aubade \oh-BAHD\ (noun) - A song or poem greeting the dawn; also, a composition suggestive of morning.

"She sang the first aubade welcoming the sun, then turned westward and moved into the second one, the song which sang the daystar farewell." -- Eliszbeth Haydon, 'Elegy for a Lost Star'

Aubade comes from the French, from aube, dawn + the noun...Read more

doula \DOO-luh\ (noun) - A woman who assists during childbirth labor and provides support to the mother, her child and the family after childbirth.

"Our daughters are grown and on their own. Penny is a doula and midwife assistant in Oregon." -- Piers Anthony, 'Swell Foop'

Doula derives from Greek doula, "servant-woman, slave," akin to ...

apocryphal \uh-POK-ruh-fuhl\ (adjective) - 1 : (Bible) Pertaining to the Apocrypha. 2 : Not canonical. Hence: Of doubtful authority or authenticity; equivocal; fictitious; spurious; false.

"But Gary was obsessed with the apocryphal writings. He was sure he could use the information from these Scrolls to avoid the apocalypse." -- Brad Kelln, '...Read more

subaltern \suhb-OL-tuhrn; SUHB-uhl-tuhrn\ (adjective) - 1 : Ranked or ranged below; subordinate; inferior. 2 : (Chiefly British) Ranking as a junior officer; being below the rank of captain. 3 : (Logic) Asserting only a part of what is asserted in a related proposition.

(noun) - 1 : A person holding a subordinate position. 2 : (Chiefly British)...Read more

mollify \MOL-uh-fy\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To pacify; to soothe or calm in temper or disposition. 2 : To reduce in intensity; to temper. 3 : To soften; to reduce the rigidity of.

"...Doubtless she had poisoned my beer with something intended to mollify me, to mollify Molloy, with the result that I was nothing more than a lump of melting wax, ...Read more

inclement \in-KLEM-uhnt\ (adjective) - 1 : Rough, harsh; extreme, severe -- generally restricted to the elements or weather. 2 : Severe, unrelenting; cruel.

"Maritally, it had been an inclement winter. It was looking like an inclement spring." -- Stephen White, 'Dry Ice'

Inclement is from Latin in-, "not" + clemens, "gentle, merciful."

redact \rih-DAKT\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To draw up or frame (a statement, proclamation, etc.); to put in writing. 2 : To make ready and put in shape for publication; to edit.

"Back when we were in college, we used to lie in bed and regularly redact a mutual fantasy about how someday we could run a cafe or a hotel in some distant country..." -...Read more

travail \truh-VAYL; TRAV-ayl\ (noun) - 1 : Painful or arduous work; severe toil or exertion. 2 : Agony; anguish. 3 : The labor of childbirth

(intransitive verb) - 1 : To work very hard; to toil. 2 : To suffer the pangs of childbirth; to be in labor.

"What happened to marriage and family that it should have become a travail and a sadness, ...Read more

transmogrify \trans-MOG-ruh-fy\ (transitive verb) - To change into a different shape or to transform, often with bizarre or humorous effect.

"Jennie suddenly felt suspicious; it wouldn't be Camille's fault, but grief could transmogrify that forgiveness at any moment..." -- Nancy Woodruff, 'Someone Else's Child'

Transmogrify is perhaps a ...Read more

aficionado \uh-fish-ee-uh-NAH-doh\ (noun) - An enthusiastic admirer; a fan.

"He cautiously descended a dark, narrow stairway to a cool room with a smooth floor and every sort of treasure an art aficionado could imagine." -- Tamara Sneed, 'All the Man I Need'

Aficionado derives from Spanish aficionar, "to induce a liking for," from afición, "a...Read more

billingsgate \BIL-ingz-gayt; -git\ (noun) - Coarsely abusive, foul, or profane language.

"These are the people who make life a burthen to the tourist. Their tongues are never still. They talk forever and forever, and that is the kind of billingsgate they use. -- Mark Twain, 'The Innocents Abroad'

Billingsgate is so called after Billingsgate, a...Read more

choleric \KOL-uh-rik; kuh-LAIR-ik\ (adjective) - 1 : Easily irritated; inclined to anger; bad-tempered. 2 : Angry; indicating or expressing anger; excited by anger.

"My father says he is a bit choleric and it is better to drop papers off sometimes than to see him in person." -- Jon Mango, "Seven Mile Bridge

Choleric is the adjective form of ...Read more

sedulous \SEJ-uh-luhs\ (adjective) - 1 : Diligent in application or pursuit; steadily industrious. 2 : Characterized by or accomplished with care and perseverance.

"Eating and sleeping; hearing grave, sedulous men read out of grave, sedulous book what we have heard a hundred times." -- Mary Webb, 'Gone to Earth'

Sedulous is from Latin sedulus,...Read more

clemency \KLEM-uhn-see\ (noun) - 1 : Disposition to forgive and spare, as offenders; mercy. 2 : An act or instance of mercy or leniency. 3 : Mildness, especially of weather.

"If the buccaneers surrendered, he would give them clemency -- if they did not he would sail to Maracaibo and would destroy the bucsaneers utterly." -- Shirlee Busbee, '...Read more

alpenglow \AL-puhn-gloh\ (noun) - A reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains.

"I had seen light similar to this in Switzerland, where it was known as alpenglow. But this was no ordinary alpenglow." -- Paul Watkins, 'The Ice Soldier'

Alpenglow is a partial translation of German Alpenglühen, from Alpen, "Alps" + glü...Read more

sacrosanct \SAK-roh-sankt\ (adjective) - Sacred or inviolable.

"The public's right to know is sacrosanct, and it is our sacrosanct duty as journalists to respect this right. Otherwise we could no longer proudly call ourselves journalists in the public service." -- Andrea Camilleri, Stephen Sartarelli, 'The Patience of the Spider'

Sacrosanct ...Read more

tmesis \TMEE-sis\ (noun) - In grammar and rhetoric, the separation of the parts of a compound word, now generally done for humorous effect; for example, "what place soever" instead of "whatsoever place," or "abso-bloody-lutely."

"As an example of a tmesis, Franklin was wont to quote Shakespeare from Richard II, :If on the first, how heinous e'...Read more

querulous \KWER-uh-luhs; -yuh\ (adjective) - 1 : Apt to find fault; habitually complaining. 2 : Expressing complaint; fretful; whining.

"For a younger man, he suddenly sounded like a querulous uncle. Or how she'd imagined a querulous uncle would sound." -- Anne Bishop, 'Belladonna'

Querulous comes from Latin querulus, from queri, "to complain."

cynosure \SY-nuh-shoor; SIN-uh-shoor\ (noun) - 1 : Anything to which attention is strongly turned; a center of attraction. 2 : That which serves to guide or direct. 3 : [Capitalized]. The northern constellation Ursa Minor, which contains the North Star; also, the North Star itself.

"They would be the cynosure of all eyes. What was a cynosure ...Read more

Loyal members of the Word Guy Blooper Patrol have been scurrying around all summer to find errors in publications and other printed matter. Can you spot the blots they've discovered?

1. From a cocktail menu: "If you don't see something to peak your interest, we'll gladly make your request." I'll have a Mountain Dew on the rocks.

2. "We are ...Read more