ceruse: white lead, used in ointments and formerly in cosmetics. (Sounds ghastly, doesn't it?)

Not only does it sound ghastly, it's poison! The things we do to conform to standards of beauty...

Pounds Shillings and Pence are abbreviated L.s.d, from the Roman Librae, solidi and denarii.
The lych gate was where the minister met a funeral party carrying the corpse (in pre-hearse days) which was also known as a lych. They rested the corpse on a bier under the lych gate and the service was begun there.
I would think philogents comes from philogeny and may refer to each individual in the philogenetic tree.

Thanks, RP friends. You are a mine of information. :-)

PRELAPSARIAN: Of or relating to the period before the fall of Adam and Eve...any time of innocence.

OK. It's been a while since this thread was added to, so here are more words, this time from Edith Wharton (House of Mirth):

* peroration - to speak at great length; conclude a long speech.
* probity -adherence to the highest principles; uprightness.
* rasterize - only mention of this is in reference to working in PhotoShop which I feel fairly safe in assuming that Wharton did not have access to... :-) Any ideas?
* "dog in the manger"(saying) - one who prevents others from enjoying what one has no use for. Had not heard of this before. Anyone else?
* meed - a fitting result or wage of some kind. Had only heard of this as "mead" which I recognize is something else entirely. :-) (But could be given as wages at some point, I suppose.)
* chary (type of person)- dear or treasured; slow to accept or grant something.
* empyrean - the highest heaven, thought to be full of fire. (Heard of this before, but was not sure of it exactly.)
* sapolio - Type of soap that was available then?
* cuirassed - a defense or protection; type of armour for protecting breast and backbone.
* ormulu - 18th C term for applying very finely ground gold in mercury mix to object of bronze.

I,ve read HOM, and even wrote a long paper on it. Dog in the manger ia a very old phrase, which actually boils down to I don,t want it, but I don,t want you to have it.

Saplolio was a type of soap--the suffix is the giveaway. Means fatty, material needed for soap.

"jejeune"

vapid, not worthy of notice.

"Dog in the manger" is very old, and as leel said, means "I don't want it but I don't want you to have it". As in, the dog is in the manger, which is full of hay for cows. He's not going to eat it but he snaps at the cows which come to eat it.

The 'dog in the manger' expression goes right back to the fables of Aesop and, of course, may have been old when he wrote it down/ told the tale.

Meed is an archaic word for reward or recompense

rasterize/raster seems to be a German word connected to horizontal lines on a TV screen unless Ms Wharton was referring to the big hairdos and woolly hats worn by Rastafarians . . . both seem unlikely. ;-)

Here's an amusing assortment :

The Washington Post recently published a contest for readers in which they were asked to supply alternate meanings for various words, similar to the Devil's Dictionary entries. The following are some of the winning entries:

Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
Circumvent (n.), the opening in the front of boxer shorts.
Coffee (n.), a person who is coughed upon.
Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
Flatulence (n.) the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
Frisbatarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck there.
Gargoyle: An Olive-Flavored Mouthwash
Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
Negligent (adj.) , describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightie.
Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.

^^^many chuckles^^^ Thanks for sharing.

So, I have been making a list of new-to-me words, mostly from Edith Wharton but other random sources as well:

* Herdic (re: transportation) - type of horse-drawn carriage (late 1880's US)
* Vicegerent - official administrative duty of a rule or head of state
* Enfiladed - gunfire directed along the whole length of a target (e.g. down a straight trench from end to end etc.)
* Fatuities - self-satisfied unintelligence combined with complacency
* Vaticanations - the art of prophesying. (Link with the Vatican/Catholic church somehow?)
* Aigrettes - tuft or plume of feathers used in head dress
* Sacerdotal - related to priests or priesthood
* Encaustic - related to art using wax
* Philippic - a fiery damning speech delivered to condemn political person
* Miry - swampy damp ground
* Sneck (re: gate) - door latch (in Northern UK and Scotland 13th century)
* Plethoric - overfull, turgid. (Related to "plethora" as in "a lot")
* Adumbrations - to give a sketchy outline or foreshadow
* Surcharged ceiling? - Was there a ceiling tax at some point? (Similar to the old window tax in UK?)
* Lemtta - ??
* Gnomic - resembling or containing proverbs or other aphorisms

lemonhead101...I would never have gotten through any of the books you've read...why don't you just read the entire dictionary and get it over with...LOL!

I underline words I don't know while reading and then write the definition right next to them in the book (short version, of course.)

If I can't pronounce a word easily, I never start using it...but some words I just love to know and use...not to impress anyone, just love the sounds of them.

