1. apostrophe — rhetorical figure wherein the speaker digresses and pointedly addresses some person or personified object But twenty-first century man has made hash of all rhetoric, and even Childe Harold’s apostrophe to the sea has been overtaken by modern humanity’s ability to pollute even the oceans themselves. 2. marge — margin And thus …
Tag Archives: vocabulary
Friday Vocabulary
1. palestra — (ancient Greece) place devoted to public teaching and wrestling and athletics Epicurus knew well how divisive his teachings were and preferred to instruct his followers at his home, shunning outdoor schools such as the Academy where onlookers would kibitz as if at the palestra. 2. ataraxy — state of freedom from …
Friday Vocabulary
1. valetudinarian — person obsessively concerned with his or her poor health Their daughter caught what I call the valetudinarian disease, her parents worrying her so about any possible vector for germs in her environment that she seemed to have built up no resistance whatsoever to even the simplest illnesses, and thus she was always …
Friday Vocabulary
1. clepsydra — ancient timekeeping device using discharge of water to measure time; water-clock Like water through the clepsydra, so are the days of our lives. 2. frass — insect excrement The spider webs behind the appliances were spotted with frass that betrayed the unseen life forces which threatened the old homestead. 3. …
Friday Vocabulary
1. brickbat — piece of brick, esp. when used as a missile Piled behind the barricades were cobblestones and brickbats to be used against the government troops during the inevitable reactionary assault. 2. fret — to gnaw; to wear away by gnawing, friction, corrosion, etc. He was proudest of the ivory box lid in …
Friday Vocabulary
1. jade — vicious, worn-out, or worthless horse; disreputable woman Though she be but a jade your contemptuous attitude towards her does you no credit. 2. circumvallation — state of being surrounded by rampart or entrenchment Vercingetorix was unable to lift the siege of Alesia after the circumvallation of that settlement, leading to the …
Friday Vocabulary
1. dark lantern — lantern with a shutter to hide the light “Watson, be sure to bring the dark lantern so that we can conceal our presence in the chamber after traversing the underground paths to the tomb.” 2. arrant — notorious, unmitigated We have rarely heard such arrant falsehoods since Satan was imprisoned …
Friday Vocabulary
1. kakistocracy — government by the worst citizens If all good people abdicate their responsibilities as citizens, eventually we shall all live under a kakistocracy. 2. exuberate — to be exuberant; to abound I would fain exuberate your news has moved me so! 3. stillicide — a falling (as of water) in drops …
Friday Vocabulary
1. fleer — to grin or laugh in a rude or coarse manner How my old low companions did fleer when I confessed to them that my great plans for a tremendous heist had been foiled by two meek nuns and a truculent novitiate. 2. empennage — the stern of an airplane or airship, …
Friday Vocabulary [UPDATED]
NOTE: Due to recently (12 July 2019) discovered repetition of a previously used vocabulary word, the offending entry has been replaced with a new word, definition, and example sentence. The original entry is preserved with strikethrough formatting. 1. dodder — to shake, to tremble The old man doddered so at the top of the stairs …