Improve Your Vocabulary in Leisure Time!: November 2010

Saturday, November 27, 2010

FOSSICK

fossick:

- to search for any object (e.g. gold) by which to make gain; to search around or rummage for a possible profit

Example: "We must go and fossick for a bit now," I said, "just for enough to make the pot boil; but we won't take any more of your 'tucker,' Mrs. Mangrove, without paying." [Reference: Rolf Boldrewood, The Miner's Right, a Tale of the Australian Goldfields]

BELLWETHER

bellwether: a leader of a movement or activity; a leader of a moving group as a sheep with a bell in a herd

ARCANUM

arcanum (plural arcana):

- a secret; a mystery

- specialized or mysterious knowledge, language, or information that is not accessible to the average person (generally used in the plural)

Example: Through the years, Usenet evolved into an international forum on thousands of topics, called Usenet news groups, from the arcana of programming languages to European travel tips. [Reference: Katie Hafner, "James T. Ellis, 45, a Developer of Internet Discussion Network, Is Dead", New York Times , July 1, 2001]

CROOK

crook:

noun:

- a tool having a bent or hooked form as a shepherd's staff

- a part of something that is curved or hook-shaped as the crook of an umbrella handle

adjective:

- dishonest

- unsatisfactory

- irritable, angry

- ill, unwell

transitive verb:

bend

intransitive verb:

curve, wind

BAS

bas: stop

Note: "bas" is a loanword originally from the Persian language where it means: stop; stop due to being sufficient or enough.

FABIFORM

fabiform: shaped like a bean; kidney-bean shaped; reniform

EBULLIENT

ebullient:

- high-spirited; overflowing with enthusiasm or excitement
- boiling, agitated
- bubbling up like a boiling liquid

Example: Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev attended a session of the Supreme Soviet on Monday and appeared ebullient after last week's victory at a meeting of the Communist Party Central Committee. [Reference: Los Angeles Times, Gorbachev Appears Ebullient at Meeting, June 30, 1987]

DACOIT

dacoit: bandit

Note: The word "dacoity" means a criminal activity involving robbery by groups of armed bandits.

CABAL

cabal:

- a political coterie or a group secretly united in a plot
- group; club

Example: But though the pattern is clear — anti-McCain stories are much more likely to be buried — identifying who's responsible is more difficult. The majority of a Digg's user's actions on the site — including which stories they submitted, voted for, and commented on — are archived and publicly viewable. But information about who buries stories is invisible. Any 'Bury Brigade,' whether it's a formally organized cabal or a group of like-minded, independent activists, cannot be detected by publicly available means. [Reference: Los Angeles Times, Digg Bury Brigade: 28 negative McCain stories buried in 30 days 09:23 AM PT, Aug 11 2008]

BÉTON

béton: concrete (a composite construction material composed of cement, gravel, etc.)

A CAPPELLA

A cappella (also Acapella or A Capella): music of singing unaccompanied by instruments

IMPUGN

impugn: to assail or attack by words or arguments; to gainsay; oppose as false

Example: Even though it is nowhere alleged that disclosures of sinful activity by priests impugn the integrity of the entire ministry, that nevertheless is the passing legacy of the current scandals. [Reference: William F. Buckley Jr., "The House of Disillusion", National Review , May 14, 2002]

COMPORT

comport:

- to be fitting; accord

- conduct or behave in a particular manner conformable to what is right or expected

Example: Considered friendly and funny in private, the queen has a formal, remote air in public that some people attribute to shyness and others say is a reflection of her belief that, as monarch, she should comport herself with dignity and restraint. [Reference: Sarah Lyall, "Tradition and Personality Keep Elizabeth Far From Her Subjects", New York Times , September 5, 1997]

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BETE NOIRE

bete noire: someone or something detested or avoided; a bugbear

Example: Even more regrettable, as far as Dame Edna is concerned, is the presence of her old bete noire , the extravagantly disgusting Sir Les Patterson. [Reference: "The Dame's New Man", Daily Telegraph , April 18, 1998]

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