The Internet Book Database of Fiction

nuncle

/ˈnʌŋk(ə)l/
noun
archaic, dialect
A person's uncle.

Origin
Late 16th century: by wrong division of mine uncle.

[][][]------[][][]

I adore Harvey. He's nuncle and a great person. Taught me to catch and throw, though he did fall short of getting me to swing the bat very well.

infangthief

/ˈɪnfaŋˌθiːf/
noun
mass noun
historical
(in Anglo-Saxon law) the right of the lord of a manor to try and to punish a thief caught within the limits of his demesne.

Origin
Old English infangenthēof ‘thief seized within’.

---===---===---

Today, the effect of infangthief law shows itself when a car chase crosses from a city limit into the surrounding county. The city police must call for support from the county sheriff. If there's a film crew handy, all the better.

carabiniere

/ˌkarəbɪˈnjɛːri/
noun
A member of the Italian paramilitary police.

Origin
Italian, literally ‘carabineer’.

-=-=-=-=-

Benny was a carabiniere before the second world war. He emigrated to the United States and went to work at a woolen mill.

babouche

/bəˈbuːʃ/
noun
A heelless slipper, typically in oriental style.

Origin
Late 17th century: from French, from Arabic bābūj, Persian pāpūš, literally ‘foot covering’.

-=-=-=-=-

Sandy scuffed through the kitchen in her babouches, turned on the coffee maker and pulled the toaster from under the counter. Morning begins.

ecclesial

/ɪˈkliːzɪ(ə)l/
adjective
formal
Relating to or constituting a Church or denomination.

Origin
Mid 17th century (rare before the 1960s): via Old French from Greek ekklēsia ‘assembly, church’ (see ecclesiastic).

-=-=-=-

Priests generally wear their most fancy ecclesial vestments only during church services. Outside the buildings, their clothing is more subdued.

amazeballs

/əˈmeɪzbɔːlz/
adjective
informal
Extremely good or impressive; amazing.

Origin
Early 21st century: humorous alteration of amazing.

-=-=-=-=-

It is amazeballs how long this forum of daily words has gone on. And there are still a few words we have not used, especially with new ones coming along every day.

inure

/ɪˈnjʊə//ɪˈnjɔː/
verb
[with object]
usually be inured: to Accustom (someone) to something, especially something unpleasant.

Origin
Late Middle English inure, enure, from an Anglo-Norman French phrase meaning ‘in use or practice’, from en ‘in’ + Old French euvre ‘work’ (from Latin opera).

-=-=-=-=-

Through nefarious methods of repetition, randomness and being downright sneaky, WotD has you inured to less-than-serious use of many venerable words.

parador

/ˌparəˈdɔː//ˈparədɔː/
noun
A hotel in Spain owned and administered by the Spanish government.

Origin
Spanish.

-=-=-=-=-

Donald Trump would not stay in a parador if he visited Spain. Maybe he would not visit Spain at all. There's no Trump Hotel there.

La Alhambra, a parador in Grenada

By AdriPozuelo - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

apsara

(also apsaras)

/ˈʌpsərɑː/
noun
(in Hindu mythology) a celestial nymph, typically the wife of a heavenly musician.

Origin
From Hindi apsarā, from Sanskrit apsarās.

The trouble with being an apsara is that one's husband is constantly playing some whiny tune, day and night. Celestial beings never sleep!

lutino

/luːˈtiːnəʊ/
noun
often as modifier A bird (especially a cage bird of the parrot family) with more yellow in the plumage than usual for the species.

Origin
Early 20th century: from Latin luteus ‘yellow’ + -ino, on the pattern of albino.

-=-=-=-=-

Lutino birds are common enough that there was a very popular song which I remember being sung by Harry Belafonte, "Yellow Bird".



[The Internet provided many references, but I found the Haitian Legacy tale to be the most interesting.]

tricoteuse

/ˌtrɪkəˈtəːz//tʀikɔtøz/
noun
One of a number of women who sat and knitted while attending public executions during the French Revolution.

Origin
French, from tricoter ‘to knit’.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Teresa toyed with the yarn, never succeeding in making more than a few rows while watching the gruesome parade of carts rolling up to the guillotine. She barely qualified as a tricoteuse because she was atypically squeamish.

quintal

/ˈkwɪnt(ə)l/
noun
1 A unit of weight equal to a hundredweight (112 lb) or, formerly, 100 lb.

Origin
Late Middle English: via Old French from medieval Latin quintale, from Arabic qinṭār, based on Latin centenarius ‘containing a hundred’.

