Words & Definitions

This is a collection of words that I found interesting and/or I didn’t know the definition of. They either occurred to me spontaneously (e.g., I’ll wake up in the morning and a word is repeating in my head), or I ran across it while reading, or someone spoke the word, and I wanted to be clear on what the (dictionary) definition was. Sometimes I just like the sound of the word. I post them here for the benefit of my own memory, and because perhaps others will enjoy them, or to clarify for the purposes of discussion. (Definitions, unless otherwise noted, were grabbed from the Dictionary application within Mac OS X).

jejune
adjective
1 naive, simplistic, and superficial : their entirely predictable and usually jejune opinions.
2 (of ideas or writings) dry and uninteresting : the poem seems to me rather jejune.
DERIVATIVES
jejunely adverb
jejuneness noun
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Latin jejunus ‘fasting, barren.’ The original sense was [without food,] hence [not intellectually nourishing.]

lacuna |ləˈk(y)oōnə|
noun ( pl. -nae |-nī; -nē|or -nas )
an unfilled space or interval; a gap : the journal has filled a lacuna in Middle Eastern studies.
• a missing portion in a book or manuscript.
• Anatomy a cavity or depression, esp. in bone.
DERIVATIVES
lacunal |ləˈk(y)oōnl| adjective
lacunary |ˈlakyəˌnerē; ləˈk(y)oōnərē| adjective
lacunate |-ˌnāt; -nit; ˈlakyəˌnāt| adjective
lacunose |ˈlakyəˌnōs; -ˌnōz| adjective
ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin, ‘pool,’ from lacus ‘lake.’

defenestration |dēˌfenəˈstrā sh ən|
noun formal or humorous
the action of throwing someone or something out of a window.
DERIVATIVES
defenestrate |-ˈfenəˌstrāt| verb
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from modern Latin defenestratio(n-), from de- ‘down from’ + Latin fenestra ‘window.’
pustulate

excoriate |ikˈskôrēˌāt|
verb [ trans. ]
1 formal censure or criticize severely : the papers that had been excoriating him were now lauding him.
2 chiefly Medicine damage or remove part of the surface of (the skin).
DERIVATIVES
excoriation |ikˌskôrēˈā sh ən| noun
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin excoriat- ‘skinned,’ from the verb excoriare, from ex- ‘out, from’ + corium ‘skin, hide.’

desultory |ˈdesəlˌtôrē|
adjective
lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm : a few people were left, dancing in a desultory fashion.
• (of conversation or speech) going constantly from one subject to another in a halfhearted way; unfocused : the desultory conversation faded.
• occurring randomly or occasionally : desultory passengers were appearing.
DERIVATIVES
desultorily |-ˌtôrəlē| adverb
desultoriness noun
ORIGIN late 16th cent.(also in the literal sense [skipping around] ): from Latin desultorius ‘superficial’ (literally ‘relating to a vaulter’ ), from desultor ‘vaulter,’ from the verb desilire.

supercilious |ˌsoōpərˈsilēəs|
adjective
behaving or looking as though one thinks one is superior to others : a supercilious lady’s maid.
DERIVATIVES
superciliously adverb
superciliousness noun
ORIGIN early 16th cent.: from Latin superciliosus ‘haughty,’ from supercilium ‘eyebrow.’

pustulate
verb |ˈpəs ch əˌlāt; ˈpəstyə-| [ intrans. ]
form into pustules : [as adj. ] ( pustulating) pustulating epidermal ulcers.
adjective |ˈpəs ch əlit; ˈpəstyə-| chiefly Biology
having or covered with pustules : the surface is coarsely pustulate.
DERIVATIVES
pustulation |ˌpəs ch əˈlā sh ən; ˌpəstyə-| noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (as an adjective): from late Latin pustulatus, past participle of pustulare ‘to blister,’ from pustula ‘pustule.’

dilemma |diˈlemə|
noun
a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, esp. equally undesirable ones : the people often face the dilemma of feeding themselves or their cattle.
• informal a difficult situation or problem : the insoluble dilemma of adolescence.
• Logic an argument forcing an opponent to choose either of two unfavorable alternatives.
ORIGIN early 16th cent.(denoting a form of argument involving a choice between equally unfavorable alternatives): via Latin from Greek dilēmma, from di- ‘twice’ + lēmma ‘premise.’
USAGE Dilemma should be reserved for reference to a predicament in which a difficult choice must be made between undesirable alternatives:: You see his dilemma? If he moves to London, he may never see his parents again. But if he stays in Seattle, he may be giving up the best job offer of his life. The weakened use of dilemma to mean simply ‘a difficult situation or problem’ ( | the dilemma of a teacher shortage) is recorded as early as the first part of the 17th century, but many regard this use as unacceptable and it should be avoided in written English.

ex nihilo |ˈeks ˈnē(h)əlō; ˈnī(h)əlō|
adverb formal
out of nothing : the fashioning of life ex nihilo by God.

micturate |ˈmik ch əˌrāt|
verb [ intrans. ] formal
urinate.
DERIVATIVES
micturition |ˌmik ch əˈri sh ən| noun
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: back-formation from micturition, from Latin micturit- ‘urinated,’ from the verb micturire.

fascism |ˈfa sh ˌizəm| (also Fascism)
noun
an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.
• (in general use) extreme right-wing, authoritarian, or intolerant views or practice.
The term Fascism was first used of the totalitarian right-wing nationalist regime of Mussolini in Italy (1922–43), and the regimes of the Nazis in Germany and Franco in Spain were also fascist. Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one national or ethnic group, a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach.
DERIVATIVES
fascist noun & adjective
fascistic |faˈ sh istik| adjective
ORIGIN from Italian fascismo, from fascio ‘bundle, political group,’ from Latin fascis (see fasces ).

minx |mi ng ks|
noun humorous or derogatory
an impudent, cunning, or boldly flirtatious girl or young woman.
DERIVATIVES
minxish adjective
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.(denoting a pet dog): of unknown origin.