requisite \REK-wuh-zit\ (adjective) - Required by the nature of things or by circumstances; indispensable.

(noun) - That which is required or necessary; something indispensable.

"Birth is not a requisite. If it were, the golden fold would be composed of young people still in their teens... Brains are not a requisite either." -- Edgar Saltus, '...Read more

encomium \en-KOH-mee-uhm\ (noun) - An often formal expression of warm or high praise.

"HRH absorbed the encomiums with the dignity of his office, nodding slowly but continuously as encomium toppled over encomium in quick succession." -- Vincent Chukwuemeka Ike, 'The Naked Gods'

Encomium derives, via Latin, from Greek enkomion, from en-, "in" +...Read more

thaumaturgy \THAW-muh-tuhr-jee\ (noun) - The performance of miracles or magic.

"That's where I was really good -- thaumaturgy. Thaumaturgy is traditional magic, all about drawing symbolic links between items or people and then investing energy to get the effect that you want." -- Jim Butcher, 'Grave Peril'

Thaumaturgy comes from the Greek ...Read more

panoply \PAN-uh-plee\ (noun) - 1 : A splendid or impressive array. 2 : Ceremonial attire. 3 : A full suit of armor; a complete defense or covering.

"While he was here he made a very special panoply, weapons and armor meant to be used against the spreading of evil, forging the lot and crafting it only partly in the way of men." -- Sharon Green, ...Read more

contemporaneous \kuhn-tem-puh-RAY-nee-uhs\ (adjective) - Originating, existing, or occurring at the same time.

"I must confess my contemporaneous existence was becoming tiresome, though I did not recognize this until this day." -- Piers Anthony, 'Centaur Isle'

Contemporaneous is from Latin contemporaneus, from con-, com-, "with, together" + ...Read more

autocrat \AW-tuh-krat\ (noun) - An absolute monarch who rules with unlimited authority; by extension, any person with undisputed authority in a relationship or situation.

"I wound up by telling him he was an autocrat; which disturbed his graven serenity. Autocrat and autocracy were not pleasant- sounding words just then." -- James B. Connolly, ...Read more

objurgate \OB-juhr-gayt\ (transitive verb) - To express strong disapproval of; to criticize severely.

"It would be my advice to persons situated in this way, to not roll or thrash around, because this excites the interest of all the different sorts of animals and makes every last one of them want to turn out and see what is going on, and this ...Read more

vitiate \VISH-ee-ayt\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To make faulty or imperfect; to render defective; to impair; as, "exaggeration vitiates a style of writing." 2 : To corrupt morally; to debase. 3 : To render ineffective; as, "fraud vitiates a contract."

"...When such ideas are brought before out minds, it is natural to be so affected; because all ...Read more

putative \PYOO-tuh-tiv\ (adjective) - Commonly thought or deemed; supposed; reputed.

"Someday... our species will again send out interstellar explorers, just as we did in the twenty-second century. Maybe those future spacecraft will finally confirm that we are not the only putative intelligence in the universe." -- Gentry Lee, 'The Tranquility ...Read more

impassive \im-PASS-iv\ (adjective) - 1 : Devoid of or unsusceptible to emotion. 2 : Showing no sign of emotion or feeling; expressionless.

"And he held out his cup imperiously to Horemheb, who accepted it with impassive face, brushed aside the servant who stepped forward automatically to assist..." -- Allen Drury, 'Return to Thebes'

Impassive ...Read more

visage \VIZ-ij\ (noun) - 1 : The face, countenance, or look of a person or an animal; -- chiefly applied to the human face. 2 : Look; appearance; aspect.

"And then he put off his helm, and she saw his visage, she said, 'O sweet Jesu, thee I must love, and never other.' Then show me your visage,' said he." - Thomas Malory, 'Le Morte d'Arthur'

...Read more

gubernatorial \GOO-ber-nuh-TOR-ee-uhl\ (adjective) - Of or pertaining to a governor.

"Hank looked like a gubernatorial candidate. Rob was not a belligerent man. He prided himself on his lack of belligerence." -- Josephine Humphreys, 'The Fireman's Fair'

Gubernatorial is from Latin gubernator, "governor," from gubernare, "to govern," which is ...Read more

beneficence \buh-NEFF-i-suhns\ (noun) - 1 : The practice of doing good; active goodness, kindness, or charity. 2 : A charitable gift or act.

"I admire your sentiment, and adopt it; but I fear that the knowledge which aims only at beneficence very rarely in this world gets any power at all." -- Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton, 'Varieties in English ...Read more

multifarious \muhl-tuh-FAIR-ee-uhs\ (adjective) - Having great diversity or variety; of various kinds; diversified.

"Others will follow, others will outstrip me on the same lines; and I hazard the guess that man will be ultimately known for a mere polity of multifarious, incongrous and independent denizens." -- Robert Louis Stevenson, 'The ...Read more

missive \MIS-iv\ (noun) - A written message; a letter.

"A missive! Yes, he would to his beloved, to the pure-as-the-whitest-snow queen of his heart, pen a missive. It took him a week to think about it, draft it, polish it and finally, in his neatest handwriting on a pastel-blue, best quality Croxley sheet the missive was ready." -- P.C. Feller,...Read more

effrontery \ih-FRUN-tuh-ree\ (noun) - Insulting presumptuousness; shameless boldness; insolence.

"There was no doubt but that she was telling the truth; what astonished her was the effrontery, the sheer, naked effrontery of men." -- Alexander McCall Smith, 'The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'

Effrontery is from French effronterie, ultimately ...Read more

vade mecum \vay-dee-MEE-kuhm; vah-dee-MAY-\ (noun) - 1 : A book for ready reference; a manual; a handbook. 2 : A useful thing that one regularly carries about.

"The same day the youth set out on his journey equipped with his father's three gifts, namely, the fifteen crowns, the horse and the letter to Monsieur de Treville. As may well be ...Read more

dictum \DIK-tuhm\ (noun) - 1 : An authoritative statement; a formal pronouncement. 2: Law) A judicial opinion expressed by judges on points that do not necessarily arise in the case, and are not involved in it.

"Some vague sympathy evoked by the scent of the limes, some sisterly desire to see for herself, some idea of demonstrating the ...Read more

cabal \kuh-BAHL; kuh-BAL\ (noun) - 1 : A secret, conspiratorial association of plotters or intriguers whose purpose is usually to bring about an overturn especially in public affairs. 2 : The schemes or plots of such an association.

(intransitive verb) - To form a cabal; to conspire; to intrigue; to plot.

"So much for looking at the deaths of ...Read more

Is there any "money" in alimony? Anything "holy" about "halo"? And why do we say a gun has been fired "point-blank"?

Despite those fat monthly checks doled out to the ex-wives of tech company moguls, there's no money in the word "alimony."

"Alimony" derives from the Latin "alimonia," sustenance, which comes from the Latin verb "alere," to ...Read more