An Introduction, of sorts.

Notes to begin with: Click this link.

All updates regarding books, formatting, and abbreviations will also be kept on that page, as well as any other notes I deem necessary.

UPDATED 8-4-05 (5:22pm): After a one-month hiatus, I'm now working on updating the LogoFile. Please realize that I have thirteen pages of words to enter. This may not seem like so many, but the 172 words I've entered to date have been contained on 23 pages. This means I have around 100 words to enter, according to mathematics, and it takes some time... I'll do what I can today. I apologize for my extended absence.

UPDATED 8-4-of (5:25pm): Book list.

soigne, or soignee

dressed and groomed elegantly with great care: the sp. used when referring to a man is soigne

Breakfast, pg. 284 1973HC

[(6-25-05 8:34pm) The accent is, again, missing over the first 'e' in each of the two words.]

progenitor

1.) a forefather; ancester in direct line 2.) a source from which something develops; originator or precursor

Breakfast, pg. 270 1973HC

[(6-25-05 8:30pm) Sometimes I really wonder why I bother to look up words that I've deduced correctly from context and linguistics... but I do it anyway. Sheer bloody-mindedness, I think.]

solipsistic, from solipsism

1.) the theory that the self can be aware of nothing but its own experiences and states 2.) the theory that nothing exists or is real but the self

Breakfast, pg. 257 1973HC

nacre

MOTHER OF PEARL

Def. link from NACREOUS

nacreous

1.) of or like nacre 2.) yielding nacre 3.) iridescent; lustrous

Breakfast, pg. 225 1973HC

burnishing, from burnish

to make or become shiny by rubbing; polish

Breakfast, pg. 96 1973HC

goiters, from goiter

an enlargement of the thyroid gland, often visible as a swelling in the lower part of the front of the neck

Breakfast, pg. 4 1973HC

diplopod

MILLIPEDE

Conversation with Matt

This is not, in fact, a bird.

auspicious

1.) of good omen; boding well for the future; favorable; propituous 2.) favored by fortune; successful

Fifth E., pg. 310 AmHC

cogent

forceful and to the point, as a reason or argument; compelling; convincing

Fifth E., pg. 227 AmHC

salubrious

promoting health or welfare; healthful. wholesome, salutary, etc.

Fifth E., pg. 205 AmHC

fret saw

a saw with a narrow, fine-toothed blade in a U-shaped frame, for cutting curved patterns in thin boards or metal plates

Fifth E., pg. 134 AmHC

halberds, from halberd

a combination spear and battleaxe used in the 15th and 16th cent.

Fifth E., pg. 132 AmHC

punnet

a small, shallow basket, as for fruits and vegetables

Fifth E., pg. 93 AmHC

miasmic, from miasma

1.) a vapor rising as from marshes or decomposing animal or vegetable matter, formerly supposed to poison and infect the air, causing malaria, etc. 2.) an unwholesome or befogging atmosphere, influence, etc.

Fifth E., pg. 51 AmHC

semaphore

1.) any apparatus for signaling, as the arrangement of lights, flags, and mechanical arms on railroads 2.) a system of signaling by the use of two flags, one held in each hand: the letters of the alphabet are represented by various positions of the arms 3.) any system of signaling by semaphore

Fifth E., pg. 48 AmHC

verisimilar

seeming to be true or real; plausible; likely

from Dict., above verisimillitude

The roots mean "very + similar". I give up, this is the laziest word ever.

verisimillitude

1.) the appearance of being true or real 2.) something having the mere appearance of being true or real

Fifth E., pg. 20 AmHC

elan

spirited self-assurance; verve; dash; enthusiasm

Fifth E., pg. 5 AmHC

[(6-25-05 8:11pm) This is missing the accent over the 'e'. I don't know how to do that here.]

pulmotor

an apparatus used in applying artificial respiration by forcing oxygen into the lungs

Monkey House, pg. 233 1968HC

bivouacked, from bivouac

1.) [Archaic] a night guard to avoid surprise attack 2.) a temporary encampment (esp. of soldiers) in the open, with only tents or improvised shelter

Monkey House, pg. 181 1968HC

ordnance

1.) cannon or artillery 2.) all military weapons together with ammunition, combat vehicles, etc., and the equipment and supplies used in servicing these 3.) military branch or unit that orders, stores, and supplies ordnance

Monkey House, pg. 167 1968HC

truncheon

1.) [Obs.] a short, thick club; cudgel 2.) any staff or baton used as a symbol of authority 3.) [Chiefly Brit.] a policeman's stick or billy 4.) [Obs.] the shaft of a spear 5.) [Obs.] a trunk or stem, esp. one with the branches lopped off

Monkey House, pg. 141 1968HC

I knew this one, just trying to place it in context. Note to self: this rhymes enticingly with "luncheon".

scup

a brown-and-white porgy (Stenotomus chrysops) found along the N Atlantic coast of the U.S.

