The Blue Grotto

Word of the Day: Desiccated

Desiccate

.

Pronunciation: \ˈde-si-ˌkāt\

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): des·ic·cat·ed; des·ic·cat·ing

Etymology: Latin desiccatus, past participle of desiccare to dry up, from de- + siccare to dry, from siccus dry — more at sack

Date: 1575

transitive verb 1 : to dry up 2 : to preserve (a food) by drying : dehydrate 3 : to drain of emotional or intellectual vitality intransitive verb : to become dried up

.

     Mr. Tulkinghorn had, in the course of his solitary life, become as desiccated as the legal parchments that he carried in his black bag.

.

Words of the Day: Tenebrous & Umbrageous

Tenebrous

Pronunciation: \ˈte-nə-brəs\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French tenebreus, from Latin tenebrosus, from tenebrae

Date: 15th century

1 : shut off from the light : dark, murky <tenebrous depths> 2 : hard to understand : obscure <a tenebrous affair> 3 : causing gloom

.

Umbrageous

Pronunciation: \ˌəm-ˈbrā-jəs\

Function: adjective

Date: 1587

1 a: affording shade b: spotted with shadows2: inclined to take offense easily

.

     "Much as we love visiting Aunt Mountstuart Van Tassel, one has to admit that the gloom in her library warrants bringing into play the word tenebrous, or even umbrageous."

.

Word of the Day: Rampallion

Rampallion     A ruffian or scoundrel.

.

     "Really, when you come down to it, the crowd at Hilda Erdleigh-Quixote's bash the other night were sheer rampallions. Ruffians. Scoundrels to a man actually. I left after five minutes."

.

Word of the Day: Vermiculous

Vermiculous : Wormy

.

     "Under Heliogabalus, things in Rome had reached, shall we say, a state of affairs nothing short of vermiculous."

.

     Here's Heliogabalus:

Word of the Day: Lammergeier

Lamergeier:  Giant, vulture-like European bird of prey.

.

     "The boys at Eton during Dr. Keat's tenure as headmaster took to skulking along the passageways and cloisters out of sheer terror lest this lammergeier suddenly loom upon them with his cane."

.

     Sam the Eagle, from The Muppets, was a lammergeier, right?

 

Word of the Day: Abacinate

Abacinate

To blind by putting red-hot copper basin near the eyes.

.

     "We found Miss Hurlothumbro collecting old bits of copper sheeting and threatening to heat them red hot and stage an abacination, so furious was she at having been omitted from the guest list at Mrs. Digby-Vane-Trumpington's cotillion."

.

Word of the Day: Nebbish

     I first heard this Yiddish word last year from my pal Suzanne as she was describing various boyfriend candidates who had not quite cut the mustard, so I was pleased when Grotto wordsmith Amo sent it along to worldwide headquarters, Word-of-the-Day division.

.

Nebbish

Pronunciation: 'ne-bish
Function: noun
Etymology: Yiddish nebekh poor, unfortunate, from Czech nebohý
: a timid, meek, or ineffectual person

.

     Amo's sample sentence is short, sweet, and incontrovertibly accurate:

     "Mike Dukakis was a nebbish."

Word of the Day: Flagitious

Flagitious

Pronunciation: fl&-'ji-sh&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English flagicious, from Latin flagitiosus, from flagitium shameful thing
: marked by scandalous crime or vice : VILLAINOUS

.

     "Well, I call it nothing short of flagitious, Count Zodiates pushing his way in to Mrs. Mountstuart’s soiree like that."

.

Word of the Day: Lubricious

Lubricious

Pronunciation:  \lü-ˈbri-shəs\

Variant(s):  or lu·bri·cous \ˈlü-bri-kəs\

Function:  adjective

Etymology:  Medieval Latin lubricus, from Latin, slippery, easily led astray

Date:  1535

1: marked by wantonness : lecherous; also : salacious

2[Latin lubricus] : having a smooth or slippery quality <a lubricious skin>

.

