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VOCABULARY LISTS > USER LISTS

The Book of Air and Shadows 199 words

July 28, 2008 By Steven M. (Olathe, KS)
A selection of words I encountered while reading Michael Gruber's best-seller. (Some common words are listed for Mr. Gruber's usage of their uncommon definitions. Seek them out.) For architectural, aesthetic, textile, etc., terms, I suggest doing an image search for visual associations.

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Definitions Notes & Examples Words Only
  1. abash
    cause to be embarrassed; cause to feel self-conscious
  2. abscond
    run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along
  3. acedia
    apathy and inactivity in the practice of virtue (personified as one of the deadly sins)
  4. acerbity
    a sharp bitterness
  5. acme
    the highest point (of something)
  6. affinity
    a natural attraction or feeling of kinship
  7. afflatus
    a strong creative impulse; divine inspiration
  8. affray
    a noisy fight
  9. ambit
    an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"
  10. Anglophilia
    admiration for Britain and British customs
  11. anorak
    a kind of heavy jacket (`windcheater' is a British term)
  12. apogee
    apoapsis in Earth orbit; the point in its orbit where a satellite is at the greatest distance from the Earth
  13. ardor
    feelings of great warmth and intensity
  14. arrant
    without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers
  15. art deco
    a style of design that was popular in the 1920s and 1930s; marked by stylized forms and geometric designs adapted to mass production
  16. astringent
    tending to draw together or constrict soft organic tissue
  17. atavist
    an organism that has the characteristics of a more primitive type of that organism
  18. avuncular
    being or relating to an uncle
  19. badinage
    frivolous banter
  20. banal
    repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
  21. banquette
    an upholstered bench
  22. beaux arts
    the study and creation of visual works of art
  23. bitter
    causing a sharp and acrid taste experience;"quinine is bitter"
  24. bracken
    large coarse fern often several feet high; essentially weed ferns; cosmopolitan
  25. breviary
    (Roman Catholic Church) a book of prayers to be recited daily certain priests and members of religious orders
  26. brocade
    thick heavy expensive material with a raised pattern
  27. brouhaha
    a confused disturbance far greater than its cause merits
  28. bumf
    reading materials (documents, written information) that you must read and deal with but that you think are extremely boring
  29. bumptious
    offensively self-assertive
  30. burgess
    a citizen of an English borough
  31. burka
    a loose garment (usually with veiled holes for the eyes) worn by Muslim women especially in India and Pakistan
  32. cachet
    an indication of approved or superior status
  33. cad
    someone who is morally reprehensible
  34. cadge
    obtain or seek to obtain by cadging or wheedling
  35. caitiff
    a cowardly and despicable person
  36. calliope
    a musical instrument consisting of a series of steam whistles played from a keyboard
  37. canoodle
    fondle or pet affectionately
  38. chattel
    personal as opposed to real property; any tangible movable property (furniture or domestic animals or a car etc)
  39. chenille
    a soft tufted cord used in embroidery
  40. chivy
    annoy continually or chronically
  41. churl
    a crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement
  42. cloistral
    of communal life sequestered from the world under religious vows
  43. coda
    the closing section of a musical composition
  44. coffer
    a chest especially for storing valuables
  45. colloquy
    formal conversation
  46. commodious
    large and roomy (`convenient' is archaic in this sense)
  47. complaisant
    showing a cheerful willingness to do favors for others
  48. comport
    behave in a certain manner
  49. concordat
    a signed written agreement between two or more parties (nations) to perform some action
  50. concupiscence
    a desire for sexual intimacy
  51. confrere
    a person who is member of one's class or profession
  52. conscript
    enroll into service compulsorily
  53. continence
    voluntary control over urinary and fecal discharge
  54. conventicle
    a building for religious assembly (especially Nonconformists, e.g., Quakers)
  55. coping stone
    a stone that forms the top of wall or building
  56. cottage industry
    small-scale industry that can be carried on at home by family members using their own equipment
  57. coxcomb
    the fleshy red crest on the head of the domestic fowl and other gallinaceous birds
  58. cozen
    be false to; be dishonest with
  59. craven
    lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful
  60. curry favor
    seek favor by fawning or flattery
  61. deaccession
    sell (art works) from a collection, especially in order to raise money for the purchase of other art works
  62. debauched
    unrestrained by convention or morality
  63. decoupage
    art produced by decorating a surface with cutouts and then coating it with several layers of varnish or lacquer
  64. demimonde
    a class of woman not considered respectable because of indiscreet or promiscuous behavior
  65. demotic
    of or for the common people
  66. demur
    take exception to
  67. demurrer
    (law) a formal objection to an opponent's pleadings
  68. denigration
