unvoiced; saying nothing, still, silent.

“I thought we had your tacit approval of the entire scheme when you said there was no need for a written agreement.”

Related words: tacitly (TAS-it-lee) adverb; tacitness (TAS-it-nis) noun.

taciturn (TAS-i-TURN)

From Latin taciturnus, meaning “quiet, silent.”

See also tacit.

of few words, saying little; characterized by disinclination to conversation; uncommunicative.

“Imagine my dismay when I found I was seated between two taciturn bankers who would never say a word.”

Related words: taciturnly (TAS-i-TURN-lee) adverb; taciturnity (TAS-i-TUR-ni-tee) noun.

tactless (TAKT-lis)

From English tact, meaning “sensitivity,” + -less, a suffix meaning “without.”

showing no tact; offendingly blunt.

“He said his shin was raw after a dinner during which he was kicked by his wife under the table every time he let fly with one of his tactless remarks.”

Related words: tactlessly (TAKT-lis-lee) adverb; tactlessness (TAKT-lis-nis) noun.

tangential (tan-JEN-shel)

From English tangent, meaning “slightly connected,” + -ial, an adjectival suffix meaning “of the type of.”

digressive; divergent; merely touching a subject or matter.

“Much of what he said to us was at best only tangential to our true concerns and not worth the time and attention we were obliged to give it.”

Related words: tangentially (tan-JEN-she-lee) adverb; tangentiality (tan-JEN-shee-AL-i-tee) noun.

tarty (TAHR-tee)

From English noun tart, meaning “a prostitute or promiscuous woman or girl,” + -y, an adjectival suffix meaning “inclined to.”

cheap; suggestive of a woman of low moral character.

“When he brought a tarty looking woman to a family dinner, we concluded he was either deliberately trying to offend us or had taken leave of his senses.”

Related word: tart (tahrt) noun.

temerarious (TEM-e-RAIR-ee-es)

From Latin temerarius, meaning “accidental, rash, thoughtless”; from temere, an adverb meaning “by chance, at random; rashly, thoughtlessly”; from the noun temeritas, meaning “chance, rashness, thoughtlessness.”

rash; reckless, heedless; unreasonably adventurous.

“The inexperienced young man's temerarious venture into the world of finance was immediately seen as an ill-advised disaster.”

Related words: temerariously (TEM-e-RAIR-ee-es-lee) adverb; temerariousness (TEM-e-RAIR-ee-es-nis) and temerity (te-MER-i-tee) both nouns.

tendentious (ten-DEN-shes)

From Medieval Latin tendentia, meaning “tendency,” + -ous, an adjectival suffix meaning “possessing.”

showing or having a definite bias, purpose, or tendency.

“The first plan was never seriously considered because the author's motivation was so obviously tendentious.”

Related words: tendency (TEN-den-see) and tendentiousness (ten-DEN-shes-nis) both nouns; tendentiously (ten-DEN-shes-lee) adverb.

tenebrous (TEN-e-bres)

From Latin tenebrosus, meaning “dark, gloomy”; from tenebrae, meaning “darkness, night; unconsciousnees, death, blindness.”

Also given as tenebrious (te-NEB-ree-es), meaning “dark, gloomy,” and tenebrific (TEN-e-BRIF-ik), meaning “producing darkness.”

gloomy; dark, obscure.

“The campers hoped that the pale dawn light would bring to a happy conclusion their tenebrous forebodings.”

tenuous (TEN-yuu-es)

From Latin tenuis, meaning “thin.”

of slight significance; having little substance or validity; thin in form or consistency.

“The tenuous defense the attorney offered surprised all of us at the time but finally was shown to have much more substance than we had thought.”

Related words: tenuity (te-NOO-i-tee) and tenuousness (TEN-yoo-es-nis) both nouns; tenuously (TEN-yoo-es-lee) adverb.

tepid (TEP-id)

From Latin tepidus, meaning “warm, lukewarm,” from infinitive tepere, meaning “to be lukewarm.”

Some insight is provided into the figurative meaning of tepid by a secondary meaning of the Latin verb tepere, “to be in love.” An extraordinary linguistic insight of Romans, who clearly suggested there were degrees of romantic interest.

lukewarm; moderately warm; unenthusiastic; lacking force.

“The tepid reviews her book began to receive were disappointing and dispiriting.”

Related words: tepidly (TEP-id-lee) adverb; tepidity (te-PID-i-tee) and tepidness (TEP-id-nis) both nouns.

testate (TES-tayt)

From Latin testatus, past participle of infinitive testari, meaning “to bear witness; to make a will”; from the noun testis, “a witness.”

But, of course, the English testis (TES-tis) also means “testicle,” in Latin usually given as testiculus. Until the present, no one has managed to make the act of swearing an oath more convincing than the way the Romans did it, finding the grabbing of one's own genitals infinitely more demonstrative than holding one's right hand upward while touching a Bible with the left. Yet we immmediately notice the linguistic similarity between testament and testicle—both eventually from testari, as shown above.

Testate is one of those positive words that are made negative by adding the prefix in-, meaning “not.” Yet we are more accustomed to the orneriness of dying Americans who willingly go to their great reward intestate (in-TES-tayt) than we are to the somewhat lesser number who willfully prefer to be testate. (All puns here are intentional.)

of a person: someone who has left a valid will at death.

“It makes life much easier for heirs who find out that persons they mourn have died testate rather than intestate.”

Related words: testacy (TES-te-see) noun; testamentary (TES-te-MEN-te-ree) adjective; testator (TES-tay-ter) and testatrix (te-STAY-triks) both nouns.

testis. See testate.

thaumaturgic (THAW-me-TUR-jik)

From Greek thaumatourgós, from thaumato-, meaning “miracle, wonder,” + -ourgos, meaning “work,” + -ic, an adjectival suffix meaning “having the characteristic of.”

Also given as thaumaturgical (THAW-me-TUR-ji-kel).

wonder-working; with the power of performing miracles or marvels.

“Who does not wistfully long to recapture an innocent belief in such thaumaturgic institutions as a magician's tricks, Santa Claus, and the tooth fairy?”

Related words: thaumaturge (THAW-me-TURJ) and thaumaturgy (THAW-me-TUR-jee) both nouns.

thersitical (ther-SIT-i-kel)

In Greek legend Thersites (ther-SI-teez) was an unpopular Greek officer at the siege of Troy—deformed, abusive, reviling, scurrilous, and given to railing at his chiefs.

And how did things turn out for Thersites? Achilles, with but a single punch, knocked him down and permanently out.

scurrilous; foul-mouthed, reviling.

“All I remember about the company first sergeant is that he never missed a chance to be vicious and thersitical.”

thrasonical (thray-SAHN-i-kel)

From the name of the braggart Thraso in the play Eunuchus by the Roman playwright Terence, the Latin Eunuchus in the title, of course, meaning “a eunuch.”

vainglorious; bragging, boastful.

