Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Thursday Thirteen 188: Vocabulary


Since we have not done this in a few months, how about a few new vocabulary words? And yes, there may be a test at the end. ;-)

1. ambisinister [am-bi-SIN-uh-ster], adjective:
Clumsy or unskillful with both hands.
Pray your surgeon is not ambisinister.

2. ligneous [LIG-nee-uhs] adjective:
Having the texture or appearance of wood.
"With Boris Johnson lumbering onto the Queen Vic set recently (and 'lumber' is the only appropriate word for his sturdily ligneous performance) ..."

3. chatoyant [shuh-TOI-uhnt], adjective:
Having changeable lustre; twinkling.
Its chatoyant, iridescent colors suggest the fancy that it might have had its birth in the crystallization of some magnificent aurora.

4. glabrous [GLAY-brus] adjective
smooth; especially: having a surface without hairs or projections
Unlike the fuzzy peach, the nectarine has a glabrous skin.

5. mansuetude [MAN-swi-tood], noun:
Mildness; gentleness.
You are safe, dear old man, you are safe, temporarily, in the mansuetude of our care...

6. concupiscible [kon-KYOO-pi-suh-buhl], adjective:
Worthy of being desired.
And possibly, gentle reader, with such a temptation–so would'st thou; for never did thy eyes behold, or thy concupiscence covet anything in this world, more concupiscible than widow Wadman. (The life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Laurence Sterne)

7. remonstrate [ri-MON-strayt, REM-uhn-] verb intr.:
To reason or plead in protest.
He felt the need to remonstrate with the vigour of an innocent man sentenced to hang.

8. spirituel [spir-i-choo-EL], adjective:
1. Showing or having a refined and graceful mind or wit.
2. Light and airy in movement; ethereal.
Some said, yes, and that the youth was really gifted and spirituel, with a vein of quiet, caustic humor, most amusing; others–and I half incline to this notion– pronounced him dull and uninteresting. (The Bramleighs of Bishop's Folly)

9. fain [FEYN], adverb:
Gladly; willingly.
I saw Mark Antony offer him a crown; –yet 'twas not a crown neither, 'twas one of these coronets; –and, as I told you, he put it by once: but, for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it. (Julius Caesar, Shakespeare)

10. execrate [EK-si-krayt]
verb tr.: To detest, denounce, or curse.
The prima ballerina was equally adored or execrated my thousands.

11. lollop [LOL-uhp], verb:
To move forward with a bounding, drooping motion.
A lolloping dog accompanied the boy as he traversed the field.

12. cacoethes [kak-oh-EE-theez], noun:
An irresistible urge; mania.
We must talk, think, and live up to the spirit of the times, and write up to it too, if that cacoethes be upon us, or else we are nought. (Barchester Towers, Anthony Trollope)

13. vulpine [VUHL-pahyn], adjective:
1. Cunning or crafty.
2. Of or resembling a fox.
McCone was aware of what was happening, and his leaning posture became more and more vulpine. (The Running Man)


LINKS TO OTHER THURSDAY THIRTEENS:(Please leave your link if this is your first visit!)
Stephanie Bennett * Darla M Sands * Maddy Barone
Alice Audrey * Colleen * Brenda * Mercy * Harriet
CountryDew * Kimberly Menozzi * Adelle Laudan
Shelley Munro * Savannah Chase * KS Manning
Paige Tyler * Tatiana Caldwell * Mary Quast
Xakara * Mama Zen * Pearl * A. Catherine Noon



28 comments:

Alice Audrey said...

I had the meaning of fain reversed in my head. I thought it meant "rather not".

Mercy said...

I havent heard of any of those words, good T13!

Shelley Munro said...

I've actually used chatoyant in my book House of the Cat. I like the word lollop. It has a nice sound to it.

Mia Celeste said...

Lots of interesting words. Thanks. I'm ready for the quiz.:)

Darla M Sands said...

Great list! I just played a trivia word game last night that, unfortunately, kicked my butt. A lot of these were new, too, and I thought I was good with language. Sigh...

