1. Deo volente — god willing (abbr. D.V.)
We shall be married this very day, and shall assume my curacy, Deo volente, next week.
2. sally port — opening in fortification for passage of troops making a sally
Unbeknownst to Lord Dairnlee, however, the location of the sally port had been betrayed, and the whole ground just before that gate had been thoroughly mined.
3. dish — (obs. slang) to ‘do for’; to cheat
Disraeli believed that the House of Commons was “used up”, saying further, “Reform has dished it.”
4. estivate — to spend the summer; (of animals) to be dormant or in a state of torpor through the summer
We had the happy misfortune both to have several guest rooms and to enjoy a beautiful climate year-round at our beachfront property, with the result that our Arizona relatives seemed always to estivate with us the moment their children finished the school year.
5. samite — heavy silk, often interwoven with gold
“That’s no Lady of the Lake,” he said of the white-sleeved arm protruding from the water’s surface, “but rather Ophelia going down for the third time, dragged to the bottom by her sodden samite gown.”
6. prebendary — holder of a prebend, stipend for cathedral and church college canons
In spite of the fact that the Reformation eliminated most prebends along with the collegiate churches they served, some elders still hold the title of prebendary, though the reward is usually only a stall reserved to them and unpaid work for the church.
7. girandole — ornamented branched candelabra
The light from the beautiful silver girandole on the dining table scintillated through Lady Sylvia’s large emerald brooch.
8. alula — small bunch of feathers on the forward wing of a bird, controlled similarly to a ‘thumb’, used at slow flight speeds or when landing
The alulae of falcons is particularly prominent, and is used by those birds of prey to better control their fierce dives when their wings are tucked.
9. colloquize — to engage in conversation or dialogue
Though it is truly pleasant to colloquize here beneath the susurrant elms, the hour grows late and I must away.
10. swad — thick bunch or mass
We found him in the midst of a veritable swad of soldiers, fighting them all at once, for reasons which remain unclear to this day.