RELAX, REFRESH YOUR ENGLISH KNOWLEDGE – 3
(This collection is made from Marriem-Webster)
1. Nimiety \nih-MYE-uh-tee\ noun
Meaning
: excess, redundancy
Example Sentence
"To avoid receiving a nimiety of kitchenware," advised the
bridal guide, "be sure to register for a wide range of gifts for your
guests to choose from."
Did you know?
There's no scarcity of English words used for too much of a good thing — words like "overkill," "plethora," "superfluity," "surfeit," "surplus," and "preponderance," to name a few. In fact, you might just feel that "nimiety" itself is a bit superfluous. And it's true — we've never used the word excessively, though it has been part of our language for nearly 450 years. (We borrowed it from Late Latin "nimietas," a noun taken, in turn, from the Latin adjective "nimius," meaning "excessive.") Superfluous or not, "nimiety" still turns up occasionally. For example, in his 1991 book Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction, about "the habitual longing to purchase, read, store, admire and consume books in excess," author Tom Raabe blames one bookstore's "nimiety of overstuffed chairs" for exacerbating this condition.
2.
Umpteen \UMP-teen\ adjective
Meaning
: very many : indefinitely numerous
Example
Sentence
"Oh, I've been there umpteen times," drawled Melanie, when I
excitedly told her about my plans to go to
Did you know?
"I'll go to bed and I'll not get up
for umpty-eleven months." You know the feeling. The speaker here is
war-weary Bill, a character in Patrick MacGill's early 20th-century novel The
Great Push. His "umpty" originated as military slang around 1905 and
stood for an indefinite number, generally largish. (It was probably created by
analogy to actual numbers such as "twenty.") Soon, there followed
"umpteen," blending “umpty” and "-teen." "Umpteen"
usually describes an indefinite and large number or amount, while the related
“umpteenth” is used for the latest or last in an indefinitely numerous series.
We only occasionally use "umpty" these days (and even more rarely
"umptieth"), but you're bound to hear or read "umpteen" and
"umpteenth" any number of times.
3.
Morass \muh-RASS\ noun
Meaning
1 : marsh, swamp
2 a : a situation that traps, confuses, or impedes *b : an overwhelming or confusing mass or
mixture
Example Sentence
For Diane and Oscar, trying to adopt a baby meant getting lost in a
morass of paperwork, but they knew it would be worth it.
Did you know?
We won’t swamp you with details: “morass”
comes from the Dutch word “moeras,” which itself derives from an Old French
word, “maresc,” meaning “marsh.” “Morass” has been part of English for
centuries, and in its earliest uses it was a synonym of “swamp” or “marsh.”
(That was the sense Robert Louis Stevenson used when he described Long John
Silver emerging from “a low white vapour that had crawled during the night out
of the morass” in
4. Bird-dog \BURD-dog\ verb
Meaning
1 : to watch closely
*2 : to seek out : follow, detect
Example Sentence
Scores of college recruiters bird-dogged the 7-foot high school senior
for their basketball programs.
Did you know?
People began using “bird-dog” as a verb meaning “to closely watch someone or something” or “to doggedly seek out someone or something” in the early 20th century. Both meanings reflect skills likely to be possessed by a well-trained bird dog. By the 1940s, “bird-dogging” was being used specifically as a term for stealing someone else’s date. And, not long after that, it began to be used for the scouting out of customers or prospective talent. The noun “bird dog” is also used as a name for the date stealers and scouts who do the bird-dogging.
5.
Corvée \KOR-vay\ noun
Meaning
*1 : unpaid labor (as toward constructing roads) due from a feudal
vassal to his lord
2 : labor exacted in lieu of taxes by public authorities especially for
highway construction or repair
Example Sentence
“He was also entitled to … district corvées which helped to maintain,
repair, and defend royal property….” (Bernard F. Reilly, The Medieval
Did you know?
Under the
6. Exclave \EKS-kleiv\ Noun
Meaning
: a portion of a country separated from the main part and constituting
an enclave in respect to the surrounding territory
Example Sentence
Technically, the state of
Did you know?
You probably won't be surprised to learn that the key to "exclave" is found in "enclave." "Enclave" itself ultimately derives from the Latin word for "key," which is "clavis." It was adopted in the mid-19th century from Middle French "enclaver" ("to enclose"), which in turn derives (through Vulgar Latin) from "in-" and "clavis." "Exclave" was formed about twenty years later by combining the prefix "ex-" and the "-clave" of "enclave." Other "clavis" descendants in English include "autoclave," "clavicle," "conclave," and "clavichord" (“an early keyboard instrument in use before the piano”)
7. Impuissant \im-PWISS-unt\ Adjective
Meaning
: weak, powerless
Example
Sentence
Jonah was a relentless bully who sought to intimidate any impuissant
student that he could find in the schoolyard.
Did you know?
