clemency \KLEM-uhn-see\ (noun) - 1 : Disposition to forgive and spare, as offenders; mercy. 2 : An act or instance of mercy or leniency. 3 : Mildness, especially of weather.

"He put in a strong plea for clemency, begging the king to spare the alchemist's life." -- Janet Gleeson, 'The Arcanum: The Extraordinary True Story'

Clemency comes from ...Read more

aficionado \uh-fish-ee-uh-NAH-doh\ (noun) - An enthusiastic admirer; a fan.

"An aficionado of Chinese food, Diffie was also known for carrying around a pair of elegant chopsticks, much the way a serious billiard player totes his favorite cue." -- Steven Levy, 'Crypto'

Aficionado derives from Spanish aficionar, "to induce a liking for," from ...Read more

explicate \EK-spluh-kayt\ (transitive verb) - To explain; to clear of difficulties or obscurity.

"I can cite a case -- my own -- of a young person's being altered politically by a novel, but I cannot explicate the process, let alone explain it in terms of the author's intention or literary strategies." -- Mary McCarthy, 'The Lasting Power of ...Read more

sough \SAU; SUHF\ (verb) - To make a soft, low sighing or rustling sound, as the wind.

(noun) - A soft, low rustling or sighing sound.

"This voice she hears in the fields, in the sough of the wind among the trees, when measured and distant sounds fall upon her ears." -- Ernest Renan, 'The Poetry of the Celtic Races'

Sough comes from Middle ...Read more

avuncular \uh-VUHNG-kyuh-luhr\ (adjective) - 1 : Of or pertaining to an uncle. 2 : Resembling an uncle, especially in kindness or indulgence.

"Both uncle Frank and uncle Stephen Austen had made it a point of principle to be rigorously unsentimental in the discharge of their avuncular obligations." -- David Nokes, 'Jane Austen: A Life'

...Read more

requisite \REK-wuh-zit\ (adjective) - Required by the nature of things or by circumstances; indispensable.

(noun) - That which is required or necessary; something indispensable.

"Those with the requisite talents made drawings and watercolors of the birds, the flowers, the untouched landscapes that unfolded before them." -- Barbara Crossette, ...Read more

habitue \huh-BICH-oo-ay; huh-bich-oo-AY\ (noun) - One who habitually frequents a place.

"In the public house kept by Jesper Darkes, 'zealous partizans in the cause of Liberty,' as one habitue called them, met day and night, laying plans, discussing whether this man or that could be trusted or whether he was spying for the government, ...Read more

concatenation \kon-kat-uh-NAY-shuhn; kuhn-\ (noun) - A series of links united; a series or order of things depending on each other, as if linked together; a chain, a succession.

"The process of fossilization and discovery is a concatenation of chance built upon chance. It's amazing that anything ever becomes a fossil at all." -- Henry Gee, 'In ...Read more

agog \uh-GOG\ (adjective) - Full of excitement or interest; in eager desire; eager, keen.

"He was now so interested, quite so privately agog, about it, that he had already an eye to the fun it would be to open up to her afterwards." -- Henry James, 'The Ambassadors'

Agog derives from Middle French en gogues, "in mirth; lively."

panoply \PAN-uh-plee\ (noun) - 1 : A splendid or impressive array. 2 : Ceremonial attire. 3 : A full suit of armor; a complete defense or covering.

"Every step taken to that end which appeases the obsolete hatreds and vanished oppressions, which makes easier the traffic and reciprocal services of Europe, which encourages nations to lay aside ...Read more

hobbledehoy \HOB-uhl-dee-hoy\ (noun) - An awkward, gawky young fellow.

"His memories, even only reveries, of incomparable women, made me feel like a hulking hobbledehoy." -- Edith Anderson, 'Love in Exile'

The origin of hobbledehoy is unknown, though it perhaps derives from hobble, from the awkward movements of a clumsy adolescent.

chicanery \shih-KAY-nuh-ree\ (noun) - 1 : The use of trickery or sophistry to deceive (as in matters of law). 2 : A trick; a subterfuge.

"What is more, it can be deliberately adulterated by the farmer with sand, tree sap or ash, although a trained opium buyer can spot these tricks and few farmers dare resort to such chicanery." -- Martin Booth,...Read more

disparate \DIS-puh-rit; dis-PAIR-it\ (adjective) - 1 : Fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind. 2 : Composed of or including markedly dissimilar elements.

"When a poet's mind is perfectly equipped for its work, it is constantly amalgamating disparate experience; the ordinary man's experience is chaotic, irregular, fragmentary." ...Read more

malleable \MAL-ee-uh-buhl\ (adjective) - 1 : Capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer, or by the pressure of rollers; -- applied to metals. 2 : Capable of being altered or controlled by outside forces; easily influenced. 3 : Capable of adjusting to changing circumstances; adaptable.

"The natives proved less malleable and ...Read more

gelid \JEL-id\ (adjective) - Extremely cold; icy.

"The house was silent, filled with a gelid, wintery hush even as lilac and dogwood leaves brushed darkly against the windowpanes." -- Michael Cunningham, 'A Home at the End of the World'

Gelid comes from Latin gelidus, from gelu, "frost, cold."

luculent \LOO-kyuh-luhnt\ (adjective) - Clear; easily understood.

"From the high ground all is clear, interpretable, luculent: this is what this means." -- Thomas Lux, 'The Cradle Place'

Luculent comes from Latin luculentus, from lux, luc-, "light."

Quick quiz! A "hurricane" is so called because...

a. It "hurries" the sugar cane in the West Indies as it blows over it b. Harry Caine, a common seaman with a valuable knot collection, was the first English sailor blown overboard in such a storm c. When Cain killed Abel, God used a strong wind to hurry Cain away from his parents d. The Arawaks...Read more

pecuniary \pih-KYOO-nee-air-ee\ (adjective) - 1 : Relating to money; monetary. 2 : Consisting of money. 3 : Requiring payment of money.

"The young man of the house was absorbed in his vegetable garden and the possibilities for pecuniary profit that it held." -- Samuel Chamberlain, 'Clementine in the Kitchen'

Pecuniary comes from Latin ...Read more

sapid \SAP-id\ (adjective) - 1 : Having taste or flavor, especially having a strong pleasant flavor. 2 : Agreeable to the mind; to one's liking.

"Chemistry can concentrate the sapid and odorous elements of the peach and the bitter almond into a transparent fluid" -- David William Cheever, 'Tobacco', The Atlantic, August 1860

Sapid comes from ...Read more

potboiler \POT-boi-lur\ (noun) - A usually inferior literary or artistic work, produced quickly for the purpose of making money.

"The play was a mixed blessing. Through it O'Neill latched on to a perennial source of income, but the promise of his youth was essentially squandered on a potboiler." -- Jane Scovell, 'Oona. Living in the Shadows'

...Read more