“He thought he was impressing her with accounts of his accomplishments, but actually she was repelled by his thrasonical rambling.”

timorous (TIM-er-es)

From Latin timor, meaning “fear, alarm; a terror,” + -osus, akin to English -ous, an adjectival suffix meaning “full of.”

fearful; frightened, apprehensive; timid.

“Characteristically, he was so timorous that he stayed behind on shore while all the other boys ran recklessly into the rapids and were immediately swept away, never to be heard from again.”

Related words: timorously (TIM-er-es-lee) adverb; timorousness (TIM-er-es-nis) noun.

tintinnabular (TIN-ti-NAB-ye-ler)

From Latin tintinnabulum, meaning “a small tinkling bell”; from infinitive tintinare, meaning “to ring.”

Also given as tintinabulary (TIN-ti-NAB-ye-LER-ee) and as tintinnabulous (TIN-ti-NAB-ye-les).

pertaining to bells or bell ringing.

“The tintinnabular sound of the familiar church bells never fails to thrill me.”

Related word: tintinnabulation (TIN-ti-NAB-ye-LAY-shen) noun.

titian (TISH-en)

From the name Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), a great Italian artist who died in 1576, leaving several paintings in which titian-color hair was painted.

having reddish brown (titian) hair, also expressed as bright golden auburn hair.

“Hazel's titian hair was burnished in the sunlight, which brought out all its red and gold.”

tonsorial (ton-SOR-ee-el)

From Latin tonsorius, meaning “for shaving”; from infinitive tondere, meaning “to shave.”

often used humorously: pertaining to a barber or his work of trimming hair.

“His business cards identified him as “Al, Your Friendly Tonsorial Artist.”

toothsome (TOOTH-sem)

From English tooth, which everybody knows, + -some, an adjectival suffix; hence a word meaning “palatable” as well as “sexually enticing or alluring.”

1. savory, appetizing; attractive to the palate.

“To top off an evening of fine dining, our hostess served us a toothsome collection of five-flavored ice creams atop a sponge cake, all of which she had prepared from start to finish.”

2. voluptuous; sexually alluring.

“Little did she know her husband had arranged for us to be escorted that evening by three toothsome Hollywood starlets.”

Related words: toothsomely (TOOTH-sem-lee) adverb; toothsomeness (TOOTH-sem-nis) noun.

torpid (TOR-pid)

From Latin torpidus, meaning “numb, benumbed,” from infinitive torpere, meaning “to be stiff or numb; to be stupefied.”

Also given as torporific (TOR-pe-RIF-ik).

dormant, benumbed; slow, sluggish; apathetic, stupefied.

“A heavy dinner left us torpid, too dull to appreciate the fine play we were seeing.”

Related words: torpidly (TOR-pid-lee) adverb; torpor (TOR-per), torpidity (tor-PID-i-tee), and torpidness (TOR-pid-nis) all nouns.

tortuous (TOR-choo-es)

From Latin tortuosus, meaning “winding; complicated.”

See also the word torturous (TOR-cher-es), which follows.

1. twisting, turning; sinuous.

“Fred did not know his passenger was rigid with fear as he maneuvered the tortuous hairpin turns of the mountain road.”

2. devious; crooked; indirect, circuitous.

“The last advice he was given was to be on his guard when dealing with her tortuous schemes.”

Related words: tortuously (TOR-choo-es-lee) adverb; tortuousness (TOR-choo-es-nis) noun.

torturous (TOR-cher-es)

From Late Latin tortura, meaning “torture.”

Remember that a tortuous presentation is full of twists and turns, but torturous treatment involves physical and emotional suffering and can make you sorry you ever were born.

excruciating; involving or causing suffering or torture.

“Interrogations in prison camps are typically long and torturous, almost inevitably resulting in false confessions.”

Related words: torture (TOR-cher) verb and noun; torturously (TOR-cher-es-lee) adverb.

tramontane (tre-MON-tayn)

From Latin transmontanus, literally meaning “beyond the mountains,” also given as transmontane (trans-mon-TAYN), and just another way of indicating the narrowness of people who live in big cities.

Among the Romans this was a way of saying “on the other side of the Alps,” which meant a place so foreign and obscure that when you got there you were nowhere. Sort of like North Dakota.

Little did the Romans know that at the same time the Swiss, the actual tramontane people they derogated, also managed to think of the Romans, their big city cousins, as being the people “on the other side of the Alps.”

foreign, barbarous; being from the boondocks, the other side of the mountains.

“Never did most of the people speak out against the tramontane interlopers until they realized that native citizens constituted less than half the country's population.”

transmontane. See tramontane.

traumatic (tre-MAT-ik)

From Greek traumatikós, meaning “pertaining to wounds.”

caused by a wound or an emotional shock; psychologically painful.

“Separation of children from their parents had an even more traumatic effect than the bombings themselves.”

Related words: traumatically (tre-MAT-i-ke-lee) adverb; trauma (TROW-me) and traumatology (TROW-me-TOL-e-jee) both nouns; traumatize (TROW-me-TIZ) verb.

tremulous (TREM-ye-les)

From Latin tremulus, an adjective meaning “trembling, shivering”; from infinitive tremere, meaning “to tremble, to shake.”

Also given as tremulant (TREM-ye-lent).

1. of persons: affected by trembling or quivering from weakness or from fear or nervous agitation.

“By the time David had recovered his voice, it was so tremulous that few of us were able to understand what he was trying to say.”

2. of things or handwriting: characterized by trembling or vibration; vibratory, easily caused to tremble.

“His handwriting had become so tremulous after his illness that it was barely legible.”

Related words: tremulously (TREM-ye-les-lee) adverb; tremorous (TREM-er-es) adjective; tremulousness (TREM-ye-les-nis) and tremor (TREM-er) both nouns.

trenchant (TREN-chent)

From Old French trenchant, present participle of infinitive trenchier, meaning “to cut.”

incisive, vigorous and clear; effective, energetic; sharply defined.

“The columnist's trenchant wit may have caused a few to wince as they read, but no reader could claim that any of the columns she wrote were actually unfair.”

Related words: trench (trench) verb; trenchantly (TREN-chent-lee) adverb; trenchancy (TREN-chen-see) noun.

trepid (TREP-id)

From Latin trepidus, meaning “scared, alarmed; alarming, perilous.”

Trepid is a word we may not know until we think for a moment of its better-known cousin intrepid, meaning “dauntless, fearless.” No one ever named a battleship The Trepid, did they?

Also given as trepidant (TREP-i-dent), from the present participle of the infinitive trepidare, meaning “to be agitated, bustle about.”

apprehensive; fearful, trembling from fear.

“The trepid little boy took the hand of the equally fearful young girl as they stepped onto the dance floor for their first dancing lesson.”

