polyglot (POL-ee-glot)
noun: One who is competent in many languages.
From Greek.
"Polyglot Marta spoke in three languages, though not at the same time."
myopic (my-OP-ik)
adjective: Nearsighted; lacking foresight.
From Greek via Latin.
"Always a myopic, in the age of personal computers, Christopher put his money in a typewriter company."
bibliophile (BIB-lee-uh-fyl)
noun: a booklover.
From Greek.
"When her friend suggested that she give a book to her bibliophile husband on his birthday, Vanessa replied, 'He already has one.'"
heretic (HER-i-tik)
noun: One who holds unorthodox or unconventional beliefs.
From Greek via Latin and French.
"Vegetarian
Vivian was considered a heretic on the
rainmaker (RAYN-may-kuhr)
noun: A person with a strong ability to bring in new business.
From Old English.
"The start-up software company hired some experienced rainmakers."
debonair (deb-uh-NARE)
adjective: Suave; sophisticated.
From French.
"The debonair film actor attracted a bunch of adoring fans."
looby (LOO-bee)
noun: an awkward, clumsy, lazy fellow.
From Middle English.
"Who would have known that that looby would one day grow into a confident, self-assured man?"
dexterous or dextrous (DEK-struhs)
adjective: Skillful.
From Latin.
"Claire was so dexterous she could solve a Rubik's Cube with one hand while steering the car with the other."
anchorite (ANG-kuh-ryt)
noun: a hermit.
From Greek via Latin.
"Email, cell phone, pager... it became too much for the CEO and he escaped to the mountains like an anchorite."
Words from math
elliptical (i-LIP-ti-kuhl)
adjective: cryptic, ambiguous, or very brief.
From Greek via Latin
"The spokesman's elliptical style reflected his boss's tendency to evade
reporters' questions."
hyperbolic (hy-puhr-BOL-ik)
adjective: exaggerating.
From Greek.
"The infomercial's hyperbolic claims prompted viewers to order the latest
gadget."
tangential (tan-JEN-shuhl)
adjective: evading widely; superficially relevant.
From Latin.
"The defense lawyer hoped to divert attention from the real issue with
the tangential story of his golfing trip."
circular (SUHR-kyuh-luhr)
adjective: involving reasoning that tries to prove something previously assumed true.
From Greek via Latin and French.
"This proposal wouldn't work because it's useless!" the committee chair announced the verdict, with circular reasoning.
aglet (AG-let)
noun: a tag at the end of a lace or cord so that it can easily be put through
an eyelet.
From Latin via French.
"Kelly figured that specialization was the wave of the future and
decided to launch a store selling only shoelaces with designer aglets."
septum (SEP-tuhm)
noun: the partition between the nostrils.
From Latin.
"Not able to decide whether to get her right nostril pierced or the left one,
Shania took the middle ground and went for the septum."
tittle (TIT-tl)
noun: a dot on top of the letter i or other mark.
From Latin.
"When she lost the title of the estate due to a missing tittle in her
deceased uncle's will, Edna realized the importance of dotting one's i's and
crossing t's."
grommet or grummet (GROM-it)
noun: a metal or plastic ring to reinforce an eyelet.
From French.
"Even though he accepted the job of feeding guinea pigs at a research
lab, Sean felt he was going to be a square grommet in a round eyelet."
pintle (PIN-tl)
noun: a bolt or pin on which another part turns.
From Old English.
"For want of a pintle the whole kingdom was lost."
hallux (HAL-uhks)
noun: big toe.
From Latin.
"Maria filed a product-liability suit against the furniture manufacturer
after she stubbed her hallux in the middle of the night."
newel (NOO-el)
noun: A center column that supports the steps of a spiral staircase.
From Latin via French.
"As soon as he was crowned, the new King decided to put the treasury
to good use and ordered his assistant to encrust the royal palace - from
newel to lintel - with jewels."
Words related to body
philtrum (FIL-truhm)
noun: the vertical groove above the upper lip.
From Greek.
"Her face had perfect features and a charming philtrum."
visceral (VIS-er-uhl)
adjective: instinctive, not reasoning or intellectual.
From Latin.
