February 2005 Vocab

Front 1

adjective

: of or relating to fields or open country : rural

Back 1

campestral

Hint 1

derives from the Latin noun "campus," meaning "field" or "plain." Latin "campester" is the adjective that means "pertaining to a campus."

Front 2

noun

: extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy

Back 2

jingoism

Front 3

adj

1 British : impaired by age or dampness : moldy
2 : saturated with dust and stale odors : musty
*3 : rigidly old-fashioned or reactionary

Back 3

fusty

Hint 3

probably derives from the Middle English word "foist," meaning "wine cask," which in turn traces to the Medieval Latin word "fustis," meaning "tree trunk" or "wood." iit came to mean full of mold and dampness because wine in a flask too long would taste like wood and eventually came to mean old-fashioned

Front 4

noun

1 : the whole series of recognized musical notes
*2 : an entire range or series

Back 4

gamut

Hint 4

started with a guy named Guido who called the first line of his bass staff "gamma" and the first note of his scale "ut" "gamma ut" stood for the note written on the first staff line and it was eventually changed to cover not only Guido's scale, but all instruments and eventually an entired range of many sorts

Front 5

verb

: to soothe or mollify especially by concessions : appease

Back 5

placate

Hint 5

derived from the Latin "placatus," the past participle of "placare," and even after more than 300 years in English it still carries the basic meaning of its Latin ancestor: "to soothe" or "to appease."

Front 6

noun

1 : framework
2 : a central unit especially of trained personnel able to assume control and train others
*3 : a group of people with a unifying relationship

Back 6

cadre

Hint 6

traces to the Latin "quadrum," meaning "square."

Front 7

verb

*1 : to make (as a doctrine) known by open declaration : proclaim
2 a : to make known or public the terms of (a proposed law) b : to put (a law) into action or force

Back 7

promulgate

Hint 7

from the Latin "promulgatus," which in turn derives from "pro-," meaning "forward," and "-mulgare," a form that is probably related to the verb "mulgēre," meaning "to milk" or "to extract."

Front 8

noun

1 : an act of guarding or protecting
2 : the state of being under a guardian or tutor
*3 : instruction especially of an individual

Back 8

tutelage

Hint 8

Latin verb "tueri" means "to look at" or "to guard."

Front 9

n
lover of beauty: somebody who has or affects a highly developed appreciation of beauty, especially in the arts

Back 9

aesthete

Hint 9

From Greek aisthētikos “perceptual,” from aisthesthai “to perceive” (source of English anesthetic, literally “without feeling”). The sense “relating to perception of beauty” evolved from “perception.”]

Front 10

adj
1. done routinely: done as a matter of duty or custom, without thought, attention, or genuine feeling
a perfunctory kiss

2. hasty: done hastily or superficially
a perfunctory search

Back 10

perfunctory

Hint 10

Via late Latin perfunctorius from, ultimately, perfungi , literally “to work through,” from fungi (source of English function).]

Front 11

adj.) abundant, using wordy style

Back 11

copious

Hint 11

from Latin copiosus , from copia “abundance”

Front 12

adj.) insignificant, despicable, unimportant

Back 12

paltry

Front 13

verb

: howl, wail

Back 13

ululate

Hint 13

descends from the Latin verb "ululare" and likely originated in the echoes of rhythmic wailing sound associated with it

Front 14

adjective

1 a chiefly Scottish : fated to die : doomed b : marked by a foreboding of death or calamity
2 a : able to see into the future : visionary b : marked by an otherworldly air or attitude c : crazy, touched
3 a : excessively refined : precious *b : quaintly unconventional : campy

Back 14

fey

Front 15

adjective

: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an imaginary place of high romance

Back 15

Ruritarian

Hint 15

from a book by a British man about the mystical kingdom of Ruritaria

Front 16

n) carefree attitude, lacking concern

Back 16

insouciance

Hint 16

Via French from soucier , “to care,” formed from Latin solicitare “to trouble” (leads to solicit)

Front 17

n) seriousness of behavior; a serious, solemn attitude

Back 17

gravitas

Hint 17

from Latin "gravitas" meaning heavyness

Front 18

adjective

*1 : marked by lack of definite plan, regularity, or purpose
2 : not connected with the main subject
3 : disappointing in progress, performance, or quality

Back 18

desultory

Hint 18

derived from the Latin verb "salire," which means "to leap"

Front 19

adjective

: not genuine : spurious; also : cheaply showy : tawdry

Back 19

brummagem

Hint 19

derives from the British town of Burmingham tht became known for producing cheap trinkets and gilt jewelry

Front 20

adjective

1 : depending on an uncertain event or contingency
2 : relating to luck and especially to bad luck
*3 : characterized by chance or random elements

Back 20

aleatory

Hint 20

from the Latin noun "alea," which refers to a kind of dice game

Front 21

noun

1 a : the quality or state of being changeable : mutability b : natural change or mutation visible in nature or in human affairs
2 *a : a favorable or unfavorable event or situation that occurs by chance : a fluctuation of state or condition b : a difficulty or hardship attendant on a way of life, a career, or a course of action and usually beyond one's control c : alternating change : succession

Back 21

vicissitude

Hint 21

descendant of the Latin noun "vicis," meaning "change" or "alternation"

Front 22

adjective

: serenely free of interruption or disturbance; also : complacent

Back 22

placid

Hint 22

traces back to Latin "placēre," meaning "to please"

Front 23

noun

: a public promenade bordered with trees

Back 23

alameda

Hint 23

Spanish speakers used "álamo" as the basis for this word, which refers to either a grove of poplar trees or a tree-lined avenue

Front 24

adjective

: characterized by disputatious and often subtle and specious reasoning

Back 24

erisitic

Hint 24

come from the Greek "eristikos," meaning "fond of wrangling," from "erizein," "to wrangle," and ultimately from "eris," which means "strife"

Front 25

verb

: steal, filch

Back 25

cabbage

Hint 25

probably derived from "cabas," the Middle French word for "cheating or theft." *not related to the head of cabbage which comes from "caboche" meaning "head"

Front 26

noun

1 a : a Byzantine emperor or prince b : a bishop or patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church c : an Italian hereditary prince or military leader during the Renaissance
2 a : a ruler with absolute power and authority *b : a person exercising power tyrannically

Back 26

despot

Hint 26

it comes from a Greek word meaning "lord" or "master" and was originally applied to deities; used to be a good title, but after French Revolution it lost its flavor

Front 27

verb

1 : to constitute outward evidence of
*2 : to display clearly : reveal

Back 27

evince

Hint 27

derives from the Latin "evincere," meaning "to vanquish" or "to win a point" and that root in turn traces to "vincere," Latin for "to conquer"

Front 28

adjective

1 : taking on values arbitrarily close to but greater than zero
*2 : immeasurably or incalculably small

Back 28

infinitesimal

Hint 28

ultimately from Latin "infinitus," the opposite of "finitus," meaning "finite."