The General: Charles De Gaulle and the France He Saved

Question 1

putative /’pjuːtətɪv/

Answer 1

► adjective
[attrib.] generally considered or reputed to be: the putative father of her children.

putatively adverb.

late Middle English: from Old French putatif, -ive or late Latin putativus, from Latin putat- ‘thought’, from the verb putare.

Question 2

brasserie /’brasəri/

Answer 2

► noun
(pl. brasseries) a restaurant in France or in a French style.
mid 19th cent.: French, originally ‘brewery’, from brasser ‘to brew’.

Question 3

cuckold /’kʌk(ə)ld/

Answer 3

► noun
dated the husband of an adulteress, often regarded as an object of derision.
► verb
[with obj.] (of a man) make (another man) a cuckold by having a sexual relationship with his wife.
■ (of a man’s wife) make (her husband) a cuckold.

cuckoldry noun.

late Old English, from Old French cucuault, from cucu ‘cuckoo’ (from the cuckoo’s habit of laying its egg in another bird’s nest). The equivalent words in French and other languages applied to both the bird and the adulterer; cuckold has never been applied to the bird in English.

Question 4

vituperation /vɪˌt∫uːpə’reɪ∫n/

Answer 4

► noun
[mass noun] bitter and abusive language: no one else attracted such vituperation from him.

Middle English: from Old French or Latin, from Latin vituperat- ‘censured, disparaged’, from the verb vituperare, from vitium ‘fault’ + parare ‘prepare’.

Question 5

patina /’patɪnə/

Answer 5

► noun
a green or brown film on the surface of bronze or similar metals, produced by oxidation over a long period.
■ a gloss or sheen on wooden furniture produced by age and polishing.
■ the impression or appearance of something: he carries the patina of old money and good breeding.

Question 6

tubby /’tʌbi/

Answer 6

► adjective ( tubbier, tubbiest)
1. informal short and rather fat: a small, tubby man.
2. (of a sound) lacking resonance; dull (as that of a tub when struck).

Question 7

tuft /tʌft/

Answer 7

► noun
a bunch or collection of threads, grass, hair, etc., held or growing together at the base: scrubby tufts of grass.
■ Anatomy & Zoology a bunch of small blood vessels, respiratory tentacles, or other small anatomical structures.

► verb [with obj.]
1. provide with a tuft or tufts.
2. Needlework strengthen (upholstery) by passing a cluster of threads through the material, so making depressions at regular intervals.
tufty adjective (tuftier, tuftiest).

Question 8

delectation /ˌdiːlɛk’teɪ∫(ə)n/

Answer 8

► noun
[mass noun] formal, chiefly humorous pleasure and delight: they had all manner of rock ‘n’ roll goodies for our delectation.

late Middle English: via Old French from Latin delectatio(n-), from delectare ‘to charm’ (see delight).

Question 9

sardonic /sɑː’dɒnɪk/

Answer 9

► adjective
grimly mocking or cynical: Starkey attempted a sardonic smile.

sardonically adverb
sardonicism noun.

mid 17th cent.: from French sardonique, earlier sardonien, via Latin from Greek sardonios ‘of Sardinia’, alteration of sardanios, used by Homer to describe bitter or scornful laughter.

Question 10

pederast /’pɛdərast/

Answer 10

► noun
a man who indulges in pederasty.

pederasty /’pɛdərasti/

► noun
[mass noun] sexual activity involving a man and a boy.

early 17th cent.: from modern Latin paederastia, from Greek paiderastia, from pais, paid- ‘boy’ + erastēs ‘lover’.

Question 11

livery1 /’lɪvəri/

Answer 11

► noun (pl. liveries)
1. a special uniform worn by a servant, an official, or a member of a City Company: yeomen of the guard wearing a royal red and gold livery | [mass noun] pageboys in scarlet and green livery.
■ a special design and colour scheme used on the vehicles, aircraft, or products of a particular company.
2. N. Amer. short for livery stable.
3. (in the UK) the members of a City livery company collectively.
4. historical a provision of food or clothing for servants.
5. in full livery of seisin Brit. historical the ceremonial procedure at common law of conveying freehold land to a grantee.

Question 12

herring /’hɛrɪŋ/

Answer 12

► noun
a fairly small silvery fish which is most abundant in coastal waters and is of widespread commercial importance.
■ Clupea and other genera, family Clupeidae (the herring family): several species, in particular (C. harengus), of the North Atlantic. The herring family also includes the sprats, shads, and pilchards.

Old English hæring, hēring, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch haring and German Hering.

Question 13

prow /praʊ/

Answer 13

► noun
the pointed front part of a ship; the bow.
■ the pointed or projecting front part of something such as a car or building.

mid 16th cent.: from Old French proue, from Provençal proa, probably via Latin from Greek prōira, from a base represented by Latin pro ‘in front’.

Question 14

croak /krəʊk/

Answer 14

► noun
a characteristic deep hoarse sound made by a frog or a crow.
■ a sound resembling a croak: Lorton tried to laugh—it came out as a croak.