Monkey House, pg. 140 1968HC

veranda

an open porch or portico, usually roofed, along the outside of a building

Monkey House, pg. 137 1968HC

A Yankee porch, then?
[(6-25-05 7:56pm) Sometimes I look up words, just because I don't understand why the simpler one wasn't used. As I suspected, there is no significant technical difference here.
Then again, sometimes I look up words, just for the sheer joy of looking them up.]

Lochinvar

the hero of a ballad in Scott's Marnicon, who boldly rides off with his sweeheart just as she is about to be married to another

Monkey House, pg. 117 1968HC

recluse

shut away from the world; secluded; solitary

Logomachy with Matt

He won, but I proved my point.

hermit

1.) a person who lives alone in a lonely or secluded spot, often from religious motives; recluse 2.) a spiced cookie made with nuts and raisins

Logomachy with Matt

He won.

euphonious

characterized by euphony; having a pleasant sound; harmonious

Monkey House, pg. 108 1968HC

parvenus, from parvenu

a person who has suddenly acquired wealth or power, esp. one who is not fully accepted socially by the class associated with the higher position; upstart

Monkey House, pg. 108 1968HC

logomachy

strife or contention in words only, or an argument about words

Monkey House, pg. 108 1968HC

Useful word!

descriptive

describing; of or characterized by description; specif. a) designating or of a branch of a science in which its data or materials are described and classified [descriptive anatomy] b) Gram. designating an adjective that indicates a quality or condition of the person or thing named by the word it modifies

Monkey House, pg. 108 1968HC

This is truly a labor of love. Only Kurt Vonnegut can make me come close to regretting my project.

prescriptive

1.) that prescribes 2.) based on legal prescription 3.) prescribed by custom or long use

Monkey House, pg. 108 1968HC

trammel

1.) a) a fishing net consisting of two outer layers of coarse mesh and a loosely hung middle layer of fine mesh b) a fowling net: also trammel net 2.) a king of shackle for a horse, esp. one to teach ambling 3.) [usually pl.] something that confines, restrains, or shackles 4.) a device with links or openings at different heights for hanging a pothook in a fireplace 5.) an instrument for drawing ellipses 6.) any of several devices for adjusting or aligning parts of a machine

Monkey House, pg. 107 1968HC

CURSE YOU, KURT VONNEGUT! A POX UPON YOUR ESSAY ABOUT DICTIONARIES, AND A PLAGUE ON MY OWN CURIOSITY AND BLOODY-MINDEDNESS!
[(6-23-05 1:54pm) Please keep in mind that all of this is hand-written first. The last three words came from one sentence, in which Vonnegut listed words he'd looked up in his dictionary. I could have cheated and pretended I knew them all, but I didn't. Dammit.]

dugong

any of a genus (Dugong) of large tropical sirenian mammals that live along the shores of the Indian Ocean and feed mostly on seaweed

Monkey House, pg. 107 1968HC

arbalest

a medieval crossbow consisting of a steel bow set crosswise in a wooden shaft with a mechanism to bend the bow: it propelled arrows, balls, or stones: also arbalist

Monkey House, pg. 107 1968HC

pejorative

1.) declining; making or becoming worse: applied to words whose basic meaning has changed for the worse (Ex.: knave, cretin) 2.) disparaging or derogatory

Monkey House, pg. 106 1968HC

leviathan

1.) Bible a sea monster, variously thought of as a reptile or a whale 2.) anything huge or very powerful

Monkey House, pg. 106 1968HC

I didn't know the second.

turpitude

1.) baseness; vileness; depravity 2.) an instance of this

Monkey House, pg. 65 1968HC

A fun word to say, I'd forgotten whether it was good or bad.

dint

1.) force; exertion; now chiefly in by dint of 2.) a dent 3.) [Archaic] a blow

Monkey House, pg. 53 1968HC

One of those words I used appropriately, both in time and contextually, that I wished to know a bit more about.

colonnade

Archit. a series of columns set at regular intervals, usually supporting a roof or series of arches

Monkey House, pg. 49 1968HC

colonnade

Archit. a series of columns set at regular intervals, usually supporting a roof or series of arches

Monkey House, pg. 49 1968HC

seraglio

1.) the part of a Muslim household where wives or concubines live; harem 2.) the palace of a Turkish sultan

Monkey House, pg. 41 1968HC

geodesic

1.) GEODETIC (sense 1) 2.) a) designating the shortest surface line between two points on a surface, esp. a curved surface b) of or pertaining to the geometry of such lines 3.) Archit. having a structurally strong suface made up of short, straight, lightweight bars that form a grid of polygons [geodesic dome]

Monkey House, pg. 37 1968HC

drupe

any fruit with a soft, fleshy part (mesocarp) covered by a skin-like outer layer (exocarp, or epicarp) and surrounding an inner stone (endocarp) that contains the seed, as an apricot, cherry, plum, etc.

