Of course, with all the papers I’m sifting through, I have found lots of words, carefully printed, for us to check out.
contumacious , adjective archaic or Law, (especially of a defendant's behaviour) stubbornly or wilfully disobedient to authority. his refusal to make child support payments was contumacious. DERIVATIVES contumaciously adverb ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Latin contumax,- (perhaps from con- ‘with’ + tumere ‘to swell’) + -ious.
gurn (also girn) verb [ no obj. ] 1 Brit.pull a grotesque face. 2 (usu. girn)chiefly Scottish & Irish: complain peevishly.
DERIVATIVES gurner noun ORIGIN early 20th cent.: dialect variant of grin.
seitan (I KNOW WHAT THIS IS, BUT I HAVEN’T EATEN IT YET) seitan |noun [ mass noun ]: a type of textured vegetable protein made from wheat gluten, used as a meat substitute. ORIGIN perhaps from Japanese shokubutsusei tanpaku ‘vegetable protein’.
enclitics enclitic noun, Linguistics: a word pronounced with so little emphasis that it is shortened and forms part of the preceding word, for example n't in can't. Compare with proclitic. DERIVATIVES enclitically adverb ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: via late Latin from Greek enklitikos, from enklinein ‘lean on’, from en- ‘in, on’ + klinein ‘to lean’. I LIKE THIS ONE
proclitic proclitic, Linguistics: noun: a word pronounced with so little emphasis that it is shortened and forms part of the following word, e.g. at in at home. adjective, denoting or relating to a proclitic. DERIVATIVES proclitically adverb ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from modern Latin procliticus (from Greek proklinein ‘lean forward’), on the pattern of late Latin encliticus
diacritical diacritic noun, a sign, such as an accent or cedilla, which when written above or below a letter indicates a difference in pronunciation from the same letter when unmarked or differently marked. adjective (of a mark or sign) indicating a difference in pronunciation. DERIVATIVES diacritical adjective, diacritically adverb ORIGIN late 17th cent.: from Greek diakritikos, from diakrinein ‘distinguish’, from dia- ‘through’ + krinein ‘to separate’.
conurbations conurbation noun: an extended urban area, typically consisting of several towns merging with the suburbs of a central city. the major conurbations of London and Birmingham. ORIGIN early 20th cent.: from con-‘together’ + Latin urbs, urb- ‘city’ + -ation.
metathesis noun, (pl.metatheses) 1 [ mass noun ] Grammar the transposition of sounds or letters in a word. he attributes the metathesis of the last two sounds to the Creole tendency to end words with a vowel. 2 (also metathesis reaction)Chemistry another term for double decomposition. DERIVATIVES metathetic |adjective, metathetical adjective. ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Greek, from metatithenai ‘transpose, change the position of’. I LIKE WORDS AND LANGUAGE AND GRAMMAR!
camarilla noun derogatory: a small group of people, especially a group of advisers to a ruler or politician, with a shared purpose: a military camarilla that has lost any sense of political reality. DOES THIS SOUND LIKE ANYONE YOU KNOW?ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from Spanish, diminutive of camara ‘chamber’.
swarf noun [ mass noun] fine chips or filings of stone, metal, or other material produced by a machining operation. a curl of metal swarf. ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: either from Old English geswearf‘filings’ or from Old Norse svarf ‘file dust’.
hebdomadal adjective formal weekly (used especially of organizations which meet weekly): Oxford University's Hebdomadal Council. ORIGIN early 17th cent. (in the sense ‘lasting seven days’): from late Latin hebdomadalis, from Greek hebdomas, hebdomad- ‘the number seven, seven days’, from hepta ‘seven’.
tephra |noun [ mass noun ] Geology: rock fragments and particles ejected by a volcanic eruption. ORIGIN 1940s: from Greek, literally ‘ash, ashes’.:
dongle noun, a device that is connected to a computer to allow access to wireless broadband or use of protected software.
ORIGIN 1980s: an arbitrary formation.
scumble verb [ with obj. modify (a painting or colour) by applying a very thin coat of opaque paint to give a softer or duller effect. the area surrounding the main figures will be scumbled. • modify (a drawing) with light shading in pencil or charcoal to give a softer effect. ORIGIN late 17th cent. (as a verb): perhaps a frequentative of the verb scum.
What have I been reading?