     "Mr. Turveydrop’s lubricious manner resulted in a loss of confidence on the part of the entire committee. They thought him oily, really."

.

     Jeff Goldblum in Igby Goes Down is a good example of a super-lubricious movie character:

Word of the Day: Pilgarlic

     Thanks to Amo for submitting this excellent word!  I asked both Amo and my father to supply sample sentences, and both delivered!

.

Pilgarlic

Pronunciation: pil-'gär-lik
Function: noun
Etymology: pilled garlic
1 a : a bald head b : a bald-headed man
2 : a man looked upon with humorous contempt or mock pity

.

Amo's example:  "Howie Mandel is the creepiest of pilgarlics whose success continues to baffle me and whose pointy pate persists in rankling me."

.

My father's example:  "Oh yes, we used to see poor, bald Elmer van Tassel every Monday night at the opera. He'd arrive alone, sit alone, pace up and down alone at the intermissions, then leave alone, poor pilgarlic. Such a forlorn figure."

.

Howie Mandel, pilgarlic:

Word of the Day: Farrago

Farrago

Pronunciation: f&-'rä-(")gO
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -goes
Etymology: Latin farragin-, farrago mixed fodder, mixture, from far spelt -- more at BARLEY
: a confused mixture : HODGEPODGE

.

     "What Miss Whittleseys came up with, instead of a cogent report on the cooperative movement in the Punjab, was the merest farrago - a scrapbook, a shambles."

.

Word of the Day: Grimalkin

Grimalkin

Pronunciation: gri-'mo(l)-k&n
Function: noun
Etymology: gray + malkin
: a domestic cat; especially : an old female cat

.

     "Well, lets' face it: Aunt Lizzy Oxyrinkus turned herself into a grimalkin any number of decades ago in that Charles Addams house of hers."

Word of the Day: Farouche

Farouche

Pronunciation: f&-'rüsh
Function: adjective
Etymology: French, wild, shy, from Old French, alteration of forasche, from Late Latin forasticus living outside, from Latin foras outdoors; akin to Latin fores door -- more at DOOR
1 : WILD
2 : marked by shyness and lack of social graces

.

     Peguine Yphantis, for all of her startling good looks, is one of the most unfortunately farouche young women you will ever have met."

.

Word of the Day: Costive

Costive

Pronunciation: 'käs-tiv
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French costivé, past participle of costiver to constipate, from Latin constipare
1 a : affected with constipation b : causing constipation
2 : slow in action or expression
3 : not generous : STINGY

.

     "M. le Comte de Pigwiggen is distinctly costive when it comes to ladling out compliments, you may be sure."

.

Word of the Day: Flagitious

Pronunciation:  \flə-ˈji-shəs\

Function:  adjective

Etymology:  Middle English flagicious, from Latin flagitiosus, from flagitium shameful thing

Date:  14th century

: marked by scandalous crime or vice : villainous

.

     "Sir Alan Lascelles, the King's secretary, would stand as the very icon of all that exposes and reproves the boorish, ill-gotten, and flagitious."

.

Word of the Day: Scaphocephalic (It's hard to make it through the day without using this one. . . .)

Scaphocephalic

scaph·o·ce·phal·ic (skăf'ō-sə-făl'ĭk)
adj.

Having an abnormally long narrow skull.

[Greek skaphē, boat + –CEPHALIC.]

.

     "Um, ah - we can't really say it in so many words, but we really cannot use Miss Upchurch in this ad.  She's scaphocephalic."

.

     Also, I think my own head is shaped a little bit like a not-so-seaworthy boat.

. 

Words of the Day: Atrabilious and Splenetic

     Amo sends these in, with the following usage example:  "Grotto reporter CFC IV is both atrabilious and splenetic." 

.