Def. link from DRUPELET

drupelet

a small drupe: a single blackberry consists of many drupelets

Monkey House, pg. 27 1968HC

chockablock

1.) Naut. a) pulled so tight as to have the blocks touching (said of a hoisting tackle) b) hoisted all the way up, as a signal flag 2.) crowded or jammed

Monkey House, pg. 4 1968HC

halophangasmic

"a synonym for candescent but not as lazy as incandescent, also used as a random adjective"

Maura's new word

[(6-23-05 1:07pm) Would this be on the same level as fanfiction for my blog? A new word created in reaction to one I've brought to light, pardon the pun. Has potential, I believe.]

raddled, from raddle (1)

INTERWEAVE (sense 1)

Thicker, pg. 65 AmHC

pulchritudinous, from pulchritude

physical beauty

Thicker, pg. 12 AmHC

chunter

[Brit.] 1.) to mutter or murmur 2.) to make a low, rumbling noise

Random flip-find

larrikin

[Slang, Chiefly Austral.] a hoodlum or rowdy, esp. a young one

Last Cont., pg. 192 AmHC

larrikin

[Slang, Chiefly Austral.] a hoodlum or rowdy, esp. a young one

Last Cont., pg. 192 AmHC

macerated, from macerate

1.) to soften and break down into component parts by soaking in liuid for some tie; specif., to soften and break down (food) in the digestive system 2.) to steep (fruit or vegetables) as in wine or liquor 3.) loosely, to break, tear, chop, etc. into bits 4.) to cause to waste away or grow thin

Last Cont., pg. 191 AmHC

brachiate

having widely spreading branches, alternately arranged --vi. to swing arm over arm from one hold to the next, as certain apes and monkeys do

Last Cont., pg. 165 AmHC

venire

1.) short for VENIRE FACIAS 2.) a list or group of people from among whom a jury or juries will be selected

Random flip-find

veldt

in S&E Africa, open grassy country, with few bushes and almost no trees; grassland

Last Cont., pg. 156 AmHC

midden (1)

[Brit.] a dunghill or refuse heap 2.) short for KITCHEN MIDDEN

Last Cont., pg. 123 AmHC

imputation, from impute

1.) to attribute (esp. a fault or misconduct) to another; charge with; ascribe 2.) Theol. to ascribe ( goodness or guilt) to a person as coming from another

Last Cont., pg. 115 AmHC

coracles, from coracle

a short, roundish boat made of animals skins or canvas water-proofed and stretched over a wicker or wooden frame

Last Cont., pg. 109 AmHC

winkle (2)

[Informal] to pry or rout from cover, secrecy, etc. : with out, out of

from Dict., below winkle(1)

winkles, from winkle(1)

1.) short for PERIWINKLE 2.) any of various gastropod mollusks that are very destructive to oysters and clams

Last Cont., pg. 29 AmHC

girt

1.) to gird; girdle 2.) to fasten with a girth 3.) to measure the girth of

Last Cont., pg. 28 AmHC

egregious

1.) [Archaic] remarkable 2.) outstanding for undesirable qualities; remarkably bad; flagrant

Last Cont., pg. 25 AmHC

Only because I have a book titled, "I Always Look Up The Word 'Egregious'."

antimacassar

a small cover on the back or arms of a chair, sofa, etc. to prevent soiling

Last Cont., pg. 7 AmHC

I was uncertain as to this until I read that its roots are from anti + a kind of hair oil, and then I recalled the flappy bits.

castors, from castor

1.) [Rare] a beaver 2.) a sexual gland of the beaver containing a strong-smelling, oily substance used as a scent in trapping and in making perfumes: also castoreum 3.) a hat of beaver or rabbit fur

Last Cont., pg. 7 AmHC

lee

1.) shelter; protection 2.) a sheltered place, esp one on that side of anything away from the wind 3.) Naut. the side or direction away from the wind

Last Cont., pg. 2 AmHC

Number one: I was thinking "lea," a meadow, which didn't make sense in context. Two: the second definition strikes me as ridiculously funny.

proctor

1.) a person employed to manage the affairs of another; agent; attorney 2.) a person who supervises or monitors students, as at an examination

Last Cont., pg. 2 AmHC