Word origins

• otherSee other (determiner) below.
• pleaseTo make happy or satisfy; to give pleasure to.
• southwestThe intercardinal compass point halfway between south and west; specifically at a bearing of 225°.
• picturesqueResembling or worthy of a picture or painting; having the qualities of a picture or painting; pleasingly beautiful.
• rhinestoneA diamond simulant, strass.
• waveletA small wave; a ripple.
• telematicsThe science of sending, receiving and storing information by means of telecommunication devices.
• shellacA processed secretion of the lac insect, Coccus lacca; used in polishes, varnishes etc.
• eventualityA possible event; something that may happen.
• chickpeaAn annual plant (Cicer arietinum) in the pea family, widely cultivated for the edible seeds in its short inflated pods.
• appetizingThat appeals to, or stimulates the appetite.
• bridgeheadAn area around the end of a bridge.
• hypermarketA shop combining elements of a department store and a supermarket.
• upcountryLiving or situated remote from the seacoast.
• bluebeardA man who marries and then murders one wife after another.
• depersonalizationThe act of depersonalizing or the state of being depersonalized.
• anteroomA room before, or forming an entrance to, another; a waiting room.
• biopowerThe sum of the various techniques used by modern nation-states to control not individual subjects but their entire populations, as contrasted with traditional modes of power based on the threat of death from a sovereign.
• nonplaceAn anthropological space of transience where human beings remain anonymous, such as an airport or shopping mall.
• cockadeA rosette or knot of ribbon worn in a hat, especially as an office or party badge.
• psychologueA psychologist.
• actor-networkA web of relationships insisting that society is built not by only humans, but also nonhuman objects which interact with the world as well.
• aesthetic informationSensory information that cannot be articulated in language.
• after me the delugeA nihilistic expression of indifference to whatever happens after one is gone.
• after us the delugeA nihilistic expression of indifference to whatever happens after one is gone.
• agent generalThe representative of a British colony or, later, of a Canadian province or Australian state in key cities abroad.
• all-dressedHaving all the standard or expected toppings, dressings, condiments, seasonings, etc.
• all eyes and earsVery attentive.
• animal magnetismSexual attractiveness; charisma derived from non-intellectual characteristics.
• Anvers IslandAn island of Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica.
• appetite comes with eatingStarting an activity increases one's desire to continue it.
• art for art's sakeArt with no function; whose only purpose is beauty.
• aspirated hIn the French language, usage of the letter h at the start of a word which does not allow liaison with a preceding consonant or elision of a preceding schwa.
• as who should sayas if one should say, as if to say; so to say; in a manner of speaking.
• aurora sauceA kind of creamy tomato sauce.
• Austral OceanThe Southern Ocean.
• BarthesianOf or relating to Roland Barthes (1915–1980), French literary theorist, philosopher, linguist, critic, and semiotician who influenced the development of schools of theory including structuralism, semiotics, social theory, anthropology and poststructuralism.
• beast with two backsTwo people united in sexual intercourse in the missionary position.
• bed of justiceA special parliamentary session headed by the king in pre-Revolutionary France, where royal edicts could be forcibly registered.
• beef bourguignonA French stew dish, consisting of beef, red wine, garlic and vegetables.
• belly danceA form of dance originating in the Middle East and characterized by movements of the torso.
• Bézier curveA type of parametric curve defined by a set of control points, two of which are the ends of the curve, while the others determine its shape.
• Big WoodsA kind of temperate hardwood forest ecoregion found in western Wisconsin and south-central Minnesota.
• blue hourThe period of twilight when the Sun is approximately 4-8° below the horizon and the sky is within a range of blue colors.
• Bordeaux mixtureA mixture of copper sulfate and lime that is sprayed on plants as a fungicide.
• Brabant IslandAn island of Palmer Archipelago, British Antarctic Territory, Antarctica.
• brothermentSynonym of adelphopoiesis (“a ceremony where males are unionised with one another”).
• BrusselizationCareless introduction of high-rise buildings into traditional residential neighborhoods.
• Burgundy mixtureA mixture of copper sulphate and sodium carbonate, used as a fungicidal spray for trees and small fruits.
• burn the candle at both endsTo work hard night and day; to sleep late and wake up early; to overwork or overexert oneself.
