1. pen — female swan
We tried a stealthy approach to the swans, but the pen spotted us and let out a warning cry, whereupon the cob rushed at us, forcing our ignominious retreat.
2. iceblink — brightness in sky caused by light reflection off of sea ice or glaciers
But the yellowish glow of the iceblink beneath the distant clouds told more clearly than any other sign that the seas before us were still filled with treacherous ice floes we would have to traverse if we were to reach the lost party’s last known location.
3. clabber — to curdle
He nearly became blind after trying to wash out the pepper spray with milk that had clabbered after a long day in the hot sun.
4. koine — lingua franca; amalgam of Greek dialects that replaced Classical Greek in the Hellenistic Age
Usage of the Tang koine, not only in government and commerce, but also in Buddhist and Taoist temples, spread so widely to literary circles that reading pronunciation of Chinese characters to this day still descends from this standard.
5. vitiate — to spoil; to invalidate; to pervert, to debase
It is not the so-called ‘violent criminal’, but the supposedly non-violent ‘white collar’ criminal, now an executive or perhaps a government agent or even a elected official, it is these who vitiate the very fabric of society itself, by repeatedly stealing untold millions from the public weal, and often yes causing as many no many more deaths than are ascribed to supposed ‘street criminals’.
6. strigoi — undead spirits risen from the grave in Romanian folklore
Obviously Bram Stoker based many details of his Dracula upon the Balkan mythology of the evil strigoi.
7. organoleptic — of or related to perception by sensory organs
Your mathematical analysis of the nutritional content of the meal is all very well and good, but my organoleptic analysis is that it still tastes bad.
8. antrum — cavity in a bone or other part of the anatomy; esp. the nasal cavity
Drainage of the antrum was performed by removal of the carious tooth and perforation of its socket.
9. backdate — to antedate, to mark with date earlier than actual date
The British governor was happy to backdate a request for U.S. aid, giving the Grenada invasion at least the sheen of legitimacy, if not operational success.
10. egolatry — constant credence in one’s own potential and ability to the point of pathological self-worship
With the removal of narcissism from the DSM, the triumph of egolatry seems complete, with the inability of selfish people to suffer any consequence for their actions, up and until the inevitable result of the Dunning-Kruger effect crushes them and the rest of us beneath the weight of unintended consequences.
Bonus Vocabulary
(outdated medical)
hypochondria — upper region of the abdomen, including the organs of the liver and the spleen
Indeed, Burton speaks in his Anatomy of Melancholy of the belief that the seat of melancholy was in the hypochondria, the location of the liver.