Word origins

• pseudonymousOf or pertaining to a pseudonym.
• thermicOf, related to, or associated with heat; thermal.
• paideiaAn Athenian system of education designed to give students a broad cultural background focusing on integration into the public life of the city-state with subject matter including gymnastics, grammar, rhetoric, music, mathematics, geography, natural history, and philosophy
• DemocritusA Greek philosopher (c.460-c.370 BC). The originator of the atomic theory together with his teacher Leucippus.
• CharybdisA dangerous whirlpool on the coast of Sicily opposite Scylla on the Italian coast.
• phosgenecarbonyl chloride
• galiumAny of the genus Galium of annual and perennial herbaceous plants, including the bedstraws.
• epistaxisNosebleed.
• EsseneA member of a first-century ascetic Jewish sect in ancient Palestine from the second century BCE to the second century CE. The Essenes are believed to have been the authors of the Dead Sea scrolls.
• plutonicContaining plutonium in a higher oxidation state.
• MomusThe personification of satire and mockery.
• narthexA western vestibule leading to the nave in some Christian churches.
• noeticOf or pertaining to the mind or intellect.
• cliticA morpheme that functions like a word, but never appears as an independent word, instead being always attached to a following or preceding word (or, in some cases, within a surrounding word).
• arethusaA bog orchid, Arethusa bulbosa, sole species of the genus Arethusa, having a magenta flower; the dragon's mouth.
• necrophiliaA pathological attraction to dead bodies.
• NerissaA female given name from Ancient Greek.
• AtreusA mythological king of Mycenae and son of Pelops and Hippodamia.
• agonisticOf or relating to contests that were originally participated in by the Ancient Greeks; athletic.
• narcosisUnconsciousness caused by a drug, anaesthetic or other chemical substance.
• pneumaA neume.
• tephraThe solid material thrown into the air by a volcanic eruption that settles on the surrounding areas.
• hypospadiasA congenital condition in males in which the opening of the urethra is on the underside of the penis.
• bemaA platform from which speakers addressed an assembly.
• kyaniteA blue neosilicate mineral, Al₂SiO₅, found in metamorphic rocks.
• IphigeniaThe daughter of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra, who is sacrificed by her father to ensure the safe journey of the Greeks to Troy.
• AlpheusA river in Hades.
• AIONA Hellenistic deity associated with time, the orb or circle encompassing the universe, and the zodiac.
• ComusThe god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances, a son of Dionysus.
• damasceneInlaid with silver or gold.
• cronjobAn automated task that runs at specific intervals.
• BethanA female given name from Aramaic, variant of Bethany, transferred use of the biblical place name.
• CleonA male given name from Ancient Greek.
• myelitisInflammation of the spinal cord or of bone marrow.
• apophysisA natural outgrowth, swelling or enlargement, usually of an organism; a protuberance on a bone.
• HellespontThe strait connecting the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean Sea to the west.
• systoleThe rhythmic contraction of the heart, by which blood is driven through the arteries.
• solenA cradle, as for a broken limb.
• spireaAny of the many flowering shrubs of the genus Spiraea, that have clusters of white or pink flowers.
• chondriteA meteorite consisting of rock containing chondrules.
• CharmianA female given name from Ancient Greek.
• CelsusAn ancient Greek philosopher of the Second Century.
• HestiaThe virgin goddess of the hearth, and the household, and therefore of domestic life.
• SimonidesAncient Greek lyric poet from the island of Ceos.
• deonticPertaining to necessity, duty or obligation, or expressions conveying this.
• spathAny plant of the genus Spathiphyllum of peace lilies.
• epigraphAn inscription, especially on a building.
• HemeraThe personification and elemental goddess of the day. Her husband is Aether.
• conchologyThe study of molluscs and their shells.
• telamonA figure of a man (often Atlas) used as a pillar for support.
• catallaxyA high-interaction society of collective decision making.
• peristalsisThe coordinated, rhythmic, wavelike contraction and relaxation of smooth muscle that propels contents through a hollow organ, particularly food through the gastrointestinal tract.