Thanks for putting the definitions to these in your posts...saved me hours of looking them up...LOL!

nola_anne

Nola-Anne -

I love words and learning new ones so reading lots of new vocab is actually fun for me...! But I am a word nerd. I accept that. :-)

New ones from the anthology of "Great American Short Stories" edited by Corinne Demas:

This selection is taken from the "Great American Short Stories" book, edited by Corinne Dema (published by Barnes and Noble).

�Tabouret � either a cabinet or a stool that is portable
�Roseate � resembling a rose; overly optimistic
�Pulchitrude � physical beauty
�Tumbrel � cart carrying prisoners to be executed (usually by guillotine)
�Septuagesima Sunday (1870) � a 17-day preparation for the season of Lent which is a preparation for Easter. Some countries, it is the start of the Carnival season culminating in Shrove Tuesday.
�Hoydenism � unladylike or tomboyish behavior
�Eternal white horses (re: possessions) -- ?
�Sybarite � person devoted to luxury and pleasure
�Conge � act of taking leave, farewell
�Lares and Penates (myths) � gods who protected the household (Roman); another name for the actual valuables within a household
�Espiegle (French) � word for prankster, rogue
�Desuetude � condition of not being used
�Old Christmas Day (1802) � not sure. The story referenced "New Christmas Day" which implies, perhaps, a change in calendar dates or something?
�Sibyl � prophetess or woman who divines. Greek.

Holy cow. This message didn't look like that when I submitted. Here it is, all cleaned up and shiny... Sorry about that!

****

Nola-Anne -
I love words and learning new ones so reading lots of new vocab is actually fun for me...! But I am a word nerd. I accept that. :-)

New ones from the anthology of "Great American Short Stories" edited by Corinne Demas:

This selection is taken from the "Great American Short Stories" book, edited by Corinne Dema (published by Barnes and Noble).

* Tabouret - either a cabinet or a stool that is portable
* Roseate - resembling a rose; overly optimistic
* Pulchitrude - physical beauty
* Tumbrel - cart carrying prisoners to be executed (usually by guillotine)
* Septuagesima Sunday (1870) -a 17-day preparation for the season of Lent which is a preparation for Easter. Some countries, it is the start of the Carnival season culminating in Shrove Tuesday.
* Hoydenism - unladylike or tomboyish behavior
* Eternal white horses (re: possessions) - -- ?
* Sybarite - person devoted to luxury and pleasure
* Conge - act of taking leave, farewell
* Lares and Penates (myths) - gods who protected the household (Roman); another name for the actual valuables within a household
* Espiegle (French) - word for prankster, rogue
* Desuetude - condition of not being used
* Old Christmas Day (1802) - not sure. The story referenced "New Christmas Day" which implies, perhaps, a change in calendar dates or something?
* Sibyl - prophetess or woman who divines. Greek.

Isn't it funny......words that just don't conger up the image of what they mean.
Pulchritude.

That word sounds like some nasty , obnoxious attitude.
"He had the pulchritude to ask her to dance."

It sure doesn't make me think of physical beauty !!

In reading Mantel's Bringing up the Bodies I've encountered many words of which I was unsure. Normally I'd just think "Coppice that's something of the landscape" and go on reading. Because it's a hefty book I downloaded it and am finding myself compelled to use the Kindle dictionary to look words up, and the definitions aren't enough. No, I have to click twice more to find out how to pronounce it. Drat!

"Derecho" (from the Spanish): Wiki says: a long-lived line of strong windstorms, associated with thunderstorms, usually convection conveyed, occuring mainly in summer. I first heard the term a few weeks ago after the strong, damaging storms came through a wide swath of US states, from West to East, leaving power outages and downed trees and destroyed homes. Not a tornado,but equally damaging.

So, if you put a sentence together using some of these words, it might read:

"There is a pulchitrudious hodynistic Sibyl sitting on the tabouret waiting for the tumbrel"?

And no one would actually really know what you're talking about. :-)

I had to look up 'secular' today, because there is a secondary meaning to the word I knew nothing about! I know 'secular' as 'worldly, non-spiritual' but its use in the phrase 'secular climate trends' (oh, the joy of reading a government report on federal meteorology programs...) had me puzzled. Turns out that secular also refers to a long time-frame; 'continuing through ages, centuries.' Who knew!

Taken from Lady Audley's Secret - M. E. Braddon and a few from Forster's A Room with a View...

