Vocab Day #15

lamina (lambuhnuh)

noun (pl. -nae):

a thin layer, plate, or scale of sedimentary rock, organic tissue, or other material

Derivatives: laminose (adjective)

Vocab Day #14

recension (risenchun)

noun:
a revised edition of a text; an act of making a revised edition of a text

Vocab Day #13

For the next few weeks, vocab day posts every other week are all that will be posted on the blog.  I will be back some day.

tonsure (tahnshure)

noun:
a part of a monk's or priest's head left bare on top by shaving off the hair.
[in singular]: an act of shaving the top of a monk's or priest's head as a preparation for entering a religious order.

verb (transitive), often as adjective (tonsured)
shave the hair on the crown of

Vocab Day #12

Rictus:

noun: a fixed grimace or grin

Vocab Day #11

Jeweler's rouge:

Noun. Finely ground ferric oxide, used as a polish for metal and optical glass.

Vocab Day #10

Dyspeptic (dis'peptik)

Adjective: Of or having indigestion or consequent irritability or depression.

Noun: A person who suffers from indigestion or irritability.

Vocab Day #9

risible |ˈrizəbəl|adjectivesuch as to provoke laughter : a risible scene of lovemaking in a tent.• rare (of a person) having the faculty or power of laughing; inclined to laugh.DERIVATIVESrisibility |ˌrizəˈbilətē| nounrisibly |-blē| adverbORIGIN mid 16th cent. (in the sense [inclined to laughter] ): from late Latin risibilis, from Latin ris- ‘laughed,’ from the verb ridere.

Vocab Day #8

wen 1 |wen|nouna boil or other swelling or growth on the skin, esp. a sebaceous cyst.• archaic an outstandingly large or overcrowded city : the great wen of London.ORIGIN Old English wen(n), of unknown origin; compare with Low German wehne ‘tumor, wart.’wen 2 (also wyn |win|)nouna runic letter, used in Old and Middle English, later replaced by w.ORIGIN Old English , literally [joy] ; so named because it is the first letter of this word. Compare with sense 3 of thorn and sense 2 of ash 2 .

Vocab Day #7

spoor |spoŏr; spô(ə)r|nounthe track or scent of an animal : they searched around the hut for a spoor | the trail is marked by wolf spoor.verb [ trans. ]follow the track or scent of (an animal or person) : taking the spear, he set off to spoor the man.DERIVATIVESspoorer nounORIGIN early 19th cent.: from Afrikaans, from Middle Dutch spor, ofGermanic origin.

Vocab Day #6

timber |ˈtimbər|nounwood prepared for use in building and carpentry : the exploitation of forests for timber [as adj. ] : a small timber building.• trees grown for such wood : contracts to cut timber.• (usu. timbers) a wooden beam or board used in building a house, ship, or other structure.• [as exclam. ] used to warn that a tree is about to fall after being cut: we cried “Timber!” as our tree fell.• [usu. with adj. ] personal qualities or character, esp. as seen as suitable for a particular role : she is frequently hailed as presidential timber.ORIGIN Old English in the sense [a building,] also [building material,]of Germanic origin; related to German Zimmer ‘room,’ from an Indo-European root meaning ‘build.’

Vocab Day #5

ersatz |ˈerˌsäts; -ˌzäts; erˈzäts|adjective(of a product) made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, forsomething else : ersatz coffee.• not real or genuine : ersatz emotion.See note at spurious .ORIGIN late 19th cent.: from German, literally ‘replacement.’

Taken from my computer's dictionary application.

Vocab Day #4

periwig |ˈperiˌwig|nouna highly styled wig worn formerly as a fashionable headdress by both women and men.

• archaic term for wig 1 .DERIVATIVESperiwigged adjectiveORIGIN early 16th cent.: alteration of peruke , with -wi- representing the French -u- sound.
Taken from my computer's dictionary program.

Vocab Day #3

fête |fāt; fet| (also fete)nouna celebration or festival.verb [ trans. ] (usu. be fêted)honor or entertain (someone) lavishly : she was an instant celebrity, fêted by the media.ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [festival, fair] ): from French, from Old French feste (see feast ).
Taken from my computer's dictionary program.

Vocab Day #2

nonpareil |ˌnänpəˈrel|adjectivehaving no match or equal; unrivaled : he is a nonpareil storyteller | [postpositive ] a film critic nonpareil.noun1 an unrivaled or matchless person or thing.2 a flat round candy made of chocolate covered with white sugar sprinkles.3 Printing an old type size equal to six points (larger than ruby or agate, smaller than emerald or minion).ORIGIN late Middle English : from French, from non- ‘not’ + pareil‘equal’ (from popular Latin pariculus, diminutive of Latin par ‘equal’).
Taken from my computer's dictionary program.

Vocab Day #1

(Welcome to a new regular feature, probably monthly or twice a month, wherein I impart a new vocabulary word that I've come upon through various means.)


ululate (uhl-yuh-layt)


verb.

howl or wail as an expression of strong emotion, typically grief.

The townspeople ululated as the boys were laid out upon the ground before the barricade, weapons at their sides.