Related word: trepidation (TREP-i-DAY-shen) noun.

troglodytic (TROG-le-DIT-ik)

From Latin troglodyta, from Greek troglodytes, meaning “cave dweller”; literally, “one who crawls into holes.”

The ancient Greeks gave the name troglodytes (TROG-le-DITS) to uncivilized people who lived in caves or holes in the ground. Best known among them were said to be the subterranean types who lived in Ethiopia.

Also given as troglodytical (TROG-le-DIT-i-kel).

1. cave dwelling; having the habits of reclusive persons living in holes in the ground.

“Patient digging by dozens of graduate students enabled paleontologists to publish revealing accounts of the troglodytic lives of prehistoric humankind.”

2. hermitic; withdrawn from the affairs of the world.

“Once the neighbor's children had left home and never returned, she and her husband withdrew into troglodytic existences, leaving their house only to shop for necessities.”

Related words: troglobiont (TROG-le-BI-ent), troglobite (TROG-le-BIT), and troglodytism (TROG-le-dI-TIZ-em) all nouns.

truculent (TRUK-ye-lent)

From Latin truculentus, meaning “ferocious, grim, wild”; from trux, meaning “savage, fierce.”

1. vitriolic; scathing, savage; brutally harsh.

“Almost every word in his truculent paragraphs of criticism seems to have been written with a pen dipped in venom.”

2. barbarous; aggressively hostile; fierce, cruel.

“The truculent enemy left needlessly burned villages and savagely slain victims in its wake.”

Related words: truculence (TRUK-ye-lens) and truculency (TRUK-ye-len-see) both nouns; truculently (TRUK-ye-lent-lee) adverb.

tumid (TOO-mid)

From Latin tumidus, meaning “swollen, swelling”; from infinitive tumere, meaning “to swell.”

It is important to note that tumidus also has the meanings of “bombastic” and “excited and enraged.”

1. of a body part: swollen, bulging.

“When the doctor saw my tumid foot, which could no longer fit into my shoe, he immediately recognized a case of gout.”

2. of pompous language: turgid; inflated, bombastic.

“Her writing was tumid and pretentious rather than incisive, as she had intended.”

Related words: tumidly (TOO-mid-lee) adverb; tumidity (too-MID-i-tee) and tumidness (TOO-mid-nis) noun.

turgescent (tur-JES-ent)

From Latin turgescens, present participle of infinitive turgescere, meaning “to swell up, begin to swell.”

A note on mental health: the Latin verb is also translated as “to become enraged.” Be careful.

becoming swollen; swelling, growing bigger.

“In time her turgescent breasts will undoubtedly prove more than adequate for feeding the new infant.”

See also turgid.

Related words: turgor (TUR-ger), turgescence (tur-JES-ens), and turgescency (tur-JES-en-see) all nouns.

turgid (TUR-jid)

From Latin turgidus, meaning “swollen or distended; bombastic”; from infinitive turgere, meaning “to swell, be swollen.” The verb turgere may also be translated as “to be bombastic.”

See also tumid.

1. distended; swollen, puffed out.

“Especially because early fighters' fists were not padded with gloves, it was not uncommon after a bout to be unable to see eyes in the turgid faces of the competitors.”

2. of language: tumid; inflated, grandiloquent, bombastic.

“Jack found it next to impossible to write simply and clearly, instead preferring turgid prose.”

Related words: turgidity (tur-JID-i-tee) and turgidness (TUR-jid-nis) both nouns; turgidly (TUR-jid-lee) adverb.

U

ubiquitous (yoo-BIK-wi-tes)

From Neo-Latin ubiquitarius, meaning “everywhere at once”; in English given formerly as ubiquitary; from Latin adverb ubique, meaning “everywhere.”

omnipresent; present or appearing everywhere; everywhere at the same time.

“Jack on his first trip to Paris found it true that everywhere he went he could find one of the ubiquitous little cafés he had been told to expect.”

Related words: ubiquity (yoo-BIK-wi-tee) and ubiquitousness (yoo-BIK-wi-tes-nis) both nouns; ubiquitously (yoo-BIK-wi-tes-lee) adverb.

ufological (YOO-fe-LOJ-i-kel)

From English unidentified flying object + -logy, combining form meaning “study of.”

of or pertaining to the study of so-called unidentified flying objects.

“Ramon was spending all his time reading what purported to be authentic ufological reports of sightings of strange celestial phenomena.”

Related words: ufology (yoo-FOL-e-jee) and ufologist (yoo-FOL-e-jist) both nouns.

uliginous (yoo-LIJ-e-nes)

From Latin uliginosus, meaning “wet, full of moisture”; from uligo, meaning “moisture, marshiness.”

Also given as uliginose (yoo-LIJ-e-NOHS).

swampy; slimy; of marshes or water-logged places.

“An unusually long rainy season made the region especially uliginous that year.”

ulotrichous (yoo-LOT-ri-kes)

From Greek oulótrichos, meaning “curly haired”; from oûlos, “crisp, curly,” + -trichos, a combining form meaning “haired,” from thrix, meaning “hair.”

of a group of people said to have what was called woolly hair.

“Europeans exploring continents away from home mistakenly reported they had discovered new species of mankind when they observed ulotrichous men and women for the first time.”

Related word: ulotrichy (yoo-LOT-ri-kee) noun.

ululant (UL-ye-lent)

From Latin ululans, present participle of infinitive ululare, meaning “to shriek, howl”; perhaps of imitative origin.

having the character of ululation; howling, wailing.

“The ululant wolves kept them awake until daybreak, when almost on signal the beasts suddenly stopped their yowling.”

Related words: ululate (UL-ye-LAYT) verb; ululation (UL-ye-LAY-shen) noun.

umbrageous (um-BRAY-jes)

From English umbrage, meaning “shadowy appearance; offense, annoyance”; from Latin umbra, meaning “shade, shadow; ghost.”

See also umbriferous.

1. shady; forming or affording shade; abounding in shade.

“Our architect told us that in a few years the driveway to our house would be umbrageous unless we controlled the growth of our trees.

2. of persons: jealous, suspicious; inclined or apt to take offense.

“In the little town the only persons I found to be umbrageous were the old-timers, perhaps because they were afraid of the other changes that newcomers were bringing.”

Related words: umbrageously (um-BRAY-jes-lee) adverb; umbrageousness (um-BRAY-jes-nis) and umbrage (UM-brij) both nouns.

umbriferous (um-BRIF-er-es)

From Latin umbrifer, meaning “shady, shade bringing.”

umbrageous; affording shade.

“The old elm provided an umbriferous place in which to rest after hiking in the noonday sun.”

