New Game: What's the Word?

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: EXPISCATE

pronunciation: [EX-pis-keyt]

 

Part of speech: verb
Origin: Latin, 16th century

 

Meaning:
1. To find out by skill or laborious investigation.

2. To search out.

 

Example:

"Through long periods of interrogation, the detective was eventually able to expiscate the whole story from the suspect."

"When I got in trouble at school, my mother always managed to expiscate the details from my brother."

 

About Expiscate

From the Latin “expiscatus,” meaning “to fish out,” which itself is formed by combining “ex” (meaning “out”) and “piscari” (meaning “to fish”).

 

Did you Know?

The nature of the action of expiscating is to draw out a truth that someone is trying to keep hidden — or even does not understand to be the truth. As a result, most police interrogations and legal cross-examinations are driven by the desire to expiscate. Rather than simply revealing details already openly available, a police interrogator or cross-examining attorney works to expiscate the truth from a witness or suspect by asking direct and indirect questions that relate to the hidden truth in the hope of catching them in a contradiction and forcing them to reveal the whole story.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: ATEMPORAL

pronunciation: [ey-TEM-pə-rəl]

 

Part of speech: adjective
Origin: Latin, 19th century

 

Meaning:
1. Existing or considered without relation to time.

 

Example:

"Pauline experienced an atemporal feeling while watching her favorite movie, like time itself stopped as long as it was playing."

"I find myself deeply relaxed any time I’m on a beach vacation, because the ocean itself feels atemporal."

 

About Atemporal

Formed from Latin by adding the negating prefix “a-“ to the adjective “temporal” (from the Latin “temporālis,” meaning “of time”).

 

Did you Know?

“Atemporal” describes those things that exist outside of relation to time or are unaffected by its passage. The term has been used in movies and TV, especially to describe a story line that jumps around in time or references many different eras. For example, “Pulp Fiction” and other works by Quentin Tarantino avoid a conventional beginning-middle-end structure while also featuring music and cultural references from different eras. These details give the viewer a sense of being jerked out of traditional narrative chronology into something wilder, a realm where time doesn’t matter as much.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: EFFLORESCE

pronunciation: [ef-lə-RESS]

 

Part of speech: verb
Origin: Latin, late 18th century

 

Meaning:
1. Reach an optimum stage of development; blossom.

2. (of a substance) lose moisture and turn to a fine powder on exposure to air.

 

Example:

"The song starts out slowly, but it will effloresce when you reach the chorus."

"You must keep the package sealed until you’re ready to use it, because it will effloresce when opened."

 

About Effloresce

When you break this word down into its Latin roots, one definition becomes quite clear. The prefix “E” means out and “florescere” means begin to bloom. However, effloresce is not usually referring to literal blooming flowers, but it’s a more figurative description of something developing and coming into maturity or peak performance.

 

Did you Know?

When using the second definition here of effloresce, it has a specific chemical usage. When the substance effloresces upon contact with the air, it will produce salt particles. The word can also be used to describe rocks or brickwork with a salt content that can crystallize on the surface.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: RESIPISCENCE

pronunciation: [REH-sih-PIH-səns]

 

Part of speech: noun
Origin: Middle French, 16th century

 

Meaning:
1. Repentance combining acknowledgment of wrongdoing and wish to do better in the future.

 

Example:

"When I realized how I had offended my colleague, I immediately expressed my resipiscence."

"Morton expressed resipiscence for the wild behavior of his younger days."

 

About Resipiscence

“Resipiscence” is taken directly from a Middle French word based on the Latin “resipīscere,” meaning “to come to one's senses.”

 

Did you Know?

Forgiveness does not require resipiscence, but a show of repentance and a desire to do better can certainly encourage the wronged party to put the past behind them. For example, Earlonne Woods was sentenced in 1997 to decades in San Quentin State Prison after a series of robberies and kidnappings. Over his time in prison, he began to express resipiscence for his actions and the harm he caused to others, and he became the host of the podcast “Ear Hustle,” about life inside the prison. After he expressed his resipiscence and took responsibility for the crimes, California Governor Jerry Brown commuted his sentence and released him from prison in 2018.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: LACERTILIAN

pronunciation: [la-sər-TIL-yən]

 

Part of speech: noun
Origin: Latin, 19th century

 

Meaning:
1. Relating to a reptile of the suborder Lacertilia; a lizard.

