English Language

Foppish (adj) fop-ish Excessively refined and fastidious in taste and manner First recorded in 1595–1605.…

Ambivalent (adj) am-biv-a-lent Having mixed feelings about someone or something First used in 1910s in…

Zarzuela (noun) zah-zweyl-a A Spanish opera having spoken dialogue and often a satirically treated, topical…

Diatribe (noun) die-ah-trihb A bitter, sharply abusive denunciation, attack, or criticism First used in English…

Cobbler (noun) kob-ler A person who mends shoes First recorded in the 13th century. Apparently…

Bumfuzzle (verb) bum-fuzl to confuse or fluster While its origin is uncertain, it is an…

Lethargy (noun) leth-ar-gee The quality or state of being drowsy and dull, listless and unenergetic,…

Amanuensis (noun) am-an-oo-en-sis A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what…

Folderol (noun) fol-de-rol Nonsense; foolish talk or ideas First recorded in 1695–1705, and originally referred…

Espalier (noun) es-pal-ee-yay A trellis or framework on which the trunk and branches of fruit…