"The emotional movie touched viewers at a visceral level."
liverish (LIV-er-ish)
adjective: ill-natured, grouchy.
From Old English.
"No matter how liverish he was feeling, a look at his pet iguana and
Chris would be his cheerful self again."
adrenalize (a-DREEN-uh-lyz)
verb: to excite and stir to action.
From Latin.
"The most adventurous thing he had done so far was riding an escalator
without hands on the railing, so the idea of bungee-jumping from a
100-foot bridge adrenalized him."
phlegmatic (fleg-MAT-ik)
adjective: having a sluggish temperament.
From Greek via Latin and French.
"Usually phlegmatic Uncle Clive had a fond relationship with his model
1968 Ford and his temperament could be predicted by the state of functioning
of the automobile."
jugular (JUG-uh-luhr)
noun: the most important or vulnerable part of something.
From Latin.
"Freddy figured highlighting his go-for-the-jugular approach couldn't
hurt as he prepared his resume for the position of an aggressive marketing
manager."
googol (GOO-gol)
noun: a number equal to 1 followed by 100 zeros.
Coined by Milton Sirota, a nine-year-old boy.
"When asked how many stars there are in the universe, the astronomer replied, 'Googols and googols!'"
blurb (blurb)
noun: A brief announcement or advertisement, especially on a book jacket.
Coined by Frank Gelett Burgess.
"While the advance review of the novel said 'Highly recommended to be left in bookstore,' the blurb on the book quoted only the phrase, 'Highly recommended'."
boondoggle (BOON-dog-uhl)
noun: a wasteful activity.
Coined by scoutmaster Robert H. Link.
"Congressman was delighted to hear that his pet boondoggle -- a bridge to
nowhere -- was approved."
maverick (MAV-uhr-ik)
noun: A person independent in thought and action.
After Samuel A. Maverick, a cattle owner who left his calves unbranded.
"Always a maverick, Annelet decided to do a Ph.D. on earthworms' mating
behavior instead of following her siblings to a law school."
Rubenesque (roo-buh-NESK)
adjective: Full-figured; rounded; voluptuous
After Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens.
"Sheila prided herself on her Rubenesque figure in a world of starving models."
vulcanian (vul-KAY-nee-uhn)
adjective: Relating to a volcanic eruption; relating to metalworking.
After Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and metalworking.
"Vulcanian eruptions of Mt St. Helens attracted journalists from all over
the world."
Give me a vowel, or five
facetious (fuh-SEE-shuhs)
adjective: jocular; humorous
From French.
"Tina's facetious remarks were not appreciated in that serious atmosphere."
subcontinental (sub-KON-tuh-nen-tal)
adjective: relating to an area that is part of a continent.
From Latin.
"The President will visit
arsenious (ar-SEE-nee-uhs)
adjective: containing arsenic
From Greek via Latin.
"Arsenious preparations frequently play a role in murder mystery novels."
uncomplimentary (un-kom-pluh-MEN-tuh-ree)
adjective: belittling, derogatory
From Latin, via Spanish, Italian and French.
"His colleague's uncomplimentary remarks made Tim angry."
abstemious (ab-STEE-mee-uhs)
adjective: sparing in eating or drinking.
From Latin.
"After his heart attack, Phil decided to avoid overindulgence and lead an
abstemious life."
bandersnatch (BAN-duhr-snach)
noun: an imaginary wild animal.
"The mother peaked under her son's bed to look for the bandersnatch."
chortle (CHOR-tl)
verb: to chuckle joyfully.
"The child chortled at the clever joke."
galumph (guh-LUMPH)
verb: to move along clumsily.
"When Burt's mother saw him galumphing towards the house, she knew --
without having to look at the report card -- how he had done on his
calculus exam.
jabberwocky (JAB-uhr-wok-ee)
noun: meaningless speech or writing.
"Lawmakers' jabberwocky disappointed the audience who expected to hear
some meaningful proposals."
vamoose (vah-MOOS)
verb: To leave hurriedly.
From Spanish.
"The students vamoosed when they saw the principal coming round the corner."
epigone (EP-i-goan)
noun: An imitator, especially of an artist, writer, musician, etc.
