Petiole (noun) pet-ee-ohl (Botany) the slender stalk by which a leaf is attached to the stem; leafstalk. 1745–55; New Latin petiolus leafstalk, special use of Latin petiolus, scribal variant of…
Preponderant (adj) pree-pon-duh-rant superior in weight, force, influence, numbers, etc.; prevailing. Preponderant was first recorded in 1650–60 and comes from the stem of the Latin word praeponderāns, which is the…
Nebulous (adj) neb-yu-lus Hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused. First recorded in 1375–1425 and comes via late Middle English from the Latin word nebulōsus, meaning “full of mist, foggy, cloudy.” (more…)
Paul Auster, the author best known for the critically acclaimed New York Trilogy has died, aged 77 from complications from lung cancer it has been reported today. Auster was born…
Impediment (noun) im-ped-im-ent An obstruction, hindrance or obstacle. / any physical impairment or condition that impedes normal, fluent, or easy speech; a speech disorder. First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English,…
When Heather Morris’ Tattooist of Auschwitz was published, everyone was talking about it. As love stories go, this one wasn’t traditional as the two captured Jews in a concentration camp…
Gamp (noun) gamp (British) (informal) Umbrella. 1860–65; after the umbrella of Mrs. Sarah Gamp in Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit (more…)
Marabout (noun) ma-ra-boot (Islam) a hermit or holy man, especially in N Africa, often wielding political power and credited with supernatural powers./ the tomb or shrine of such a man.…
Farrago (noun) far-ah-go A jumbled mixture of things. 1625–35; Latin: literally, mixed crop of feed grains, equivalent to farr- (stem of far ) emmer + -āgō suffix noting kind or…
Firkin (noun) fer-kin a small wooden vessel or tub for butter, lard, etc. First recorded around 1400–50 and comes from the late Middle English word ferdkyn or firdekyn. (more…)
Collocation (noun) coll-ok-ay-shun the arrangement, especially of words in a sentence. 1595–1605; Latin collocātiōn- (stem of collocātiō ), equivalent to collocāt (more…)
Four books, that may be laced with arsenic have been removed from the National Library of France. The 19th century books, all printed in Britain all have emerald green covers,…
Infelicitous (adj) in-fel-is-it-us inapt, inappropriate, or awkward; malapropos / not felicitous, happy, or fortunate; unhappy. First recorded in 1825–35 (more…)
Absquatulate (verb) ab-skwat-yu-layt to flee; abscond. First recorded in 1820–30. Formed from ab-, “away from,” and squat, “to sit in a low or crouching position.” (more…)
Steadfast (adj) sted-fast Firm in purpose, resolution, faith, attachment. First recorded before 1000 and comes from the Middle English word stedefast, from Old English stedefæst. (more…)
Motte (noun) mot (historic)a mound forming the site of a castle or camp. late 19th century: from French, ‘mound’, from Old French mote (see moat). (more…)
Plash (noun) plash A gentle splash. / A pool or puddle. First recorded before 1000; Middle English plasch “pool, puddle,” Old English plæsc; cognate with Dutch, Low German plas, probably…
Fulgurate (verb) gul-guyr-ayt To flash and dart like lightning. 1670–80; Latin fulgurātus, past participle of fulgurāre to flash, glitter, lighten, derivative of fulgur flash of lightning (more…)
Eustress (noun) yoo-stres Physical, mental, or emotional tension that is caused by something positive or is psychologically or physically beneficial. First recorded in 1965–70 and comes from the Greek prefix…
Heterogeneous (adj) het-er-oh-jeen-yus Different in kind; unlike; incongruous. Composed of parts of different kinds; having widely dissimilar elements or constituents 1615–25; Medieval Latin (more…)