Related words: umbriferously (um-BRIF-er-es-lee) adverb; umbriferousness (um-BRIF-er-es-nis) noun.

unambiguous (UN-am-BIG-yoo-es). See unequivocal.

unconscionable (un-KON-she-ne-bel)

From English un-, meaning “not,” + conscience, meaning “the sense of what is right and what is wrong.”

1. unscrupulous; not guided by conscience; free from anxiety.

“They accused me of being an unconscionable old thief who would steal from his own grandmother if he could get away with it.”

2. extortionate; outrageous, excessive.

“That hardware store charges unconscionable prices for its merchandise and manages to get away with the practice because it is the only store of its type for miles around.”

Related words: unconscionably (un-KON-she-ne-blee) adverb; unconscionableness (un-KON-she-ne-bel-nis) noun.

unctuous (UNGK-choo-es)

From Medieval Latin unctuosus, from Latin unctus, meaning “the act of anointing,” from infinitive unguere, meaning “to anoint, smear, grease.”

1. smug; excessively pious; excessively smooth.

“While some were flattered by his obsequious attentions, others thought he was an unctuous social climber.”

2. oily, greasy.

“The unctuous matter that exuded from the infection had so bad an odor that it caused some of the medical students to gag.”

Related words: unction (UNGK-shen), unctuousness (UNGK-choo-es-nis), and unctuosity (UNGK-choo-OS-i-tee) all nouns; unctuously (UNGK-choo-es-lee) adverb.

undulant (UN-je-lent)

From English undulate, meaning “to cause to move in waves”; from the Latin adjective undulatus, meaning “waved.”

undulating; moving in the manner of waves; rising and falling like waves.

“Her undulant hula dance was enhanced by the rhythmic movement of her grass skirt.”

Related words: undulate (UN-je-LAYT) verb; undulation (UN-je-LAY-shen) and undulator (UN-je-LAY-ter) both nouns; undulative (UN-je-LAY-tiv) adjective.

unequivocal (UN-i-KWIV-e-kel)

From English un-, meaning “not,” + equivocal, meaning “ambiguous”; from Late Latin aequivocus with the same meaning.

Also given as unambiguous.

unambiguous; having only one correct interpretation; absolute, unqualified.

“His unequivocal answers to our questions assured us that his research was producing the successful results we all anticipated.”

Related words: unequivocally (UN-i-KWIV-e-ke-lee) adverb; unequivocalness (UN-i-KWIV-e-kel-nis) noun.

unhinged (un-HINJD)

From English infinitive unhinge, meaning “to take a door off its hinges.”

of a person: distraught; unsettled, thrown into confusion; of a door: taken off its hinges.

“The bad news the doctor gave proved a terrible shock, and the patient almost became unhinged.”

Related words: unhinge (un-HINJ) verb; unhingement (un-HINJ-ment) noun.

unimpeachable (UN-im-PEE-che-bel)

From English un-, meaning “not,” + impeachable, meaning “able to call into question.”

impeccable; impossible to discredit; above suspicion.

“The defense attorneys knew the case depended on their ability to find a single unimpeachable witness whose undisputed testimony would punch holes in the district attorney's case.”

Related words: unimpeachably (UN-im-PEECH-e-blee) adverb; unimpeachability (UN-im-PEECH-e-BIL-i-tee) and unimpeachableness (UN-im-PEECH-e-bel-nis) both nouns.

unjaundiced (un-JAWN-dist)

From English un- + jaundice, from Latin galbinus, meaning “greenish-yellow.”

What is there about green and what is there about yellow that cause us to consider these colors opprobrious? Is this why we formerly held a greenish complexion to be indicative of jealousy and why Shakespeare, in Othello, called jealousy a green-eyed monster? And isn't yellow the color indicating jealousy, adultery, and cowardice? So it is far better to be unjaundiced than jaundiced.

not affected by distorted or prejudiced opinions.

“They thought the expert we hired was too close to the family to be disinterested and asked us to find someone who could look at the evidence with an unjaundiced eye.”

unmitigated (un-MIT-i-GAY-tid)

From English mitigate, from Latin mitigatus, past participle of infinitive mitigare, meaning “to ripen, soften; calm, pacify.”

absolute; not softened or toned down; not softened in regard to intensity or severity.

“In light of his neglect to pack food or clothing for the journey, there was no doubt the situation would turn out to be an unmitigated disaster.”

unplumbed (un-PLUMD)

From Latin plumbum, meaning “lead,” + un-, meaning “not.”

The verb plumb, in its various forms, meaning “fathom, completely understand, explore in depth,” is often heard, as in “After we had fully plumbed his expert knowledge, we had to admit we had known little.”

unfathomed, unsounded; not explored in depth, not completely understood.

“She spoke eloquently of what she called the ‘unplumbed childishness of men's imaginations’ and the necessity for careful consideration of men's habitual shortcomings.”

unrequited (UN-ri-KWI-tid)

From English verb requite, meaning “make repayment,” always useful but now seldom written as an adjective without the negative prefix un-.

not reciprocated; not repaid.

“Just about the worst condition known is that of the person smitten with love who one day discovers that his passion is unrequited.”

untenable (un-TEN-e-bel)

From English tenable; from Latin infinitive tenere, meaning “to hold, keep, possess,” + un-, meaning “not.”

of an argument: incapable of being defended logically.

“He was convinced women could not perform intellectual tasks that men master easily, a position that most intelligent people find untenable.”

Related words: untenability (UN-ten-e-BIL-i-tee) and untenableness (un-TEN-e-bel-nis) both nouns.

unwitting (un-WIT-ing)

From Old English unwittende, in English formerly unweeting, meaning “unknowing, unconscious.”

unheeding; oblivious, unaware; unintentional; having no knowledge of a particular fact or condition.

“He insisted that his most reprehensible remark had been completely unwitting and that he would never again say anything like it.”

Related words: unwittingly (un-WIT-ing-lee) adverb; unwittingness (un-WIT-ing-nis) noun.

unwonted (un-WAWN-tid)

From the obsolete English unwont, meaning “uncustomary, unwonted.”

not customary; infrequent, rare; not usual.

“After an entire day of unwonted physical effort, Fred and his wife said they were completely exhausted.”

Related words: unwontedly (un-WAWN-tid-lee) adverb; unwontedness (un-WAWN-tid-nis) noun.

urbane (ur-BAYN)

From Latin urbanus, meaning “living in a town or city; refined, polite; witty, humorous; impertinent.”

suave; having manners that are smooth and polite; showing sophistication in manners and expression.

“Joseph's urbane manners, which were an asset for his summer intern's position in a Boston law office, made him seem ridiculous in his job as a construction worker.”

Related words: urbanely (ur-BAYN-lee) adverb; urbaneness (ur-BAYN-nis) and urbanity (ur-BAN-i-tee) both nouns.

uxorial (uk-SOR-ee-el)

From Latin uxorius, meaning “of a wife; fond of his wife.”

