Weekly - 5 Flashcards
Muscovite
/ˈməskəˌvīt/
n.
a native or citizen of Moscow.
adj.
relating to Moscow.
lapidary
adj.
relating to stone and gems and the work involved in engraving, cutting, or polishing.
- (of language) engraved on or suitable for engraving on stone and therefore elegant and concise.
n.
a person who cuts, polishes, or engraves gems.
caliph
/ˈkāləf,ˈkaləf/
n.
[historical] the chief Muslim civil and religious ruler, regarded as the successor of Muhammad. The caliph ruled in Baghdad until 1258 and then in Egypt until the Ottoman conquest of 1517; the title was then held by the Ottoman sultans until it was abolished in 1924 by Atatürk.
caliphate
n.
the rule or reign of a caliph or chief Muslim ruler.
- the area ruled by a caliph.
mayoralty
/ˈmāərəltē/
n.
the office of mayor.
- a mayor’s period of office.
involution
n.
- [physiology] the shrinkage of an organ in old age or when inactive, e.g. of the uterus after childbirth.
- [mathematics] a function, transformation, or operator that is equal to its inverse, i.e. which gives the identity when applied to itself.
- [formal] the process of involving or complicating, or the state of being involved or complicated.
redress
v.
remedy or set right (an undesirable or unfair situation).
- [archaic] set upright again
n.
remedy or compensation for a wrong or grievance.
roué
n.
a debauched man, especially an elderly one.
insouciant
/inˈso͞osēənt,inˈso͞oSHənt/
adj.
showing a casual lack of concern; indifferent.
libretto
n.
the text of an opera or other long vocal work.
klieg light
n.
a powerful electric lamp used in filming.
agon
n.
conflict, especially the dramatic conflict between the chief characters in a literary work
decamp
v.
depart suddenly or secretly, especially to relocate one’s business or household in another area.
- [archaic] break up or leave a military camp.
bibelot
/ˈbib(ə)ˌlō/
n.
a small, decorative ornament or trinket.
vitiate
v.
spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of.
- destroy or impair the legal validity of.