Atrabilious

Pronunciation: "a-tr&-'bil-y&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin atra bilis black bile
1 : given to or marked by melancholy : GLOOMY
2 : ILL-NATURED, PEEVISH

.

Splenetic

Pronunciation: spli-'ne-tik, archaic 'sple-n&-(")tik
Function: adjective
Etymology: Late Latin spleneticus, from Latin splen spleen
1 archaic : given to melancholy
2 : marked by bad temper, malevolence, or spite

Word of the Day: Gressorial

Gressorial

gres·so·ri·al /grɛˈsɔriəl, -ˈsoʊr-/

Pronunciation Key - [gre-sawr-ee-uhl, -sohr-]

–adjective Zoology.

adapted for walking, as the feet of some birds.

---

[Origin: 1835–45; < L gress(us), ptp. of gradī to walk + -orial, as in grallatorial]

.

     "Signor Marjoribanks minces along the embarcadero for all the world like some tall gressorial stork."

.

     Here's a stork:

Word of the Day: Flageolet

Flageolet

Pronunciation: "fla-j&-'let, -'lA
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from Old French flajolet, from flajol flute, from Vulgar Latin *flabeolum, from Latin flare to blow -- more at BLOW
: a small fipple flute resembling the treble recorder

.

     "Why Mr. Quilp brought his flageolet to tea at the duchess’s the other day, none of us could quite understand."

.

     Here's a diagram of a flageolet.  There may be a pop quiz about this later:

Word of the Day: Purloin (AS OPPOSED TO "Pilfer" or "Filch")

     Thanks again to our favorite detail-oriented lawyer for this one. . . .

.

purloin   \per-LOYN\  

verb
    : to appropriate wrongfully and often by a breach of trust

Example sentence:
    Carol discovered that Mike had purloined her idea for her essay and used it in his own paper.

Did you know?
     "Purloin," "pilfer," and "filch" may just seem like fancy words for "steal," but each has a slightly different connotation.

     "Pilfer" implies stealing repeatedly in small amounts, as in this sentence: "It was months before her boss realized she was pilfering office supplies."
     "Filch" adds a suggestion of snatching quickly and surreptitiously (e.g., "He filched an apple from the tray").

     "Purloin" stresses removing or carrying off something for one's own use or purposes ("She purloined the manuscript and tried to pass it off as her own work").

Word of the Day: Termagant

    Thanks to Grotto contributor Amo for this one:

Termagant

\TUR-muh-guhnt\, noun:

1. A scolding, nagging, bad-tempered woman; a shrew.
2. Overbearing; shrewish; scolding.

The termagant who had dragged him out on long, boring walks, who had tried in vain to censor his reading, who had labelled him an impious liar and criminal, was dead at last, and the boy, hearing a servant say 'she has passed away', sank to his knees on the kitchen floor to thank God for so great a deliverance.
-- Jonathan Keates, Stendhal

Family legend recounts that Sister Garrison once quite literally brokeup her husband's drinking party by smashing the offending bottles, and this is sometimes taken to mean that Abijah Garrison was driven to desert his family by his termagant of a wife.
-- Henry Mayer, All on Fire

The music critic Maclintick, with his termagant wife and his book which will never be finished, who in a moment of drunken despair throws his cherished text down the lavatory and then gasses himself.
-- David McKie, "Secret harmonies", The Guardian, March 30, 2000

Termagant comes from Middle English Termagaunt, alteration of Tervagant, from Old French. Termagant was an imaginary Muslim deity represented in medieval morality plays as extremely violent and turbulent. By the sixteenth century, termagant was used for a boisterous, brawling, turbulent person of either sex, but eventually it came to refer only to women.

Word of the Day: Dandiprat

Dandiprat

–noun

1.	a silver coin of 16th-century England, equal to about twopence.

2.	Archaic. a. a diminutive person; a dwarf, pygmy, or midget. b. a person of small or childish mind; a silly, finicky, or puerile person. c. a child.

