Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Words on Wednesday ~ Unfamiliar words


The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing - A Manual of Ready Reference

Author: Joseph Triemens

Aperients - Laxative.

 Averment - Assert formally as a fact.

 Biliousness - Peevish; irritable; cranky; extremely unpleasant or distasteful.

 bill of attainder - Legislative determination imposing punishment without trial.

 Bodkin - Small, sharply pointed instrument to make holes in fabric or leather.

 Carnelian - Pale to deep red or reddish-brown.

 Catarrhal - Inflammation of a mucous membrane, especially of the respiratory tract, accompanied by excessive secretions.

 cholera morbus - Acute gastroenteritis occurring in summer and autumn; symptoms are severe cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting.

 Conspectus - General or comprehensive view; survey; digest; summary.

 Copperas - Ferrous sulfate.

 Cumulation - Accumulation, heap, mass.

 Diathesis - Constitutional predisposition.

 Disseised - Dispossess unlawfully or unjustly; oust.

 emercement (amercement) - Fine not fixed by law; inflicting an arbitrary penalty.

 Emoluments - Payment for an office or employment; compensation.

 Erebus - Greek Mythology;  the dark region of the underworld through which the dead must pass before they reach Hades.

 Erraticism - Deviating from the usual conduct or opinion; eccentric; queer.

 Histologist - One who does anatomical studies of the microscopic structure of animal and plant tissues.

 Impecuniosity - Having little or no money; penniless; poor.

 Indurated - Hardened; obstinate; unfeeling.

 Inheres - Inherent or innate.

 Intendent - Title of various government officials or administrators.

 Irondequoit - Town of western New York on Lake Ontario and Irondequoit Bay, near    Rochester.

 Lees - Sediment settling during fermentation, especially wine; dregs.

 Luxation - Displacement or misalignment of a joint or organ.

 Marque (letter of) - Commission granted by a state to a private citizen to capture and    confiscate the merchant ships of another nation.

 Meerschaum - Fine, compact, usually white clay-like mineral of hydrous magnesium silicate, H4Mg2Si3O10, used for tobacco pipes, building stone and - ornamental carvings. Also called sepiolite.

 Orfila - Mathieu Orfila (1787-1853). Chemist, founder of toxicology.

 Pearlash - Potassium carbonate.

 Prosody - Study of the metrical structure of verse.

 Prussian blue - Dark blue crystalline hydrated compound, Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3.xH2O; ferric
   ferrocyanide.

 Putrescibles - Liable to decay or spoil or become putrid.

 Quassia - Shrub or small tree of tropical America, Quassia amara. Prepared form of the heartwood, used as an insecticide and in medicine as a tonic to dispel intestinal worms

 quoits - Game; player throws rings of rope or flattened metal at an upright peg, attempting to encircle it or come as close to it as possible.

 rotten stone - Porous, lightweight, siliceous sedimentary rock; shells of diatoms or
   radiolarians or of finely weathered chert, used as an abrasive and a polish.

 Saltpetre - Potassium nitrate, KNO3.

 Sciatica - Pain extending from the hip down the back of the thigh and surrounding
   area.

 Spatulate - Shaped like a spatula; rounded like a spoon.

 Sustension - Sustaining.

 Tete d'armee - Head of Army.

 Theine - Caffeine.


 Towardliness - Apt to learn; promising; docile; tractable; propitious; seasonable.

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