2. Lizardlike.

 

Example:

"The lacertilian beachgoers line up on their towels on the sand every morning."

"Though they have certain lacertilian features, crocodiles are not actually large lizards."

 

About Lacertilian

“Lacertilian” is taken from the Latin, combining “lacerta” (meaning “lizard”) with the suffix “-ilia,” (meaning “similar to”).

 

Did you Know?

Lizards are cold-blooded, but they are more comfortable when they’re warm, which is why they seek out heat and sun. The adjective “lacertilian” might not seem to apply to cats at first, but like lizards, cats adore the warmth of the sun. Cats are warm-blooded creatures, but cats enjoy sitting in patches of sun, or on heating pads and electric blankets. External heat allows cats to reach a comfortable temperature without expending effort, leading to the lacertilian behavior of following the warmth.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: SEPTUAGENARIAN

pronunciation: [sep-tə-wə-jə-NER-ee-ən]

 

Part of speech: noun
Origin: Latin, 18th century

 

Meaning:
1. A person who is from 70 to 79 years old.

 

Example:

"The audience of mostly septuagenarians wanted to hear the band’s hit songs from the 1960s."

"I hope that by the time I am a septuagenarian, I can retire near the beach."

 

About Septuagenarian

Taken from the Latin “septuāgēnārius,” meaning “containing 70.”

 

Did you Know?

"Septuagenarian" refers to someone in their seventh decade of life, but "September" is the ninth month of the year. "Septum" is Latin for "seven," and under the ancient Roman calendar, September was the seventh of 10 months. In 46 BCE, the Julian calendar added January and February to the beginning of the year, and the rest of the months were bumped back.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: XERIC

pronunciation: [ZER-ik]

 

Part of speech: noun
Origin: Ancient Greek, early 20th century

 

Meaning:
1. (Of an environment or habitat) Containing little moisture; very dry.

 

Example:

"The moment we stepped off the plane in Las Vegas, we could feel the xeric atmosphere in our lungs."

"It’s a challenge to attempt farming in a xeric region where almost nothing grows easily."

 

About Xeric

“Xeric” is based on the ancient Greek word “ξηρός” (“xērós”), meaning “dry.”

 

Did you Know?

One of the most intensely xeric areas on Earth is the Atacama desert plateau, which runs nearly 1,000 miles along Chile’s western coast. Some parts of the Atacama plateau are so xeric, they’ve gone more than 500 years without a drop of rain. Though the ground beneath the Atacama plateau is rich in some minerals, the region is best known as one of the most ideal areas in the world for astronomical telescopes, thanks to the rarity of clouds. The xeric environment has also been compared to that of Mars — the Atacama plateau has been used both as a backdrop for movies set on Mars and as a testing site for NASA engineers developing technology for future Mars voyages.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: DEOMEDARY

pronunciation: [DRAH-mə-der-ee]

 

Part of speech: noun
Origin: Old French, 15th century

 

Meaning:
1. An Arabian one-humped camel, especially one of a light and swift breed trained for riding or racing.

 

Example:

"When we arrived in the town in the Saharan desert, we were surprised to see more dromedaries than horses or cars."

"Nearly 35% of all the dromedaries in the world live in the Horn of Africa."

 

About Dromedary

“Dromedary” is based closely on the Old French “dromedaire,” itself based on the Latin “dromedarius,” meaning “swift camel.”

 

Did you Know?

Growing as tall as 8 feet, dromedaries lived wild until they were domesticated between four and nine millennia ago. Dromedaries have always been a key part of life in Africa and the Arabian peninsula. The animals have carried both human passengers and cargo, while also nourishing generations with their milk and meat. Though the domesticated animals still appear mainly in the world’s most arid regions, a number of feral dromedaries have established themselves in the wilds of western Australia.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: ANENT

pronunciation: [ə-NENT]

 

Part of speech: preposition
Origin: Old English, pre-13th century

 

Meaning:
1. Concerning; about.

