Random Vocab

Question 0

Slatternly (adj.)

Answer 0

1 : Untidy and dirty through habitual neglect.

2 : Of, relating to, or characteristic of a slut or prostitute.

There is a group of North Sea Germanic words in Sl- that means “sloppy” (see the verb slatter; the adjective slovenly). Some of these have shifted to mean a “a woman of loose morals.” C.f., the word “slut.”

Question 1

Marmoreal (adj.)

Answer 1

1 : Relating to marble

Question 2

Absinthe (n.)

Answer 2

1 : wormwood

2 : a green liqueur which is flavored with wormwood, anise, and other aromatic herbs and commercial production of which is banned in many countries for health concerns. It came to popularity in the 19th and 20th century and associated with bohemian culture. It is also known as “the green fairy.”

“They felt that the aesthetes, with their absinthe and library languor, had lacked gusto and wholehearted personality and had shrunk from life to render peripheral feelings caught only from introspection”

Question 3

Fulsome (adj.)

Answer 3

1 : characterized by abundance : copious.

2 : generally offensive

3 : excessively complimentary or flattering.

This word has become ambiguous, and context is needed to figure out the exact meaning.

Question 4

Olio (n.)

Answer 4

1 : Miscellaneous mixture : Hodgepodge.

Comes from Spanish Olla

Question 5

Conscientious (adj.)

Answer 5

1 : Very careful about doing what you are supposed do : Concerned with doing things right.

2 : governed by or conforming to the dictates of conscience : scrupulous.

3 : meticulous, careful.

Scrupulous has more moral connotations, viz. the carefulness is undergone out of a desire to do things according to an accepted moral standard.

Question 6

Prestidigitation (n.)

Answer 6

1. Sleight of hand

Comes from a family of words related to conjuring: Prestigious (“having a dazzling influence”) and prestige (“the respect that someone gets for being successful and important”). I love that the connotations of applause and wonderment at something which is beyond mortal grasp still rings in this word.

Question 7

Phlegmatic (adj.)

Answer 7

1 : Having an unemotional temperament.

This comes from the 4 humors, the idea that four bodily fluids affect personality and temperament. Sanguine (optimistic), Choleric (bad-tempered), melancholic (analytical and quiet), and phlegmatic (relaxed and peaceful). It was

Blood
Yellow bile
Black bile
Phlegm

Interestingly, the adjective Bilious goes with “bad tempered” or “noxious” as a definition.

Question 8

Waggish (adj.)

Answer 8

1 : Humorous and playful, mischievous, or facetious. “A Waggish riposte.” Riposte is a quick an clever reply.

Question 9

Incognizant (adj.)

Answer 9

1 : Not being conscious, lacking awareness. “Incognizant of the danger”

Question 10

Resonant (adj.)

Answer 10

1 : Producing a loud, clear, deep sound.

2 : Strongly affecting someone especially with a particular quality.

“In physics consists of a given system being driven by a another vibrating system by external forces” a system receives the smaller force and amplifies it in itself.

Question 11

Parsimony (n.)

Answer 11

1 : An extreme unwillingness to spend money

Question 12

Soporific (adj.)

Answer 12

1 : Tending to cause sleepiness

Question 13

Carp (v.)

Answer 13

1 : To find fault in trivial things

Question 14

“In thrall to” (prep. phrase)

Answer 14

1 : Being in under the authority or power of

Question 15

Dislocation (n.)

Answer 15

1 : Removal from normal or proper place.

Question 16

Attenuate (v.)

Answer 16

1 : Reduce the force off, effect, or value.

Question 17

Jetsam (n.)

Answer 17

1 : Unwanted material or goods that have been thrown overboard from a ship and washed ashore, esp. Things that have been discarded i lighten a vessel.

Question 18

Holdover (n.)

Answer 18

1 : A person or thing surviving from an earlier time.

Question 19

Salvos (n.)

Answer 19

1 : A simultaneous discharge of weapons.

Question 20

Squib (n.)

Answer 20

1 : A small firework that burns with a hissing sound before exploding.

2 : A short piece of satirical writing. A short news item or filler in a newspaper.

Question 21

Province (n.)

Answer 21

1 : The whole country outside the capital, esp. when regarded as lacking sophistication or culture.

Question 22

Deracinate (v.)

Answer 22

1 : uproot

2 : to remove or separate from a native environment.

I saw this used as “deracinated.”

Question 23

Feckless (adj.)

Answer 23

1 : Lacking in vitality and efficiency

2 :Unthinking or irresponsible

(Comes from Scots dialect “effek” meaning “effect”)

Question 24

Hinterlands (n.)

Answer 24

1 : The uncharted territory off the coast or river bank.

Question 25

Wormwood (n.)

Answer 25

1 : A plant that has a bitter taste

Shows up in Deuteronomy 29:18 as a root along with gall. It was considered both noxious and poisonous. Also c.f. Prov. 5:4 “but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword.” It’s a bitterness, an aftertaste, so only experienced after ingestion.

Question 26

Gall (n.)

Answer 26

1 : bile; especially: bile obtained from an animal and used in the arts or medicine.

2 : something bitter to endure

3 : bitterness of spirit : rancor.

Also.

1 : skin sore caused by chronic irritation

The verb takes from this second meaning. The verb means “to fret and wear away by friction.” Or “irritate, vex.”

Question 27

Facetious

Answer 27

Treating serious matters with deliberately inappropriate humor.