Both the adjective "impuissant" and the noun "impuissance" came to English from Middle French. They are derived from the prefix “in-” (meaning "not") and the noun “puissance,” which means "power" and is a word in English in its own right. “Puissance” derives from the verb “poer,” meaning "to be able" or "to be powerful," and is ultimately related to the same Latin roots that gave us words such as "power" and "potent." While both "puissant" and "impuissance" first appeared in English during the 15th century, "impuissant" did not make its first appearance in our language until 1629.
8. Fortitude \FOR-tuh-tood\ noun
Meaning
: strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear
pain or adversity with courage
Example Sentence
Due to the hot weather, the road race was more a test of fortitude than
of athletic ability.
Did you know?
"Fortitude" comes from the Latin word “fortis,” meaning "strong," and in English it has always been used primarily to describe strength of mind. For a time, the word was also used to mean "physical strength" — Shakespeare used that sense in The First Part of King Henry the Sixth: "Coward of France! How much he wrongs his fame / Despairing of his own arm's fortitude." But despite use by the Bard, that second sense languished and is now considered obsolete.
9. Jeopardize \JEP-er-dyze\ verb
Meaning
: to expose to danger or risk : imperil
Example Sentence
"I'm not willing to jeopardize my friendship with Camille by lying
to her," said Luis.
Did you know?
It may be hard to believe that "jeopardize" was once
controversial, but in 1870 a grammarian called it "a foolish and
intolerable word," a view shared by many 19th-century critics. The
preferred word was "jeopard," which first appeared in print in the
14th century. (The upstart "jeopardize" turned up in 1582.) In 1828,
Noah Webster himself declared "jeopardize" to be "a modern word,
used by respectable writers in
10. Obeisance \oh-BEE-sunss\ noun
Meaning
1 : a movement of the body made in token of respect or submission : bow
*2 : acknowledgment of another’s superiority or importance : homage
Example Sentence
The people paid obeisance to their god by kneeling at the shrine.
Did you know?
When it first appeared in English in the late 14th century, “obeisance” shared the same meaning as “obedience.” This makes sense given that “obeisance” can be traced back to the Anglo-French verb “obeir,” which means “to obey” and is also an ancestor of our word “obey.” The other senses of “obeisance” also date from the 14th century, but they have stood the test of time whereas the obedience sense is now obsolete.
11. Mansuetude \MAN-swih-tood\ noun
Meaning
: the quality or state of being gentle : meekness, tameness
Example Sentence
“While her voice may have an air of mansuetude, she proved that she
could easily cut above the din of the boys in her band….” (Christopher Muther,
The
Did you know?
"Mansuetude" was first used in English in the 14th century, and it derives from the Latin verb “mansuescere,” which means "to tame." “Mansuescere” itself comes from the noun “manus” (meaning "hand") and the verb “suescere” ("to accustom" or "to become accustomed"). Unlike “manus,” which has many English descendants (including "manner," "emancipate," and "manicure," among others), “suescere” has only a few English progeny. One of them is a word we featured in December — "desuetude" — which means “disuse” and comes to us by way of Latin “desuescere” ("to become unaccustomed"). Two others are "custom" and “accustom,” which derive via Anglo-French from Latin “consuescere,” meaning "to accustom."
12. Deter \di-TER\ verb
Meaning
*1 : to turn aside, discourage, or prevent from acting
2 : inhibit
Example Sentence
To deter shoplifters, the store posted signs listing the legal penalties
for the crime.
Did you know?
The word "deter" is rooted in fear. It was borrowed into English around the mid-16th century from the Latin verb "deterrēre," which in turn was formed by combining "de-," meaning "from” or “away," with "terrēre," meaning "to frighten." "Terrēre" is also the source of "terror," "terrible," and even "terrific," which originally meant "very bad” or “frightful.” These days, you may be deterred by something that frightens you or by something that simply causes you to think about the difficult or unpleasant consequences of continuing. The word can also mean "to inhibit," as in "painting to deter rust."
13. Litotes \LYE-tuh-teez\ noun
Meaning
: understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of
the contrary
Example Sentence
Jamie blushingly acknowledged her victory by litotes, saying that her
scores were “not bad” and that she was “not displeased” with her performance.
Did you know?
Even if you've never heard the word “litotes,” chances are you've encountered this figure of speech. If you've ever approved of a job well done by exclaiming "Not bad!" or told someone that you are "not unhappy" when you are ecstatic, you've even used it yourself. In fact, you might say that it would be "no mean feat" to avoid this common feature of our language! And litotes isn't only common; it's also "simple" — etymologically speaking, that is. "Litotes" evolved from a Greek word meaning "simple," and perhaps ultimately from another Greek word meaning "linen cloth."
14. Sacrilegious \sak-ruh-LIJ-us\ adjective
Meaning
1 : committing or characterized by a technical and not necessarily
intrinsically outrageous violation (as improper reception of a sacrament) of
what is sacred because consecrated to God
*2 : grossly irreverent toward a hallowed person, place, or thing
Example Sentence
My great-grandfather was a die-hard New Dealer who considered any
criticism of Franklin D. Roosevelt to be sacrilegious.
