One of the things I often do as I'm reading a novel or short story is keep track of words whose definitions I do not know or that I find interesting. Either way, these interesting words are ones I feel might be of use in my own writing. That, and it's good to expand one's vocabulary every once in a while.

This latest round of interesting words comes from Kay Kenyon's Bright of the Sky.

alkaloid: Any of various organic compounds normally with basic chemical properties and usually containing at least one nitrogen atom in a heterocyclic ring, occurring chiefly in many vascular plants and some fungi.

archon: A high official; a ruler.

cyanogenic: Capable of producing cyanide.

demiurge: A powerful creative force or personality.

epicanthic: Of or pertaining to an epicanthis; growing in or upon a canthus or corner of the eye.

espalier: A tree or shrub that is trained to grow in a flat plane against a wall, often in a symmetrical pattern.

evanescent: Vanishing or likely to vanish like vapor.

glycoside: Any of a group of organic compounds, occurring abundantly in plants, that yield a sugar and one or more nonsugar substances on hydrolysis.

gulag: A forced labor camp or prison, especially for political dissidents.

harangue: A long pompous speech, especially one delivered before a gathering.

legate: A person commissioned to represent a state, or the highest authority in the state, in a foreign state or court; a deputy; an ambassador.

meritocracy: A system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement.

phenolic: Any of various synthetic thermosetting resins, obtained by the reaction of phenols with simple aldehydes and used to make molded products and as coatings and adhesives.

tannin: Any of various chemically different substances capable of promoting tanning.

terpenoid: A very large class of naturally occurring and synthetic organic compounds formally derived from the hydrocarbon isoprene; they include many volatile compounds used in perfume and food flavours, turpentine, the steroids, the carotene pigments and rubber.

toadyism: The practice of meanly fawning on another; base sycophancy; servile adulation.

unctuous: Containing or composed of oil or fat.

vilification: slanderous or malicious defamation; character assassination

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One of the things I often do as I'm reading a novel or short story is keep track of words whose definitions I do not know or that I find interesting. Either way, these interesting words are ones I feel might be of use in my own writing. That, and it's good to expand one's vocabulary every once in a while.

This latest round of interesting words comes from Karl Schroeder's Sun of Suns.

armature: The rotating part of a dynamo, consisting essentially of copper wire wound around an iron core.

boatswain: A warrant officer or petty officer in charge of a ship's rigging, anchors, cables, and deck crew.

contrail: A visible trail of streaks of condensed water vapor or ice crystals sometimes forming in the wake of an aircraft. Also called vapor trail.

diatom: Any of various microscopic one-celled or colonial algae of the class Bacillariophyceae, having cell walls of silica consisting of two interlocking symmetrical valves.

gelid: Cold; very cold; icy.

ingenue: An innocent, unsophisticated, naïve, wholesome girl or young woman.

insouciant: Marked by blithe unconcern; nonchalant.

mendicant: Depending on alms for a living; practicing begging.

minaret: A tall slender tower attached to a mosque, having one or more projecting balconies from which a muezzin summons the people to prayer.

pearlescent: Having a pearly luster or gloss.

peridot: A yellowish-green variety of olivine used as a gem.

pipette: A narrow, usually calibrated glass tube into which small amounts of liquid are suctioned for transfer or measurement.

prodigious: Impressively great in size, force, or extent; enormous.

prosaic: Consisting or characteristic of prose.

quiescent: Being quiet, still, or at rest; inactive.

sargasso: (gulfweed) Any of several brownish seaweeds of the genus Sargassum of tropical Atlantic waters, having rounded air bladders and often forming dense, floating masses.

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One of the things I often do as I'm reading a novel or short story is keep track of words whose definitions I do not know or that I find interesting. Either way, these interesting words are ones I feel might be of use in my own writing. That, and it's good to expand one's vocabulary every once in a while.

These interesting words were found in Peter V. Brett's The Warded Man.

alacrity: Cheerful willingness; eagerness.

garron: A small and usually disdained type of horse

poultice: A soft moist mass of bread, meal, clay, or other adhesive substance, usually heated, spread on cloth, and applied to warm, moisten, or stimulate an aching or inflamed part of the body.

tincture: A coloring or dyeing substance; a pigment.

vassalage: The condition of being a vassal.

