inspissate verb [ with obj. ]thicken or congeal: inspissated secretions. ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from late Latin inspissat- ‘made thick’, from the verb inspissare (based on Latin spissus ‘thick, dense’).

moil archaic, dialect, or N. Amer. verb [ no obj. ] 1 work hard: men who moiled for gold. 2 move around in confusion or agitation: a crowd of men and women moiled in the smoky haze.. noun 1 hard work; drudgery. this night his weekly moil is at an end. 2 turmoil; confusion: the moil of his intimate thoughts. ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘moisten or bedaub’): from Old French moillier ‘paddle in mud, moisten’, based on Latin mollis ‘soft’. The sense ‘work’ dates from the mid 16th cent., often in the phrase toil and moil.

stipe noun Botany a stalk or stem, especially the stem of a seaweed or fungus or the stalk of a fern frond. ORIGIN late 18th cent.: from French, from Latin stipes (see stipes) .

aphtha noun Medicine a small ulcer occurring in groups in the mouth or on the tongue. • [ mass noun ] a condition in which aphthae occur. DERIVATIVES aphthous adjective ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: via Latin from Greek, connected with haptein ‘set on fire’.

catamite noun archaic a boy kept for homosexual practices. ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Latin catamitus, via Etruscan from Greek Ganumēdēs (see Ganymede) .

bricolage noun (pl.same or bricolages) [ mass noun ] (in art or literature) construction or creation from a diverse range of available things. the chaotic bricolage of the novel is brought together in a unifying gesture. • [ count noun ] something constructed or created from a diverse range of things. bricolages of painted junk. ORIGIN French.

glabrous adjective technical (chiefly of the skin or a leaf) free from hair or down; smooth. ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin glaber, glabr- ‘hairless, smooth’ + -ous.

glacis noun 1 a bank sloping down from a fort which exposes attackers to the defenders' missiles. 2 (also glacis plate) a sloping piece of armour plate protecting part of a vehicle. ORIGIN late 17th cent.: from French, from Old French glacier ‘to slip’, from glace ‘ice’, based on Latin glacies .

raceme noun Botany a flower cluster with the separate flowers attached by short equal stalks at equal distances along a central stem. The flowers at the base of the central stem develop first. ORIGIN late 18th cent.: from Latin racemus ‘bunch of grapes’.

catafalque noun a decorated wooden framework supporting the coffin of a distinguished person during a funeral or while lying in state. ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from French, from Italian catafalco, of unknown origin. [ODDLY ENOUGH, I KNEW THAT ONE.]

In case you didn’t know: plethora noun 1 a large or excessive amount of something: a plethora of committees and subcommittees | Allen won a plethora of medals during his illustrious career. 2 Medicine an excess of a bodily fluid, particularly blood. DERIVATIVES plethoric adjective( archaic or Medicine) ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (in the medical sense): via late Latin from Greek plēthōrē, from plēthein ‘be full’.

usage: Strictly, a plethora is not just an abundance of something, it is an excessive amount. However, the new, looser sense is now so dominant that it must be regarded as part of standard English.

[I suppose the same thing has happened to: fulsome adjective 1 complimentary or flattering to an excessive degree: the press are embarrassingly fulsome in their appreciation. 2 of large size or quantity; generous or abundant: the fulsome details of the later legend. DERIVATIVES fulsomely adverb. fulsomeness noun ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘abundant’): from full1 + -some1.

NOTER USAGE: Although the earliest use of fulsome (first recorded in the 13th century) was ‘generous or abundant’, this meaning is now regarded by some people as wrong. The correct meaning today is held to be ‘excessively complimentary or flattering’. However, the word is still often used in its original sense of ‘abundant’, especially in sentences such as she was fulsome in her praise for the people who organized it, and this use can give rise to ambiguity: for one speaker, fulsome praise may be a genuine compliment, whereas for others it will be interpreted as an insult.

Use the time well. Words will help.

Of all the words I looked up in the past year, the one that sticks in my memory is ZARF: “A zarf is something that helps you hold a hot cup without burning your fingers. Don't leave the coffee shop without your zarf!

