1. thirl — to pierce, to drill
To signify his acceptance by the tribe they thirled a hole through his right nostril, and he ever after wore there a ring of gold as a token of that day.
2. sallow — of pale sickly yellow color, esp. of skin
Since last I had seen her, Vera’s features had taken on that sallow tone which often betokens an incipient collapse of health.
3. bosky — of or related to bushes or shrubs; bushy, covered or shielded by low foliage; shady
In that bosky bower hidden from the gaze of men and animals alike we made love for the first time.
4. subparallel — almost but not quite parallel
Along the glacier’s path of retreat we find several subparallel ridges along with exposed quartzite deposits.
5. majolica — glazed earthenware decorated in opaque color
Atop the mantle stood an urn of offensive green majolica which Aunt Bertha had brought back from her trip to London, and which I had assumed as a child contained the ashes of dear departed Uncle Trent, though I later learned how wrong I was.
6. stipple — to shade (a picture, etc.) by marking with small dots
Even after his shave Rupert’s chin was stippled by the roots of his dark beard, giving him a swarthy mien.
7. chiliocosm — [Buddhist] grouping of many worlds
The thousand worlds which comprise the smallest chiliocosm are envisaged as having exactly the same structure, the same geography, and, of course, the same dependence upon the Law of Karma.
8. febricule — [obsolete] very mild fever
The doctor diagnosed a febricule caused by imbalanced blood, and prescribed a posset admixed with rosemary.
9. psychopomp — spirit or person who guides souls to the land of the dead
Stepping into that flat-bottomed boat in the sultry Okefenokee night, I felt as if I were about to leave the land of the living, and that Po’ Rob had become a psychopomp taking me across the swamp to the other world, and I hoped there’d be fewer mosquitoes in that nether hell.
10. hyaline — transparent, glassy
When I reached out to touch it, I was startled to realize that the entire creature was covered from snout to tail with a hyaline surface, a membrane so clear and transparent that I still could not detect visually.
Bonus Vocabulary
(Scots (specific to Shetland and Orkney))
soothmoother — outsider
Since I was a soothmoother they tried to slow their speech down, but I could no more understand them than I would have an old couple conversing in Linear B.