Wondrous Words

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Kathy at http://bermudaonion.wordpress.com/ where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. Feel free to join in the fun. (Don’t forget to leave a link in your comment if you’re participating.)


* chaparral
Pronunciation: \ˌsha-pə-ˈral, -ˈrel\
Function: noun
Etymology: Spanish, from chaparro dwarf evergreen oak, from Basque txapar
Date: 1845
1 : a thicket of dwarf evergreen oaks; broadly : a dense impenetrable thicket of shrubs or dwarf trees
2 : an ecological community composed of shrubby plants adapted to dry summers and moist winters that occurs especially in southern California

As they rose from the chaparral and mesquite, they felt the stir of a breeze and observed lightning and thunder approaching from the north.
~Page 15, The Cost of Dreams by Gary Stelzer


* aquiline
Pronunciation: \ˈa-kwə-ˌlīn, -lən\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin aquilinus, from aquila eagle
Date: 1646
1 : curving like an eagle's beak
2 : of, relating to, or resembling an eagle

The man stood six feet one inch, had very dark hair with wisps of white appearing, an aquiline nose, and was clean shaven.
~Page 83, The Cost of Dreams by Gary Stelzer


* castigate
Pronunciation: \ˈkas-tə-ˌgāt\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): cas·ti·gat·ed; cas·ti·gat·ing
Etymology: Latin castigatus, past participle of castigare — more at chasten
Date: 1606
1: to subject to severe punishment, reproof, or criticism

, overhearing them castigate her husband for his lack of good sense in bringing "his Indian woman" to northern Sonora.
~Page 92, The Cost of Dreams by Gary Stelzer


* untenable
Pronunciation: \-ˈte-nə-bəl\
Function: adjective
Date: 1647
1 : not able to be defended
2 : not able to be occupied

, seemed almost untenable for her continued existence.
~Page 215, The Cost of Dreams by Gary Stelzer


* priggish
Function: noun
Etymology: probably from prig
Date: 1676
1 archaic : fop
2 archaic : fellow, person
3: one who offends or irritates by observance of proprieties (as of speech or manners) in a pointed manner or to an obnoxious degree

, inflamed with priggish indignation,
~Page 10, Men With Red Ties by Nastya Polikarpova


* excoriation
Pronunciation: \ek-ˈskȯr-ē-ˌāt\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): ex·co·ri·at·ed; ex·co·ri·at·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin excoriatus, past participle of excoriare, from Latin ex- + corium skin, hide — more at cuirass
Date: 15th century
1: to wear off the skin of : abrade
2: to censure scathingly

, Alina's internal excoriation of the man who's bill she was running up invariably gave way to the feeling of utter dejection.
~Page 13, Men With Red Ties by Nastya Polikarpova


* conflation
Pronunciation: \-ˈflā-shən\
Function: noun
Date: 15th century
1: blend, fusion; especially : a composite reading or text

, but behind the others' backs they laughed at the stupidity of the conflation.
~Page 18, Men With Red Ties by Nastya Polikarpova


* bilious
Pronunciation: \ˈbil-yəs\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle French bilieux, from Latin biliosus, from bilis
Date: 1541
1a : of or relating to bile b : marked by or suffering from liver dysfunction and especially excessive secretion of bile c : appearing as if affected by a bilious disorder
2: of or indicative of a peevish ill-natured disposition
3: sickeningly unpleasant
, but from the bilious taste on her tongue.
~Page 84, Men With Red Ties by Nastya Polikarpova


* gerundive
Pronunciation: \jə-ˈrən-div\
Function: noun
Date: 15th century
1: the Latin future passive participle that functions as the verbal adjective, that expresses the fitness or necessity of the action to be performed, and that has the same suffix as the gerund
2: a verbal adjective in a language other than Latin analogous to the gerundive

I've always had a weakness for the gerundive titles of yesteryear--
~Page 13, A Good Talk by Daniel Menaker


* reconditeness
Pronunciation: \ˈre-kən-ˌdīt, ri-ˈkän-\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin reconditus, past participle of recondere to conceal, from re- + condere to store up, from com- + -dere to put — more at com-, do
Date: 1649
1: hidden from sight : concealed
2: difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend : deep
3: of, relating to, or dealing with something little known or obscure
We can chuckle at the reconditeness of its terms,
~Page 14, A Good Talk by Daniel Menaker


* amanuensis
Pronunciation: \ə-ˌman-yə-ˈwen(t)-səs\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural aman·u·en·ses \-(ˌ)sēz\
Etymology: Latin, from (servus) a manu slave with secretarial duties
Date: 1619
1: one employed to write from dictation or to copy manuscript

--and Plato, Socrates' student, admirer, and amanuensis.
~Page 30, A Good Talk by Daniel Menaker


* tertiary
Pronunciation: \ˈtər-shē-ˌer-ē, -shə-rē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural ter·tia·ries
Date: circa 1550
1 [Medieval Latin tertiarius, from Latin, of a third] : a member of a monastic third order especially of lay people
2 capitalized : the Tertiary period or system of rocks

There are very few secondary or even tertiary western sources of material on the subject.
~Page 39, A Good Talk by Daniel Menaker