Words I have learned
When I was in high school and even more insufferable than I am now, a friend and I started a tumblr called “sun words”. The concept of this was to collect words that we discovered that were particularly succulent or mellifluous. 1
I have found myself learning more and more words recently. This is fun and good: I was worried for a while that my days of adapting and playing with the English language were largely behind me. I thought it would be interesting and illustrative to collect a list of the words I’ve learned recently alongside the sources from which I’ve gleaned them. (I expect the majority to be from the NYT crossword, which I recommend you start doing.)
word | definition | source | date |
---|---|---|---|
dudgeon | a feeling of offense or deep resentment | NYT Crossword |
2020-11-14 |
septentrional | related to the north; northern | Twitter (@xdesro) |
2020-11-10 |
spinnaker | a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind | 2020-11-09 | |
engram | a unit of cognitive information inside the brain | 2020-11-09 | |
cotyledon | an embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants | 2020-11-09 | |
roan | denoting an animal with gray/silvery hair | NYT Crossword |
2020-11-09 |
antedating | an example or instance of a word/phrase at a date earlier than previously known | 2020-11-09 | |
crenellation | the battlements of a castle or other building | 2020-11-09 | |
fibril | a small or slender fiber | 2020-11-09 | |
flexion | the action of bending or the condition of being bent | 2020-11-09 | |
aileron | a hinged surface in the trailing edge of an airplane wing, used to control lateral balance | 2020-11-09 | |
calumny | the making of false and defamatory statements about someone in order to damage their reputation; slander. | 2020-11-08 | |
vibratiuncle | a miniscule or slight vibration | 2020-11-06 | |
bollix | to bungle (ie a task) | George Reilly |
2020-11-03 |
tonsorial | relating to hairdressing | Craig Mod |
2020-11-02 |
susurrus | whispering, murmuring, or rustling. | 2020-11-01 | |
gravitic | of or pertaining to gravity | 2020-11-01 | |
culvert | a tunnel carrying a stream or open drain under a road or railroad | 2020-10-30 | |
quidnunc | an inquisitive and gossipy person | NYT Crossword |
2020-10-29 |
piolet | ice axe | NYT Crossword |
2020-10-27 |
kvell | feel happy and proud | NYT Crossword |
2020-10-27 |
interwork | be able to connect, communicate, or exchange data | Andrew Buss |
2020-10-27 |
muon | an unstable subatomic particle of the same class as an electron | 2020-10-25 | |
plenum | an assembly of all the members of a group or committee | |
2020-10-25 |
rodomontade | boastful or inflated talk or behavior. | NYT Crossword |
2020-10-24 |
tref | not kosher | NYT Crossword |
2020-10-24 |
irenic | aiming at peace | |
2020-10-23 |
geometer | a specialist in geometry (i.e. for mapmaking or exploration) | 2020-10-23 | |
egest | to discharge, as from the body; void (opposed to ingest) | NYT Crossword |
2020-10-21 |
dolorous | feeling or expressing great sorrow or distress. | The A.V. Club |
2020-10-20 |
autogyro | a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift | 2020-10-18 | |
neonate | a newborn child | NYT Crossword |
2020-10-17 |
quincunx | an arrangement of five objects with four at the corners of a square or rectangle and the fifth at its center | NYT Crossword |
2020-10-17 |
neotony | the retention of juvenile features in the adult animal | |
2020-10-17 |
neoteric | new or modern; recent | Wikipedia |
2020-10-15 |
ablation | a procedure for restoring normal heart rhythm | |
2020-10-13 |
clement | mild and peaceful | 2020-10-13 | |
oracular | hard to interpret; enigmatic | Patrick Collison |
2020-10-12 |
carom | strike and rebound | |
2020-10-11 |
dysgenic | exerting a detrimental effect on later generations through the inheritance of undesirable characteristics | |
2020-10-05 |
oleaginous | rich with, covered in, or heavily producing oil or grease | |
2020-10-04 |
extirpate | root out and destroy completely | |
2020-10-01 |
suet | the hard white fat on the kidneys and loins of cattle, sheep, and other animals, used to make foods including puddings, pastry, and mincemeat | NYT Crossword |
2020-10-01 |
offal | the entrails and internal organs of an animal used as food. | NYT Crossword |
2020-09-30 |
syncytium | a single cell or cytoplasmic mass containing several nuclei, formed by fusion of cells or by division of nuclei | Wikipedia |
2020-09-30 |