Also given as uxorious, with the same meanings as uxorial.

typical of or befitting a wife or wives.

“We all wondered at Gary's strange taste in candidates for marriage partner, his uxorial litmus test apparently being whether or not a young woman could cook and keep house.”

Related words: uxor (UK-sor) and uxoricide (uk-SOR-e-SID) both nouns; uxorially (uk-SOR-ee-el-ee) adverb.

uxorious (uk-SOR-ee-es)

Same origin as uxorial.

doting or foolishly fond of one's wife; devotedly attached to her.

“When we were children, we found our father's waiting on our mother hand and foot a bit embarrassing, and as adults we considered this uxorious concern something to be hidden from our friends.”

Related words: uxoriously (uk-SOR-ee-es-lee), adverb; uxoriousness (uk-SOR-ee-es-nis) noun.

V

vacuous (VAK-yoo-es)

From Latin vacuus, meaning “empty, void, wanting; vacant.”

It is interesting to note that vacuus also means “disengaged, at leisure; and worthless.” Most engaging of all is the meaning “of a woman, single.” So now you know all you want to know of Latin's conceptions of women.

idle, purposeless; empty, lacking ideas, without contents.

“From that moment on, Mother was given to sitting near the front window looking, always looking out at the street with a vacuous stare, never really seeing anything.”

Related words: vacuum (VAK-yoom) and vacuousness (VAK-yoo-es-nis) both nouns; vacuously (VAK-yoo-es-lee) adverb.

vagarious (ve-GAIR-ee-es)

From English vagary, meaning “wandering journey,” from Latin infinitive vagari, meaning “to wander.”

erratic, capricious; characterized by wandering, roaming.

“Mark's vagarious forays into the arts were obviously not taken seriously by any of his friends.”

Related words: vagariously (ve-GAIR-ee-es-lee) adverb; vagary (ve-GAIR-ee or VAY-ge-ree) noun.

vainglorious (vayn-GLOR-ee-es)

From Medieval Latin vana gloria, meaning “empty ambition, empty boasting.”

given to vainglory; characterized by inordinate boasting.

“The official vainglorious reports we wrote were intended to give the impression we were winning the war.”

Related words: vaingloriously (vayn-GLOR-ee-es-lee) adverb; vainglory (VAYN-GLOR-ee) and vaingloriousness (vain-GLOR-ee-es-nis) both nouns.

valetudinarian (VAL-i-TOOD-n-AIR-ee-en)

From English valetudinary, meaning “chronic invalid”; from Latin valetudinarius, meaning “sickly”; from valetudinarium, meaning “hospital.”

sickly; excessively concerned with the state of one's poor health.

“A valetudinarian patient becomes so devoted to discussing his health with anyone who will listen that otherwise sympathetic visitors begin avoiding him.”

Related words: valetudinary (VAL-i-TOOD-n-ER-ee) and valetudinarianism (VAL-i-TOOD-n-AIR-ee-e-NIZ-em) both nouns.

vapid (VAP-id)

From Latin vapidus, meaning “tasteless, insipid”; from vapor, meaning “steam; heat.”

insipid; having lost sharpness or zest; devoid of animation; dull, tedious.

“Nell's conversation was as vapid as her tea, if you can imagine a weak brew steeped in tepid water.”

Related words: vapidly (VAP-id-lee) adverb; vapidness (VAP-id-nis) and vapidity (ve-PID-i-tee) both nouns.

varicose (VAR-i-KOHS)

From Latin varicosus, meaning “suffering from varicose veins.”

swollen; abnormally enlarged.

“She never sat on a beach while dressed for swimming because she was ashamed of revealing her ugly varicose veins to her grandchildren.”

Related words: varicosis (VAR-i-KOH-sis) and varicosity (VAR-i-KOS-i-tee) both nouns.

variorum (VAIR-ee-OR-em)

From a shortening of Latin editio cum notis variorum, freely translated as “an edition, especially of the complete works of a classical author, containing the notes of various editors or commentators.”

containing the notes of various commentators; also, containing various versions of a text by various scholars.

“Arthur had a distinguished career capped by his variorum edition of the principal work of America's most illustrious poet.”

vatic (VAT-ik)

From Latin vates, meaning “poet; prophet.”

Also given as vatical (VAT-i-kel).

inspired, prophetic; characteristic of a prophet.

“Much to the surprise of Samantha's ardent admirers, her most important vatic pronouncements, so characteristic of her, went unnoticed until long after her death.”

Related words: vaticinal (ve-TIS-e-nl) adjective; vaticide (VAT-e-SID) and vaticination (ve-TIS-e-NAY-shen) both nouns; vaticinate (ve-TIS-e-NAYT) verb.

ventricose (VEN-tri-KOHS)

From Neo-Latin ventricosus, from Latin venter, meaning “belly.”

The adjective ventricose, synonymous with “swollen,” must not be confused with the archaic adjective ventose (VEN-tohs), which means “full of wind, flatulent.”

protuberant, bellied; having a large abdomen; swelling out in the middle or the side of an animal's belly.

“The young physician could only guess at the cause of the patient's puzzling ventricose symptom, which was giving such discomfort.”

Related word: ventricosity (VEN-tri-KOS-i-tee) noun.

veracious (ve-RAY-shes)

From English veracity, from Latin verax, meaning “truthful.”

Not to be confused with voracious (vaw-RAY-shes), meaning “ravenous.” See also veridical.

truthful; accurate; disposed to express the truth.

“One thing that lawyers have trouble finding is a person who will be perceived by a jury as thoroughly veracious.”

Related words: veraciously (ve-RAY-shes-lee) adverb; veracity (ve-RAS-i-tee) and veraciousness (ve-RAY-shes-nis) both nouns.

verdurous (VUR-jer-es)

From English verdure (VUR-jer), a noun meaning “greenness, freshness.”

The adjective is also given as verdant (VUR-dnt).

flourishing rich and green; covered with verdure.

“Earlier, when Tom's aches and pains did not restrict his bending and digging, his verdurous gardens were a neighborhood show place.”

Related words: verdantly (VUR-dnt-lee) adverb; verdancy (VUR-dn-see) noun.

verecund (VER-i-KUND)

From Latin verecundus, an adjective meaning “modest, shy, bashful”; from the infinitive vereri, meaning “to revere, respect; fear.”

Just as Latin words for these expressions of respect appear no longer to be needed, people being what they have become, the English derivative has gone the way of all archaisms. It is included here only because the word is beautiful to the ear and sometimes is found in English novels of centuries past.

modest, bashful; coy, shy.

“I felt sorry for the verecund little boy standing outside the headmaster's office, apparently waiting for an interview he rued and had not requested.”

