New Words - May 2015

prolegomenon - a critical or discursive introduction to a book
Peter Principle - a concept in management theory in which the selection of a candidate for a position is based on the candidate's performance in their current role, rather than on abilities relevant to the intended role
paucity - smallness / a small amount of something
nadir - the worst or lowest point of something (directly opposite the zenith)
atavism - the tendency to revert to ancestral type
titivate - to make smart or spruce, make small enhancing alterations
preterit - bygone, former
quixotic - hopeful or romantic in a way that is not practical
denude - to strip something of its covering, to make bare
sybaritic - fond of sensuous luxury or pleasure; self-indulgent
belletristic - literature regarded as fine art, especially as having a purely aesthetic function
diaphanous - (especially of fabric) light, delicate, and translucent
epicanthic fold - upper eyelid folds
accretive - growth in size or extent
appurtenances - accessories or other items associated with a particular activity or style of living
prurient - having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters
puerile - childishly silly and trivial
formication - a sensation that exactly resembles that of small insects crawling on (or under) the skin
mordant - sharply caustic or sarcastic, as wit or a speaker; biting
perfunctory - (of an action or gesture) carried out of a minimum of effort or reflection
echelon - a level of command, authority, or rank. Military - a formation of troops, ships, planes, etc
phatic - linguistics an expression whose only function is to perform a social task, as opposed to conveying information
picayune - petty, worthless
unctuous - (of a person) excessively or ingratiatingly flattering; oily
punctilious - showing great attention to detail or correct behaviour
concupiscence - an ardent, usually sensual longing; the selfish human desire for an object, person, or experience
thanatotic - Death as a personification or philosophical notion
sedulous - (of a person or action) showing dedication and diligence
pleonasm - the use of more words than are necessary to express an idea; redundancy

New Words - April 2015

I firmly believe that you should always try to read books that are a little bit too hard for you. I'm not saying that you should never read books that are under or right at your level, but at least for me I think I get the most enjoyment out of reading challenging books because there's a payoff at the end of it. If you have to work at it, I think, you can get a hell of a lot more out of it -- and the more difficult books you read, the better you'll get at reading difficult books, and then you'll be able to move up to books that are even more difficult. This is learning. Plus I think it's important to be okay with not always understanding every little thing that happens to you, so for someone like me that can get really stressed about not knowing things it helps to sometimes have to accept that you may not get something right now, but it will all make sense later. This ends up making an even bigger payoff when you reread books that you used to believe were one thing, but now mean something completely different to you based on how you've grown or learned or changed as a person (see: Catcher in the Rye).

Now, one of the biggest things that come from reading difficult books are difficult words -- ones that you may have never come across before and don't understand. When I was younger I developed a lot of my vocabulary from reading and putting together the meanings of words I didn't know based on how they were used in context. When you're a little older, however, this doesn't work as well anymore. Thanks to David Foster Wallace's extensive use of difficult words in the essay collections of his I've been reading recently, I've been prompted to actually start searching up (the dictionary app on my iPhone is my new favourite thing) and keeping track of the new words I've learned from everything I've been reading. So seeing as this is my so-called writing blog, I think I'll start posting all the new words I learn, and their definitions, at the end of each month. Hopefully by writing them out it'll make them easier to commit to memory -- looking up definitions won't do me much good if I promptly forget them all.

otiose - serving no practical purpose or result 

syncretism - the combination of different forms of (religions, cultures, schools of thought, versions of a word) 

biosensor - a device that monitors and transmits information about a life process 

synecdoche - a figure of speech by which a part is put for a whole 

post hoc - formulated after the fact (eg. a post hoc rationalisation) 

[comes from Latin - post hoc, ergo propter hoc (after this, therefore because of this)]

episcopate - the position, rank, or term of office of a bishop 

anaclitic - the direction of love toward an object (as the mother) that satisfies nonsexual needs (as hunger)

détente - the relaxation of strained relations or tensions (as between nations) 

antinomy - a contradiction between two apparently equally valid principles or between inferences correctly drawn from such principles (a fundamental and apparently unresolvable conflict or contradiction) 

instantiate - to represent (an abstraction) by a concrete instance 

promulgate - to make (an idea, belief, etc.) known to many people 

Solomonic - marked by notable wisdom, reasonableness, or discretion especially under trying circumstances  

interdict - a prohibitory decree commensurate - equal or similar to something in size, amount, or degree

  

simulacrum - image, representation. An insubstantial form or semblance of something: trace 

intractable - not easily managed, controlled, or solved 

plangent - of a sound : loud, deep, and often sad 

vitiate - to make (something) less effective : to ruin or spoil (something) 

protean - able to change into many different forms or able to do many different things 

peristalsis - successive waves of involuntary contraction along walls of hollow muscular structure (as the esophagus or intestine) and forcing the contents forward 

peripatetic - a follower of Aristotle or adherent of Aristotelianism : pedestrian, itinerant : movement of journeys hither and thither 

staid - serious, boring, or old-fashioned 

laconic - using few words in speech or writing 

tacit - expressed or understood without being directly stated 

prophylactic - medical : designed to prevent disease 

licentious - sexually immoral or offensive 

semiotics - the study of signs and symbols and how they are used 

diaspora - a group of people who live outside the area in which they had lived for a long time or in which their ancestors lived 

ostensible - stated or appearing to be true, but not necessarily so (ostensibly = “for all practical purposes” …)

reticent - not willing to tell people about things, inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech

ersatz - copied from something else and usually not as good as the original (an artificial and inferior substitute or imitation)

taciturn - tending to be quiet, not speaking frequently

apocryphal - of doubtful authenticity, well-known but probably not true, fictitious