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48 Cards in this Set
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fomites (FOM-i-teez) plural noun
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Any inanimate object, such as a book, money, carpet, etc. that can transmit germs from one person to another.
[From Latin fomites, plural of fomes (touchwood, tinder), from fovere (to warm).] |
From Latin
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styptic (STIP-tik) adjective
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1. Able to check bleeding, whether by contracting the tissues or by promoting clotting.
2. Tending to contract organic tissues. [From Late Latin stypticus, from Greek stupikos, from stuphein, (to contract).] |
From Late Latin
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styptic (STIP-tik) noun
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A substance that stops bleeding of minor cuts.
[From Late Latin stypticus, from Greek stupikos, from stuphein, (to contract).] |
From Late Latin
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Madison Avenue (MAD-uh-suhn AV-uh-nyoo) adjective
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1. Glitzy; insincere; deceptive.
2. Representing values and practices of the advertising and public relations industries. [After Madison Avenue, a street in New York City that was once the center of the US advertising industry. Perhaps it is symbolic that Park Avenue runs parallel to Madison Avenue.] |
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Madison Avenue (MAD-uh-suhn AV-uh-nyoo) noun
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US advertising industry.
[After Madison Avenue, a street in New York City that was once the center of the US advertising industry. Perhaps it is symbolic that Park Avenue runs parallel to Madison Avenue.] |
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tenderloin (TEN-duhr-loin) noun
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The part of a city notorious for vice and corruption.
[After a district in New York City known for vice, crime, corruption, extortion, graft, etc. It received its nickname from the choicest part of the meat, alluding to the luxurious diet of corrupt police members getting an easy income from bribes.] |
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Tin Pan Alley (tin pan AL-ee) noun
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Popular music industry; considered collectively.
[After West 28th Street in New York City where music publishers were centered. From the cacophony of cheap pianos and hack musicians the area came to be known as Tin Pan Alley (apparently from 'tinny piano') and eventually to refer to the whole music industry. Less used today.] |
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Bronx cheer (brongks cheer) noun
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1. A rude sound indicating disapproval, made by sticking the tongue partly out between the lips and blowing air out in a simulation of flatulence.
2. Any expression of derision or contempt. [Probably after the Bronx, in New York City, the home of Yankee Stadium, where Yankees fans often expressed their opinion that way.] |
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Wall Street (wol street) noun
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US financial world.
[After a street in lower Manhattan, New York City, that was once home to most of the major investment firms, banks, analyst firms, and the New York Stock Exchange. The street got its name from the defensive wall that the Dutch colonists built in the area in 1653 to protect against the British and Native Americans.] |
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sounder (SOUN-duhr) noun
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1. A person or thing that makes sound.
2. A group of wild boars. [From Old French sundre.] |
From Old French
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covey (KUV-ee) noun
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1. A small flock of birds such as partridge or quail.
2. A group or a set. [From Middle English, from Old French covee (brood), feminine past participle of cover (to incubate, hatch), from Latin cubare (to lie down).] |
From Middle English
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skein (skayn) noun
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1. A length of yarn wound around a reel.
2. A flock of geese, ducks, or other similar birds in flight. 3. Something suggesting complex twists and tangles. [From Middle English skeyine, from Old French escaigne.] |
From Middle English
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bevy (BEV-ee) noun
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1. A group of birds or 2. A group or collection.
[From Middle English bevey.] |
From Middle English
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skulk (skulk) verb intr.
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To hide, evade, or move stealthily.
[From Middle English skulken, of Scandinavian origin.] |
From Middle English
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skulk (skulk) noun
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1. Someone who lies in hiding, evades, or lurks.
2. A pack of foxes. [From Middle English skulken, of Scandinavian origin.] |
From Middle English
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autonym (O-tuh-nim) noun
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1. A person's own name, as distinguished from a pseudonym.
2. A work published under the real name of the author. [From auto- (self) + -onym (name).] |
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backronym (BAK-ro-nim) noun
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A word re-interpreted as an acronym.
[Compound of back + acronym.] |
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ananym (AN-uh-nim) noun
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A name formed by reversing letters of another name, often used as a pseudonym.
[From Greek ana- (back) + -onym (name).] |
From Greek
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charactonym (KAR-ik-tuh-nim) noun
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A name of a fictional character that suggests the personality traits of that character.
[From English character, from Greek charakter (marking or engraving tool)+ -onym (name).] |
From Greek
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anonym (AN-uh-nim) noun
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1. A false or assumed name.
2. An anonymous person or book. [From French anonyme, from Latin anonymus, from Greek anonymos, from an- (not) + -onyma (name).] |
From Greek
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filemot (FIL-mot) noun, adjective
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The color of a dead or faded leaf: dull brown or yellowish brown.
[From the corruption of the French term feuillemorte, from feuille (leaf) + morte (dead).] |
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incarnadine (in-KAHR-nuh-dyn) adjective
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Flesh-colored; blood-red.
[Via French and Italian from Latin caro, (flesh).] |
From Latin
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incarnadine (in-KAHR-nuh-dyn) noun
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An incarnadine color.