From Greek via French.
"When Joseph showed his cubist paintings in the style of Picasso,
critics called him an epigone."
moratorium (mor-uh-TOHR-ee-uhm)
noun: A suspension of an activity.
From Latin
"Yet
another case of mushroom poisoning prompted the
announce a moratorium on mushroom harvesting."
endogamy (en-DOG-uh-mee)
noun: marrying within a similar social group.
From Greek.
"Even though her dentist parents accepted it, they were not very pleased
when Rita, their surgeon daughter, married a tambourine player against
the family tradition of endogamy."
welkin (WEL-kin)
noun: the sky.
From Old English.
"Piper loved flying his plane under the welkin."
canard (kuh-NAHRD)
noun: A deliberately misleading story; hoax.
From French.
"Even after it was proven false, Johnny continued repeating his canard."
cogent (KO-juhnt)
adjective: convincing or believable
From Latin.
"Tim's excuse for returning late wasn't cogent enough to prevent his
grounding."
cavil (CAV-uhl)
verb: to raise trivial objections; to find faults unnecessarily.
From Latin.
"The instructor caviled with the size of the fonts while ignoring the
arguments of the report."
milieu (mil-YOO)
noun: an environment or surrounding.
From Latin via French.
"The
visitors fit the milieu of the
urbane (ur-BAYN)
adjective: polite, refined; having elegance.
From Latin via French.
"The sophisticated play was well-received by the urbane audience."
sapient (SAY-pee-uhnt)
adjective: having great wisdom or sound judgment.
"Both parties were satisfied with the wise decision of the sapient judge."
Words Originating in German
kitsch (kich)
noun: art or artwork characterized by sentimental and pretentious bad taste.
From German.
"Some considered the Santa paintings to be classic art while others thought
they were simply commercial kitsch."
leitmotif (LYT-mo-teef) also leitmotiv
noun: a theme or motif in a piece of music, writing, situation, etc.
From German.
"Shortcut to success was the leitmotif of Kramer's life."
strafe (strayf)
verb: to attack with machine gun fire from an aircraft.
From German.
"The reporter took cover behind a rock as the helicopter descended to
strafe the area."
wunderkind (VOON-duhr-kind)
noun: one who achieves success at an early age.
From German.
"Mozart, the wunderkind, started composing when he was a child."
verboten (vuhr-BOHT-n)
adjective: forbidden.
From German.
"Verbing of nouns is verboten," the high-school grammar teacher admonished.
doppelganger (DOP-uhl-gang-er)
noun: a ghostly double of a living person.
From German.
"When he bumped into his long-lost twin in a state fair, Jake thought
he was seeing his doppelganger."
epigram (EP-i-gram)
noun: A short witty saying, often in verse.
From Greek via Latin.
"Benjamin Franklin is credited with the epigram,
Little strokes
Fell great oaks."
verso (VUR-so)
noun: A left-hand page or the back of a page.
From Latin.
"The verso of the title page carried the information about the publisher."
epos (EP-os)
noun: an epic.
From Greek via Latin.
"Ashley wanted to be a writer and she took leave of absence
from her job to work on her epos."
interleaf (IN-ter-leef)
noun: a blank leaf inserted between the pages of a book.
From Latin and Old English.
"The interleaf in the book provided space for readers to write their notes."
ombudsman (OM-budz-man)
noun: one who investigates complaints.
From Swedish.
"The newspaper hired an ombudsman to handle readers' complaints."
fartlek (FART-lek)
noun: A method of training that alternates activities requiring intense effort followed by little effort.
From Swedish.
"The coach's favorite training method was fartlek -- going back and forth between sprinting and jogging."
smorgasbord (SMOR-guhs-bord)
noun: a buffet featuring various dishes.
From Swedish.
"Rick's mouth watered at sight of the smorgasbord."
ides (eyedz)
noun: The 15th day of March, May, July, or October, and the 13th day of the other months in the ancient Roman calendar.
From Latin via French.
"The author scheduled the release of his book on ancient history for the ides of October."
bissextile (by-SEKS-til)
noun: leap year.
From Latin.
