The Internet Book Database of Fiction

Repose, easy, E.P.S. I have no riposte to your remarks. Love that frog photo in spite of my reservations about its authenticity.

jubilant

Pronunciation: /ˈjo͞obələnt
adjective
Feeling or expressing great happiness and triumph.

Origin
mid 17th century (originally in the sense 'making a joyful noise'): from Latin jubilant- 'calling, hallooing', from the verb jubilare (see jubilate).

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The crowd is jubilant. Their beloved king is getting married. That it is his ninth marriage does not sway their emotion. Anything to have an heir.

Algot Runeman wrote:jubilant

That I know of, my grandma has been particularly jubilant on four occasions:

• 1. When she bagged my grandpa as her husband,
  
  2. When her suggestions to her fur couturier panned out,
  
  3. When the shaman's Viagra-like adjuvant proved to be effective beyond expectation,
  
  4. When my parents announced my conception.

Needless to say, grandpa shared her jubilance in three instances.

grimalkin

Pronunciation: /griˈmôkin, -ˈmal-
noun
• archaic
1 A cat (used especially in reference to its characteristically feline qualities).
1.1 A spiteful old woman.

Origin
late 16th century: from gray1 + Malkin (nickname for the given name Matilda).


Sampo Pihlainen

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Granny grins with significant self-satisfaction. She and her herd of cats dominate the apartment building. Grimalkins all, none gives the other residents a second thought. The good news is the total lack of mice or rats in the neighborhood.

proclitic

Pronunciation: /prōˈklitik
Linguistics
noun
A word pronounced with so little emphasis that it is shortened and forms part of the following word, for example, you in y’all. Compare with enclitic.

Origin
mid 19th century: from modern Latin procliticus (from Greek proklinein 'lean forward'), on the pattern of late Latin encliticus (see enclitic).

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Max combined his tendency to use proclitics with enclitics which resulted in unintelligible mumbles. His wife made up for it. She seemed not to stop talking from the moment she woke to the time she fell asleep.

D'ya see?

Algot Runeman wrote:proclitic

Well, I'd rather have an innkeeper with proclitic tendencies than one applying Procrustes' methods.

milieu

Pronunciation: /milˈyo͞o, -ˈyə(r)
noun (plural milieux pronunc. same, or milieus)
A person’s social environment: he grew up in a military milieu

Origin
mid 19th century: French, from mi 'mid' + lieu 'place'.


Mark Welker

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Mark, who had worked with them for years, married into a family of Millers who actually run a flour mlll. Though his own last name was Kostowicz, the couple were still known as Millers. Mark was very comfortable in his married milieu even though some might think it was a grind.

covin

Pronunciation: /ˈkəvən, ˈkō-
(also covine)
noun
• archaic
Fraud; deception.

Origin
Middle English (denoting a company or band): from Old French, from medieval Latin convenium, from Latin convenire (see convene). Compare with coven.


sammydavisdog

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Tess joined the coven, but she knew it was a covin. None of the women were witches, though many were nasty enough to be called by the similar-sounding canine epithet.

vagary

Pronunciation: /ˈvāgərē
noun (plural vagaries)
(usually vagaries)
An unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone’s behavior: the vagaries of the weather

Origin
late 16th century (also as a verb in the sense 'roam'): from Latin vagari 'wander'.


Don Sutherland
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The vagaries of my thought process are interrupted by the arrival of the WotD. Brief focus follows. After that moment...Ooh, lookit the pretty butterfly!

Algot Runeman wrote:vagary

I think that your perceived vagaries (and mine too) are peanuts compared to those experienced by this migrating Monarch butterfly.

posterity

Pronunciation: /päˈsteritē
noun
1 All future generations of people: the victims' names are recorded for posterity
1.1 [in singular] • archaic The descendants of a person: God offered Abraham a posterity like the stars of heaven

Origin
late Middle English: from Old French posterite, from Latin posteritas, from posterus 'following'.



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Posterity will not likely visit the Wayback Machine to assess our verbal value.

Algot Runeman wrote:posterity

One day long ago grandma confided in me her secret wish.

She told me she would have liked to be buried belly down.

So that posterity could gaze upon the grass (mostly weeds, she insisted) growing on her posterior.

mélange

Pronunciation: /māˈlänj
(also melange)
noun
A mixture; a medley: a mélange of tender vegetables and herbs

Origin
from French mélange, from mêler 'to mix'.


jamelah e.

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Mary sliced several different fruits into a large bowl, producing a pleasing mélange of sweet salad.

Algot Runeman wrote:mélange

I wish they'd hurry up importing mélange.