* Druggett - a coarse woolen fabric felted or woven and printed on one side
* Colliers (boats) - should have recognized this one. It refers to people involved in producing (digging/mining etc.) coal. Don't remember any coal-mining talk though in the book.
* Timon (myth) - reference to Shakespearean play called "The Life of Timon of Athens" (Haven't read of this, but think it's about the fortunes of some rich Athenian guy...
* Pallas Athene (in the manner of) - another name for Athena (Greek goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration etc.)
* Burnous (clothing) - a cloak of coarse woolen fabric with a hood, usually white
* Isingclass (food)- product of gelatin and used in confectionary and other desserts
* Tocsin - an alarm sounded by means of bells
* Figured silk (type of dress) - silk material ornamented with a pattern of some type
* Hurt bushes (flora) - not sure. The only mention that I could find was to do with the Super Mario Wiki game!
* Chorically - of or pertaining to a chorus; linked with style of Greek chorus...

Liz, I've always seen "burnous" spelt "burnoose", as in Middle Eastern clothing.

Wood -

There may well be variant spellings of "burnous/burnoose"... I was reading a copy on Project Gutenberg so perhaps it varies as to who is typing it up and/or proofs it..?

Either way, it was a new word for me. :-)

Twice in one day I came upon picaresque. First in the 'Telegraph' general knowledge crossword where the clue was '... picaresque novel by D H Lawrence 5 & 3' and the next in English Journey by J B Priestley who says something like 'If I should write another picaresque novel I will include a travelling salesman'.
The word means hero/rogue in a novel goes through a series of episodic adventures'
And just in case the book my DHL has slipped your mind it is Aaron's Rod (no, I've never read it either)

Vee, I think I first encountered "picaresque" in high school Spanish class. I believe its provenance is from works such as "Don Quixote", et al.

Had to look up solipsism.

"extreme preoccupation with and indulgence of one's feelings, desires, etc.; egoistic self-absorption"

from dictionary.com

My nephew's new Kindle lets him highlight a word and then gives him the definition. Now, that's progress!

* Azew - old English term for when a cow's milk dries up
* Dry as a kex - "kex" is English dialect for the dry and usually hollow stem of various plants
* Tranter - old name for peddler or hawker using a horse and cart
* Thermidorean - (n.) member of French moderate group who participated in the downfall of Robespierre et al in 1794, a coup d'etat.
* Ethiopic - ancient South Semitic language in northern area of Ethiopia. Used more commonly nowadays in various religious services.
* Dapes inemptae - "unpurchased banquet" of dairyman's self-sufficiency in producing food for self and family
* Withy-bed - Do you think it's something to do with the mattress filling? Withy is a strong flexible willow stem, so perhaps used for bed mattress...?
* Carking - burdensome, annoying
* Springe (trap?) - device for snaring small game using a noose attached to a branch under tension
* Felloes (carriage) - rim (or section of rim) of a wheel supported by spokes
* Percipient - one that perceives; one on whose mind a telepathic message falls
* Lanchers - (v.) seldom used present tense version of verb "to launch" (i.e. he lanchers the stick in the air)
* Scapegrace - scoundrel, rascal, usually a child in age
* Horological - art/science of measuring time
* Tantalus - (used in context of being a pot of some type to hold whisky) Greek myth figure made to stand in pool of water beneath fruit tree whose branches are just out of reach and the water always receding so always thirsty and hungry. Origin of verb "to tantalize" (having something desirable just out of reach).
* Inanition - lethargy; exhaustion due to starvation
* Nainsook - soft fine muslin often used for babies' clothing
* Ambuscade - variation of ambush (both verb and noun), late 16th century
* "Ribson pippin" of a man - Ribson pippin is a type of apple -- perhaps man was apple-shaped?
* Starve-acre (place) - of or pertaining to land that takes a lot of work to farm and even then isn't that good..

From all over the place the last couple of weeks or so... Quite a few from Tess of the D'Urbervilles and some from Sherlock Holmes...

Liz, withy bed just means a 'bed' (as is flower bed) where withies/willow/osier/reeds shoots grow. Think the Norfolk Broads or along the muddy edge of any riverside. They would be regularly harvested and used for basket making or thatching.

Vee - your suggestion makes *much* more sense than what I was thinking... Thanks!

* Nepenthe - medicine for sorrow, a "drug of forgetfulness" mentioned in ancient Greek lit
* Plutonian shore - relating to (or characteristic of) Hades or Tartarus, being of the underworld
* Massy - having great mass or bulk. (This was said in reference to a hammer in the text.)
* Pellucid - admitting maximum without diffusion or distortion
* Cuirass - piece of armor that covers the front of the torso
* Perfidious - deceitful, betrayal
* Elsevir - a manufacturer of text books (emph. on medical)
* Elate (re: pinnacle) - hmm. Definitions mostly talk about "being made happy", but this was written in the sense of being linked with a pinnacle (unless the person was happy to make it to the top? Can't remember exact context.)
* Spate - outburst, flood, state of overflowing. (Kinda knew this, but just needed reminding.)
* Gamaliel - leading Jewish teacher in first half of first century
* Porringer - soup bowl or other small bowl usually with a handle
* Cataract (of bottles) - hmm. Not sure -- only ref in the dictionary was to cataract of the eye.

