| consanguinity | n. | blood-relationship | ||
| conservatory | adj. | preserving from loss or damage | ||
| conspectus | n. | survey, summary | ||
| constituent | n. | part or piece of a whole; person represented by an elected official | ||
| construe | v. | to infer; to deduce the meaning of | ||
| contemn | v. | to treat as worth little, to view with contempt; to disdain, to scorn | ||
| contemporaneous | adj. | happening or living at the same time | ||
| continent | adj. | having or displaying restraint in bodily functions or appetites | ||
| contradictio in adjecto | n. | contradiction in terms; legal principle whereby any ambiguous terms in a contract are to be interpreted to the detriment of the party who insisted on the introduction of such terms into the document | Latin | |
| contradistinction | n. | distinguishing by contrast or opposition | ||
| contrapuntal | adj. | made up of separate melodies; of or related to counterpoint | ||
| contravallation | n. | second chain of fortifications built by besieging army to prevent relief of the siege by outside forces, facing away from the breastworks, etc. circumvallating the besieged place | ||
| contravene | v. | to violate an order, law, or treaty; to conflict with an obligation or commitment | ||
| contumacy | n. | perverse and obstinate resistance to authority | ||
| contumelious | adj. | disdainfully insolent, contemptuous, scornfully rude | ||
| contumely | n. | scornful rudeness or abuse | ||
| conurbation | n. | metropolis, large urban area formed from expansion of several cities into each other | ||
| convolute | v. | to make difficult to follow, to complexify; to wind upon itself | ||
| cook-general | n. | servant performing both general housekeeping and cooking | British | |
| cop off | v. | to have sex with (someone) | slang | |
| coping | n. | finishing course of brickwork or masonry in a wall | ||
| coping stone | n. | stone forming the uppermost course of a wall; utmost or completing element | architecture | |
| coppice | n. | copse, thicket or underwood grown for intermittent cutting | ||
| coprolite | n. | petrified animal excrement | ||
| corbel | n. | bracket of stone or brick jutting from wall to support weight above (architecture) | ||
| cordwainer | n. | shoemaker, leatherworker | archaic | |
| cordyceps | n. | parasitic fungus attacking arthropods | biology | |
| Corfiot | adj. | of or related to Corfu or a native of Corfu | ||
| corm | n. | swollen stem of plant serving as storage organ, bulbotuber | botany | |
| cornice | n. | horizontal element surrounding the top of a building; crown molding of walls within a room; overhanging snow in alpine mountains | architecture | |
| cornify | v. | to transmogrify into horn | ||
| corporal’s guard | n. | small detachment of soldiers; any small group | ||
| corrigible | adj. | capable of being corrected | ||
| corrody | n. | lifetime pension of care given by religious house to maintain grantee | ||
| coruscate | v. | to scintillate, to sparkle | ||
| corvine | adj. | of or related to a crow or crows | ||
| corybantic | adj. | crazed, wild, frenzied, orgiastic | ||
| coscinomancy | n. | divination by use of scissors and sieve | ||
| cosher | v. | to feast; to pamper | ||
| cosset | v. | to fondle, pamper | ||
| cosset | n. | pet lamb | ||
| costa | n. | rib | biology | |
| costard | n. | large apple | ||
| costermonger | n. | person who sells fruit and vegetables from a street cart; (fig.) hawker of any wares | ||
| costive | adj. | constipated; slow or unenthusiastic in action | ||
| cotehardie | n. | long-sleeved outer garment buttoned or laced up the front | ||
| cothon | n. | protected artificial harbor used in ancient Phoenicia | ||
| cothurnus | n. | tragedy, tragic style, grave style of acting; buskin, thick-soled boot worn by ancient actors | ||
| cotta | n. | surplice, often with box pleats | ||
| cottar | n. | peasant living in a cottage in exchange for service | Scots |