• astheniaWeakness; loss of strength.
• analectsA collection of excerpts or quotes.
• enthuseTo show enthusiasm.
• metronmetre (US: meter), poetic measure
• amaltheaAn aggregation of dry fruits within a calyx which does not become fleshy, as in Alchemilla or Sanguisorba.
• achalasiaSuch obstruction in the esophagus: esophageal achalasia.
• AstyanaxThe nickname of Scamandrius, child son of Hector and Andromache.
• EuphemiaA female given name from Ancient Greek.
• melosThe melody in Ancient Greek music.
• isobarA line drawn on a map or chart connecting places of equal or constant pressure.
• icosahedronA polyhedron with twenty faces.
• etheeasy
• SoterAn honorific epithet for rulers, heroes, and gods.
• cladisticsAn approach to biological systematics in which organisms are grouped based upon synapomorphies (shared derived characteristics) only, and not upon symplesiomorphies (shared ancestral characteristics); a method of classifying organisms based on their evolutionary relationships instead of superficial characteristics.
• empyemaA collection of pus within a naturally existing anatomical cavity (as opposed to an abscess, which occurs in a newly formed cavity).
• ProtagorasA pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, who famously said "man is the measure of all things".
• tantalizeTo tease (someone) by offering or showing them something desirable but leaving them unsatisfied.
• agmaThe velar nasal consonant found in such words as song or wink.
• paresisA paralysis which is incomplete or which occurs in isolated areas.
• tetradrachmA silver coin in Ancient Greece, equivalent to four drachms.
• rhemaA spiritual communication or inspiration from God to an individual, as opposed to the universal Logos.
• pegmatiteA coarsely crystalline igneous or plutonic rock composed primarily of feldspar and quartz, normally with muscovite and/or biotite mica.
• trichotillomaniaA medical disorder where someone compulsively pulls their own hair out.
• diastoleThe phase or process of relaxation and dilation of the heart chambers, between contractions, during which they fill with blood; an instance of the process.
• coelacanthAny of the class Actinistia of primitive lobe-finned fish in the order Coelacanthiformes—thought to have been extinct for 70 million years until a living specimen was discovered in 1938. Most species are large and plump and they all have bodies covered in tough elasmoid scales that act as armor.
• delphicOf or relating to Delphi or its oracles.
• bruxismThe habit or practice of grinding the teeth, as while sleeping, or due to stress or certain drugs.
• cephalonThe head of a trilobite.
• gyneThe primary reproductive female caste of social insects (especially ants, wasps, and bees), those destined to become queens.
• atelectasisThe collapse of a part of or the whole lung caused by inner factors rather than a pneumothorax.
• stygianInfernal or hellish.
• hydatidA cyst due to infection by larvae of some species of the tapeworm Echinococcus.
• charismA power or authority, generally of a spiritual nature, believed to be a freely given gift by the Grace of God.
• PyrrhusA male given name from Ancient Greek.
• rhodochrositeA crystalline mineral composed mainly of manganese carbonate MnCO₃.
• demiurgeThe (usually benevolent) being that created the universe out of primal matter.
• homologicalHaving a shared evolutionary origin.
• demeA township or other subdivision of ancient Attica.
• HyksosA mixed group of Asiatic people from Western Asia who took over the eastern Nile Delta, ending the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt and initiating the Second Intermediate Period.
• noesisCognition, the functioning of intellect.
• hamamelisAny of the flowering plant genus Hamamelis, the witch hazels.
• plutocracyGovernment by the wealthy.
• dynamisPotentiality.
• patronymicDerived from one's father.
• thylakoida folded membrane within plant chloroplasts from which grana are made, used in photosynthesis
• dyscalculiaA learning disability characterized by significantly below average mathematical ability.
• teleostOf, or relating to the Teleostei - fish with bony skeletons.
• polygynyThe state or practice of a man having more than one wife at a time; plurality of wives; marriage between one man and multiple wives.