► verb [no obj.]
1. (of a frog or crow) make a characteristic deep hoarse sound.
■ (of a person) make a sound similar to a croak when speaking or laughing: [with direct speech] ‘Thank you,’ I croaked.
2. informal die: the dog finally croaked in 1987.
■ [with obj.] kill (someone): she got croaked by a killer sex pervert.

Middle English (as a verb): imitative.

Question 15

Breton1 /’brɛt(ə)n/

Answer 15

► noun
1. a native of Brittany.
2. [mass noun] the Celtic language of Brittany, derived from Cornish. It has around 500,000 speakers.

► adjective
relating to Brittany or its people or language.

from Old French, ‘Briton’.

Question 16

Brittany /’brɪtəni/

Answer 16

a region and former duchy of NW France, forming a peninsula between the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel. It was occupied in the 5th and 6th centuries by Britons fleeing the Saxons, and was incorporated into France in 1532. French name Bretagne.

Question 17

acid /’asɪd/

Answer 17

► adjective

2. sharp-tasting or sour: acid fruit.
   ■ (of a person’s remarks or tone) bitter or cutting: she was stung into acid defiance.
   ■ (of a colour) strikingly intense or bright: an acid green.

Question 18

tarpaulin /tɑː’pↄːlɪn/

Answer 18

► noun
1. [mass noun] heavy-duty waterproof cloth, originally of tarred canvas.
■ [count noun] a sheet or covering of tarpaulin.
2. historical a sailor’s tarred or oilskin hat.
■ archaic a sailor.

Question 19

bolster1 /’bəʊlstə/

Answer 19

► noun
1. a long, thick pillow that is placed under other pillows for support.

Question 20

chateau /’∫atəʊ/

Answer 20

► noun
(pl. chateaux or chateaus pronunc. same or -təʊz) a large French country house or castle, often giving its name to wine made in its neighbourhood: [in names] Château Margaux.

Question 21

quay /ki:/

Answer 21

► noun
a stone or metal platform lying alongside or projecting into water for loading and unloading ships.

quayage noun.

late Middle English key, from Old French kay, of Celtic origin. The change of spelling in the late 17th cent. was influenced by the modern French spelling quai.

Question 22

fray1 /freɪ/

Answer 22

► verb
1. [no obj.] (of a fabric, rope, or cord) unravel or become worn at the edge, typically through constant rubbing: cheap fabric soon frays | [as adj.] (frayed) the frayed collar of her old coat.
■ figurative (of a person’s nerves or temper) show the effects of strain: as the temperature rose, tempers frayed.

2. [with obj.] (of a male deer) rub (a bush or small tree) with the head in order to remove the velvet from newly formed antlers, or to mark territory during the rut.

late Middle English: from Old French freiier, from Latin fricare ‘to rub’.

Question 23

flay /fleɪ/

Answer 23

► verb
[with obj.] strip the skin off (a corpse or carcass): the captured general was flayed alive.
■ strip (the skin) off a corpse or carcass: she flayed the white skin from the flesh.
■ whip or beat (someone) so harshly as to remove their skin: he flayed them viciously with a branch.
■ criticize severely and brutally: he flayed the government for not moving fast enough on economic reform.

flayer noun.

Old English flēan, of Germanic origin; related to Middle Dutch vlaen.

Question 24

jeremiad /ˌdʒɛrɪ’mʌɪad/

Answer 24

► noun
a long, mournful complaint or lamentation; a list of woes.
late 18th cent.: from French jérémiade, from Jérémie ‘Jeremiah’, from ecclesiastical Latin Jeremias, with reference to the Lamentations of Jeremiah in the Old Testament.

Question 25

piastre /pɪ’astə/, US also piaster

Answer 25

► noun
a monetary unit of several Middle Eastern countries, equal to one hundredth of a pound.

from French, from Italian piastra (d’argento) ‘plate (of silver)’.

Question 26

writ1 /rɪt/

Answer 26

► noun
1. a form of written command in the name of a court or other legal authority to act, or abstain from acting, in a particular way.
■ chiefly Brit. a Crown document summoning a peer to Parliament or ordering the election of a member or members of Parliament.
■ (one’s writ) one’s power to enforce compliance or submission; one’s authority: you have business here which is out of my writ and competence.
2. archaic a piece or body of writing.

Old English, as a general term denoting written matter, from the Germanic base of write.

Question 27

nincompoop /’nɪŋkəmpuːp/

Answer 27

► noun
a foolish or stupid person.
late 17th cent.: perhaps from the given name Nicholas or from Nicodemus (by association with the Pharisee of this name, and his naive questioning of Christ; compare with French nicodème ‘simpleton’).

Question 28

kepi /’kɛpi, ‘keɪpi/

Answer 28

► noun
(pl. kepis) a French military cap with a horizontal peak.

ORIGIN: mid 19th cent.: from French képi, from Swiss German Käppi, diminutive of Kappe ‘cap’.

Question 29

pusillanimous /ˌpjuːsɪ’lanɪməs/

Answer 29

► adjective
showing a lack of courage or determination; timid.

pusillanimity -lə’nɪmɪti noun
pusillanimously adverb.

ORIGIN: late Middle English: from ecclesiastical Latin pusillanimis (translating Greek olugopsukhos), from pusillus ‘very small’ + animus ‘mind’, + -ous.