---

[Origin: 1510–20; orig. uncert.]

.

     "Well, I mean, what can we say? Surely Signor d’Imperio, being a mere dandiprat, poses no threat?"

.

Word of the Day: Rebarbative

Rebarbative

Pronunciation: ri-'bär-b&-tiv
Function: adjective
Etymology: French rébarbatif, from Middle French, from rebarber to be repellent, from re- + barbe beard, from Latin barba -- more at BEARD
: REPELLENT, IRRITATING

.

     "In spite of her heroic efforts, Miss Malseed’s cosmetic efforts have nonetheless left her, alas, with a somewhat rebarbative look."

.

Word of the Day: Integument

Integument

[in-teg-yuh-muhnt] –noun

1.	a natural covering, as a skin, shell, or rind.

2.	any covering, coating, enclosure, etc.

---

[Origin: 1605–15; < L integumentum a covering.

.

     "Given the integument into which Mr. Thistlethwaite has withdrawn, I would say that your arguments will all ricochet."

Word of the Day: Irrefrangible (as opposed to the other day's "Irrefragable")

Irrefrangible

[ir-i-fran-juh-buhl] 

–adjective

1.	not to be broken or violated; inviolable: an irrefrangible rule of etiquette.

2.	incapable of being refracted.

.

     "I'm afraid that little frontier is irrefrangible: you'll be shot."

.

     Here are some guys helping to ensure the irrefrangibility of a border:

Word of the Day: Irrefragable

Irrefragable

Pronunciation: i-'re-fr&-g&-b&l
Function: adjective
Etymology: Late Latin irrefragabilis, from Latin in- + refragari to oppose, from re- + -fragari (as in suffragari to vote for); akin to Latin suffragium suffrage
1 : impossible to refute <irrefragable arguments>
2 : impossible to break or alter <irrefragable rules>

.

     "The case that the Marquis of Chaff and Bran presented in The Lords struck the whole House as irrefragable.  The Labour opposition collapsed."

.

Word of the Day: Temerarious

Temerarious

Pronunciation: "te-m&-'rer-E-&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin temerarius, from temere
: marked by temerity : rashly or presumptuously daring

.

    "Miss Thigpen's notion of jettisoning all of the office inkpots and quills on the very morning when fountain pens were invented struck us all as verging on the temerarious."

Word of the Day: Postiche

Postiche

Pronunciation: pos-'tEsh
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from Spanish postizo
: WIG; especially : TOUPEE

.

"We were all somewhat bemused by the little postiche which Professor Trogmeyer suddenly showed up with at the prize-giving at Balliol the other night."

.

     Here's Muhammad Ali examining Howard Cosell's postiche:

Word of the Day: Quodlibet

Pronunciation: 'kwäd-l&-"bet
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin quodlibetum, from Latin quodlibet, neuter of quilibet any whatever, from qui who, what + libet it pleases, from libEre to please

1 : a philosophical or theological point proposed for disputation; also : a disputation on such a point
2 : a whimsical combination of familiar melodies or texts

.

"The only thing I could think of to say, when he brought up the topic of supralapsarianism at Mrs. Digby-Vane-Trumpington's table the other night, was, 'Well, now, there's a quodlibet for us all.'"

.

Word of the Day: Carious

     I will spare you a photo on this one. . . .

Carious

Pronunciation: 'ker-E-&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin cariosus, from caries
: affected with caries

.

     And the definition of caries:

Caries

Pronunciation: 'ker-Ez
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural caries
Etymology: Latin, decay; akin to Old Irish ara-chrinn it decays
: a progressive destruction of bone or tooth; especially : tooth decay

.

"My most sedulous efforts at devotion at the Easter liturgy proved nugatory last night: the breath of the woman next to me, exhaled through carious teeth, swept all before it."

.

Word of the Day: Vicegerent (NOT to be confused with Vice-Regent!)

