Word origins

• menaceA perceived threat or danger.
• ClaptonA suburban area of London in the borough of Hackney, Greater London (officially Upper Clapton and Lower Clapton), (OS grid ref TQ3486).
• cheerfulNoticeably happy and optimistic.
• blushAn act of blushing; a pink or red glow on the face caused by embarrassment, shame, shyness, love, etc.
• favourableApt to win favour; pleasing.
• unseenNot seen or discovered; invisible.
• medleyCombat, fighting; a battle.
• temperA general tendency or orientation towards a certain type of mood, a volatile state; a habitual way of thinking, behaving or reacting.
• stewA cooking-dish used for boiling; a cauldron.
• accumulateTo heap up in a mass; to pile up; to collect or bring together (either literally or figuratively), often gradually and without active intent.
• marinerSynonym of sailor, particularly one on a maritime vessel.
• collierA person who produces (e.g., digs, mines, gathers) or sells coal (the fossil fuel type), or transports it from underground, from the soil, or from a seashore.
• hushTo become quiet.
• generosityThe trait of being willing to donate money, resources, or time.
• akinOf persons, of the same kin; related by blood.
• splinterA long, sharp fragment of material, often wood.
• solderAny of various easily melted alloys, commonly of tin and lead, that are used to mend, coat, or join metal objects, usually small.
• practiseTo repeat (an activity) as a way of improving one's skill in that activity.
• CatalanA native or inhabitant of Catalonia
• tweakTo pinch and pull with a sudden jerk and twist; to twitch.
• eaterA person or animal who eats.
• soakTo be saturated with liquid by being immersed in it.
• manureTo cultivate by manual labor; to till; hence, to develop by culture.
• saviorA person who saves someone, rescues another from harm.
• secrecyConcealment; the condition of being secret or hidden.
• filthyCovered with filth; very dirty.
• abbreviationThe result of shortening or reducing; abridgment.
• boaAny of a group of large American snakes, of the genus Boa, subfamily Boinae, or family Boidae, including the boa constrictor and the emperor boa of Mexico.
• frontalOf, relating to, directed toward, or situated at the front.
• havocWidespread devastation and destruction.
• arsenicA toxic grey brittle nonmetallic chemical element (symbol As) with an atomic number of 33.
• slingTo throw with a circular or arcing motion.
• contractionAn act of incurring debt; also (generally), an act of acquiring something (generally negative).
• hymnA song of praise or worship, especially a religious one.
• continualRecurring in steady, rapid succession.
• quayA stone or concrete structure on navigable water used for loading and unloading vessels; a wharf.
• indemnitySecurity from damage, loss, or penalty.
• imaginativeHaving a lively or creative imagination.
• weirAn adjustable dam placed across a river to regulate the flow of water downstream.
• affirmTo agree, verify or concur; to answer positively.
• batterTo hit or strike violently and repeatedly.
• dramSynonym of dirhem: a former Turkish unit of weight (variously 1.5–3.5 g).
• palletA bed of loose straw.
• tannerA person whose occupation is to tan hides, or convert them into leather by the use of tan.
• dunA brownish grey colour.
• compressTo make smaller; to press or squeeze together, or to make something occupy a smaller space or volume.
• soberNot drunk; not intoxicated.
• treadTo step or walk (on or across something); to trample.
• plungeTo thrust into liquid, or into any penetrable substance; to immerse.
• sinisterInauspicious, ominous, unlucky, illegitimate.
• burrA sharp, pointy object, such as a sliver or splinter.
• chaserSomething or someone who chases.
• vantageAn advantage.
• diffuseTo spread (something) over or through as in air, water, or other matter, especially by fluid motion or passive means.
• overdriveTo drive too hard, or far, or beyond strength.
• helplessUnable to defend oneself.
• slugAny of many gastropod mollusks, having no (or only a rudimentary) shell.
• coffinA closed box in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial.
• otterAn aquatic or marine carnivorous mammal in the subfamily Lutrinae.
• shillingA coin formerly used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta, Australia, New Zealand and many other Commonwealth countries worth twelve old pence, or one twentieth of a pound sterling.
• resembleTo be like or similar to (something); to represent as similar.
• crocodileAny of the predatory amphibious reptiles of the family Crocodylidae; (loosely) a crocodilian, any species of the order Crocodilia, which also includes the alligators, caimans and gavials.
• cowardA person who lacks courage.
• turbulenceThe state or fact of being turbulent or agitated; tempestuousness, disturbance.
• yellTo shout; holler; make a loud sound with the voice, especially to express intense emotions such as anger or excitement.
• dresserAn item of kitchen furniture, like a cabinet with shelves, for storing crockery or utensils.
• rakeA garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting debris, grass, etc., for flattening the ground, or for loosening soil; also, a similar wheel-mounted tool drawn by a horse or a tractor.
• richesMoney, goods, wealth, treasure.
• injunctionThe act of enjoining; the act of directing, commanding, or prohibiting.
• barkingThe action of the verb to bark.
• dreadTo fear greatly.
• serpentA snake.
• wiselyIn a wise manner; using good judgement.
• playhouseA venue for performing plays.
• ditTo stop up; block (an opening); close (compare Scots dit).
• WilkinsA surname originating as a patronymic.
• seamA folded-back and stitched piece of fabric; especially, the stitching that joins two or more pieces of fabric.
• riddleA verbal puzzle, mystery, or other problem of an intellectual nature.
• omitTo leave out or exclude.
• nozzleA short tube, usually tapering, forming the vent of a hose or pipe.
• needyIn need; poor.
• darnDamn.
• wearyHaving the strength exhausted by toil or exertion; tired; fatigued.
• solitaryOne who lives alone, or in solitude; an anchorite, hermit or recluse.
• snowyMarked by snow; characterized by snow.
• magistrateA judicial officer with limited authority to administer and enforce the law. A magistrate's court may have jurisdiction in civil or criminal cases, or both.
• everlastingLasting or enduring forever; endless, eternal.
• pigmentAny color in plant or animal cells.
• argentineContaining or resembling silver.
• linnA waterfall or cataract (torrent of water running over a rocky bed), or a ravine down which such a waterfall rushes.
• slaterOne who lays slates, or whose occupation is to slate buildings.
• carverSomeone who carves; an artist who produces carvings.
• gracefulHaving or showing grace in movement, shape, or proportion.
• shellfishA fisheries and colloquial term for an aquatic invertebrate having an inner or outer shell, such as a mollusc or crustacean, especially when edible.
• ascertainTo find out definitely; to discover or establish.
• HansardA member of a Hanse (“merchant guild”), or a resident of a Hanse town.
• inwardSituated on the inside; that is within, inner; belonging to the inside.
• laiA mostly North European medieval form of lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance, with stanzas that do not repeat.
• starchA widely diffused vegetable substance, found in seeds, bulbs and tubers, as extracted (e.g. from potatoes, corn, rice, etc.) in the form of a white, glistening, granular or powdery substance, without taste or smell, and giving a very peculiar creaking sound when rubbed between the fingers. It is used as a food, in the production of commercial grape sugar, for stiffening linen in laundries, in making paste, etc.
• godfatherA man present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner; a male godparent who sponsors the baptism of a child.