Related words: verecundity (VER-i-KUND-i-tee) and verecundness (VER-i-KUND-nis) both archaic nouns.

veridical (ve-RID-i-kel)

From Latin veridicus, meaning “truthful”; from verum, meaning “truth,” + dicere, meaning “to speak.”

Also given as veridic (ve-RID-ik) and veracious, which see.

veracious; truthful; actual; genuine.

“When I found my superior openly veridical in all his opinions, I resolved to complete every word of my report without regard for anyone's feelings.”

Related words: veridically (ve-RID-i-ke-lee) adverb; veridicality (ve-RID-i-KAL-i-tee) noun.

vertiginous (ver-TIJ-e-nes)

From Latin vertiginosus, from vertigo, meaning “a turning round, dizziness.”

dizzy, giddy; spinning, whirling; unstable, apt to change quickly.

“I immediately regretted taking the pill because for the first time I felt truly vertiginous and wondered whether things would ever return to the way they had been.”

Related words: vertigo (VUR-ti-GOH) and vertiginousness (vur-TIJ-e-nes-nis) both nouns; vertiginously (vur-TIJ-i-nes-lee) adverb.

vespertine (VES-per-tin)

From Latin vespertinus, meaning “in the evening” and “western.” An indication that the Romans knew their astronomy well, as shown also in two other Latin words, occidentalis and occiduus, both meaning “western” or “setting.”

Also given as vespertinal (VES-per-TIN-l).

No wonder vespers (VES-purz) in Christian customs came to be applied to “evening services.”

pertaining to or occurring in the evening.

“It was our custom to sit on the porch of an evening and listen to the vespertine serenade of insects.”

Related word: vespertide (VES-per-TID) noun.

vespine (VES-pIn)

From Latin vespa, meaning “a wasp.”

An adjective worth brief examination even though it is not related to the word vespertine. Wasps, you see, are known for their habit of retiring before evening falls.

of or pertaining to a wasp or wasps.

“The wasp under discussion is none other than the universally feared vespine insect that forever threatens to scatter frightened picnickers.”

Related word: vespiary (VES-pee-ER-ee) noun.

vestigial (ve-STIJ-ee-el)

From Latin vestigium, meaning “footprint, footstep; trace, vestige.”

of the nature of a vestige; surviving in a degenerate form.

“Traces of a vestigial tail were still perfectly visible in the first well-preserved specimen he was able to examine.”

Related words: vestige (VES-tij) noun; vestigially (ves-TIJ-ee-e-lee) adverb.

vicarious (vI-KAIR-ee-es)

From Latin vicarius, meaning “substituting or substituted”; from vicis, meaning “a change, a turn; an office.”

1. experienced imaginatively through another person.

“They convinced themselves that the vicarious thrill they felt for the honors bestowed on their son more than made up for all the years of self-denial they had gone through.”

2. endured or substituted by one person in place of another.

“Ten men received vicarious punishment for the crimes of the actual saboteur.”

Related words: vicar (VIK-er) and vicariate (vI-KAIR-ee-it) both nouns; vicariously (vI-KAIR-ee-es-lee) adverb; vicariousness (vI-KAIR-ee-es-nis) noun; vicarly (VIK-er-lee) adjective.

vicinal (VIS-e-nl)

From Latin vicinalis, meaning “neighboring”; from vicinitas, meaning “neighborhood, nearness.”

neighboring, adjacent; belonging to neighbors or a neighborhood.

“What they had not reckoned on was that the path going by their home would become vicinal rather than remain under their private ownership and so could be used by anyone who wanted to walk there.”

Related words: vicinity (vi-SIN-i-tee) and vicinage (VIS-e-nij) both nouns.

vincible (VIN-se-bel)

From Latin vincibilis, meaning “easily won”; from vincere, meaning “to conquer, subdue; overcome.”

One of those English words much more commonly known by their negatives, in this case becoming invincible, with in-, meaning “not,” added. We like to think of our side, our team, our army, our country as being invincible. Who wants to be associated with a vincible team?

conquerable, surmountable; susceptible to defeat or overthrow.

“From the very beginning of hostilities, Germany mistakenly regarded England as easily vincible in an air or ground war.”

Related words: vincibleness (VIN-se-bel-nis) and vincibility (VIN-se-BIL-i-tee) both nouns; vincibly (VIN-se-blee) adverb.

vindictive (vin-DIK-tiv)

From Latin vindicta, meaning “revenge, vengeance.”

1. of persons: given to gaining revenge; disposed to seek revenge.

“Our team, not realizing how vindictive our opponents could be, thought we were engaged in a sportsmanlike rivalry.”

2. of actions, etc.: characterized by a desire for revenge.

“What they showed instead was a vindictive propensity that was certain to keep alive the bad feelings that lay at the core of our feud.”

Related words: vindictively (vin-DIK-tiv-lee) adverb; vindictiveness (vin-DIK-tiv-nis) noun; vindicatory (VIN-di-ke-TOR-ee) and vindicative (vin-DIK-e-tiv) both adjectives meaning “retributive.”

virid. See viridescent.

viridescent (VIR-i-DES-ent)

From Late Latin infinitive viridescere, meaning “to become green”; from Latin viridis, meaning “green; fresh, young, youthful.”

greenish; slightly green or virid.

Virid (VIR-id) means green or verdant.

“Spring's viridescent landscapes lift one's spirits after the gray days of winter are past.”

Related words: viridescence (VIR-i-DES-ens) and viridity (ve-RID-i-tee) both nouns.

virulent (VIR-ye-lent)

From Latin virulentus, meaning “poisonous”; from Latin virus, meaning “slime; poison; offensive smell.”

This association with virus may explain why hapless physicians of an earlier time would stubbornly refuse to admit their ignorance, instead blaming everything unknown on a virus.

1. of disease: characterized by extreme malignancy or violence.

“He was not surprised to find that the virulent disease he had never seen before in temperate zones was common and usually fatal in the tropics.”

2. of speech or writing: violently bitter; full of acrimony.

“He encountered virulent diatribes from his opponents when he first proposed careful examination of all available information on public housing.”

3. of persons: full of hostility or enmity.

“She found it shocking to hear how bitterly virulent her candidate had become since being defeated for reelection.”

Related words: virulently (VIR-ye-lent-lee) adverb; virulence (VIR-ye-lens) and virulency (VIR-ye-len-see) both nouns.

vituperative (vI-TOO-per-e-tiv)

From English infinitive vituperate, meaning “to revile, vilify, berate”; from Latin infinitive vituperare, meaning “to find fault with.”

1. of language: opprobrious; abusive, intemperate.

“The unexpected stream of vituperative condemnation he heaped on me made my ears burn.”

2. of persons: given to abuse; employing abusive language.

“Our teacher would not put up with vituperative class monitors, no matter how talented they were otherwise.”