"Alex was so busy he eagerly looked forward to the bissextile that gave him an extra day."
menology (mi-NOL-uh-jee)
noun: A calendar commemorating specific people.
From Greek via Latin.
"The sports publisher considered bringing out a menology of the models featured in their calendars from previous decades."
oniomania (O-nee-uh-MAY-nee-uh)
noun: Excessive, uncontrollable desire to buy things.
From Greek via Latin.
"Samantha's oniomania kept her up late at nights watching Shopping Channel."
garbology (gar-BOL-uh-jee)
noun: The study of a society or culture by examining what it discards.
From French.
"Tim's father was disappointed when he decided to study garbology instead of going to law school."
onychophagia (on-i-ko-FAY-juh)
noun: the practice of biting one's nails.
From Greek.
"Olivia, the entrepreneur, decided to launch a line of edible nailpolish when she saw all her friends practiced onychophagia."
philography (fi-LOG-ruh-fee)
noun: the practice of collecting autographs.
From Greek.
"William treated his philography as a business. He didn't care much for Martha Stewart, but he figured her autograph might be worth something one day."
theophany (thee-OF-uh-nee)
noun: an appearance of a god to a person.
From Greek via Latin.
"The televangelist didn't need a theophany to know god's wishes because he had a direct line to the heavens."
noun: drunkenness.
From Latin.
"On receiving his third warning for inebriety while at work, Joshua sent his resignation with the note, 'This job interferes with my drinking.'"
crapulous (KRAP-yuh-luhs)
adjective: sick from excessive drinking and eating.
From Latin.
"
dipsomania (dip-suh-MAYN-ee-uh)
noun: an irresistible craving for alcohol.
From Greek via Latin.
"The novel featured a man suffering from dipsomania who eventually decides to go to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings."
teetotal (tee-TOT-l)
adjective: relating to complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages.
From Latin.
"After his seventh citation for driving-under-influence, Uncle Harry decided to go teetotal."
cumshaw (KUM-shaw)
noun: a gift or tip.
From Chinese.
"Mike learned that handing out cumshaws sped things up at the government office."
origami (or-i-GAH-mee)
noun: the art of folding paper into various shapes.
From Japanese.
"The origami artist turned little scraps of paper into a virtual zoo."
kowtow (kow-TOW)
verb: to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground as a mark of respect.
From Chinese.
"When the head of the giant software corporation refused to kowtow to the swami, he was promptly transformed into a little bug."
sensei (SEN-say)
noun: A teacher of martial arts.
From Japanese.
"Students followed the moves of the sensei."
sequela (si-KWEL-uh)
noun: an abnormal condition resulting from a previous disease or injury.
From Latin.
"Abigail wondered which was worse, her headache or its sequela, the unstoppable hiccuping."
panacea (pan-uh-SEE-uh)
noun: a remedy for all diseases or a solutions for all problems.
From Latin via Greek.
"Jim felt harnessing moonbeams into energy might be the panacea for
the problem of energy shortage."
nosology (no-SOL-uh-jee)
noun: The systematic classification of diseases.
From Greek via Latin.
"Aunt Sally had so many conditions, she felt qualified to write a book on nosology."
placebo (pluh-SEE-bo)
noun: a substance having no medication, given to test a drug or to satisfy a patient.
From Latin.
"When he didn't feel any better even after taking the medicine, John wondered if it was a drug or a placebo."
nostrum (NOS-truhm)
noun: a quack medicine or an untested remedy for problems.
From Latin.
"The political candidate had a nostrum for all problems of the community."
valetudinarian (val-i-tood-NAR-ee-unn)
noun: someone who is excessively concerned about his or her health.
From Latin.
"The valetudinarian had a new room added to his house to store his medicines."
albedo (al-BEE-doh)
noun: the white, spongy inner lining of a citrus fruit rind.
From Latin.
"Timothy had a whole line of products made from oranges, and finally he hit on his best idea -- packaging albedo extract as a nutritional supplement."
dewlap (DYOO-lap)
noun: a loose fold of skin hanging under the neck of an animal such as cow.
From Middle English.
"Excuse me, but is it possible to omit the dewlap?" Herman hesitantly asked the artist he had commissioned to paint his portrait.
chaplet (CHAP-let)
noun: A wreath or garland worn on the head.
