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

apocryphal \uh-POK-ruh-fuhl\ (adjective) - 1 : (Bible) Pertaining to the Apocrypha. 2 : Not canonical. Hence: Of doubtful authority or authenticity; equivocal; fictitious; spurious; false.

"'Apocryphal!' exclaimed Rowland; 'on what authority do you believe that the Canticle of Canticles is a divinely inspired book, and on what do you reject the...Read more

meticulous \muh-TIK-yuh-luhs\ (adjective) - Extremely or excessively careful about details.

"But then, Eve reflected, from what she knew of Towers, the woman had been meticulous. In her dress, in her work, in maintaining her privacy." -- J.D. Robb, 'Glory in Death'

Meticulous ultimately derives from Latin meticulosus "fearful" (from metus, "...Read more

palindrome \PAL-in-drohm\ (noun) - A word, phrase, sentence, or verse that reads the same backward or forward.

"'The palindrome should have been a clue,' Pete Sullivan interrupted, making a chopping gesture at Mavranos. 'The Valorie personality gave Chchran one line of that, at the ruins, and we knew that palindromes were good for nothing but ...Read more

bouleversement \bool-vair-suh-MAWN\ (noun) - Complete overthrow; a reversal; a turning upside down.

"For the second time in his life Amory had had a complete bouleversement and was hurrying into line with his generation." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald, 'This Side of Paradise'

Bouleversement comes from French, from Old French bouleverser, "to overturn...Read more

impassive \im-PASS-iv\ (adjective) - 1 : Devoid of or unsusceptible to emotion. 2 : Showing no sign of emotion or feeling; expressionless.

"Don Corleone listened like a priest in the confessional, gazing away into the distance, impassive, remote." --Mario Puzo, 'The Godfather'

Impassive is derived from Latin in-, "not" + passivus, "subject to ...Read more