What new words have you learned this week? Here are 6 new words I’ve learned.
1. klieg
(n)
Definition—kind of arc lamp used as a studio light, 1925, from U.S. engineers, brothers Anton and John Kliegl, who invented it
Use—“You are a part of these ruins, aren’t you?” Salah ad-Din said, his gray eyes shining in the cavern’s klieg light.
~ The Last Ember
2. palimpsests
(n) [PAL-imp-sest]
Definition—a parchment or the like from which writing has been partially or completely erased to make room for another text
Use—“Palimpsests and manuscripts are doing quite well at auction these days.”
~ The Last Ember
3. grappa
(n) [GRAHP-pah]
Definition—an unaged brandy, originally from Italy, distilled from the pomace of a wine press
Use—“He remembered the courtyard in the summer, grappa picnic lunches for the fellows.”
~ The Last Ember
4. avidity
(n) [uh-VID-i-tee]
Definition—eagerness; greediness
Use—“Homeless children gather around a muck heap at Covent Garden Market, and gobble up discarded plums and oranges and apples—a sweltering mass of decay—with the avidity of ducks or pigs.”
~ Spurgeon
5. trenchant
(adj) [TREN-chuhnt]
Definition—clearly or sharply defined; clear-cut; distinct
Use—“The more marginal, perhaps ultimately the more trenchant and observant and finally necessary he’ll become.”
~ The Forest for the Trees
6. doyen
(n) [doi-EN]
Definition—the senior member, as in age, rank, or experience, of a group, class, profession, etc.
Use—“Where if she is the doyen of crime fiction at the company and claims to have found the next James Ellroy, chances are she will be supported in the acquisition.”
~ The Forest for the Trees
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1 comment:
Those are all great words! I've heard grappa before but I never knew how to spell it. Thanks so much for participating.
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