• castles in SpainSynonym of castle in the air.
• cat's eyeA retroreflective device placed on a road surface as a marking that can be seen even at night.
• characteristic rootAn eigenvalue.
• Chinese pieSynonym of pâté chinois.
• classical collegeAn educational institution in Quebec providing postsecondary education leading to baccalauréat ès arts degrees, that existed from the 17th century until the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s.
• cleft habitusA sense of dislocation experienced when one's life conditions change drastically, for example through social mobility.
• cloak-and-daggerMarked by menacing furtive secrecy, often with a melodramatic tint or espionage involved.
• coat of mailA defensive garment made of metal scales or interlinked metal rings.
• country breadPain de campagne.
• court martialA court where cases of military law are heard.
• Court of AidsA sovereign court in Ancien Régime France, dealing with customs and other matters of public finance.
• court of cassationIn several legal systems, the highest-level court of appeal in procedural matters, which is empowered to quash a verdict but then refers the case back for a new trial at the previous level.
• crowbillA kind of forceps for extracting bullets, etc., from wounds.
• cultural arbitraryarbitrary cultural constructions and beliefs that exist in the unconscious of an individual belonging to a culture
• cultural capitalThe social assets of a person, such as education, intellect, style of speech or dress, etc. that promote social mobility.
• damsel in distressA young woman perceived as being helpless in a dangerous situation and requiring rescue.
• Danco CoastA coastal region of Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica.
• Danco IslandAn island of Antarctica.
• Dannebrog IslandsAn island group of Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica.
• daughter of joyA female prostitute.
• death of the authorA technique of literary analysis that disregards authorial intent, focusing only on the text.
• de facto partnerOne of the spouse-like partners in a de facto union.
• de facto unionA non-solemnized marriage-like relationship, in which the partners enjoy some of the rights and obligations of marriage, similar in some ways to a common-law marriage.
• degrowthA negative growth (i.e. a reduction) of an economy or a population.
• demijohnA large bottle with a short neck, sometimes with two small handles at the neck, sometimes encased in wickerwork.
• demiworldSynonym of demimonde (“class or group”).
• deracinateTo pull up by the roots; to uproot; to extirpate.
• Devil's IslandFormer name of Bermuda: an archipelago of North America in the Atlantic.
• director generalThe highest executive officer within a governmental, statutory, NGO, third sector or not-for-profit institution. In reference to government, the executive officer below the minister of the department.
• embarrassment of richesAn abundance or overabundance of something; too much of a good thing.
• empty signifierA signifier—that is, a linguistic sign, a label or slogan—with no fixed and delimited meaning, which can therefore be interpreted in many ways and represent a range of different beliefs and aspirations.
• English diseaseFootball (soccer) hooliganism.
• English hornA woodwind instrument similar to an oboe, but larger and pitched a fifth lower.
• Errera ChannelA channel in Antarctica.
• eventerateTo rip open; to disembowel.
• exquisite corpseA collective art game in which several collaborating artists assemble a sentence or image, usually by following a prompt, or being allowed to see the only last contribution.
• extimacyIn the works of Jacques Lacan: the quality of being extimate.
• fairy balletA genre of ballet that developed in the 19th century, featuring fantasy characters and often employing technical effects.
• fairy operaA genre of opera, often with magical elements.
• fairy taleA folktale or literary story featuring fairies or similar fantasy characters.
• false friendA word in a language that bears a deceptive resemblance to a word in another language but in fact has a different meaning.
• far leftThe most radical part of the political left wing.
• farmer-generalA member of a privileged association in France, before the French Revolution, who collected duties on behalf of the king, along with bonus fees for themselves.
• far rightThe most right-wing or conservative part of a political faction or grouping.
• Fat TuesdayThe Tuesday before the onset of Lent.
• fixed ideaAn idée fixe, an obsession, a fixation.
• Flandres BayA bay of the Southern Ocean.
• flea marketAn outdoor temporary market selling inexpensive antiques, curios, etc.
• floating islandAn aggregation of driftwood and roots, or vegetation, capable of bearing soil, which floats on the surface of (bog or lake) water or is floated out from a river delta or similar.
• floating signifierA signifier—that is, a linguistic sign, a label or slogan—with a vague and variable meaning.