Words I Didn't Know

This is a collection of words I have stumbled upon in my readings that that I did not recognize. The example sentences I use are the sentences in which I found the words. Please remember that these sentences do not necessarily reflect my personal opinions. Unless otherwise stated, all definitions come from the Dictionary.com android app. Avatar source: http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/.a/6a00d834515c5469e201a73daa021c970d-pi

[definitedefinitions]

Quotidian

[kwoh-tid-ee-uh n]

—adjective

daily: a quotidian report.

usual or customary; everyday: quotidian needs.

ordinary; commonplace: paintings of no more than quotidian artistry.

(of a fever, ague, etc.) characterized by paroxysms that recur daily.

“He contributed to domestic peace with a quotidian act that was more humiliating than humble: he wiped the rim of the bowl with toilet paper each time he used it.”

-Love in the Time of Cholera (1988) by Gabriel García Márquez (translated by Edith Grossman)

[definitedefinitions]

Inculcate

[in-kuhl-keyt]

-verb

to implant by repeated statement or admonition; teach persistently and earnestly (usually followed by upon or in): to inculcate virtue in the young.

to cause or influence (someone) to accept an idea or feeling (usually followed by with): Socrates inculcated his pupils with the love of truth.

“Then, just for the love of labor, he taught [his parrot] the Latin accompaniment to the Mass and selected passages from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, and he tried without success to inculcate in him a working notion of the four arithmetic functions.”

-Love in the Time of Cholera (1988) by Gabriel García Márquez; translates by Edith Grossman

[definitedefinitions]

Offal

aw-fuh l, of-uh l

—noun

the parts of a butchered animal that are considered inedible by human beings; carrion.

the parts of a butchered animal removed in dressing; viscera.

refuse; rubbish; garbage.

“But that pestilence so frequently idealized by nostalgia became an unbearable reality when the carriage began to lurch through the quagmire of the streets where buzzards fought over the slaughterhouse offal as it was swept along by the receding tide.”

-Love in the Time of Cholera (1988) by Gabriel García Márquez (translated by Edith Grossman)

[definitedefinitions]

Denouement

dey-noo-mahn

—noun

the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, as of a drama or novel.

the place in the plot at which this occurs.

the outcome or resolution of a doubtful series of occurrences.

“Once I was under the dryer, I pulled Agatha Christie out of my bag and proceeded hurriedly toward the dénouement.”

-Katey Konten narrating in Rules of Civility (2011) by Amor Towles

[definitedefinitions]

Penury

—noun

extreme poverty; destitution.

scarcity; dearth; inadequacy; insufficiency.

“Why not? What better reason for a drink than looming penury?”

-Katey Kontent in Rules of Civility (2011) by Amor Towles

[definitedefinitions]

Demimonde

dem-ee-mond; French duh-mee-mawnd

—noun

(especially during the last half of the 19th century) a class of women who have lost their standing in respectable society because of indiscreet behavior or sexual promiscuity.

a demimondaine.

prostitutes or courtesans in general.

a group whose activities are ethically or legally questionable: a demimonde of investigative journalists writing for the sensationalist tabloids.

a group characterized by lack of success or status: the literary demimonde.

“But just as Eve had wanted to impress Tinker by showing off the quasi-Russian demimonde that we semi-frequented, Tinker probably wanted to impress us by offering a glimpse of his New York.”

-Katey Kontent narrating in Rules of Civility (2011) by Amor Towles

[definitedefinitions]

Suzerain

soo-zuh-rin, -reyn

—noun

a sovereign or a state exercising political control over a dependent state.

History/Historical, a feudal overlord.

—adjective

characteristic of or being a suzerain.

“Japan was entitled to suzerainty over the [Korean] peninsula as ‘the logical consequence’ of her military success.”

-Theodore Rex (2001) by Edmund Morris (paraphrasing and quoting Japanese Prime Minister Katsura Tarō)

[definitedefinitions]

Aureate

awr-ee-it, -eyt

—adjective

golden or gilded.

brilliant; splendid.

characterized by an ornate style of writing or speaking

“The room burned with the aureate sparks of [Athena’s] vision.”

-Circe (2018) by Madeline Miller

[definitedefinitions]

Testudo

Te-stoo-doh, -styoo-

-noun

(among the ancient Romans) a movable shelter with a strong and usually fireproof arched roof, used for protection of soldiers in siege operations.

a shelter formed by overlapping oblong shields, held by soldiers above their heads.

The best mascot in college sports (play this one wasn’t in the dictionary, but it’s still true)

“[J.P. Morgan] marched through Arlington Hotel’s slushy entrance under a testudo of umbrellas.”

-Theodore Rex (2001) by Edmund Morris

[definitedefinitions]

Coterie

koh-tuh-ree

—noun

a group of people who associate closely.

an exclusive group; clique.

a group of prairie dogs occupying a communal burrow

“Mon Mothma appeared, her own coterie ranged out behind her.”

-Star Wars: Queen’s Shadow (2019) by E. K. Johnston

[definitedefinitions]

Demitasse

Dem-i-tas, -tahs

—noun

a small cup for serving strong black coffee after dinner.

the coffee contained in such a cup

“When the Count had received the Bishop’s summons in the Piazza, he had assumed the matter must be urgent because the messenger had waited for him to finish his demitasse and then led him promptly to the executive suite.”

-A Gentleman in Moscow (2016) by Amor Towles

[definitedefinitions]

Clepsydra

Klep-si-druh

-noun

an ancient device for measuring time by the regulated flow of water or mercury through a small aperture

“Time is more complex near the sea than in any other place, for in addition to the circling of the sun and the turning of the seasons, the waves beat out the passage of time on the rocks and the tides rise and fall as a great clepsydra.”

-Tortilla Flat (1935) by John Steinbeck

[definitedefinitions]

Parquet

Pahr-key

—noun

a floor composed of short strips or blocks of wood forming a pattern, sometimes with inlays of other woods or other materials.

the part of the main floor of a theater, opera house, etc., that is between the musicians' area and the parterre or rear division or, especially in the U.S., the entire floor space for spectators

“The captain had long since returned to his post and the guards, having swapped their belligerence for boredom, now leaned against the wall and let the ashes from their cigarettes fall on the parquet floor while into the grand salon poured the undiminished light of the Moscow summer solstice.”

-A Gentleman in Moscow (2016) by Amor Towles

[definitedefinitions]

Currently Reading:

A Gentleman in Moscow (2016) by Amor Towles

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Cozen

kuhz-uhn

—verb (used with or without object)

to cheat, deceive, or trick

“They waited until he was out of sight on the way to Monterey; whereupon Pablo and Pilon went into the house and, with conscious knowledge of their art, cozened their supper out of Mrs. Torrelli.”

-Tortilla Flat (1935) by John Steinbeck

[definitedefinitions]

Perfidy

pur-fi-dee

-noun

deliberate breach of faith or trust; faithlessness; treachery: perfidy that goes unpunished.

an act or instance of faithlessness or treachery.

“For a little while Danny and Pilon wept over the perfidy of women.”

-Tortilla Flat (1935) by John Steinbeck

[definitedefinitions]

Currently Reading:

Tortilla Flat (1935) by John Steinbeck