 

Example:

"I received a letter from the municipality anent increases to local taxes."

"The professor delivered a lecture anent the French Revolution and the Enlightenment."

 

About Anent

“Anent” is based on the Old English “on efen,” meaning “in line with,” or “in company with.”

 

Did you Know?

“Anent” has existed in some form or another since Old English, which appears more like German than modern English. Early on, “anent” had several meanings, including “alongside” or “in line with,” or “along with.” The contemporary meaning of “anent” (“concerning”) has been one of the word’s earliest definitions since the 13th century. As the other definitions have fallen away, use of the term as a synonym for “about” has remained constant. In Scotland, the expressions “thereanent” and “whereanent” are similar to “thereabout” and “whereabout.”

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: POLYGLOTTAL

pronunciation: [PAH-lee-glaht-əl]

 

Part of speech: adjective
Origin: French, 17th century

 

Meaning:
1. Knowing or using several languages.

2. (Of a book) Having the text translated into several languages.

 

Example:

"We were grateful to our polyglottal guide, who could translate each of the different local languages into English for us."

"Many readers of T.S. Eliot’s polyglottal poem “The Waste Land” find its array of languages overwhelming."

 

About Polyglottal

“Polyglottal” is based on the French “polyglotte.” This is derived from the Greek “poluglōttos,” from “polu-“ (meaning “many”) and “glōtta” (meaning “tongue”).

 

Did you Know?

Many Deaf people who use sign language will also learn to read and write in their local spoken language. Deaf people in the United States will usually learn to read and write in English, but they’ll likely also learn American Sign Language (ASL). This makes most Deaf people bilingual. However, many Deaf people learn to read and write in more than one language, and they may learn different sign languages, becoming polyglottal.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: SOUGH

pronunciation: [səf]

 

Part of speech: noujn
Origin: Middle English, 14th century

 

Meaning:
1. A moaning, whistling, or rushing sound as made by the wind in the trees or the sea.

 

Example:

"We could hear the gentle sough of the creek before we could see it."

"The house was surrounded by corn fields, which emitted a sough every time the wind picked up."

 

About Sough

“Sough” is a Middle English word likely based on the Old English “swōgan,” meaning “to make a sound” or “to roar.”

 

Did you Know?

Before “sough” was a noun referring to a soft rustle or murmur, the word was a verb meaning to make such a noise. As a Middle English verb, “sough” was closely associated with “swough,” and based on the Old English “swōgan.” In the early days when “sough” was a verb, the noun form of the word as we know it today was “swei,” based on the Old English “swēg.” Both words were associated with the verb “swoon” — also based on “swōgan,” which could be translated as “to make a sound” or “to suffocate.”

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: INSTAURATION

pronunciation: [in-staw-REY-shən]

 

Part of speech: noun
Origin: Latin, 17th century

 

Meaning:
1. The action of restoring or renewing something.

 

Example:

"The instauration of the old mill was a complex undertaking after decades of abandonment and disrepair."

"Rather than rebuild the family home, which hadn’t been lived in for 20 years, my father set out to give it a full instauration."

 

About Instauration

“Instauration” is from the Latin “instauratio,” which refers to the act of renewing, as well as to the restarting of a ritual that has been interrupted or gone wrong.

 

Did you Know?

“Instauration” is easily confused with its near homonym “restoration,” and both broadly describe the act of making something old nicer. However, “instauration” is specifically about the process of repairing and restoring something — such as a building, or a work of art — that has suffered neglect, decay, and dilapidation. “Restoration” is concerned simply with restoring something to its original state, and does not consider the present state from which such a restoration must begin. “Instauration,” however, makes it clear that the job of restoration will be a serious one, as it will begin with a building or object in a state of significant deterioration.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: FARCTATE

pronunciation: [FARK-teyt]

 

Part of speech: adjective
Origin: Latin, 19th century

 

Meaning:
1. Stuffed; filled solid.

