Word origins

• regainTo get back; to recover possession of.
• traitAn identifying characteristic, habit or trend.
• ottomanAn upholstered sofa, without arms or a back, sometimes with a compartment for storing linen etc.
• fertileOf land, etc.: capable of growing abundant crops; productive.
• expressiveEffectively conveying thought or feeling.
• infectTo bring (the body or part of it) into contact with a substance that causes illness (a pathogen), so that the pathogen begins to act on the body; (of a pathogen) to come into contact with (a body or body part) and begin to act on it.
• obsceneOffensive to standards of decency or morality.
• impartialTreating all parties, rivals, or disputants equally; not partial; not biased.
• compressTo make smaller; to press or squeeze together, or to make something occupy a smaller space or volume.
• diffuseTo spread (something) over or through as in air, water, or other matter, especially by fluid motion or passive means.
• ratificationThe act or process of ratifying, or the state of being ratified.
• sanctionAn approval, by an authority, generally one that makes something valid.
• odeA short poetical composition proper to be set to music or sung; a lyric poem; especially, now, a poem characterized by sustained noble sentiment and appropriate dignity of style.
• factionA group of people, especially within a political organization, which expresses a shared belief or opinion different from people who are not part of the group.
• coherenceThe quality of cohering, or being coherent; internal consistency.
• DelleA female given name.
• pragmaticPractical, concerned with making decisions and actions that are useful in practice, not just theory.
• bourneA boundary; a limit.
• militantFighting or disposed to fight; belligerent, warlike.
• discourageTo extinguish the courage of; to dishearten; to depress the spirits of; to deprive of confidence; to deject.
• sultanThe holder of a secular office, formally subordinate to, but de facto the power behind the throne of, the caliph.
• viscosityThe state of being viscous.
• incapableNot capable (of doing something); unable.
• luminousEmitting light; glowing brightly; shining.
• glutenFibrin (formerly considered as one of the "animal humours").
• axiomA seemingly self-evident or necessary truth which is based on assumption; a principle or proposition which cannot actually be proved or disproved.
• conferTo grant as a possession; to bestow.
• abdomenThe fat surrounding the belly.
• lapseA temporary failure; a slip.
• punitiveInflicting punishment; punishing.
• irradiationa process of sterilization whereby radiation is passed through a bag containing food, utensils, etc., to sterilize the contents.
• vergeA rod or staff of office, e.g. of a verger.
• nomadA member of a society or class who herd animals from pasture to pasture with no fixed home.
• prosperousCharacterized by success.
• famineExtreme shortage of food in a region.
• persuasiveAble to persuade; convincing.
• palliativeServing to palliate; serving to extenuate or mitigate.
• cysticOf or pertaining to a cyst.
• perpendicularAt or forming a right angle (to something).
• bileA bitter brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow secretion produced by the liver, stored in the gall bladder, and discharged into the duodenum where it aids the process of digestion.
• eccentricNot at or in the centre; away from the centre.
• deviseTo use one’s intellect to plan or design (something).
• provocativeServing or tending to elicit a strong, often negative sentiment in another person; exasperating.
• meteorAn atmospheric or meteorological phenomenon. These were sometimes classified as aerial or airy meteors (winds), aqueous or watery meteors (hydrometeors: clouds, rain, snow, hail, dew, frost), luminous meteors (rainbows and aurora), and igneous or fiery meteors (lightning and shooting stars).
• orthogonalOf two objects, at right angles; perpendicular to each other.
• uterineOf or pertaining to the uterus.
• seductionThe act of seducing.
• allegationAn assertion, especially an accusation, not necessarily based on facts.
• immatureOccurring before the proper time; untimely, premature (especially of death).
• disparateComposed of inherently different or distinct elements; incongruous.
• disastrousOf the nature of a disaster; calamitous.
• billetA short informal letter.
• revokeTo cancel or invalidate by withdrawing or reversing.
• deitySynonym of divinity: the state, position, or fact of being a god.
• calenderA machine, used for the purpose of giving cloth, paper etc., a smooth, even, and glossy or glazed surface, by cold or hot pressure, or for watering them and giving them a wavy appearance; it consists of two or more cylinders revolving nearly in contact, with the necessary apparatus for moving and regulating.
• pedagogyThe profession of teaching.
• grammaticalNot breaching any constraints of the grammar, or morpho-syntax, of the relevant language.
• offendTo hurt the feelings of; to displease; to make angry; to insult.
• caviarRoe of the sturgeon or of certain other large fish, considered a delicacy.
• predominantCommon or widespread; prevalent.
• advantageousBeing of advantage, beneficial.
• liturgyA predetermined or prescribed set of rituals that are performed, usually by a religion; a book in which they are recorded.
• tranquilFree from emotional or mental disturbance.
• resentTo feel resentment over; to consider as an affront.
• distractionSomething that distracts.
• bruteWithout reason or intelligence (of animals).
• maneuverThe planned movement of troops, vehicles etc.; a strategic repositioning; (later also) a large training field-exercise of fighting units.
• reimburseTo compensate (someone) with payment; especially, to repay money spent on someone's behalf.
• masqueradeAn assembly or party of people wearing (usually elaborate or fanciful) masks and costumes, and amusing themselves with dancing, conversation, or other diversions.
• sereneCalm, peaceful, unruffled.
• devastationThe act of devastating, or the state of being devastated; a laying waste.
• cadenceThe act or state of declining or sinking.
• ruptureA burst, split, or break.
• hoppinghop picking, the practice of picking hops; for Londoners a holiday period working in the hop gardens of Kent.
• abolitionThe act of abolishing; an annulling; abrogation.
• specterA ghostly apparition, a phantom.
• paternityFatherhood, the state or quality of being a father.
• deceptiveLikely or attempting to deceive.
• lobeAny projection or division, especially one of a somewhat rounded form.
• eruptionA violent ejection, such as the spurting out of lava from a volcano.
• narcoticAny substance or drug that reduces pain, induces sleep and may alter mood or behaviour; in some contexts, especially in reference to the opiates-and-opioids class, especially in reference to illegal drugs, and often both.
• occupantA person who occupies an office or a position.
• syringeA device used for injecting or drawing fluids through a membrane.
• embarkTo go aboard a craft or vessel for transportation.
• PorteThe Ottoman court; (hence), the government of the Ottoman empire.
• sonnetA fixed verse form of Italian origin consisting of fourteen lines that are typically five-foot iambics and rhyme according to one of a few prescribed schemes.
• disparityThe state of being unequal; difference.
• inductiveOf, or relating to logical induction, by generalizing a universal claim or principle from the observed particular instances.
• indifferenceThe state of being indifferent.
• admissibleCapable or deserving to be admitted, accepted or allowed; allowable, permissible, acceptable.
• complicationThe act or process of complicating.
• raptureExtreme pleasure, happiness or excitement.
• nocturnalOf a person, creature, group, or species, primarily active during the night.
• harlequinA pantomime fool, typically dressed in colorful checkered clothes, used as a stock character in commedia dell'arte and other genres.
• fecalOf or relating to feces.
• CarthageAn ancient city in North Africa, in modern Tunisia.
• naturalizationThe action of naturalizing somebody; act of granting citizenship.
• atheismBelief that no deities exist (sometimes including rejection of other religious beliefs).
• perturbationAgitation; the state of being perturbed.
• aptitudeA natural ability to acquire knowledge or skill.