Vocabulary

Started: 1997-10-12

avarice (n.)/ avaricious (adj.) 

extreme desire for wealth; greed. [<Lat. avarus, greedy.]

parsimony (n.)/ parsimonious (adj.) 

extreme or excessive frugality; stinginess

penurious (adj.) 

1. miserly; stingy

force majeure (n.) 

a natural and unavoidable catastrophe that interrupts the expected course of events.

inveigle (v.) 

influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering.

avaritia (n.) 

reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins).

eudaimonia / eudaemonia (n.) 

a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous

eudemonism (n.) 

an ethical system that evaluates actions by reference to personal well-being through a life based on reason

philology (n.) 

the humanistic study of language and literature

Dionysia (n.) 

an orgiastic festival in ancient Greece in honour of Dionysus (=Bacchus)

bacchanalia (n.) 

a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity

Saturnalia (n.) 

an orgiastic festival in ancient Rome in honour of Saturn

Hellenism (n.) 

the principles and ideals associated with classical Greek civilization

philistine (n.) 

a person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits

philistine (adj.) 

smug and ignorant and indifferent or hostile to artistic and cultural values

asceticism (n.) 

the trait of great self-denial (especially refraining from worldly pleasures)

sonorous (adj.) 

full and loud and deep

propinquity (n.) 

the property of being close together

fecundity (n.) 

1. the intellectual fruitfulness of a creative imagination

raison d'être (n.) 

1. reason for being. 2. the purpose that justifies a thing's existence

heuristics (n.) 

a common-sense rule (or set of rules) intended to increase the probability of solving some problem

mephistophelean (adj.) 

showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil

ruminate (v.) 

reflect deeply on a subject

debonair (adj.) 

1. having a sophisticated charm 2. having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air

panache (n.) 

distinctive and stylish elegance

antinomianism (n.) 

the theological doctrine that by faith and God's grace a Christian is freed from all laws (including the moral standards of the culture)

meretricious (adj.) 

1. (archaic) like or relating to a prostitute 2. tastelessly showy 3. based on pretense; deceptively pleasing

specious (adj.) 

1. plausible but false 2. based on pretence; deceptively pleasing

spurious (adj.) 

1. plausible but false 2. born out of wedlock 3. intended to deceive

preterite (adj.) 

(grammar) a verb tense used to relate past action

cognates (n.) 

1. one related by blood or origin; especially on sharing an ancestor with another 2. a word is cognate with another if both derive from the same word in an ancestral language

pariah (n.) 

a person who is rejected (from society or home); an Ishmael.

Harijan (n.) 

belongs to lowest social and ritual class in India.

servility (n.) 

abject or cringing submissiveness.

obsequiousness (n.) 

abject or cringing submissiveness

panegyrics (n.) 

a formal expression of praise [Also: encomium, encomia]

paeans (n.) 

1. a formal expression of praise. 2. a hymn of praise (especially one sung in ancient Greece to invoke or thank a deity)

enured (adj.) 

made tough by habitual exposure.

aspersion (n.) 

1. a disparaging remark 2. the act of defaming.

parvenu (n.) 

1. a person who has suddenly risen to a higher economic status but has not gained social acceptance of others in that class

parvenu (adj.) 

1. characteristic of someone who has risen economically or socially but lacks the social skills appropriate for this new position.

plutocrat (n.) 

someone who exercises power by virtue of wealth.

connivance (n.) 

1. agreement on a secret plot 2. (law) tacit approval of someone's wrongdoing

incorrigible (adj.) 

impervious to correction by punishment

dour (adj.) 

1. stubbornly unyielding 2. harshly uninviting or formidable in manner or appearance 3. showing a brooding ill humour

saturnine (adj.) 

1. bitter or scornful 2. showing a brooding ill humour

collocation (n.) 

a grouping of words in a sentence

untenable (adj.) 

(of theories etc) incapable of being defended or justified

odalisque (n.) 

1. a woman who cohabits with an important man. 2. concubine. 3. paramour

seriatim (adv.) 

in a series; one after another.

ennui (n.) 

boredom from lake of interest: weariness and dissatisfaction with life that results from a loss of interest or sense of excitement. [in odio est –it is hateful]

avast (interj.) 

naut. Hold on! Stop! [<Du. houd vast, hold fast.] used by sailors as a command to stop doing something or to ignore a previous order

Les Rêves D'Amour 

Dreams of Love

nota bene (n.) 

a Latin phrase (or its abbreviation) used to indicate that special attention should be paid to something

sotto voce (Italian) (adj; adv) 

in a low voice, so as not to be heard by everyone.

sou (n.) 

2. (infml) very small amount of money.

sough (v./n.) (arch or fml) 

(make a) murmuring or whispering sound (as of wind in trees).

soporific (n.; adj)/soporifically (adv) 

(substance, medicine, drink, etc.) causing sleep (a s. speech).

turgid (adj) (derog.) 

(of languages, style, etc.) pompous and difficult to follow; boring.

tyke/tike (n.) (infml) 

(used as a term of abuse) worthless person.

ululate (v.)/ululation (n.) 

(fml) howl or wail.

unalloyed (adj) 

(fml) not mixed, e.g. with negative feelings; pure.

Paideia (Noun Feminine) 

1. the whole training and education of children (which relates to the cultivation of mind and morals, and employs for this purpose now commands and admonitions, now reproof and punishment) It also includes the training and care of the body. 2. whatever in adults also cultivates the soul, esp. by correcting mistakes and curbing passions. A. instruction which aims at increasing virtue B. chastisement, chastening, (of the evils with which God visits men for their amendment)

Dolchstoss (German) 

"stab-in-the-back"

Sündenbock (German) 

scapegoat

Los von Rom (German) 

Break with Rome [end of cultural and religious domination by Roman Catholicism]

hacks 

ad hoc implementations

Web 3.0 

semantic web

screen scraping 

a technique in which a computer program extracts text data from the display output of another program (see: "web scraping")

idempotent 

(adj) describing an action which, when performed multiple times, has no further effect on its subject after the first time it is performed

outro (sometimes "outtro" or "extro") 

a literary term used to indicate the conclusion to a piece. It is the opposite of an intro.

fauxtography 

faked or staged photographs (aka "Photoshopping")

soupçon 

(from French) a very small amount; a hint; a trace

Amandine Chauveau

Genealogy terms

Latin terms

As you read older records, you may come across some Latin terms. Below is a list of commonly used Latin words. If the word that you have come across is not in this list, try consulting a Latin dictionary.

Anno Domini (A.D.) 

in the year of our Lord

circa, circiter (c., ca., circ.) 

about

connubium 

marriage

et 

and, both

et alii (et al.) 

and others

et cetera (etc., &c.) 

and so forth

familia 

household

filiam 

daughter

filium 

son

item 

also, likewise

mater 

mother

materfamilias 

(female) head of household

mensis (menses) 

month(s)

nepos 

grandson. Also meant "nephew" in some records.

neptis 

granddaughter. Also meant "niece" in some records.

nota bene (N.B.) 

take note

obit 

(he or she) died

obit sine prole (o.s.p.) 

(he or she) died without offspring

pater 

father

requiescat in pace (R.I.P.) 

rest in peace

sic 

so, thus

testes 

witnesses

ultimo (ult.) 

last

uxor (ux, vx) 

wife

Verbi Dei Minister (V.D.M.) 

minister of the word of God

videlicet (viz, vizt) 

namely