2. Stuffed; full from overeating.

 

Example:

"Jim was completely farctate following his third serving of Thanksgiving dinner."

"It was hard to fit the final items into the farctate moving van, so we carried some with us in the cab."

 

About Farctate

“Farctate” is derived from the Latin “farctus,” meaning “stuffed” or “full.”

 

Did you Know?

“Farctate” was first known as a botanical term: A “farctate stem” on a plant was solid or filled solid, rather than hollow. Over time, however, the term has shifted its focus; in most cases it describes the human sensation of being uncomfortably full after overeating. However, the adjective “farctate” can describe anything that is stuffed full, whether a solid branch, a very full belly, or a subway train packed so full of people, it cannot admit any more commuters.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: APPOSITE

pronunciation: [AP-ə-zət]

 

Part of speech: adjective
Origin: Latin, 17th century

 

Meaning:
1. Apt in the circumstances or in relation to something.

 

Example:

"The lake in the park was an apposite location to race RC boats."

"My mother believes cardamom is the apposite secret spice for carrot cake."

 

About Apposite

“Apposite” is based on the Latin “appositus,” the past participle of “adponere” (meaning “put”).

 

Did you Know?

“Apposite” is easily confused with its close homonym “opposite.” The two words don’t have similar meanings, but they share deep Latin roots. “Opposite” is based on the Latin “oppositus,” which is the past participle of “oppōnō,” meaning “I oppose,” while the Latin “appositus” traces to the verb for “to put.” However, Latin students can trace the etymology of “oppositus” to the root word for “put” (“pōnō”) as well. “Opposite” deals with things put at odds with or against one another, while “apposite” describes things well put together.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: PREPONE

pronunciation: [pree-POHN]

 

Part of speech: verb
Origin: Indian English, 20th century

 

Meaning:
1. To reschedule to a time earlier than the current scheduled time.

 

Example:

"I’m going to call the dentist to see if I can prepone my appointment to this afternoon."

"Head office preponed our annual meeting, leaving my team scrambling to get our reports finished in time."

 

About Prepone

“Prepone” is a reworking of the word “postpone” to include the suffix “pre.” It is also related to the Latin “praepōno,” meaning “to place before.”

 

Did you Know?

As far back as the 16th century, “prepone” meant to place something in front of another thing, but in the 20th century, the word was adopted as an opposite term for “postpone,” which has always meant “to put off until the future.” Accordingly, “prepone” is now used to describe moving a date forward in time. While “postpone” was originally a Scottish term, “prepone” is only in wide usage in Indian English (or “Hinglish,” as it is sometimes called, a code-switched merger of “Hindi” with “English”). Though it is an English word, “prepone” is among the cluster of English expressions — such as “passing out of college,” or “being out of station” — that are today considered exclusively Indian English.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: DYAD

pronunciation: [DY-ad]

 

Part of speech: noun
Origin: Latin, 17th century

 

Meaning:
1. Something that consists of two elements or parts.

 

Example:

"As closing time approached, the café servers dropped hints to the dyad in the back corner that it was time to leave."

"Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have proven time and again that they’re one of the most inventive dyads in comedy history."

 

About Dyad

“Dyad” is from the Latin, based on the ancient Greek “δυάς” (“duás”) or “δυάδ-“ (“duád-l”), both meaning “two.”

 

Did you Know?

“Dyad” can be a stand-in for terms such as “couple,” “pair,” or “duo”; however, the term is widely used across many fields of study to refer to specific two-parted concepts. In sociology, “dyad” refers to two people in a relationship, but in music, a dyad is a chord of two notes. There are also more complicated uses for the term in chemistry, biology, and mathematics, but all return to the same focus on pairs or couples. Whether it’s in linear algebra, chromosomal structures, or atomic chemistry, “dyad” always describes a relationship of two factors.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: NOSTRUM

pronunciation: [NAH-strəm]

 

Part of speech: noun
Origin: Latin, 17th century

 

Meaning:
1. A pet project or favorite remedy, especially one for bringing about some social or political reform or improvement.

