WORDBOOK Flashcards
Postprandial
postprandial /pəʊs(t)ˈprandɪəl /
▸ adjective formal or humorous during or relating to the period after dinner or lunch:
we were jolted from our postprandial torpor.
▪ Medicine occurring or done after a meal:
an annual postprandial blood glucose test.
–ORIGIN early 19th century : from post- ‘after’ + Latin prandium ‘a meal’ + -al.
Iterate
iterate /ˈɪtəreɪt /
▸ verb [with object] perform or utter repeatedly:
(as adjective iterated) the bird’s call is a monotonously iterated single note.
▪ [no object] make repeated use of a mathematical or computational procedure, applying it each time to the result of the previous application; perform iteration.
▸ noun Mathematics a quantity arrived at by iteration.
–ORIGIN mid 16th century : from Latin iterat- ‘repeated’, from the verb iterare, from iterum ‘again’.
Muse (2)
muse (2) /mjuːz /
▸ verb [no object] be absorbed in thought:
he was musing on the problems he faced.
▪ say to oneself in a thoughtful manner:
‘I think I’ve seen him somewhere before,’ mused Rachel.
▪ (muse on) gaze thoughtfully at:
he sat on the edge of the bank, legs dangling, eyes musing on the water.
▸ noun an instance or period of reflection.
–ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French muser ‘meditate, waste time’, perhaps from medieval Latin musum ‘muzzle’.
Muse (1)
muse(1) /mjuːz /
▸ noun
1 (Muse) (in Greek and Roman mythology) each of nine goddesses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who preside over the arts and sciences.
The Muses are generally listed as Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Euterpe (flute playing and lyric poetry), Terpsichore (choral dancing and song), Erato (lyre playing and lyric poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Thalia (comedy and light verse), Polyhymnia (hymns, and later mime), and Urania (astronomy).
2 a person or personified force who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist:
Yeats’ muse, Maud Gonne
the landscape was Gorky’s primary muse.
–ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French, or from Latin musa, from Greek mousa.
Seminal
seminal /ˈsɛmɪn(ə)l /
▸ adjective
1 strongly influencing later developments:
his seminal work on chaos theory.
2 relating to or denoting semen:
the spermatozoa are washed to separate them from the seminal plasma.
▪ Botany relating to or derived from the seed of a plant:
the seminal root system.
–DERIVATIVES
seminally adverb
–ORIGIN late Middle English (in seminal (SENSE 2)): from Old French seminal or Latin seminalis, from semen ‘seed’. seminal (SENSE 1) dates from the mid 17th century.
Acquiesce
acquiesce /ˌakwɪˈɛs /
▸ verb [no object] accept something reluctantly but without protest:
Sara acquiesced in his decision.
–ORIGIN early 17th century : from Latin acquiescere, from ad- ‘to, at’ + quiescere ‘to rest’.
Sic (1)
sic(1) /sɪk /
▸ adverb used in brackets after a copied or quoted word that appears odd or erroneous to show that the word is quoted exactly as it stands in the original, as in a story must hold a child’s interest and ‘enrich his (sic) life’.
–ORIGIN Latin, literally ‘so, thus’.
Technocratic
technocratic /tɛknəˈkratɪk /
▸ adjective relating to or characterized by the government or control of society or industry by an elite of technical experts:
a technocratic approach to government
the rise of technocratic elites.
–DERIVATIVES
technocratically /tɛknəˈkratɪk(ə)li / adverb
Subversive
subversive /səbˈvəːsɪv /
▸ adjective seeking or intended to subvert an established system or institution:
subversive literature.
▸ noun a subversive person:
the government claimed we were subversives or terrorists.
–DERIVATIVES
subversively /səbˈvəːsɪvli / adverb
subversiveness noun
–ORIGIN mid 17th century : from medieval Latin subversivus, from the verb subvertere (see subvert).
Ubiquitous
ubiquitous /juːˈbɪkwɪtəs /
▸ adjective present, appearing, or found everywhere:
his ubiquitous influence was felt by all the family
cowboy hats are ubiquitous among the male singers.
–DERIVATIVES
ubiquitously adverb
ubiquitousness /juːˈbɪkwɪtəsnəs / noun
–ORIGIN mid 19th century : from modern Latin ubiquitas (from Latin ubique ‘everywhere’, from ubi ‘where’) + -ous.
Sanctimonious
sanctimonious /ˌsaŋ(k)tɪˈməʊnɪəs /
▸ adjective derogatory making a show of being morally superior to other people:
what happened to all the sanctimonious talk about putting his family first?
–DERIVATIVES
sanctimoniously /ˌsaŋ(k)tɪˈməʊnɪəsli / adverb
sanctimoniousness /ˌsaŋ(k)tɪˈməʊnɪəsnəs / noun
–ORIGIN early 17th century (in the sense ‘holy in character’): from Latin sanctimonia ‘sanctity’ (from sanctus ‘holy’) + -ous.
Perpetuity
perpetuity /pəːpɪˈtjʃuːɪti , pəːpɪˈtjuːɪti /
▸ noun
(plural perpetuities)
1 [mass noun] the state or quality of lasting forever:
he did not believe in the perpetuity of military rule.
2 a bond or other security with no fixed maturity date.
3 Law a restriction making an interest in land inalienable perpetually or for a period beyond certain limits fixed by law.
–PHRASES
in perpetuity (also for perpetuity)
forever:
all the Bonapartes were banished from France in perpetuity.
–ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French perpetuite, from Latin perpetuitas, from perpetuus ‘continuing throughout’ (see perpetual).
Superfluous
superfluous /suːˈpəːflʊəs /
▸ adjective unnecessary, especially through being more than enough:
the purchaser should avoid asking for superfluous information.
–DERIVATIVES
superfluously /suːˈpəːflʊəsli / adverb
superfluousness /suːˈpəːflʊəsnəs / noun
–ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin superfluus, from super- ‘over’ + fluere ‘to flow’.
Vacuity
vacuity /vəˈkjuːɪti /
▸ noun [mass noun]
1 lack of thought or intelligence; empty-headedness:
he denounced what he considered the frivolity or vacuity of much contemporary painting.
2 empty space; emptiness.
Vacuous
vacuous /ˈvakjʊəs / ▸ adjective 1 having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless: a vacuous smile vacuous slogans. 2 archaic empty. –DERIVATIVES vacuously /ˈvakjʊəsli / adverb vacuousness /ˈvakjʊəsnəs / noun –ORIGIN mid 17th century (in the sense ‘empty of matter’): from Latin vacuus ‘empty’ + -ous.
Vitriol
vitriol /ˈvɪtrɪəl /
▸ noun [mass noun]
1 bitter criticism or malice:
her mother’s sudden gush of fury and vitriol.
2 archaic or literary sulphuric acid:
it was as if his words were spraying vitriol on her face.
▪ in names of metallic sulphates, e.g. blue vitriol (copper sulphate) and green vitriol (ferrous sulphate).
–ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting the sulphate of various metals): from Old French, or from medieval Latin vitriolum, from Latin vitrum ‘glass’.