Related words: vituperatively (vI-TOO-per-e-tiv-ly) adverb; vituperation (vI-TOO-pe-RAY-shen) noun.

votive (VOH-tiv)

From Latin votivus, meaning “promised in a vow; votive”; from votum, meaning “a longing” or “a vow.”

offered in accordance with, or in consequence of, a vow.

“He did not know how he would be able to make a votive offering until he saw candles waiting nearby.”

Related words: vote (voht) verb and noun; votary (VOH-te-ree) noun and adjective; votively (VOH-tiv-lee) adverb; votiveness (VOH-tiv-nis) noun.

voyeuristic (VWAH-ye-RIS-tik)

From French voyeur, meaning “peeping Tom,” with no hint of pleasantry suggested.

Rather, the implication is that of obtaining sexual gratification by stealing looks at sexually appealing objects or acts.

It must be noted that there is a mistaken but ever-increasing tendency to pronounce voyeuristic and related words as though the opening syllable sounded like the voy in voyage. Abandon this practice.

characteristic of peeping Toms, or voyeurs (vwah-YURZ).

“An excellent way of discouraging voyeuristic neighbors is to pull down all your shades.”

Related words: voyeurism (vwah-YUR-IZ-em) noun; voyeuristically (VWAH-ye-RIS-tik-e-lee) adverb.

vulpine (VUL-pIn)

From Latin vulpinus, meaning “cunning, crafty”; from vulpes, meaning “a fox.”

Also given as vulpecular (vul-PEK-ye-ler).

crafty, cunning; resembling a fox.

“He was told his vulpine appearance puts people on guard instead of putting them at ease in his presence.”

W

waggish (WAG-ish)

From Old Norse vaga, meaning “to sway”; from English wag, meaning “mischievous lad; habitual joker.”

jocular; roguish, full of merriment; befitting a wag.

“My friends mistakenly thought of me as waggish, not realizing that beneath my jocund exterior lay brooding self-doubt.”

Related words: waggishly (WAG-ish-lee) adverb; waggishness(WAG-ish-nis) and waggery (WAG-e-ree) both nouns.

wanton (WON-tn)

From Middle English wantowen, literally meaning “ill-trained, undisciplined”; past participle of Old English infinitive téon, meaning “to train, discipline.”

1. rebellious, undisciplined, without provocation; of children: naughty.

“The child's wanton disregard of others was the product of a complete lack of restraint practiced by his doting parents.”

2. lascivious; lewd, unchaste; also, given to amorous adventures.

“It took just a few drinks to transform our shy drinking companion into a wanton satyr in perpetual pursuit of women.”

3. excessively luxurious or extravagant.

“The wanton ways the young man had adopted soon exhausted his inheritance.”

Related words: wantonly (WON-tn-lee) adverb; wantonness (WON-tn-nis) noun.

waspish (WOS-pish)

From English wasp, the familiar insect, as well as “a petulant person.”

Sometimes given as waspy (WOS-pee).

irascible; petulantly spiteful; snappish, quick to resent a small affront.

“Anybody is apt to be waspish if you try to speak with him before he's had his morning coffee.”

Related words: waspishly (WOS-pish-lee) adverb; waspishness (WOS-pish-nis) noun.

well-knit (WEL-NIT)

From English verb knit + adverb well. Also given as well-knitted.

of a person's frame: firm, strong, and compactly built.

“The members of the wrestling team, with their well-knit, sturdy young bodies, were on their way to winning their third consecutive wrestling championship.”

well-oiled (WEL-OILD)

From past participle of English verb oil + adverb well.

Anyone familiar with machinery knows the usefulness of oil in lubricating many moving parts, just as anyone with the slightest familiarity with slang knows that after a certain number of drinks of alcoholic beverages the imbiber may be said to be oiled, in fact well-oiled. Intoxicated, that is.

operating efficiently; also, drunk.

“Well-oiled machinery is essential for efficient functioning of my car, even if I am completely ignorant of basic mechanical equipment.”

whorish (HOR-ish)

From English whore, meaning “a prostitute,” + -ish, an adjectival suffix; from Latin carus, meaning “dear.”

meretricious, unchaste; having the characteristics of a whore.

“Compared with the innocent girls I knew in my youth, the appearance and demeanor of today's women make them seem whorish.”

Related words: whorishly (HOR-ish-lee) adverb; whorishness (HOR-ish-nis) noun.

willful (WIL-fel)

From Old English wilful, meaning “willing”; from Latin velle, meaning “to wish, be willing.”

Sometimes also spelled wilful, which is general practice among the British.

obstinately self-filled; perverse, unreasonably headstrong.

“The young mother was at a loss to know how to cope with the demands and rebelliousness of her willful child.”

Related words: willfully (WIL-fel-ee) adverb; willfulness (WIL-fel-nis) noun.

willowy (WIL-oh-ee)

From Middle English wilwe, meaning “a willow.”

of a person: lithe, tall and slender; resembling a willow in its gracefulness.

“Lisa was willowy and elegant, making the other, quite presentable girls in dancing class seem ungainly.”

winsome (WIN-sem)

From Old English wynsum and Middle English winsom, both meaning “joyous.”

comely; attractive in appearance, handsome; of winning character.

“Patricia was a winsome woman who made friends easily.”

Related words: winsomely (WIN-sem-lee) adverb; winsomeness (WIN-sem-nis) noun.

witless (WIT-lis)

From Old English witleas, meaning “lacking wisdom.”

stupid; lacking wit or intelligence; also, colloquially, extremely frightened.

“He had been scared witless at the idea of taking a test that might determine his entire future.”

Related words: witlessly (WIT-lis-lee) adverb; witlessness (WIT-lis-nis) noun.

wizened (WIZ-end)

From Middle English infinitive wisenen, meaning “to wither.”

of persons: shrunken and dried up; withered, shriveled.

“I was dismayed to find out that debilitating sickness had left my vigorous grandfather a wizened old man.”

Related word: wizen (WIZ-en) verb.

wonted (WAWN-tid)

From English noun wont, meaning “custom, habit,” + -ed, an adjectival suffix forming a past participle, together meaning “accustomed.”

accustomed, habituated; customary, habitual.

“My grandson Sam's wonted routine when he came to our house was first to peruse his favorite picture and then go around the rooms to inspect the other objects of special interest to him.”

Related words: wont (wawnt) verb; wontedly (WAWN-tid-lee) adverb; wontedness (WAWN-tid-nis) noun.

wrongheaded (RAWNG-HED-id)

From English adjective wrong, meaning “incorrect,” + headed, past participle of verb “head.” Also given as wrong-headed.

stubborn; perversely or obstinately incorrect.

“We finally had to stop discussing politics because we always disagreed strongly and accused each other of being hopelessly wrong-headed.”

Related words: wrongheadedly (RAWNG-HED-id-lee) adverb; wrongheadedness (RAWNG-HED-id-nis) noun.