I think someone puts some Nepenthe in my coffee in the mornings lately. I keep forgetting things. :-)

Lemonhead, A cataract has to do with an overspill of water eg. waterfall or cascade.
Did the bottles topple over?

Lemonhead: you haven't been reading Poe lately, have you? :) I remember looking up nepenthe & plutonian shore when I first read The Raven.

"dragoman" - a guide, in the Middle East.
(Recently, I've been reading several works set in Turkey, Syria, the Ottoman Empire).

"viz." - I've seen this a lot in older books, but finally looked it up in my old Webster's dictionary. It means "namely".

Today I looked up "tulipier" and only found that it is French for "tulip tree." However, the way the word was used, I had the impression that it was a decorative object, rather than a tree. Here is the sentence from page 8 of The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom: "That first morning I did not note the mahogany highboy standing sentry in the hall; nor did I see the tall blue and white tulipier, displayed proudly as the latest expense from across the sea." The sentence rather implies that the tulipier will show up again later in the book. Anyone know what it is?

Possibly a flat wall vase with several branches for displaying single tulips? I saw one at the Delft Pottery works in Holland. Very expensive but I would have liked one! They are blue and white.

I had a look around the net and found the sort of vase I was describing in the Hampton Court Palace Delft Collection on "The Anglophile" website. Wow!! These are serious vases, bigger than the one I was lusting after!

Tried looking up tulipier in my huge dictionary but the word is not given. I did however learn that 'tulip' comes from the Turkish word for turban as the open flower was thought to resemble it. Never too late for me to pick up some new information. ;-)

Sorry - no clue about Tulipier...

And yes, Donnamira - I was reading Poe! Good catch.

Re: "tulipiers" -- I knew it rang a bell. I saw these often in Colonial Williamsburg, VA when I lived there. I just typed in "tulipier + Williamsburg" into Google, and then I selected "pinterest.com/jillspalding/tulipieres";. A lot of excellent photos in color came up. They were made in Delft, mostly, in blue and white china, with 5 vases attached to a bottom.

What good sleuths you are! A Delft vase indeed, Annpan. And Woodnymph, I believe the answer is in the spelling you found - apparently the word is tulipiere rather than tulipier. I wonder if this was a typo in the book, or a spelling variation that no dictionary seems to mention.

The pictures on the recommended websites are wild. I don't know how one could miss noticing such an object upon first visit, as the book suggests.

From Wikipedia: A tulipiere or tulip-holder is an ornate flower-holder that is usually made of hand-crafted pottery, classically delftware. They are typically constructed to accommodate one single flower stem per spout with a larger common water reservoir base.

Woodnymph, the first pix in the group has the one I liked so much. It was a modern piece but still not a sensible buy at the beginning of a trip through Europe! I wasn't even sure the pottery would travel but the saleswoman picked up a vase and went "Whack" several times hitting it onto a table, which settled that! I did buy a very small pot which was a 'second' and fitted my budget. It has a slight blurring on a painted flower, which makes it unique and gives me a lovely reminder of Holland.

While doing the crossword this morning I came upon this word and felt certain it was not spelled correctly...we are never so right as when we are absolutely wrong !

ENROACHMENT ( I was certain that it must be encroachment)

meaning : inroad

You learn something every day ( if you're paying attention!_

Google really wanted it to be encroachment, too. I had to insist that it leave out the 'c'.

Suddenly, the word "shambolic" is heard everywhere. I had to look it up: "disorderly or chaotic." Is this a new term???

Mary, you do hear shambolic in the UK quite often; probably for quite a few years now. I always took it to mean a mixture of a 'shambles' and 'chaotic'. And as you will know 'shambles' originally referred to a butcher's shop/slaughter house which was probably a bloody mess.

Thanks, Vee. I'd never heard it used til last week, then, several times, on TV. I find it interesting how so many Brit terms are increasingly migrating across the pond....

"aquiline". In terms of describing the human nose, meaning hooked. (It comes from the Latin word for "eagle.")

In The Autumn of the Patriarch, I just had to look up "micturition." It means nothing more than the act of passing urine. How fancy we get for such basic acts!