I do just love words, their sounds, make-up, uses, etymology. There are too many words I honestly don't know the meaning of.
Sure, most of you will know the meaning of the following ... I'm not sure whether I'm ashamed to admit I didn't know the meanings ~ or just pleased that I had the opportunity to look them up [any excuse for more procrastinaton].
These words were found in novels I've been reading over the last two months:
Veld - Yes I know it sounds like one, but didn't know it meant Field.
Toping - to drink alcohol habitually and to excess [!]
Knout - whip or lash sometimes with metal wires wound in [hmm sounds like knot/knots/knotted, doesn't it?]
Farinaceous - as a keen cook, I should have known it means food containing flour / starch
Apprise - to notify - not to be confused with Appraise - to estimate quality or Appease - to satisfy or relieve
Crepuscular - of, pertaining to or resembling twilight; dim, indistinct / appearing or active in twilight [as
certain bats or insects are].
Petit Trianon - small chateau in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, Paris. Petit trianon is also used to express an act of deliberately slumming [presumably in the small chateau ?]
Kowtowing - to act in a servile manner - yes, I knew that but found this interesting:
Kowtow is the act of deep respect shown by kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. An alternative Chinese term is ketou, however the meaning is somewhat altered: kòu originally meant "knock with reverence", whereas kē has the general meaning of "touch upon (a surface)".
Source:Wikipedia
So, send me your newly found word and we'll have a shared word-fest.
Gillian
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