    an abusive attack on a person's character or good name
  69. denouement
    the outcome of a complex sequence of events
  70. desiccated
    thoroughly dried out
  71. despoil
    steal goods; take as spoils
  72. desultory
    marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another
  73. dicker
    negotiate the terms of an exchange
  74. diffident
    showing modest reserve
  75. discomfited
    people who are defeated
  76. dissemble
    behave unnaturally or affectedly
  77. divers
    many and different
  78. dole
    a share of money or food or clothing that has been charitably given
  79. don
    teacher at a university or college (especially at Cambridge or Oxford)
  80. dross
    worthless or dangerous material that should be removed
  81. dubiety
    the state of being unsure of something
  82. dyskinesia
    abnormality in performing voluntary muscle movements
  83. ensconce
    fix firmly
  84. entropy
    (communication theory) a numerical measure of the uncertainty of an outcome
  85. epicene
    having an ambiguous sexual identity
  86. equivocation
    intentionally vague or ambiguous
  87. eviscerate
    remove the entrails of
  88. exogamy
    marriage to a person belonging to a tribe or group other than your own as required by custom or law
  89. expatiate
    add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing
  90. expiation
    compensation for a wrong
  91. factotum
    a servant employed to do a variety of jobs
  92. Falstaffian
    of or resembling Falstaff
  93. fardel
    a burden (figuratively in the form of a bundle)
  94. farrago
    a motley assortment of things
  95. fictive
    capable of imaginative creation
  96. flagellation
    beating with a whip or strap or rope as a form of punishment
  97. flyleaf
    a blank leaf in the front or back of a book
  98. fox
    alert carnivorous mammal with pointed muzzle and ears and a bushy tail; most are predators that do not hunt in packs
  99. fusillade
    rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms
  100. gaumless
    (British informal) lacking intelligence and vitality
  101. gelt
    informal terms for money
  102. gentrification
    the restoration of run-down urban areas by the middle class (resulting in the displacement of low-income residents)
  103. gentry
    the most powerful members of a society
  104. germane
    relevant and appropriate
  105. gewgaw
    cheap showy jewelry or ornament on clothing
  106. glissando
    a rapid series of ascending or descending notes on the musical scale
  107. grandee
    a nobleman of highest rank in Spain or Portugal
  108. grotty
    very unpleasant or offensive
  109. harangue
    a loud bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion
  110. harridan
    a scolding (even vicious) old woman
  111. heterodox
    characterized by departure from accepted beliefs or standards
  112. ignoble
    completely lacking nobility in character or quality or purpose
  113. importunate
    expressing earnest entreaty
  114. imprecation
    the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil (and usually serves as an insult)
  115. inane
    devoid of intelligence
  116. incipient
    only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
  117. intifada
    an uprising by Palestinian Arabs (in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank) against Israel in the late 1980s and again in 2000
  118. introjection
    (psychoanalysis) the internalization of the parent figures and their values; leads to the formation of the superego
  119. jack
    tool for exerting pressure or lifting
  120. jag
    a sharp projection on an edge or surface
  121. kibitz
    make unwanted and intrusive comments
  122. larder
    a small storeroom for storing foods or wines
  123. lavaliere
    jeweled pendant worn on a chain around the neck
  124. legerdemain
    an illusory feat; considered magical by naive observers
  125. locution
    a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
  126. lorry
    a large low horse-drawn wagon without sides
  127. lubricious
    having a smooth or slippery quality
  128. malfeasance
    wrongful conduct by a public official
  129. malmsey
    sweet Madeira wine
  130. maunder
    talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
  131. mercer
    a dealer in textiles (especially silks)
  132. mien
    dignified manner or conduct
  133. mortify
    cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of
  134. muniments
    deeds and other documentary evidence of title to land
  135. nullity
    the state of nonexistence
  136. ossuary
    any receptacle for the burial of human bones
  137. pale
    a wooden strip forming part of a fence
  138. palimpsest
    a manuscript (usually written on papyrus or parchment) on which more than one text has been written with the earlier writing incompletely erased and still visible
  139. pannier
    a large basket (usually one of a pair) carried by a beast of burden or on by a person
  140. pasha
    a civil or military authority in Turkey or Egypt
  141. pastiche
    a work of art that imitates the style of some previous work
  142. peccadillo
    a petty misdeed
  143. peccant
    liable to sin
  144. pecuniary
    relating to or involving money
  145. pedant
    a person who pays more attention to formal rules and book learning than they merit
  146. perfidy
    an act of deliberate betrayal
  147. philanderer
    a man who likes many women and has short sexual relationships with them
  148. pillion
    a seat behind the rider of a horse or motorbike etc.