Did you know?
It may seem that "sacrilegious" should be spelled as "sacreligious," since the word sometimes describes an irreverent treatment of religious objects or places. However, "sacrilegious" comes to us from "sacrilege," which is ultimately derived from a combination of the Latin words "sacer" ("sacred") and "legere" ("to gather” or “to steal"). Its antecedent in Latin, "sacrilegus," meant "one who steals sacred things." There is no direct relation to "religious" (which is derived from the Latin word "religiosus," itself from "religio," meaning "supernatural constraint or religious practice"). The apparent resemblance between "sacrilegious" and "religious" is just a coincidence.
15. Restaurateur \res-tuh-ruh-TER\ noun
Meaning
: the operator or proprietor of a restaurant
Example Sentence
Fred began his career in the food-service
industry as a humble busboy, but today he is a successful restaurateur who
recently opened his third eating establishment.
Did you know?
"Restaurateur" and "restaurant" were borrowed directly from related French words, and both ultimately derive from the Latin word "restaurare" ("to restore"). "Restaurant" arrived in English in the second half of the 18th century. We acquired "restaurateur" approximately 30 years later. Of the two words, "restaurant" is significantly more common — a fact that may have influenced the development of the variant spelling "restauranteur" for "restaurateur." "Restauranteur" first appeared in the 1920s, and some people consider it to be an error. It is, however, a standard variant, albeit one that continues to be used less frequently than "restaurateur."
16. Conscientious \kahn-shee-EN-shus\ adjective
Meaning
1 : governed by or conforming to the dictates of conscience : scrupulous
*2 : meticulous, careful
Example Sentence
Carolyn was very conscientious in her research, exploring every possible
influence and outcome before preparing her final report.
Did you know?
According to American writer and editor H.L. Mencken, "Conscience is the inner voice which warns us someone may be looking." A person who is conscientious makes sure that if others are watching, they like what they see. "Conscience" and "conscientious" both come from the Latin verb "conscire," a word that means "to be conscious" or “to be conscious of guilt” and that traces back to a still older Latin word, "scire," meaning "to know."
17. Nocebo \noh-SEE-boh\ noun
Meaning
: a harmless substance that when taken by a patient is associated with
harmful effects due to negative expectations or the psychological condition of
the patient
Example
Sentence
Patients given the nocebo reported mild
to severe headaches.
Did you know?
“Nocent” has been in the English language as a word for “harmful” since the 15th century. It comes from Latin “nocēre,” meaning “to harm.” Latin “nocebo” is a close relative that means “I will be harmful” and that contrasts with “placebo,” meaning “I shall please.” People in medicine began using “placebo” for inert preparations prescribed solely for a patient’s mental relief, and not for relieving a disorder, in the late 18th century. As doctors began to observe the effects of placebos, some noticed that the harmless preparations actually sometimes caused detrimental effects on the patient’s health. English speakers began using the word “nocebo” for substances causing such adverse reactions in patients in 1961.
18. Procrustean \pruh-KRUSS-tee-un\ adjective
Meaning
1 : of, relating to, or typical of
Procrustes
*2 : marked by arbitrary often ruthless
disregard of individual differences or special circumstances
Example
Sentence
The company abandoned its procrustean scheduling policy and began
allowing single mothers and other employees to work more flexible hours.
Did you know?
Procrustes was one of many villains defeated by the Greek hero Theseus. According to Greek mythology, Procrustes was a robber who killed his victims in a most cruel and unusual way. He made them lie on an iron bed and would force them to fit the bed by cutting off the parts that hung off the ends or by stretching those people who were too short. Something “Procrustean,” therefore, takes no account of individual differences but cruelly and mercilessly makes everything the same. And a “procrustean bed” is a scheme or pattern into which someone or something is arbitrarily forced.
19. Atoll \AT-tawl\ noun
Meaning
: a coral island consisting of a reef surrounding a lagoon
Example Sentence
The
Did you know?
If you are lucky enough to sail south and west of
20. Bespoke \bih-SPOHK\ adjective
Meaning
*1 : custom-made
2 : dealing in or producing custom-made articles
Example Sentence
The shop employs renowned tailors who create the finest bespoke suits
from luxurious cloths.
Did you know?
In the English language of yore, the verb “bespeak” had various meanings, including “to speak,” “to accuse,” and “to complain.” In the 16th century, “bespeak” acquired another meaning — “to order or arrange in advance.” It is from that sense that we get the adjective “bespoke,” referring to clothes and other things that are ordered before they are made. You are most likely to encounter this adjective in British contexts, such as the recent Reuters news story about a young pig in Northern England who was fitted with “bespoke miniature footwear” (custom-made Wellington boots) to help it overcome a phobia of mud.
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