1. perfuse — to besprinkle, to overspread (as with moisture or color); to pour through or over, to diffuse through; [medicine] to circulate through blood vessels or lymphatic system Cunegonde’s cheeks were perfused with a rosy glow, though whether from joy or from our strenuous exertions I could not tell. 2. volplane — to …
Tag Archives: bonus word
Friday Vocabulary
1. po-faced — [British] humorless, over-serious, disapproving Alain’s attempts at defusing the tense standoff between the two culinary students only elicited a po-faced shake of the head from Chef Arnie. 2. auscultation — diagnosis through listening to bodily sounds, usually with a stethoscope Though the pulse diagnosis of Chinese medicine has been compared with …
Friday Vocabulary
1. otic — of the ear Despite the advocates’ claims, ear candles are ineffective and dangerous, and could result in hot wax falling into the otic canal. 2. refrangible — capable of being refracted Though red light was known even in the time of Newton to be the least refrangible of the visible spectrum, …
Friday Vocabulary
1. irenic — non-polemic, pacifying, tending to promote reconciliation Strangely enough for one of his vociferous views, at the dinner table his presence seemed to have an irenic effect upon the recriminations and attacks of our usual Thanksgiving meals. 2. gyp — servant for students at Cambridge and Durham colleges So here was the …
Friday Vocabulary
1. crocket — hook-shaped medieval ornament suggesting a leaf The wind-flung veil had caught on one of the crockets that lined the steeple of the small village church, which some took as an ill omen for Susan’s decision to leave the convent. 2. egest — to expel from within the body His plan had …
Friday Vocabulary
1. budge — lambskin fur Master Pieter sat at his counting table in a warm green houppelande trimmed sensibly with black budge, holding the letter tightly in his left hand, its seal intact. 2. pottle — former liquid measure equal to a half-gallon; vessel of this capacity We split a pottle of sack while …
Friday Vocabulary
1. messuage — dwelling house along with its outbuildings and attached lands dedicated to household use We had a small messuage in my youth, though to be fair the only outbuilding was a leaky prefab toolshed poorly placed in the sloping backyard. 2. byre — shed for cows The beeves in the byre became …
Friday Vocabulary
1. losel — wastrel, scoundrel, profligate You say you pity him, that sad losel in his cups, but you would not give him a pfennig of concern if you knew the families he has ruined, the wealth he has squandered, and the love he has scorned. 2. patten — overshoe of wood or metal …
Friday Vocabulary
1. tarlatan — thin, open-mesh muslin, used frequently for ballroom gowns We could discern Jason’s sisters only with difficulty, hidden as they were within a cloud of tarlatan finery of pink and green. 2. scratty — (colloquial) unkempt, scruffy; scrawny By this time, Peele was living in a scratty little SRO by the bus …
Friday Vocabulary
1. boscage — mass of shrubs or trees, thicket His naked legs were covered with scratches from the thorns in the surrounding boscage he had forced his way through. 2. entablature — (architecture) horizontal construction supported by columns in classical temples and the like, consisting of an architrave, a frieze, and a cornice The …