English Vocab 7

Topos

a traditional or conventional literary or rhetorical theme or topic

Longueur

a dull and tedious portion (as of a book) —usually used in plural

Greluchon

French: Man who allows himself to be supported by a woman who has several lovers or who is herself supported. Lover considered insignificant, without stature, or physically and morally mediocre young man.

Menarche

the beginning of the menstrual function (especially a woman’s very first menstrual period)

Gainsay

to declare to be untrue or invalid; to contradict

Wastrel

Vagabond; waif; profligate; one who expends resources foolishly and self-indulgently

Desuetude

discontinuance from use or exercise; disuse

Rodomontade

a bragging speech; vain boasting or bluster; rant

Refulgent

giving out a bright light : richly radiant

Parranda

Puerto Rican parties during Christmas season [search online for more details]

Toque/Tuque

a woman's small hat without a brim made in any of various soft close-fitting shapes; (a chef’s hat is a toque blanche)

Busby

a military full-dress fur hat with a pendent bag on one side usually of the color of regimental facings; bearskin worn by British guardsman

Sanpaku Eyes

Japanese for “three whites”, so it describes eyes where the sclera (the white) is visible from three sides (right, left, and bottom)

Trollop

a vulgar or disreputable woman, especially one who engages in sex promiscuously or for money

Skein

a loosely coiled length of yarn or thread wound on a reel (or something that looks like it); to coil like a skein; a flock of fowl in flight

Plaintive

expressive of suffering or woe; melancholy

Lath

a thin narrow strip of wood nailed to rafters, joists, or studding as a groundwork for slates, tiles, or plaster; a quantity of laths

Bodice

The upper part of a woman’s dress

Chignon

a knot of hair that is worn at the back of the head and especially at the nape of the neck

Scarify

to make scratches or small cuts in (something, such as the skin); to lacerate the feelings of; to break up, loosen, or roughen the surface of (something, such as a field or road)

Andiron

either of a pair of metal supports for firewood used on a hearth and made of a horizontal bar mounted on short legs with usually a vertical shaft surmounting the front end

To Darn

to mend with interlacing stitches; to embroider by filling in with long running or interlacing stitches

Fichu

a woman's light triangular scarf that is draped over the shoulders and fastened in front or worn to fill in a low neckline

Kludge

a haphazard or makeshift solution to a problem and especially to a computer or programming problem

Pomade

a perfumed ointment

Barroom

a room or establishment whose main feature is a bar for the sale of liquor

Arabesque

an ornament or style that employs flower, foliage, or fruit and sometimes animal and figural outlines to produce an intricate pattern of interlaced lines; an elaborate or intricate pattern

Pillion

a light saddle for women consisting chiefly of a cushion; a pad or cushion put on behind a man's saddle chiefly for a woman to ride on; [can also be used as an adverb, “to ride pillion”]

Breviary

a book of the prayers, hymns, psalms, and readings for the canonical hours; divine office

Chatelaine

the wife of a castellan; the mistress of a household or of a large establishment

Pendulous

marked by vacillation, indecision, or uncertainty; suspended as to swing freely

Coiffure

a style or manner of arranging the hair

Tocsin

An alarm bell or like ringing; a warning signal

Weal

a sound, healthy, or prosperous state; commonweal (which means general welfare or commonwealth)

Tenotomy

surgical division of a tendon

Gangrene

local death of soft tissues due to loss of blood supply; pervasive decay or corruption

Sequin

a small plate of shining metal or plastic used for ornamentation especially on clothing; an old gold coin of Italy or Turkey

Amourrette

“Little Love” in French

Grisette

A young French work combining sex work with another occupation; a crisp often tart beer with a light body and a lower-than-average percent of alcohol

Funereal

befitting or suggesting a funeral (as in solemnity); related to a funeral

Ballast

a heavy substance (such as rocks or water) placed in such a way as to improve stability and control (as of the draft of a ship or the buoyancy of a balloon or submarine); something that provides stability (can also be used as a verb)

Dormer

a window set vertically in a structure projecting through a sloping roof

Rivulet

a small stream

Sternutator

an agent that induces sneezing and often lacrimation and vomiting

Estivate

to pass the summer in a state of torpor or dormancy; to spend the summer usually at one place

Pyx

a container for the reserved host (especially the Eucharist to the sick)

Ogives

a diagonal arch or rib across a Gothic vault; a graph of a cumulative distribution function or a cumulative frequency distribution

Verger

a church official who keeps order during services or serves as an usher or a sacristan

Aquiver

marked by trembling or quivering

Gobbet

a piece or portion (as of meat); lump or mass; a small fragment or extract

Kibitzer

one who looks on and often offers unwanted advice or comment

Epaulet

something that ornaments or protects the shoulder, like an ornamental fringed shoulder pad formerly worn as part of a military uniform

Epithalamium

a song or poem in honor of a bride and bridegroom

Scrofulous

having a diseased run-down appearance; morally contaminated

Farinaceous

having a mealy texture or surface; containing or rich in starch

Irruption

a sudden, violent, or forcible entry: a rushing or bursting in; a violent invasion; a sudden sharp increase in the relative numbers of a natural population usually associated with favorable alteration of the environment

Catalepsy

a trancelike state marked by loss of voluntary motion in which the limbs remain in whatever position they are placed

Chasuble

a sleeveless outer vestment worn by the officiating priest at mass

Peculate

To embezzle

Panegyric

a eulogistic oration or writing

Suppurate

to form or discharge pus

Kith

familiar friends, neighbors, or relatives

Persnickety

fussy about small details; fastidious; having the characteristics of a snob; requiring great precision

Slumgullion

a meat stew

Niggling

Petty; bothersome or persistent especially in a petty or tiresome way; finding fault in a petty way; spending too much effort on minor details

Auscultation

the act of listening to sounds arising within organs (such as the lungs) as an aid to diagnosis and treatment

Largesse

liberal giving (as of money) to or as if to someone less privileged

Redamancy

the act of loving in return or the state of being loved in return

Entablature

a horizontal part in classical architecture that rests on the columns and consists of architrave, frieze, and cornice

Tumulus

an artificial hillock or mound (as over a grave) (especially an ancient grave)

Barrow

A mountain or mound (used only in the names of hills in England); a large mound of earth or stones over the remains of the dead

Excrescence

a projection or outgrowth especially when abnormal; a disfiguring, extraneous, or unwanted mark or part

Parvenu

one that has recently or suddenly risen to an unaccustomed position of wealth or power and has not yet gained the prestige, dignity, or manner associated with it

Abalone

any of a genus (Haliotis) of edible rock-clinging gastropod mollusks that have a flattened shell slightly spiral in form, lined with mother-of-pearl, and with a row of apertures along its outer edge

Kitsch

something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality; a tacky or lowbrow quality or condition

Sere

dry or withered, especially of vegetation

Susurrus

a soft rustling or whispering sound

Lacuna

a gap or missing part, especially in a text, argument, or memory.

Ineluctable

unable to be resisted or avoided; inevitable

Apposite

apt or highly relevant in a given context

Semiotics

a general philosophical theory of signs and symbols that deals especially with their function in both artificially constructed and natural languages and comprises syntactics, semantics, and pragmatics

Sinecure

a position requiring little work but giving status or financial benefit.