{"id":5231,"date":"2026-01-30T09:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T17:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/?p=5231"},"modified":"2026-01-30T09:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T17:46:13","slug":"friday-vocabulary-380","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/?p=5231","title":{"rendered":"Friday Vocabulary"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. ptyalism<\/strong> \u2014 [biology<\/em>] hypersalivation, drooling<\/p>\n

If no ulcers or other deformations of the mouth are noted, a complete neurologic workup is the next step in determining the cause of the patient’s <\/em>ptyalism.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. nystagmatic<\/strong> \u2014 of or related to nystagmus, a condition in which the eyes continually jitter or jiggle<\/p>\n

He looked at me with lidded and <\/em>nystagmic eyes, and I couldn’t tell if he was exhausted or nervous or just plain lying to my face.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. afarness<\/strong> \u2014 [obsolete<\/em>] state or sense of being distant (though not necessarily physically)<\/p>\n

Every time I spoke with her she was like that, concentrating on some craftwork\u2014macrame or twisting wire into strange designs or cutting paper outlines of trees and flowers\u2014while talking with an ethereal <\/em>afarness in her voice, as if she were just barely deigning to communicate with this gross material plane while her thoughts and being were in some distant neverland of sprit and beauty and love and all like that.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. cryptologer<\/strong> \u2014 [obsolete<\/em>] cryptographer<\/p>\n

But of course after the Treaty of Versailles there was little demand for <\/em>cryptologers, and Jerome went back to doing his little crossword puzzles and making up silly mathematical riddles for the boys’ magazines.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. armiger<\/strong> \u2014 [heraldry<\/em>] person entitled to bear arms; esquire of a knight<\/p>\n

The Northumbrian rolls show that the <\/em>armigers of the area were a litigious lot, constantly on guard against offenses to their honor or property rights (or at least continually finding cause to believe their rights had been trespassed).<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6. mooncalf<\/strong> \u2014 fool, simpleton<\/p>\n

By rights the <\/em>mooncalf should have been working in the fields every day from morn to night, but he spent hours recounting his experiences at Agincourt, accepting ale from all and sundry who hadn’t heard his tale (and many who had), wenching and dicing, and generally becoming a burden to the whole town.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

7. abulge<\/strong> \u2014 bulging<\/p>\n

The trunk was <\/em>abulge with her entire wardrobe, and Ronson feared the custom agent’s inspection, as he doubted they’d ever get the chest closed again.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

8. fulgurant<\/strong> \u2014 flashing like lightning<\/p>\n

Not much to look at she wasn’t and I made to return to my newspaper and then her lips parted and I was smitten by her <\/em>fulgurant smile.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

9. mangle<\/strong> \u2014 wringer, device with rollers used for drying laundry by wringing<\/p>\n

Helen hadn’t bothered to pass the linen napkins through the <\/em>mangle before putting them away and now they had wrinkles, Mrs. Norman noted.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

10. anankastic<\/strong> \u2014 of compulsive or obsessional-compulsive behavior<\/p>\n

A 1977 study found no correlation between <\/em>anankastic symptoms in a group of schizophrenic and depressive patients and their blood types.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bonus Vocabulary<\/h4>\n

(British fashion)<\/p>\n

hacking jacket<\/strong> \u2014 3-button tweed jacket originally designed for casual horse riding<\/p>\n

Though her coiffure was spoiled by the shower, she was comfortably warm within the heavy wool of Shelton’s <\/em>hacking jacket, which he’d graciously wrapped around her shoulders when they were caught in the sudden downpour.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. ptyalism \u2014 [biology] hypersalivation, drooling If no ulcers or other deformations of the mouth are noted, a complete neurologic workup is the next step in determining the cause of the patient’s ptyalism.   2. nystagmatic \u2014 of or related to nystagmus, a condition in which the eyes continually jitter or jiggle He looked at … <\/p>\n

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