Words Words Words

Front 1

abrogate

Back 1

1. to abolish by formal or official means; annul by an authoritative act; repeal: to abrogate a law.
2. to put aside; put an end to.

Front 2

albumen

Back 2

the white of an egg

Front 3

fracas

Back 3

a noisy, disorderly disturbance or fight; riotous brawl; uproar.

Front 4

semaphore

Back 4

1. an apparatus for conveying information by means of visual signals, as a light whose position may be changed.
2. any of various devices for signaling by changing the position of a light, flag, etc.
3. a system of signaling, esp. a system by which a special flag is held in each hand and various positions of the arms indicate specific letters, numbers, etc.

Front 5

haruspex

Back 5

one of a class of minor priests who practiced divination, esp. from the entrails of animals killed in sacrifice

Front 6

foulard

Back 6

a soft, lightweight silk, rayon, or cotton of plain or twill weave with printed design, for neckties, scarves, trimmings, etc.

Front 7

insouciant

Back 7

free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant

Front 8

vignette

Back 8

a decorative design representing branches, leaves, grapes, or the like, as in a manuscript.
2. any small, pleasing picture or view.
3. a small, graceful literary sketch.

Front 9

soubrette

Back 9

1. a maidservant or lady's maid in a play, opera, or the like, esp. one displaying coquetry, pertness, and a tendency to engage in intrigue.
2. an actress playing such a role.
3. any lively or pert young woman.

Front 10

transept

Back 10

1. any major transverse part of the body of a church, usually crossing the nave, at right angles, at the entrance to the choir.
2. an arm of this, on either side of the central aisle of a church.

Front 11

schnappe

Back 11

to remove sericin from (silk waste) by fermentation.

Front 12

equipage

Back 12

2. a carriage drawn by horses and attended by servants.
3. outfit, as of a ship, an army, or a soldier; equipment.
4. Archaic.
a. a set of small household articles, as of china.
b. a collection of articles for personal ornament or use.

Front 13

syllepsis

Back 13

the use of a word or expression to perform two syntactic functions, esp. to modify two or more words of which at least one does not agree in number, case, or gender, as the use of are in Neither he nor we are willing. Cf. zeugma.

Front 14

troche

Back 14

a small tablet or lozenge, usually a circular one, made of medicinal substance worked into a paste with sugar and mucilage or the like, and dried.

Front 15

smaragdine

Back 15

1. of or pertaining to emeralds.
2. emerald-green in color.

Front 16

sycophant

Back 16

a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite.

Front 17

ratoon

Back 17

a sprout or shoot from the root of a plant, esp. a sugarcane, after it has been cropped.

Front 18

Laodicean

Back 18

lukewarm or indifferent, esp. in religion, as were the early Christians of Laodicea.

Front 19

guerdon

Back 19

a reward, recompense, or requital

Front 20

ursprache

Back 20

a hypothetically reconstructed parent language, as Proto-Germanic, the ancestor of the Germanic languages

Front 21

appoggiatura

Back 21

a note of embellishment preceding another note and taking a portion of its time

Front 22

pococurante

Back 22

a careless or indifferent person.

Front 23

succedaneum

Back 23

a substitute

Front 24

démarche

Back 24

1. an action or gesture by a diplomat, esp. a formal appeal, protest, or the like.
2. a statement, protest, or the like presented to public officials by private citizens, interest groups, etc.
3. a procedure or step; move; maneuver.

Front 25

logorrhea

Back 25

1. pathologically incoherent, repetitious speech.
2. incessant or compulsive talkativeness; wearisome volubility.

Front 26

chiaroscuro

Back 26

1. the distribution of light and shade in a picture.
2. Painting.the use of deep variations in and subtle gradations of light and shade, esp. to enhance the delineation of character and for general dramatic effect: Rembrandt is a master of chiaroscuro.
3. a woodcut print in which the colors are produced by the use of different blocks with different colors.
4. a sketch in light and shade.

Front 27

lyceum

Back 27

1. an institution for popular education providing discussions, lectures, concerts, etc.
2. a building for such activities.
3. (cap.) the gymnasium where Aristotle taught, in ancient Athens.
4. a lycée.

Front 28

antipyretic

Back 28

checking or preventing fever.

Front 29

spoliate

Back 29

to plunder, rob, or ruin.

Front 30

elegiac

Back 30

1. used in, suitable for, or resembling an elegy.
2. expressing sorrow or lamentation:

Front 31

odontalgia

Back 31

pain in a tooth; toothache.

Front 32

milieu

Back 32

surroundings, esp. of a social or cultural nature

Front 33

Purim

Back 33

a Jewish festival celebrated on the 14th day of the month of Adar in commemoration of the deliverance of the Jews in Persia from destruction by Haman.

Front 34

maculature

Back 34

Blotting paper.

Front 35

psoriasis

Back 35

a common chronic, inflammatory skin disease characterized by scaly patches

Front 36

elucubrate

Back 36

to produce (esp. literary work) by long and intensive effort

Front 37

sarcophagus

Back 37

a stone coffin, esp. one bearing sculpture, inscriptions, etc., often displayed as a monument.

Front 38

cambist

Back 38

1. a dealer in bills of exchange.
2. an expert in foreign exchange.
3. a manual giving the moneys, weights, and measures of different countries, with their equivalents.

Front 39

hydrophyte

Back 39

a plant that grows in water or very moist ground; an aquatic plant.

Front 40

vouchsafe

Back 40

to grant or give, as by favor, graciousness, or condescension:

Front 41

macerate

Back 41

to soften or separate into parts by steeping in a liquid.
2. to soften or decompose (food) by the action of a solvent.
3. to cause to grow thin.

Front 42

shalloon

Back 42

a light, twilled woolen fabric used chiefly for linings.

Front 43

interlocutory

Back 43

1. of the nature of, pertaining to, or occurring in conversation:
2. interjected into the main course of speech.
3. Law.
a. pronounced during the course of an action, as a decision; not finally decisive of a case.
b. pertaining to an intermediate decision.