Words from The Sea-Hawk by Rafael Sabatini that sent me to the dictionary.
Demesne - possession of land as one's own: land held in demesne
- an estate or part of an estate occupied and controlled by, and worked for the exclusive use of, the owner.
Lissom - lithesome or lithe, esp. of body; supple; flexible
Untrammeled - not limited or restricted; unrestrained
Froward - willfully contrary; not easily managed
Littoral - of or pertaining to the shore of a lake, sea, or ocean
Trepan - to cut circular disks from (plate stock) using a rotating cutter
Devoir - an act of civility or respect
Asperse - to attack with false, malicious, and damaging charges or insinuations; slander
Sacerdotal - of priests; priestly
Culverin - an early, crudely made musket
Sophistry - a subtle, tricky, superficially plausible, but generally fallacious method of reasoning
There were also a few words that if asked I would have said I knew what they meant but I realized if pressed I would not be able to come up with an actual definition. So I decided to look them up and see if I was even close. I'm happy to say that my vague ideas about the meaning of these words were all in the right general direction at least.
Calumny - a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something
Inveigh - to protest strongly or attack vehemently with words; rail
Indolent - having or showing a disposition to avoid exertion; slothful
- blithe joyous, merry, or gay in disposition; glad; cheerful without thought or regard; carefree; heedless
Itinerant - traveling from place to place, esp. on a circuit, as a minister, judge, or sales representative
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment