plebeian \plih-BEE-uhn\ (adjective) - 1 : Of or pertaining to the Roman plebs, or common people. 2 : Of or pertaining to the common people. 3 : Vulgar; common; crude or coarse in nature or manner.

(noun) - 1 : One of the plebs, or common people of ancient Rome; opposed to patrician. 2 : One of the common people or lower classes. 3 : A coarse, ...Read more

explicate \EK-spluh-kayt\ (transitive verb) - To explain; to clear of difficulties or obscurity.

"When the implicate order becomes explicate, we have our reality. So am I simply in a different explicate order than my normal one?" -- L. E. J. Maroski, 'The One That is Both'

Explicate comes from Latin explicare, "to unfold; to unfold the meaning...Read more

trencherman \TREN-chuhr-muhn\ (noun) - A hearty eater.

"You had musty victual, and he had holp to eat it. He is a very valiant trencherman; he hath an excellent stomach." -- William Shakepeare, 'Much Ado About Nothing'

Trencherman is from trencher, "a wooden board or platter on which food is served or carved" (from Medieval French trencheoir, ...Read more

immolate \IM-uh-layt\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To sacrifice; to offer in sacrifice; to kill as a sacrificial victim. 2 : To kill or destroy, often by fire.

"What have I gained, that I no longer immolate a bull to Jove, or to Neptune, or a mouse to Hecate . . . if I quake at opinion, the public opinion, as we call it; or at the threat of assault,...Read more

inanition \in-uh-NISH-uhn\ (noun) - 1 : The condition or quality of being empty. 2 : Exhaustion, as from lack of nourishment. 3 : Lack of vitality or spirit.

"Plainly, you are perishing of cold and inanition. But if you do not mind, allow me to introduce you en route to my other guest; we will invite him to join us." - Diana Gabaldon, 'An Echo ...Read more

caesura \sih-ZHUR-uh; -ZUR-\ (noun) plural caesuras or caesurae \sih-ZHUR-ee; -ZUR-ee\ - 1 : A break or pause in a line of verse, usually occurring in the middle of a line, and indicated in scanning by a double vertical line; for example, "The proper study || of mankind is man" [Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man]. 2 : Any break, pause, or ...Read more

Brobdingnagian \brob-ding-NAG-ee-uhn\ (adjective) - Of extraordinary size; gigantic; enormous.

"Their gravestones were simple, like granite Brobdingnagian shoe boxes, and stood in a discrete row under the branches of a purple-leaf beech tree." -- Lisa Genova, 'Still Alice'

Brobdingnagian is from Brobdingnag, a country of giants in Swift's ...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.

"She wasn't sure anything could mollify her, after the horrid five days she had just endured." -- Johanna Lindsey, 'Say You Love Me'

Mollify comes from Middle French...Read more

introspection \in-truh-SPEK-shuhn\ (noun) - The act or process of self-examination; contemplation of one's own thoughts and feelings; a looking inward.

"Religion absorbed Bailey, and following a period of intense introspection, he began a long quest to become a Congregationalist minister." -- Thomas G. Dyer, 'Secret Yankees'

Introspection ...Read more

winsome \WIN-suhm\ (adjective) - 1 : Cheerful; merry; gay; light-hearted. 2 : Causing joy or pleasure; agreeable; pleasant.

"And, oh, it was a sweet smile, they said, none sweeter, so winsome and large it transformed her melancholy face." -- Flavia Alaya, 'Under the Rose'

Winsome is from Old English wynsum, from wynn, "joy" + -sum (equivalent ...Read more

compunction \kuhm-PUHNK-shuhn\ (noun) - 1 : Anxiety or deep unease proceeding from a sense of guilt or consciousness of causing pain. 2 : A sting of conscience or a twinge of uneasiness; a qualm; a scruple.

"If they succeeded, however, Sicily would simply come under the authority of the new revolutionary government in Naples, a government that ...Read more

spurious \SPYUR-ee-uhs\ (adjective) - 1 : Not proceeding from the true or claimed source; not genuine; false. 2 : Of illegitimate birth.

"She knew, with the perfect cynicism of cruel youth, that to rise in the world meant to have one outside show instead of another, the advance was like having a spurious half-crown instrad of a spurious penny. ...Read more

waylay \WAY-lay\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To lie in wait for and attack from ambush. 2 : To approach or stop (someone) unexpectedly.

"He returned to her night after night, until his brother, Frank, waylaid him one evening outside Harriet's cabin and beat him bloody." -- Lynne Olson, 'Freedom's Daughters'

Waylay comes from way (from Old English ...Read more

sough \SAU; SUHF\ (intransitive verb) - To make a soft, low sighing or rustling sound, as the wind.

(noun) - A soft, low rustling or sighing sound.

"In the dark of winter, tin roofs sough with rain." -- Les A. Murray, 'Driving Through Sawmill Towns'

Sough comes from Middle English swoughen, from Old English swogan.

oneiric \oh-NY-rik\ (adjective) - Of, pertaining to, or suggestive of dreams; dreamy.

"The danger of oneiric overproduction had been noted since the time of the founders, and could also, more simply, be explained by the conditions of absolute physical isolation in which we were called upon to live." -- Michel Houellebecq, 'The Possibility of an...Read more

patina \PAT-n-uh; puh-TEEN-uh\ (noun) - 1 : The color or incrustation which age gives to works of art; especially, the green rust which covers ancient bronzes, coins, and medals. 2 : The sheen on any surface, produced by age and use. 3 : An appearance or aura produced by habit, practice, or use. 4 : A superficial layer or exterior.

"The banks ...Read more

voluptuary \vuh-LUHP-choo-er-ee\ (noun) - A person devoted to luxury and the gratification of sensual appetites; a sensualist.

(adjective) - Of, pertaining to, or characterized by preoccupation with luxury and sensual pleasure.

"Hartmann, a voluptuary, lowered a spoonful of brown sugar crystals into his coffee cup, then placed a square of ...Read more

capricious \kuh-PRISH-us; -PREE-shus\ (adjective) - Apt to change suddenly; whimsical; changeable.

"To know that life can be truly capricious; that one is not omnipotent; that without magic as the ultimate defense., there is pain at times which hurts more..." -- Patrick O'Leary, 'The Gift'

Capricious comes, via French, from Italian capriccio, ...Read more

What do these words have in common?: "captain," "capital," "capitulate" and "precipice." If you know they're all derived from the Latin word for the head -- "caput" -- go the head of the class.

"Captain" and "capital" denote the head person or the chief thing. The use of "capital" to refer to accumulated money or goods arose because these are...Read more

ambit \AM-bit\ (noun) - 1 : Circuit or compass. 2 : The boundaries or limits of a district or place. 3 : An area in which something acts, operates, or has power or control; extent; sphere; scope.

"We know each other very well on a narrow ambit... But that narrow ambit on which you know each other well might have given you some sidelight on ...Read more