  149. piste
    a ski run densely packed with snow
  150. plinth
    an architectural support or base (as for a column or statue)
  151. plumb
    exactly vertical
  152. plutocrat
    someone who exercises power by virtue of wealth
  153. post horn
    wind instrument used by postilions of the 18th and 19th centuries
  154. preamble
    a preliminary introduction to a statute or constitution (usually explaining its purpose)
  155. prig
    a person regarded as arrogant and annoying
  156. prim
    affectedly dainty or refined
  157. prix fixe
    (of a restaurant meal) complete but with limited choices and at a fixed price
  158. probative
    tending to prove a particular proposition or to persuade you of the truth of an allegation
  159. propensity
    a natural inclination
  160. proselytize
    convert to another faith or religion
  161. proviso
    a stipulated condition
  162. purview
    the range of interest or activity that can be anticipated
  163. putative
    purported; commonly put forth or accepted as true on inconclusive grounds
  164. quarto
    the size of a book whose pages are made by folding a sheet of paper twice to form four leaves
  165. rake
    a long-handled tool with a row of teeth at its head; used to move leaves or loosen soil
  166. recalcitrant
    stubbornly resistant to authority or control
  167. recusancy
    refusal to submit to established authority; originally the refusal of Roman Catholics to attend services of the Church of England
  168. recusant
    someone who refuses to conform to established standards of conduct
  169. redress
    make reparations or amends for
  170. russet
    a reddish brown homespun fabric
  171. scant
    less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so
  172. screed
    a long monotonous harangue
  173. shrive
    grant remission of a sin to
  174. simulacrum
    a representation of a person (especially in the form of sculpture)
  175. skein
    coils of worsted yarn
  176. skulk
    avoid responsibilities and duties, e.g., by pretending to be ill
  177. slake
    satisfy (thirst)
  178. slew
    (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
  179. sot
    a chronic drinker
  180. spoor
    the trail left by a person or an animal; what the hunter follows in pursuing game
  181. stint
    supply sparingly and with restricted quantities
  182. sward
    surface layer of ground containing a mat of grass and grass roots
  183. tableau
    any dramatic scene
  184. tenement
    a run-down apartment house barely meeting minimal standards
  185. thoroughgoing
    performed comprehensively and completely
  186. timorous
    timid by nature or revealing timidity
  187. transgress
    act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
  188. trestle table
    a table supported on trestles
  189. trite
    repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
  190. trope
    language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense
  191. tureen
    large deep serving dish with a cover; for serving soups and stews
  192. turgid
    ostentatiously lofty in style
  193. twaddle
    pretentious or silly talk or writing
  194. varlet
    in medieval times a youth acting as a knight's attendant as the first stage in training for knighthood
  195. vouchsafe
    grant in a condescending manner
  196. wheedle
    influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
  197. withal
    together with this
  198. wretched
    deserving or inciting pity
  199. wry
    humorously sarcastic or mocking