From Latin via French.
"Who knew the author who appeared on Oprah wearing a chaplet would launch the latest craze in head fashions?"
gnomon (NO-mon)
noun: the raised arm of a sundial that indicates the time of day by its shadow.
From Greek via Latin.
"The wall of the astronomy building at the
(fi-los-uh-FAS-tuhr)
noun: a pseudo-philosopher.
From Latin.
"He hoped there were fewer philosophasters on the committee and more people with real ideas."
illeist (IL-ee-ist)
noun: one who refers to oneself in the third person.
From Latin.
"When asked to comment on her expectations for the new album, the illeist pop singer replied, 'She hopes it'll hit platinum."
strepitant (STREP-i-tant)
adjective: Noisy; boisterous.
From Latin.
"After receiving repeated complaints of their noisiness, the apartment manager gave an eviction notice to the strepitant tenants."
blatherskite (BLATH-uhr-skyt)
noun: a person who babbles about inane matters.
From Old Norse and Scots.
"Dana finally had to get a pair of earplugs to escape from the chatter of her blatherskite husband."
adamantine (ad-uh-MAN-teen)
adjective: unyielding or firm, like a diamond.
From Greek via Latin and French.
"Soon Clio figured out what it would take to overcome her adamantine posture - a few adamantine stones, the precious kind."
oscitant (OS-i-tant)
adjective: yawning.
From Latin.
"The professor was delighted that his philosophy class almost always had full enrollment. If only he knew that those oscitant attendees were people hoping to find a remedy for their insomnia."
punctilious (pungk-TIL-ee-uhs)
adjective: Extremely attentive to minute details.
From Latin via Spanish and Italian.
"He had come across as witty, well-informed, and sensitive during dinner, but when he insisted on flossing before leaving for the theater, Melissa knew there wouldn't be a second date with this punctilious man."
redact (ri-DAKT)
verb: to revise or edit a document for publication.
From Latin.
"The government department gave the document to the journalist but only after redacting 90% of the words."
estivate or aestivate (ES-tuh-vayt)
verb: to pass the summer in a dormant state.
From Latin.
"Having bought Google stock at the IPO time,
decoct (di-KOKT)
verb: To extract the flavor or essence of something by boiling it.
From Latin.
"Little Danny couldn't wait to decoct the herbs to prepare the potion for the see-through vision as described in the book of potions."
extravasate (ik-STRAV-uh-sayt)
verb: to force out of a vessel or container.
From Latin.
"After his wife's repeated complaints he squeezes the tube in the middle, John bought a rolling pin to extravasate the last remaining atoms of the toothpaste."
perorate (PER-uh-rayt)
verb: to speak at length in a pompous way.
From Latin.
"In the third quarter, the earnings at Prolix, Inc., showed a 37% decline, thanks in large part to the company CEO's habit of perorating at staff meetings that kept employees away from work."
distrait (di-STRAY)
adjective: Inattentive or absentminded.
From Latin via French.
“The distrait professor forgot to bring his notes.”
endue also indue (en-DOO)
verb: To bestow with something.
From Latin via French.
"The sculptor endued his sculptures with life."
Procrustean (pro-KRUS-tee-uhn)
adjective: producing conformity using harsh means.
After Procrustes in Greek mythology.
"'Why don't you go on a diet, instead of throwing this dress away?' Jacob gave his wife procrustean advice."
aa (ah-ah)
noun: lava having a rough surface.
From Hawaiian.
"Andrew chose a sturdy pair of boot to hike over the aa fields."
papilionaceous (puh-pil-ee-uh-NAY-shuhs)
adjective: shaped like a butterfly.
From Latin.
"The petals of papilionaceous flowers reminded Zena of a Monarch butterfly."
fizgig (FIZ-gig)
noun: a type of firework that makes a hissing sound.
From Middle English.
"When Grandpa spoke, it appeared as if a fizgig was going off."
forfication (for-fi-KAY-shun)
noun: branching or forking.
From Latin.
"Forfication of Latin resulted in the formation of many languages, such as French, Spanish, and Italian."