“Zarf is a peculiar looking word that is a loaner from Arabic and originally denoted a metal holder for a drinking glass — which would be unwieldy to handle if it contained a hot beverage. Now in the latte age, zarf is extended to denote any such cup-holding appliance, like the collapsible cardboard ones you get for paper cups to hold your skinny double mochachino.”

I have a lot of paper scraps with words printed on them, waiting for me to get acquainted.. I think I’ll relax and poke at some of them today.

cupreous, adjective of or like copper: stained green with cuprueous patina. ORIGIN mid 17th century: from late Latin cupreus (from cuprum ‘copper’) + ous.

dyspnoea noun [ mass noun ] Medicine difficult or laboured breathing. many soldiers presented with acute dyspnoea. DERIVATIVES dyspnoeic adjective ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: via Latin from Greek duspnoia, from dus- ‘difficult’ + pnoē ‘breathing’.

etiolated adjective 1 (of a plant) pale and drawn out due to a lack of light. etiolated leaf segments. the girl might have grown etiolated and bland like grass under stone. 2 having lost vigour or substance; feeble: a tone of etiolated nostalgia. DERIVATIVES etiolation ORIGIN late 18th cent.: from the verb etiolate (from French étioler.

paraphilia, noun [ mass noun ] Psychiatry a condition characterized by abnormal sexual desires, typically involving extreme or dangerous activities. DERIVATIVES paraphiliac adjective & noun

prosopography noun a description of a person's appearance, personality, career, etc., or a collection of such descriptions. Genet's prosopography of the members of the University of Paris in the Middle Ages. • [ mass noun ] the study of prosopographies, especially as an aspect of the study of Roman history. DERIVATIVES prosopographer noun; prosopographical adjective ORIGIN 1920s: from modern Latin prosopographia, from Greek prosōpon ‘face, person’ + -graphia ‘writing’.

[AND I HAVE TOLD YOU BEFORE, I HAVE prosopagnosia, an inability to recognize person’s appearance.]

cibophobia fear of food. This word wasn’t in the online dictionary. [After the simple definition (on Google Chrome) it goes on to illustrate and comment on the phobia. an interesting sidebar was a list of phobias. So many people live in fear!]

assegai noun (pl.assegais) 1 a slender, iron-tipped, hardwood spear used chiefly by southern African peoples. 2 (also assegai wood)a South African tree of the dogwood family, which yields hard timber. verb (assegais, assegaing, assegaied) [ with obj. ] wound or kill with an assegai. he was a very brave man but he was eventually assegaied. ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from obsolete French azagaie or Portuguese azagaia, from Arabic az-zaġāyah, from az, al ‘the’ + Berber zaġāyah ‘spear’.

[WHEN I COME ACROSS WORDS LIKE THESE I WONDER WHAT I’VE BEEN READING!]

sati (also suttee) noun (pl.satis or suttees) [ mass noun ] the former Hindu practice of a widow throwing herself on to her husband's funeral pyre. • [ count noun ] a widow who committed sati. ORIGIN Hindi, from Sanskrit satī ‘faithful wife’, from sat ‘good’. SATI , the wife of Shiva, reborn as Parvati. According to some accounts, she died by throwing herself into a sacred fire.

[I KNEW SUTTEE BUT I DIDN’T KNOW THE ORIGIN.]

condign adjective formal (of punishment or retribution) appropriate to the crime or wrongdoing; fitting and deserved. condign punishment was rare when the criminal was a man of high social standing. DERIVATIVES condignly adverb ORIGIN late Middle English (in the general sense ‘worthy, appropriate’): from Old French condigne, from Latin condignus, from con- ‘altogether’ + dignus ‘worthy’.

fantod noun N. Amer. informal a state or attack of uneasiness or unreasonableness: people calling me Ray just gives me the fantods. ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: of unknown origin.

panoptic adjective, permitting the viewing of all parts or elements:a panoptic stain used in microscopy; a panoptic aerial photograph of an enemy missile base. considering all parts or elements; all inclusive:a panoptic criticism of modern poetry.

Hey! I haven’t finished yet and I have two likes. I’ll quit while I’m ahead.