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English Language > Interesting Words > Flashcards

Interesting Words Flashcards

This list is not only about new, maybe difficult words, but also familiar but in many ways interesting English language words

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

Oronym

A

n: oro - whole; n: nym - name

An oronym is a word or phrase that sounds very much the same as another word or phrase, often as a result of sounds running together.

Oronyms are spelled differently and have different meanings.

eg, icecream and i scream

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2
Q

Toponym

A

Noun.

The name of a place

e.g., Boston, Australia, etc.

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3
Q

Dotty

A

adjective, informal, British

(of a person, action or idea) somewhat mad or eccentric

eg., “He was slightly dotty towards the end of his second term.”

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4
Q

Itinerant

A

noun

a person who alternates between working and wandering

a person who travels from place to place, especially for duty or business

especially: covering a circuit
eg., itinerant preacher

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5
Q

Etiology

A

medicine

Cause or causes of a disease

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6
Q

Canny

A

adjective

  1. having or showing shrewdness and good judgement, especially in money or business matters.

eg., “canny shoppers came early for a bargain”

  1. Northern English/Scottish: pleasant; nice

“she’s a canny lass”

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7
Q

Pawl

A

noun

a pivoted curved bar or lever whose free end engages with the teeth of a cogwheen or ratchet so that the wheel or ratchet can only move or turn one way.

Each of a set of short stout bars that engage with whelps and prevent a capstan, windlass or winch from recoiling.

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8
Q

Aglet

A

Noun

  1. The plain or ornamental tag covering the ends of a lace or point.
  2. An of various ornamental studs, cords or pins worn on clothing

Source: Merriam-Web

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9
Q

endue

A

verb

endow or provide with a quality or ability

“Your sight should be endued with a far greater sharpness.”

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10
Q

boll

A

noun

The rounded seed capsule of plants such as cotton or flax

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11
Q

sanguine

A

adj: optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation.

lit (blood red)

n. a blood red color.

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12
Q

apocryphal

A

adjective (of a story or statement) of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true.

eg., “There is an apocryphal story of a rock star who ended up in bankruptcy court.”

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13
Q

Razzmatazz

A

noun

noisy, showy display

Ambiguous, evasive language

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14
Q

Stratum

A

noun
pl strati

a low cloud form extending over a large area at altitudes of usually 2000 to 7000 feet (600 to 2100 meters)

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15
Q

Beguile

A

verb

  1. charm or enchant (someone), sometimes in a deceptive way.

“every prominent American has been beguiled by Maine.”

  1. LITERARY: help (time) pass pleasantly

“to beguile some of the time, they went to the movie theater”

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16
Q

Floe

A

noun

pl floes

a sheet of floating ice

17
Q

Meretricious

A

adjective

  1. apparently attractive but having in reality, no value or integrity.

“meretricious souvenirs for the tourist trade.”

  1. ARCHAIC: relating to the characteristic of a prostitute.
18
Q

Potative

A

adjective

relating to potation or drinking

19
Q

Putative

A

adjective

  1. commonly accepted or supposed
  2. assumed to exist or have existed

putatively, adverb.

20
Q

Hundo

A

noun

plural hundos

slang, United States

Hundred (eg., dollars)

21
Q

Stet

A

verb

let it stand (used as an instruction on a printed proof to indicate that a correction or alteration should be ignored.

noun: an instruction to set made on a printed proof.

22
Q

Interdiction

A

noun

NORTH AMERICAN

  1. the action of prohibiting or forbidding something
  2. the action of intercepting and preventing the movement of a prohibited commodity or a person.
23
Q

Scienter

A

sy-EN-tuhr

Latin: scienter (knowingly) from scire (to know, to separate one thing from another.) From Indo-European skei (to cut r split) that also gave schism, ski, skhin, science, conscience, nice.

In law, scienter is an important concept. Scienter must be shown, that is, a person was aware - for eg., the note he passed was counterfeit - to prove guilt.

Often used as a noun.

24
Q

Tarmac

A

noun

TRADEMARK IN UK

material used to surface roads or other areas consisting of crushed rock mixed with tar.

verb

  1. BRITISH: surface a road or another area, with tarmac or similar material.

eg., “they’ll be wanting to tarmac the path”

  1. EAST AFRICAN: seek employment

eg., “It’s sad for graduates to tarmac for this long.”

ORIGIN: 20th century shortening of tarmacadam to tarmac.

25
Q

gulling

A

verb

gerund or present participle: gulling

“workers had been gulled into inflicting poverty and deprivation upon themselves”

26
Q

Fimiculous

A

adjective

living in or growing in animal excitement.

Latin: fimus (clung) }+ colere (to inhibit)

27
Q

Prosopagnosia

A

faceblindness

The inability to recognize faces, including one’s own.

28
Q

Phillumeny/Phillumenist

A

noun

The collection of matchbooks

One who collects matchbooks.

29
Q

Steed

A

noun

ARCHAIC; LITERARY

A horse being ridden or available for riding

30
Q

Layette

A

noun

a set of clothing linens, and sometimes toiletries for newborn child

“Mrs. Manross had made an elaborate layette for her baby.”

31
Q

Male Duck

A

Drake

32
Q

Lockjaw

A

noun

Alternate name for tetanus, a bacterial infection.

33
Q

lade

A

verb

  1. ship (goods) as cargo

load (a ship or a vessel)
“the surplus product must be laden here”

  1. (of a ship) take on cargo

“vessels lade here”

34
Q

aria

A

In opera, arias often occur during a break in the dramatic action when a character is reflecting on their emotions. They can be a chance to showcase the solo voice, learn about the character’s thoughts, or stop the plot action. Arias can take place when the character is alone, in front of a crowd, or as a way to show the character’s descent into madness. They can cover a range of human emotions , from joy to sadness, war or hate, or even just reflect on the beauty of nature.

35
Q

boatwright

A

noun

Occupational name for boat builder.

from Middle English botwrythe, botwright.

36
Q

Gawp`

A

verb

INFORMAL
BRITISH
3rd person present

stare openly in a stupid or rudemanner.

37
Q

Pother

A

n. ; pl: pothers

a commotion or fuss; ado

“don’t make such a pother”

38
Q

clou

A

pronunciation: kloo

noun

A major point of interest or a central idea

Fr. clou - nail

Latin - clarus

English Language (2 decks)

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