     This word is not only good and interesting, but also somewhat confusing, because it IS a totally different word than "vice-regent" but the meaning seems to be pretty much the same!

Vicegerent

Pronunciation: -'jir-&nt
Function: noun
Etymology: Medieval Latin vicegerent-, vicegerens, from Late Latin vice- + Latin gerent-, gerens, present participle of gerere to carry, carry on
: an administrative deputy of a king or magistrate

.

     I think the dude on the left might be a vicegerent:

Word of the Day: Defenestration

     This one might be a repeat.  I'm not sure. . .

Defenestration

Pronunciation: \(ˌ)dē-ˌfe-nə-ˈstrā-shən\

Function: noun

Etymology: de- + Latin fenestra window

Date: 1620

1 : a throwing of a person or thing out of a window

2 : a usually swift dismissal or expulsion (as from a political party or office)

Word of the Day: Fell

Fell

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse fell, fjall mountain; akin to Old High German felis rock

Date: 14th century

dialect British : a high barren field or moor

.

"The dawn wind bloweth cold / On fen and fell and wold."

.

Here's a fell:

Word of the Day: Fen

Fen

Pronunciation: \ˈfen\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English fenn; akin to Old High German fenna fen, Sanskrit paṅka mud

Date: before 12th century

: low land that is covered wholly or partly with water unless artificially drained and that usually has peaty alkaline soil and characteristic flora (as of sedges and reeds)

.

"The dawn wind bloweth cold / On fen and fell and wold."

.

Here's a fen:

Word of the Day: Wold

Pronunciation: \ˈwōld\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English wald, wold, from Old English weald, wald forest; akin to Old High German wald forest, Old Norse vǫllr field

Date: before 12th century

1 : a usually upland area of open country

2 capitalized : a hilly or rolling region — used in names of various English geographic areas <Yorkshire Wolds>

.

"The dawn wind bloweth cold / On fen and fell and wold."

.

Here's a photo of a wold:

Word of the Day: Condign (easy one that nobody knows)

Condign

Pronunciation: k&n-'dIn, 'kän-"
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English condigne, from Anglo-French, from Latin condignus, from com- + dignus worthy -- more at DECENT
: DESERVED, APPROPRIATE <condign punishment>

Word of the Day: Megalosaurian

Megalosaurian

Referring to the largest possible saurians (bronto- etc.), but by extension metaphorically, as in:  "Mr. Tulkinghorn's intermittent efforts at affability always capsize under the weight of his megalosaurian vanity."

Word of the Day: Satrap

Satrap

Pronunciation: \ˈsā-ˌtrap also ˈsa-ˌtrap or ˈsa-trəp\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Latin satrapes, from Greek satrapēs, from Old Persian khshathrapāvan, literally, protector of the dominion

Date: 14th century

1: the governor of a province in ancient Persia

2 a: ruler b: a subordinate official : henchman

.

"Poor Mr. Throckmorton handled his job as superintendent as though the very Shah had made him Satrap of All Oxiana."

.

Here's a satrap and his wife:

Word of the Day: Coppice

Coppice

Pronunciation: 'kä-p&s
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English copies cutover area overgrown with brush, from Middle French copeis, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *colpaticium, from *colpare to cut, from Late Latin colpus blow -- more at COPE
1 : a thicket, grove, or growth of small trees
2 : forest originating mainly from shoots or root suckers rather than seed

.

"The poor fox, in despair, ran into a coppice, only to be set upon by the hounds."