If they wait much longer, it'll be too late for me.

pooh-bah

Pronunciation: /ˈpo͞o ˌbä
(also Pooh-Bah)
noun
A person having much influence or holding many offices at the same time, especially one perceived as pompously self-important.

Origin
from the name of a character in W. S. Gilbert's The Mikado (1885).



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No pooh-bah I. You can be one if you want. All it takes is an ink pad and a rubber stamp. You can make any document look important.

Algot Runeman wrote:pooh-bah

Pooh-bah certainly is a bit shorter and much easier to pronounce than panjandrum.

Is that trend to invent shorter nouns an Anglic linguistic tendency?

Cfr. car vs automobile, bike vs motorcycle, boob vs mammary gland, etc ...

Though I've heard/read the opposite too: boob cube vs TV ...

dishabille

Pronunciation: /ˌdisəˈbēl
(also deshabille)
noun
The state of being only partly or scantily clothed: the relaxed dishabille of Lely’s portraits

Origin
late 17th century: from French déshabillé, 'undressed'.



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When I take my shower, I typically do it in a state of total dishabille. My clothes, I throw in the machine.

Algot Runeman wrote:dishabille

A person wearing only underwear, sexy lingerie, a bathrobe or just a towel is déshabillé. That's why unexpected visitors on the other side of the door are brushed off with: "Wait a sec! I'm not decent."

But a woman in bikini is *never* considered déshabillé, regardless the venue or the size of the bikini.

So what's the difference?

transitory

Pronunciation: /ˈtransiˌtôrē, ˈtranzi-
adjective
Not permanent: transitory periods of medieval greatness

Origin
late Middle English: from Old French transitoire, from Christian Latin transitorius, from transit- 'gone across' (see transit).



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Terry used transitive verbs to describe his transitory foray into the bowels of the New York public transit system. Terry's bowels actually churned in a very active way, sitting across from some of the "humanity" who rode the subway, some of whom revealed a disturbingly disheveled display. After his final underground trip, he returned gratefully to the soft, plush seats of his limousine. His driver listened supportively to the tales of woe, though after dropping off his boss and parking the limo in the garage, he rode the same subway home.

Algot Runeman wrote:transitory

Algot's déshabillé is more or less transitory, except rather less with the occasional heat wave (even if not intentional, then surely you must have seen this coming).

E.P.S.

Little does the "Shocked, shocked, I say!" woman know that the showering silhouette was actually manufactured by tracing a photo of an admittedly large man who was wearing pants, though no shirt. Still dishabille/déshabillé to an extent, but well within the bounds established with your bikini-clad example.

Sadly, the largeness of that individual and this one, too, is not transitory.

paronym

Pronunciation: /ˈparənim
noun
Linguistics
1 A word that is a derivative of another and has a related meaning: “wisdom” is a paronym of “wise.”
1.1 A word formed by adaptation of a foreign word: “preface” is a paronym of Latin “prefatio.” Contrasted with heteronym.

Origin
mid 19th century: from Greek parōnumon, neuter (used as a noun) of parōnumos 'naming by modification', from para- 'beside' + onuma 'name'.


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Peter paused, then he stopped. It demonstrated wisdom to be patient. His father told him not to rush through a job. Dad's guidance had regularly helped Peter even though Dad, himsef, was gone. Peter used the earlier guides because he was wise beyond his years. The son was a derivative of the father, just as wisdom is a paronym of wise. Peter examined his progress and began working again.

Algot Runeman wrote:paronym

In matters of grandma's furs or lack thereof, grandpa tended to be paronymous, if not anonymous, still always thoroughly lecherous, if grandma appeared amorous.

disenchant

Pronunciation: /ˌdisenˈCHant
verb
[with object]
Free (someone) from illusion; disappoint: he may have been disenchanted by the loss of his huge following

Origin
late 16th century: from French désenchanter, from dés- (expressing reversal) + enchanter (see enchant).



How often did a French nobleman really mean "disenchanted" when he met some dull peer with the common greeting, "I am enchanted to meet you." Je suis enchanté de faire votre connaisance."

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[That was one of the high school French lessons which has stuck with me, I guess.]

piquant

Pronunciation: /ˈpēkənt, -känt
adjective
1 Having a pleasantly sharp taste or appetizing flavor.
1.1 Pleasantly stimulating or exciting to the mind.

Origin
early 16th century (in the sense 'severe, bitter'): from French, literally 'stinging, pricking', present participle of piquer.


Dorami Chan

Some describe Pico de Gallo as piquant, with a pleasant sharpness. Others will tell you they think, when you take a bite, it bites you back. It is the chili peppers which really make the dish distinct from the middle eastern "salad". Chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, lemon juice, done! Imagining the recipe prepared for lunch, piquant!