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One of the things I often do as I'm reading a novel or short story is keep track of words whose definitions I do not know or that I find interesting. Either way, these interesting words are ones I feel might be of use in my own writing. That, and it's good to expand one's vocabulary every once in a while.

These interesting words were found in Paul Kemp's Ephemera: Dark Stories from the mind of Paul S. Kemp.

apotheosis: the elevation of a person (as to the status of a god)

caravel: The caravel of the 16th century was a small vessel with broad bows, high, narrow poop, four masts, and lateen sails. Columbus commanded three caravels on his great voyage.

effigy: a representation of a person (especially in the form of sculpture

iconoclast: someone who tries to destroy traditional ideas or institutions

inchoate: only partly in existence; imperfectly formed

insensate: devoid of feeling and consciousness and animation

parturition: the process of giving birth

proclivities: a natural inclination

repertory: the entire range of skills or aptitudes or devices used in a particular field or occupation

torpor: inactivity resulting from torpidity and lack of vigor or energy

viridian: a durable bluish-green pigment

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One of the things I often do as I'm reading a novel or short story is keep track of words whose definitions I do not know or that I find interesting. Either way, these interesting words are ones I feel might be of use in my own writing. That, and it's good to expand one's vocabulary every once in a while.

These interesting words were found in S.C. Butler's Reiffen's Choice.

boom: any of various more-or-less horizontal spars or poles used to extend the foot of a sail or for handling cargo or in mooring

bootblack: a person who polishes shoes and boots

floe: a flat mass of ice (smaller than an ice field) floating at sea

gunwale: wale at the top of the side of boat; topmost planking of a wooden vessel

tiller: lever used to turn the rudder on a boat

wizarding: magic, a spell; though the word is made-up, I thought it well-used: "He gathered the tempest's power into himself, to use in the wizarding he would employ to take them away."

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One of the things I often do as I'm reading a novel or short story is keep track of words whose definitions I do not know or that I find interesting. Either way, these interesting words are ones I feel might be of use in my own writing. That, and it's good to expand one's vocabulary every once in a while.

These interesting words were found in Harry Turtledove's The Disunited States of America.

 

revetment: a barrier against explosives

 

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One of the things I often do as I'm reading a novel or short story is keep track of words whose definitions I do not know or that I find interesting. Either way, these interesting words are ones I feel might be of use in my own writing. That, and it's good to expand one's vocabulary every once in a while.

These interesting words were found in Jon Sprunk's Shadow's Son.

ambergris: waxy substance secreted by the sperm whale and found floating at sea or washed ashore; used in perfume

banquette: an upholstered bench

chandlery: the place where a chandler's goods are sold or stored

cloying: overly sweet

coiffure: the arrangement of the hair (especially a woman's hair)

corbel: a triangular bracket of brick or stone (usually of slight extent)

cresset: An open frame or basket of iron, filled with combustible material, to be burned as a beacon; an open lamp or firrepan carried on a pole in nocturnal processions.

diaphanous: so thin as to transmit light

exarch: a viceroy who governed a large province in the Roman Empire

flambeaux: a flaming torch (such as are used in processions at night)

gabardine: a firm durable fabric with a twill weave

galantine: boned poultry stuffed then cooked and covered with aspic; served cold

gossamer: a gauze fabric with an extremely fine texture

kirtle: a long dress worn by women; 15th century kirtle

lariat: a long noosed rope used to catch animals

malachite: a green mineral used as an ore of copper and for making ornamental objects

minaret: slender tower with balconies

newel: the central pillar of a circular staircase

niter: used especially as a fertilizer and explosive

ordure: solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels

palaver: flattery intended to persuade

parquet: seating on the main floor between the orchestra and the parquet circle

petticoat: undergarment worn under a skirt

prelate: a senior clergyman and dignitary

sibilant: a consonant characterized by a hissing sound (like s or sh)

skein: a long piece of wool that has been wound into a loose shape instead of a tight ball

slattern: a prostitute who attracts customers by walking the streets

staccato: marked by or composed of disconnected parts or sounds; cut short crisply

susurrus: the indistinct sound of people whispering

verdigris: a green patina that forms on copper or brass or bronze that has been exposed to the air or water for long periods of time

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