2. A medicine, especially one that is not considered effective, prepared by an unqualified person.

 

Example:

"I know ginger ale is a nostrum with no medical effect, but I still drink it when I have a cold."

"For years, Michael’s nostrum was restoring the town gazebo, but lately he’s become interested in raising funds for the library."

 

About Nostrum

“Nostrum” is taken directly from the possessive Latin for “ours.”

 

Did you Know?

The root of “nostrum” — a Latin expression meaning “ours” — makes more sense in the history of “patent medicines.” These nonprescription formulations were also called “elixirs,” “tonics,” or “liniments,” and were sometimes advertised as containing snake oil (which was supposed to have a healing effect). They were also generally patented, whether they worked or not. Most had no effect but were advertised as a cure-all for nearly any ailment. Because those peddling such patent medications (sometimes called “snake-oil salesmen”) wanted to convince the public to buy their product and not their competitor’s, the word “nostrum” became associated with the uniqueness of the patent medication formula. A snake-oil salesman selling a nostrum would claim no other formulation but his own — “nostrum,” or “ours” — would provide the same relief.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: ALABASTRINE

pronunciation: [al-ə-BAS-trin]

 

Part of speech: adjective
Origin: French, 16th century

 

Meaning:
1. Made of or resembling alabaster, in particular in being white or smooth.

 

Example:

"The chandelier was made of an alabastrine glass that gently diffused the lights."

"The landscape designer commissioned an alabastrine statue to contrast against the red rose bushes."

 

About Alabastrine

“Alabastrine” is taken from the French “alabastrin,” which is based on the Latin “alabastrinus,” both meaning “made of alabaster.”

 

Did you Know?

Alabaster, a mineral, is known for its distinctive color (or lack thereof): It is creamy white, but translucent enough to refract light so that it appears to glow from within. To compare a substance or color to alabaster, call it “alabastrine.” For example, creamy translucent marble could be described as “alabastrine,” in the same way a pale, smooth gourd might be alabastrine, and in the era of black-and-white films, Greta Garbo and Veronica Lake were known for their alabastrine complexions.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: SCRUTATOR

pronunciation: [skroo-TAY-ter]

 

Part of speech: noun
Origin: Latin, 16th century

 

Meaning:
1. A person who scrutinizes or investigates.

 

Example:

"Detective Sherlock Holmes is one of literature’s most famous scrutators."

"After the fire in our house, the insurance company sent a scrutator to explore its causes."

 

About Scrutator

“Scrutator” is taken from the Latin “scrūtātor,” meaning “searcher” or “examiner.”

 

Did you Know?

From Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes to Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander, fictional scrutators have brought readers along as they investigate, ask questions, and explore various mysteries. TV and movie scrutators have pulled audiences even deeper into their worlds. For example, “Law and Order” detectives Lennie Briscoe and his partner Rey Curtis spent years entertaining viewers as they interviewed witnesses and suspects in nearly every type of business or organization in New York City, from garbage dumps to Wall Street offices to fish markets to daycare centers.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: DEUCEDLY

pronunciation: [DOO-sid-lee]

 

Part of speech: adverb
Origin: German, 17th century

 

Meaning:
1. Quite; extremely; utterly.

 

Example:

"After a few early wins, I had nothing but deucedly bad luck in the casino."

"Tyrone didn’t want to miss the concert, but he had a deucedly persistent head cold."

 

About Deucedly

“Deucedly” is based on the adjective “deuced,” which is related to the Middle English “dewes” (meaning “two”) and the Latin “duo.”

 

Did you Know?

In dice games, a score of two, or “a deuce,” is usually a losing roll. “Deuce” became a synonym for “bad luck” by the end of the Middle Ages. Accordingly, “deuced” is an adjective describing something cursed by bad luck, and “deucedly” began its life as an adverb suggesting the same. Now, it simply describes the extreme intensity of any kind of situation, not limited to negative situations associated with bad luck.