Stephanie Bennett said...

I can honestly say I haven't heard of any of these except fain. LOL Happy Thursday!

colleen said...

I wonder if lollop came from gallop. I only knew one of them. Wish I could remember the rest. a couple I could almost guess by the sound and the letters used.

CountryDew said...

It's funny how when I see words in use I generally know what they mean but when they're alone I am often not so sure.

Kimberly Menozzi said...

Someone once criticized my use of the word "lollop". She insisted I meant "gallop".

Hmph.

Happy TT! :)

Unknown said...

I love 'new to me' words.
Happy T13!

Maddy Barone said...

I knew 4 of those. FOUR!

Heather said...

Alice: Since I've usually only seen it used in historicals, I think, given the language, that confusion is easily understood.

Mercy: Thanks, I hope you found a few new ones you like. ;)

Shelley: I almost posted an example of chatouant that used it to describe a cat's eyes. *g*

Brenda: LOL -- I'll be nice and spare you all the quiz. This time. *g*

Heather said...

Darla: Next time you'll be the one kicking butt in word games. I have faith in you! ;)

Stephanie: Read a lot of historical romance, do you? *G*

Colleen: I honestly do not know if they have the same roots, but wouldn't be surprised. It's easy to guess at the meaning of some words based on roots or context.

Anita: I know how you feel! And there are times you try to remember a word that means something, but can't quite put your finger on it until long after you wanted to use it. I hate when that happens, lol.

I am Harriet said...

I've heard of 2 of those words. Pretty sad.

Have a great day!
http://harrietandfriends.com/2011/02/superbowl-trivia-about-the-teams/

Heather said...

Kimberly: How dare she! I hope you pointed her in the irection of a good dictionary?

Adelle; Me too! We're such geeks, aren't we? *g*

Maddy: Yay, you! I hearby christen thee "Class Know-it-all." *VBG*

Paige Tyler said...

So cool, but I can never remember to use any of them! LOL1

*hugs*
Paige

My TT is at http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com/

Maude Lynn said...

Yikes! I only knew two of these!

Tatiana Caldwell said...

Cool list of words - I've never seen most of these. "Ambisinister" doesn't mean what it sounds like it would ... heh.

Heather said...

Harriet: I actually most people would know at least two of these, so not so sad, just average. *g*

Paige: Remembering new words is half the battle. ;)

Mama Zen: LOL, s'okay. Probably the same two most people knew. *g*

Xakara said...

I only recognized 4, 6, 7, 10 & 13 and have only ever used 7 and 13. I'm loving ambisinister, I will find a reason to use it!

Happy TT

~Xakara
13 Paragraphs Dawn's Early Light

Pearl said...

how much that is taken as sinister is just clumsy?

love the word fain.

Heather said...

Tatiana: Yes, that is what the French call a "faux ami" - false friend. The prefix ambi- means "both," thinkambidextrous. The primary meaning of sinister being evil, you would think it would mean a heightened wickedness, but there is an archaic meaning of merely unlucky. Go figure! LOL

Xakara: You just passed Maddy as Head of The Class! *g*

Pearl: An excellent point!

Savannah Chase said...

Ok have not heard of these. Thank you for the new words.

Mary Quast said...

Ok... my tounge is totally tied right now. Happy TT.

A. Catherine Noon said...

How fun! I love these! Chatoyant is one of my favorite words; I've used that before myself though I had to look it up the first time I came across it in a Cherryh book...

Jamie said...

Wow, I think I knew 2 or 3 of those words. Boy do I feel a little not smart at the moment. Great list. Happy TT!

Unknown said...

Nice words! I fain hope to see them used in your work!

Heather said...

Savannah: You're welcome!

Mary: Hehe... Sorry 'bout that. ;)

Catherine: Isn't chatoyant a great word?

Jamie: It's good to test and expand your boundaries. ;)

Bratty: Ha! You just might. Maybe. *weg*