Word of the Day: Glaucous

Glaucous

Pronunciation: 'glo-k&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin glaucus, from Greek glaukos gleaming, gray
1 a : of a pale yellow-green color b : of a light bluish-gray or bluish-white color
2 : having a powdery or waxy coating that gives a frosted appearance and tends to rub off

Word of the Day: Defenestration

Defenestration

Pronunciation: (")dE-"fe-n&-'strA-sh&n
Function: noun
Etymology: de- + Latin fenestra window
1 : a throwing of a person or thing out of a window
2 : a usually swift dismissal or expulsion (as from a political party or office) 

Word of the Day: Epicene

Epicene

Pronunciation: 'e-p&-"sEn
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin epicoenus, from Greek epikoinos, from epi- + koinos common -- more at CO-
1 of a noun : having but one form to indicate either sex
2 a : having characteristics typical of the other sex : INTERSEXUAL b : EFFEMINATE
3 : lacking characteristics of either sex

Word of the Day: Dystopia (submitted by loyal and prominent Grotto reader Chris Goodman)

Dystopia

Pronunciation: (")dis-'tO-pE-&
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, from dys- + -topia (as in utopia)
1 : an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives
2 : ANTI-UTOPIA

.

Goodman notes that he's been reminded of this word in almost every review of the new Clive Owen-Julianne Moore movie Children of Men, set in a world of despair in 2027.

Word of the Day: Cozen

Cozen

Pronunciation: 'k&-z&n
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): coz·ened; coz·en·ing /'k&z-ni[ng], 'k&-z&-/
Etymology: perhaps from obsolete Italian cozzonare, from Italian cozzone horse trader, from Latin cocion-, cocio trader
1 : to deceive, win over, or induce to do something by artful coaxing and wheedling or shrewd trickery
2 : to gain by cozening someone

.

"Try to buy a good Montrachet at that wine shop there, and you're sure to be cozened."

Word of the Day: Jackanapes

Jackanapes

Pronunciation: 'ja-k&-"nAps
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English Jack Napis, nickname for William de la Pole died 1450 duke of Suffolk
1 a : an impudent or conceited fellow b : a saucy or mischievous child

.

"Young Twistleton, if you ask me, is an insufferable jackanapes."

Word of the Day: Sprezzatura

Sprezzatura

Pronunciation: sprAt-tsä-'tü-rä
Function: foreign term
Etymology: Italian
: studied nonchalance : perfect conduct or performance of something (as an artistic endeavor) without apparent effort

.

"If Sir Philip Sidney doesn't display the most breathtaking sprezzatura in everything he undertakes, I can't think who does."

Word of the Day: Hobbledehoy

Hobbledehoy

Pronunciation: 'hä-b&l-di-"hoi
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
: an awkward gawky youth

.

"You hobbledehoys have no notion of the stratospheric level of my love for Miss Digby-Vane-Trumpington."

Let's Kill Two Birds with One Stone by Combining the Word of the Day with a Really Cool Photo Taken by the Hubble Telescope!

Here's an aurora crowning Jupiter's North Pole:

 

Now, here's the definition of Aurora:

Pronunciation: &-'ror-&
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural auroras or au·ro·rae /-(")E/
Etymology: Latin -- more at EAST
1 : DAWN
2 capitalized : the Roman goddess of dawn -- compare EOS
3 : a luminous phenomenon that consists of streamers or arches of light appearing in the upper atmosphere of a planet's magnetic polar regions and is caused by the emission of light from atoms excited by electrons accelerated along the planet's magnetic field lines

Word of the Day: Scold (different meaning!)

Scold

Pronunciation: 'skOld
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English scald, scold, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skAld poet, skald, Icelandic skAlda to make scurrilous verse
1 a woman who disturbs the public peace by noisy and quarrelsome or abusive behavior

.

"She was acting like a henwife or a scold when her husband came home deeply in his cups."

Word of the Day: Popinjay

As a new feature for the Word of the Day category, I've asked my father to provide some original examples of the words' uses in sentences.

.

Popinjay

Pronunciation: 'pä-p&n-"jA
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English papejay parrot, from Middle French papegai, papejai, from Arabic babghA'
: a strutting supercilious person

.

"Well, don't be put off when you meet him: he's a popinjay, and you have to take than into account."