X

xenomorphic (ZEN-e-MOR-fik)

From English xeno-, a combining form meaning “alien, strange”; from Greek xénos, a combining form meaning “a stranger, guest, alien, foreigner.” The word is completed by English -morphic, from -morphous, a combining form meaning “having the shape or form of.”

in an unusual form; formed differently than the normal.

“It was not until the very end of the expedition that they came upon strata yielding the predicted xenomorphic rock specimens.”

Related word: xenomorphically (ZEN-e-MOR-phi-ke-lee) adverb.

xenophilic (ZEN-e-FIL-ik)

From English xenophilia, meaning “love of foreign people or things”; from Greek xénos, a combining form meaning “a stranger, guest,” + Greek -philos, a combining form meaning “dear, beloved.”

Also given as xenophilous (zen-O-fe-les).

fond of or attracted by foreign people or things.

“The xenophilic home lives of students usually can account for their subsequent careers as specialists in foreign language studies.”

Related words: xenophile (ZEN-e-FIL) and xenophilia (ZEN-e-FIL-ee-e) both nouns.

xenophobic (ZEN-e-FOH-bik)

From English xenophobia, meaning “fear of foreign people or things”; from Greek xénos, a combining form meaning “a stranger, guest,” + -phobos, a combining form meaning “afraid, panicked.”

unreasonably fearful of foreign people or things.

“We never brought exchange students home when our father was there for fear that he would embarrass them and us with his xenophobic opinions.”

Related words: xenophobe (ZEN-e-FOHB) and xenophobia (ZEN-e-FOH-bee-e) both nouns.

xerophilous (zi-ROF-e-les)

From English xero-, a combining form meaning “dry,” + -philous, a combining form meaning “having an affinity for.”

said especially of plants: adapted to living in hot, dry regions.

“A southern window in my dry, overheated apartment is hospitable to cacti and other xerophilous plants in my collection.”

Related word: xerophily (zi-ROF-e-lee) noun.

xerothermic (ZEER-e-THUR-mik)

From English xero-, a combining form meaning “dry,” + -thermic, a combining form meaning “heat or hot.” In Greek xerós means “dry” and thermós means “hot.”

adapted to an environment that is dry and hot.

“Our air-conditioned Greyhound was so comfortable that we could scarcely appreciate what our guide was telling us about the xerothermic environment outside our bus.”

xylophagous (ZI-LOF-e-ges)

From Greek xylophágos, from xylo-, a combining form meaning “wood,” + -phagous, a combining form meaning “eating, feeding on.”

eating wood; destroying lumber.

“The first sign of the nightmare of xylophagous infestation of our library was a small pile of sawdust on the floor of the main reading room.”

Related word: xylophage (ZI-le-FAYJ) noun.

Y

yearling (YEER-ling)

From Dutch jaerlingh and German Jährling, nouns meaning “an animal in its second year of life.”

of an animal: being a year old; in its second year.

“All entries for two of the day's races were identified as yearling maiden ponies.”

yeasty (YEE-stee)

From English yeast, a leavening agent, + -y, a suffix meaning “inclined to.”

ebullient; frothy, exuberant; youthful, given to excitement, agitation, change, etc.; light and superficial.

“Her senior year, when she was editor of the school's literary magazine, was a yeasty period for her.”

Related words: yeastily (YEE-sti-lee) adverb; yeastiness (YEE-sti-nis) noun.

youngblood (YUNG-BLUD)

From English young + blood, combinations with such meanings as “vigor, youth, and youthful persons.”

having the vigor of youthful persons, new ideas, etc.

“The company's personnel department had finally become interested in making youngblood additions to our aging sales force.”

Z

zaftig (ZAHF-tik)

From Yiddish zaftik, meaning “juicy, succulent”; from German saftig, meaning “juicy.” Also given as zoftig (ZAHF-tik).

of a woman: sexy; plump; well-proportioned, curvaceous.

“There was no doubt he was interested only in zaftig females, whose overflowing ripeness would prove a fitting complement for his own carefully tended masculinity.”

zealous (ZEL-es)

From Latin zelus, from Greek zàlos, meaning “zeal.”

devoted; intensely earnest, actively enthusiastic; eagerly desirous.

“After he heard his first Louis Armstrong recording he became a zealous jazz fan and started his extensive record collection.”

Related words: zealously (ZEL-es-lee) adverb; zealousness (ZEL-es-nis) noun.

zymotic (ZI-MOT-ik)

From Greek zymotikós, meaning “cause fermentation.”

caused by or as if by a process resembling fermentation; pertaining to a process akin to this.

“The pubs in her neighborhod were closed down by an inspector who mistakenly believed the beer served there was afflicted with a zymotic disease.”

Related words: zymosis (ZI-MOH-sis) noun; zymotically (ZI-MOT-ik-e-lee) adverb.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To beloved Norma, my wife and most able and discerning reader, whose gift for explication and a keen eye have contributed so much to this book.

To Jason Ehrlich, and to Susan Baxter, who never gives up.

To our four talented children, to Dr. Dan Costin, to our friends Cynthia and Davis Crippen, and to the late Julian Pace and to his wife Dorothy Pace, all of whom helped Norma and me through trying times.

In memory of Daniel and Eileen Murphy, the most faithful of friends.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eugene Ehrlich, formerly a member of the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, is the coeditor of The Oxford American Dictionary and the author of dozens of books, including Veni, Vidi, Vici and the classic bestseller Amo, Amas, Amat and More. The entire Highly Selective series is available from PerfectBound ebooks, which includes: The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate; The Highly Selective Thesaurus for the Extraordinarily Literate; and The Highly Selective Dictionary of Golden Adjectives for the Extraordinarily Literate. He lives in Mamaroneck, New York.

By Eugene Ehrlich

THE HIGHLY SELECTIVE DICTIONARY OF GOLDEN ADJECTIVES
FOR THE EXTRAORDINARILY LITERATE

THE HIGHLY SELECTIVE THESAURUS FOR THE EXTRAORDINARILY LITERATE

THE HIGHLY SELECTIVE DICTIONARY FOR THE EXTRAORDINARILY LITERATE

AMO, AMAS, AMAT AND MORE

VENI, VIDI, VICILES BON MOTS

THE INTERNATIONAL THESAURUS OF QUOTATIONS
(WITH MARSHALL DEBRUHL)

THE HARPER DICTIONARY OF FOREIGN TERMS, 3RD EDITION

Credits

Jacket design by Peter Martin

THE HIGHLY SELECTIVE DICTIONARY OF GOLDEN ADJECTIVES FOR THE EXTRAORDINARILY LITERATE. Copyright © 2002 by Eugene Ehrlich. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of PerfectBound™.

PerfectBound™ and the PerfectBound™ logo are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Mobipocket Reader December 2003 ISBN: 0-0607-6703-0

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