funicular | a cable railroad, especially one on a mountainside, in which ascending and descending cars are counterbalanced. | 2020-09-29 | |
salvific | leading to salvation | |
2020-09-24 |
missal | a book containing the texts used in the Catholic Mass throughout the year | NYT Crossword |
2020-09-23 |
aporia | an irresolvable internal contradiction or logical disjunction in a text, argument, or theory | |
2020-09-22 |
slatternly | (relating to a woman’s appearance) dirty and untidy | Wikipedia |
2020-09-21 |
chthonic | concerning, belonging to, or inhabiting the underworld. | 2020-09-20 | |
gongoozler | a person who enjoys watching activity on the canals of the United Kingdom | Wikipedia |
2020-09-17 |
soteriology | the doctrine of salvation | Twitter (Liz Bruenig) |
2020-09-17 |
trilemma | a difficult choice from three options, each of which is (or appears) unacceptable or unfavourable | |
2020-09-16 |
alimentary | relating to nourishment or sustenance. | |
2020-09-15 |
squamous | covered with or characterized by scales | The City We Became |
2020-09-14 |
helpmate | a helpful companion or partner, especially one's husband or wife. | The City We Became |
2020-09-14 |
dropsy | a non-technical edema | |
2020-09-13 |
dewclaw | a rudimentary inner toe present in some dogs | The Art of Raising a Puppy |
2020-09-13 |
weir | a low dam built across a river to raise the water level upstream | NYT Crossword |
2020-09-12 |
concomitant | naturally accompanying or associated | |
2020-09-12 |
miserablist | a person who appears to enjoy being depressed, esp a performer of or listener to gloomy music | |
2020-09-10 |
autarky | economic independence or self-sufficiency | |
2020-09-09 |
slue | turn or slide violently or uncontrollably in a particular direction. | NYT Crossword |
2020-09-09 |
toyetic | potentially marketable as a toy or having merchandising potential | |
2020-09-06 |
elucubrate | to solve, write, or compose by working studiously at all hours | Postwar |
2020-09-06 |
scripturient | having a strong urge to write | Max Read |
2020-09-04 |
oryx | a species of large antelopes | 2020 NBA Playoffs, Game 2 Heat-Bucks |
2020-09-02 |
lustration | a rite of purification, especially washing | Postwar |
2020-09-02 |
saturnine | slow and gloomy | Better Living Through Criticism |
2020-08-30 |
orts | table scraps | NYT Crossword |
2020-08-30 |
glabrous | free from hair or down; smooth | A Spell of Songs |
2020-08-30 |
loge | a small enclosure or booth in a theatre or arena | NYT Crossword |
2020-08-27 |
cachinnate | to laugh loudly or immoderately | NYT Crossword |
2020-08-27 |
varietist | one who varies from the norm | The Decline And Fall Of Practically Everybody |
2020-08-23 |
sestet | the last six lines of a sonnet | NYT Crossword |
2020-08-21 |
impecunious | having little or no money | Postwar |
2020-08-20 |
doctrinaire | seeking to impose a doctrine in all circumstances without regard to practical considerations. | Zach Lowe |
2020-08-20 |
arrant | complete; utter | NYT Crossword |
2020-08-16 |
goldbrick | invent excuses to avoid a task; shirk. | NYT Crossword |
2020-08-15 |
cartouche | a carved tablet or drawing representing a scroll with rolled-up ends | NYT Crossword |
2020-07-26 |
timpani | kettledrums, especially when played by one musician in an orchestra | NYT Crossword |
2020-07-26 |
coati | a type of raccoon with a long snout and a striped tail | NYT Crossword |
2020-07-25 |
besserwisser | know-it-all, wiseguy, wiseacre, smart aleck | Brendan Schlagel |
2020-07-22 |
olio | a miscellaneous collection of things | NYT Crossword |
2020-07-22 |
eunoia | beautiful thinking | Brendan Schlagel |
2020-07-22 |
amphigory | nonsense verse | Brendan Schlagel |
2020-07-22 |
phrontistery | a place for studying | Brendan Schlagel |
2020-07-22 |
enchiridion | carried reference book | Brendan Schlagel |
2020-07-22 |
apothegm | short, witty aphorism | Brendan Schlagel |
2020-07-22 |
selcouth | strange; unfamiliar; marvelous | Brendan Schlagel |
2020-07-22 |
piste | a ski run of compacted snow. | Mike Towber |
2020-07-21 |
autochthonous | native to the place where found (ant. allochthonous) | |
2020-07-20 |
polity | an organized society; a state as a political entity | Against the Grain |
2020-07-20 |
calf | a floating piece of ice detached from an iceberg. | NYT Crossword |
2020-07-17 |
-
Why “sun words”? Because we were high schoolers, and because we learned of the concept of “SAT words” — words that made Flesch-Kincaid salivate — and because _Sun_day comes after _Sat_urday. (I told you — insufferable.) ↩