[Via French and Italian from Latin caro, (flesh).] |
From Latin
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incarnadine (in-KAHR-nuh-dyn) verb tr.
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To make incarnadine.
[Via French and Italian from Latin caro, (flesh).] |
From Latin
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fuscous (FUS-kuhs) adjective
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Of a brownish-gray color; dusky.
[From Latin fuscus (dusky).] |
From Latin
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glaucous (GLO-kuhs) adjective
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1. Of a grayish or bluish green or white color.
2. Covered with a powdery coating of such colors, as on grapes, plums, etc. [From Latin glaucus (bluish-gray or green), from Greek glaukos.] |
From Latin
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taupe (toap, rhymes with rope) noun
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A brownish gray, similar to the color of moleskin.
[From French taupe (mole), from Latin talpa.] |
From French
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Autotomy (au-TOT-uh-mee) noun
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Autotomy is nature's gift to some animals to help them escape when under attack or injured.
[From Greek from auto- (self) and -tomy (cutting). ] |
From Greek
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Trichology (tri-KOL-uh-jee) noun
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The study and treatment of hair and its disorders.
[From Greek tricho- (hair), -logy (science, study), tillein (to pull out), and -mania (madness).] |
From Greek
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Chirography (ky-ROG-ruh-fee) noun
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Handwriting or penmanship, also known as calligraphy.
[From Greek chiro- (hand) and -graphy (writing).] |
From Greek
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Algophobia (al-guh-FO-bee-uh) noun
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The fear of pain. Though the word indicates an unusual, morbid fear of pain, producing intense anxiety.
[From Greek algo- (pain) and -phobia (fear).] |
From Greek
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Leptodactylous (lep-tuh-DAK-tuh-luhs) adjective
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Having fine, slender digits. No, not, digits on a bathroom scale or on a bank account.
[From Greek from lepto- (thin) and -dactylous (fingered or toed).] |
From Greek
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Benjamin (BEN-juh-min) noun
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A nickname for the US one-hundred-dollar bill.
[The name derives from Benjamin Franklin, US statesman, whose portrait adorns the bill.] |
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Maxwellian (maks-WEL-i-an) adjective
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Of or relating to James Clerk Maxwell or his equations and theory in electromagnetism and other fields.
[After James Clerk Maxwell, Scottish physicist (1831-1879).] |
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Cereologist (seer-ee-OL-uh-jist) noun
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One who specializes in investigating crop circles.
[The word is coined after Ceres, the goddess of agriculture in Roman mythology.] |
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Heath Robinson (heeth ROB-in-suhn) adjective
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Absurdly complex and fancifully impractical.
[The term was coined after W. Heath Robinson (1872-1944), a British artist known for drawing ingeniously complicated devices.] |
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Vulcanian (vul-KAY-nee-uhn) adjective
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1. Relating to a volcanic eruption; volcanic.
2. Relating to metalworking. [The word is coined after Vulcan, the god of fire and metalworking in Roman mythology.] |
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lipogram (LIP-uh-gram) noun
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A piece of writing that avoids one or more letters of the alphabet.
[From Greek lipo- (lacking) + gram (something written).] |
From Greek
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godwottery (god-WOT-uhr-ee) noun
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1. Gardening marked by an affected and elaborate style.
2. Affected use of archaic language. [From the line "A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!" in a poem by Thomas Edward Brown (1830-1897).] |
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allonym (AL-uh-nim) noun
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The name of a person, usually historical, taken by an author as a pen name (as opposed to using a fictional pseudonym).
[From French allonyme, from Greek allo- (other) + -onym (name).] |
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heterography (het-uh-ROG-ruh-fee) noun
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1. A spelling different from the one in current use.
2. Use of the same letter(s) to convey different sounds, for example, gh in rough and ghost. [From Greek hetero (different) + -graphy (writing).] |
From Greek
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neologist (nee-OL-uh-gist) noun
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One who coins, uses, or introduces new words, or redefines old words in a language.
[From French néologisme, from Greek neo- (new) + logos (word).] |
From French
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accismus (ak-SIZ-muhs) noun
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Feigning disinterest in something while actually desiring it.
[From Greek akkismos (coyness or affectation).] |
From Greek
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vagitus (vuh-JI-tuhs) noun
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The cry of a newborn.
[From Latin vagire (to wail).] |
From Latin
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parrhesia (puh-REEZ-i-uh) noun
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1. Boldness of speech.
2. The practice of asking forgiveness before speaking in this manner. [From New Latin, from Greek, from pan (all) + rhesis (speech).] |
From New Latin
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nychthemeron (nik-THEM-er-on) noun
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A full period of a day and night: 24 hours.
[From Greek, a combination of nykt- (night) and hemera (day).] |
From Greek
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velleity (vuh-LEE-i-tee) noun
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Volition at its faintest.
[From Latin velle (to wish)] |
From Latin
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parisology (pa-ri-SOL-uh-jee) noun
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The use of equivocal or ambiguous language.
[From Ancient Greek parisos (almost equal, balanced) + logos (word).] |
From Ancient Greek
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