-=-=-=-
There seems to be no connection between quintal and quintuplets. It was just chance that the quints weighed a combined quintal at one year old. Reading the Wikipedia entry tells me I should NOT offer up a quintal of anything for sale on the international market.

noyau

/nwʌˈjəʊ/
noun
mass noun
A liqueur made of brandy flavoured with fruit kernels.

Origin
French, literally ‘kernel’, based on Latin nux, nuc- ‘nut’.

-=-=--=-=-

It ain't yer average boyo
Who sniffs and sips the noyau.
It's a gentleman of care
Eschewing vin ordinaire
Who drinks the special brandy
From any glass that's handy.

amphora

/ˈamf(ə)rə/
noun
A tall ancient Greek or Roman jar or jug with two handles and a narrow neck.

Origin
Latin, from Greek amphoreus, or from French amphore.

-=-=-=-=-=-

In ancient Greece, amphoreus.
In Rome, amphora, more glorious.
In France amphore, not more,
In the states, buy copies in the museum store.

writhen
(also wrythen)

/ˈrɪð(ə)n/
adjective
1 literary Twisted or contorted out of normal shape or form.
2 (of antique glass or silver) having spirally twisted ornamentation.

Origin
Old English in the sense ‘plaited, entwined’, archaic past participle of writhe.

-=-=-=-=-

Attempting to swat away the wasps, Bob contorted himself, twisting around like a writhen vase.

dally

/ˈdali/
verb
[no object]
1 Act or move slowly.
2 dally with - Have a casual romantic or sexual liaison with.
2.1 Show a casual interest in.

Origin
Middle English: from Old French dalier ‘to chat’, of unknown origin.

-=-=-=-=-

Tony dallied on the path as power walkers and joggers rushed to their individual goals. Tony's goals were simpler. Enjoy life.



[Back a while WotD examined tarry: http://www.ibdof.com/viewtopic.php?f=1793&t=1434&p=1880388&hilit=dally#p1880388. By the vagaries of dictionary time, we waited until today to dally some more.]

lentic

/ˈlɛntɪk/
adjective
Ecology
(of organisms or habitats) inhabiting or situated in still fresh water.
Compare with lotic

Origin
1930s: from Latin lentus ‘calm, slow’ + -ic.

-=-=-=-=-

Mosquitoes are partially lentic organisms, breeding in still water. The betta fish is better as a lentic fish than most aquarium dwellers.

jabberwocky

/ˈdʒabəˌwɒki/
noun
mass noun
Invented or meaningless language; nonsense.

Origin

Early 20th century: from the title of a nonsense poem in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass (1871).

-=-=-=-=-

To most Earthlings, the Klingon language is pure jabberwocky. A subset disagrees.

Algot Runeman wrote:jabberwocky

Aren't jabberwockies computer nerds who write code in Bandersnatch 2.x ?

aposematic

/ˌapə(ʊ)sɪˈmatɪk/
adjective
Zoology
1 Denoting coloration or markings serving to warn or repel predators.
1.1 (of an animal) having aposematic coloration or markings.

Origin
Late 19th century: from apo- ‘away from’ + Greek sēma ‘sign’ + -atic.

-=-=-=-=-

Though applied intentionally, Crusher's aposematic markings were no less a warning.



[It is understood that Crusher's knuckle lettering might have been even more harsh had it not been for forum policies!]

choke

/tʃəʊk/
verb
1 no object (of a person or animal) have severe difficulty in breathing because of a constricted or obstructed throat or a lack of air.

-=-=-=-=-

There were 15 other definitions in the ODO entry, but I choked on using that much space!

calzone

/kalˈtsəʊni//kalˈtsəʊneɪ/
noun
A type of pizza that is folded in half before cooking to contain a filling.

Origin
Italian dialect, probably a special use of calzone ‘trouser leg’, with reference to the shape of the pizza.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Tony wore baggy cargo shorts with huge pockets. He stuffed the bags containing two calzones each into the pockets and walked home warm in spite of the blowing snow.

solunar

/sɒˈluːnə/
adjective
Relating to the combined influence or conjunction of the sun and moon.

Origin
Late 18th century: blend of Sol and lunar.

-=-=-=-=-

The recent eclipse was certainly a solunar event.

grabby

/ˈɡrabi/
adjective
North American
informal
1 Having or showing a selfish desire for something; greedy.
2 Attracting attention; arousing people's interest.

-=-=-=-=-

Philhomena glowered across the room as Charlie reached for an apple on the side table just five minutes before dinner was to be served. She was ticked off by his thoughtless, grabby behavior. Charlie was just hungry, having skipped lunch.

Algot Runeman wrote:grabby

Very often, when in their private quarters, my grandma felt (and acted) very grabby for grandpa.

He didn't mind in the least, he just reciprocated ...