Word origins

• grumbleA high thundering, rumbling or growling sound.
• revocableHaving the ability of being revoked; capable of being revoked.
• genialFriendly and cheerful; enlivening.
• armatureA detachment of soldiers; soldiers collectively.
• tarragonA perennial herb, the wormwood species Artemisia dracunculus, from Europe and parts of Asia.
• refutationAn act of refuting or disproving; the disproving of an argument, opinion, testimony, doctrine or theory by argument or countervailing proof; evidence of falseness.
• sequentThat comes after in time or order; subsequent.
• gestA story or adventure; a verse or prose romance.
• pontiffA member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs; a pontifex.
• occipitalOf, pertaining to, or located within or near the occiput (back of the head) or the occipital bone.
• condenseTo concentrate toward the essence by making more close, compact, or dense, thereby decreasing size or volume.
• sprainTo weaken, as a joint, ligament, or muscle, by sudden and excessive exertion, as by wrenching; to overstrain, or stretch injuriously, but without luxation
• inimitableBeyond imitation, surpassing all others; matchless.
• tareA vetch, or the seed of a vetch (genus Vicia, esp. Vicia sativa).
• tailleA form of taxation levied on the land of peasants in pre-Revolutionary France.
• ferocityThe condition of being ferocious.
• patricianA member of any of the families constituting the populus Romanus, or body of Roman citizens, before the development of the plebeian order; later, one who, by right of birth or by special privilege conferred, belonged to the senior class of Romans, who, with certain property, had by right a seat in the Roman Senate.
• persecuteTo pursue in a manner to do harm or cruelty to; especially, because of the victim's race, sexual identity, or adherence to a particular belief.
• placketA slit or other opening in an item of clothing, to allow access to pockets or fastenings
• matinof or relating to matins
• brahminA member of the Hindu priestly caste, one of the four varnas or social groups based on occupation in ancient Hindu society.
• cedeTo give up; yield to another.
• decryTo denounce as harmful.
• desertionThe act of deserting.
• revulsionAbhorrence, a sense of loathing, intense aversion, repugnance, repulsion, horror.
• farrierA person who maintains the health and balance of horses' feet through the trimming of the hoofs and fitting of horseshoes.
• irreconcilableUnable to be reconciled; opposed; uncompromising.
• jovialCheerful and good-humoured; jolly, merry.
• sciaticOf, or relating to the ischium.
• sultanateA sovereign or vassal princely state—usually Muslim—where the ruler is styled sultan.
• transversalRunning or lying across; transverse.
• precipiceA very steep cliff.
• scuttleA container like an open bucket (usually to hold and carry coal).
• safflowerA cultivated thistle-like plant, Carthamus tinctorius, family Asteraceae, now grown mainly for its oil.
• imploreTo beg or plead for (something) earnestly or urgently; to beseech.
• scimitarA sword of Persian origin that features a curved blade.
• sortableThat can be sorted.
• frontispieceAn illustration that is on the page before the title page of a book, a section of one, or a magazine.
• disbandTo break up or (cause to) cease to exist; to disperse.
• pratiquePermission to use a port given to a ship after compliance with quarantine or on conviction that she is free of contagious disease.
• transpirationThe loss of water by evaporation in terrestrial plants, especially through the stomata; accompanied by a corresponding uptake from the roots.
• alludeTo refer to something indirectly or by suggestion; to invoke it by implication rather than mention.
• meridionallocated in the south, southern; later especially, often pertaining to the southern parts of Europe.
• vehementShowing strong feelings; passionate; forceful or intense.
• flinchA reflexive jerking away.
• despotA ruler with absolute power; a tyrant.
• seigneurA feudal lord or noble.
• ineffableBeyond expression in words; unspeakable.
• carobAn evergreen shrub or tree, Ceratonia siliqua, native to the Mediterranean region.
• patriarchateA patriarchal system or community.
• dogeThe chief magistrate in the republics of Venice and Genoa.
• inhospitableNot inclined to hospitality; unfriendly.
• salutaryEffecting or designed to effect an improvement; remedial.
• antipathyOften followed by against, between, for, or to: a (deep) feeling of dislike or repugnance, normally towards a person and less often towards a thing, often without any conscious reasoning; aversion, distaste, hostility; (countable) an instance of this.
• impostorSomeone who attempts to deceive by using an assumed name or identity.
• subterfugeAn indirect or deceptive device or stratagem; a blind. Refers especially to war and diplomatics.
• languidOf a person or animal, or their body functions: flagging from weakness, or inactive or weak, especially due to illness or tiredness; faint, listless.
• musketeerA foot soldier armed with a musket.
• explicationThe act of opening or unfolding.
• gaietyThe state of being happy or merry.
• labileLiable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize.
• WalloonA native or inhabitant of Wallonia.
• retentiveHaving power to retain.
• consignTo transfer to the custody of, usually for sale, transport, or safekeeping.
• ducalOf or pertaining to a duke, a duchess, or the duchy or dukedom they hold.
• imprudentNot prudent; lacking prudence or discretion; indiscreet; injudicious; not paying attention to the consequences of one's actions.
• sabotA wooden shoe.
• predisposeTo make someone susceptible to something (such as a disease).
• coalescenceThe act of coalescing.
• laxityThe state of being lax; looseness, lack of tension.
• membranousHaving the qualities of, or pertaining to, a membrane.
• acquiesceTo rest satisfied, or apparently satisfied, or to rest without opposition and discontent (usually implying previous opposition or discontent); to accept or consent by silence or by omitting to object.
• abrogationA repeal by authority; abolition.
• pedantA person who makes an excessive or tedious show of their knowledge, especially regarding rules of vocabulary and grammar.
• affectationAn attempt to assume or exhibit what is not natural or real; false display; artificial show.
• peonA lowly person; a peasant or serf; a labourer who is obliged to do menial work.
• obfuscateTo make dark; to overshadow.
• chapeauA hat.
• invectiveAn expression which inveighs or rails against a person.
• evinceTo show or demonstrate clearly; to manifest.
• insubstantialLacking substance; not real or strong.
• dementDemented.
• quietudeSynonym of quietness (“absence of sound”)
• courtesanA female prostitute, especially one with high-status or wealthy clients.
• imputeTo attribute or ascribe (responsibility or fault) to a cause or source.
• capuchinA monk in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin; (generally) a Franciscan.
• nullityThe state of being null, or void, or invalid.
• adulterationThe process of adulterating.
• reticenceAvoidance of saying or reluctance to say too much; discretion, tight-lippedness; (countable) an instance of acting in this manner.
• iambicConsisting of iambs (metrical feet with an unstressed–stressed pattern) or characterized by their predominance.
• turpitudeInherent baseness, depravity or wickedness; corruptness and evilness.
• frugalityThe quality of being frugal; prudent economy.
• analogicOf or pertaining to analogy.
• desiccationThe state or process of being desiccated.
• opineTo express an opinion; to state as an opinion; to suppose, consider (that).
• gutturalOf, relating to, or connected to the throat.
• detestableStimulating disgust or detestation; offensive; shocking.
• decoupleTo unlink; to take apart or come apart.
• dowagerA widow holding property or title derived from her late husband.
• ignobleNot noble; plebeian; common.