This page is where I will collect interesting words I come across that I either don’t remember ever having seen or heard before or knew at some point but have long since forgotten. I will list the words alphabetically, cite the dictionary I used, and include the title, author, and publication year of the work in which I encountered the word.
batteau, noun, (merriam-webster.com): Less common spelling of ‘bateau’; Any of various small craft, especially a flat-bottomed boat with raked bow and stern and flaring sides. (Laura Dassow Walls, Henry David Thoreau: A Life, 2017) (Added 4/4/18)
crapulous, adjective, (Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition): 1. Marked by intemperance esp. in eating or drinking; 2. sick from excessive indulgence in liquor. (G.K. Chesterton, The Ball and the Cross, 1995 Dover edition) (Added 11/18/19)
deracinate, transitive verb, (merriam-webster.com): 1) To uproot; 2) To remove or separate from a native environment or culture; especially, to remove the racial or ethnic characteristics or influences from. (Patrick J. Deneen, Why Liberalism Failed, 2018, p. 65, ‘deracinated’)
fungible, adjective, (merriam-webster.com): 1) Being something (such as money or a commodity) of such a nature that one part or quantity may be replaced by another equal part or quantity in paying a debt or settling an account. 2) Capable of mutual substitution; interchangeable. 3) Readily changeable to adapt to new situations; flexible. (Patrick J. Deneen, Why Liberalism Failed, 2018, p. 66)
helot, noun, (The American Heritage College Dictionary, 3rd Edition): 1) Helot. One of a class of serfs in ancient Sparta, neither a slave nor a free citizen. 2) A person in servitude; a serf. (Niall Ferguson, The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power from the Freemasons to Facebook, 2017, p. 60) (Added 4/9/18)
micturition, noun: the act or process of micturating: urination.
(From https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/micturition, accessed 2/5/19)
(Added 2/7/19)
oleaginous, adjective, (The American Heritage Dictionary, New College Edition): Falsely or smugly earnest; unctuous: extremely polite, kind, or helpful in a false way that is intended to bring some advantage to yourself. (David Mitchell, The Bone Clocks, 2014)
pandiculate, transitive & intransitive verb, (The American Heritage Dictionary, New College Edition): To fully stretch the torso & upper limbs, typically accompanied by yawning. (David Mitchell, The Bone Clocks, 2014)
petrichor, noun, (Oxford English Dictionary): A pleasant, distinctive smell frequently accompanying the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather in certain regions.
(From https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/internets-favorite-words/petrichor, accessed 8/3/18) (Added 8/3/18)
The Ceaseless Reader Writes 