Word origins

• derogatoryDisparaging.
• patriarchalCharacteristic of a patriarch; venerable.
• elucidateTo make (something) lucid (“bright, luminous; also, clear, transparent”).
• ligationSomething that ties, a ligature.
• morelA true morel; any of several fungi in the genus Morchella, the upper part of which is covered with a reticulated and pitted hymenium.
• depositaryActing as the trusted recipient of a deposit.
• gonorrheaA sexually transmitted infection caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a species of bacteria (the gonococcus) that affects the mucous membrane of the genital and urinary tracts.
• proximateClose or closest; adjacent.
• HorusThe ancient Egyptian falcon-headed god of the sun, sky, war, and kingship.
• itinerantHabitually travelling from place to place.
• despicableFit or deserving to be despised; contemptible; mean.
• anathemaA ban or curse pronounced with religious solemnity by ecclesiastical authority, often accompanied by excommunication; something denounced as accursed.
• ternaryMade up of three things.
• sphincterA ringlike band of muscle that surrounds a bodily opening (such as the anus or the openings of the stomach), constricting and relaxing as required for normal physiological functioning.
• insulateTo separate, detach, or isolate.
• voluminousOf or pertaining to volume or volumes.
• littoralOf or relating to the shore, especially the seashore.
• mythosAnything transmitted by word of mouth, such as a fable, legend, narrative, story, or tale (especially a poetic tale).
• rescissionAn act of rescinding: removing, taking away, or taking back.
• captorOne who is holding a captive or captives.
• piscineOf, pertaining to, or characteristic of fish; ichthyic.
• commissaryA store primarily serving persons in an institution, most often soldiers or prisoners.
• captivateTo make (a person, an animal, etc.) a captive; to take prisoner; to capture, to subdue.
• CasselA surname.
• OrigenA male given name from Ancient Greek, of historical usage, notably borne by Origen of Alexandria, an early Church Father.
• sciaticaNeuralgia of the sciatic nerve, characterised by pain radiating down through the buttocks and the back of the thigh.
• millennialThousand-year-old; also (by extension, loosely) thousands of years old.
• bolusA round mass of something, especially of chewed food in the mouth or alimentary canal.
• liquidateSynonym of liquefy (“to make (something) into a liquid”); to liquidize.
• constrictionThe act of constricting, the state of being constricted, or something that constricts.
• armisticeA (short) cessation of combat.
• perceptibleAble to be perceived, sensed, or discerned.
• reprehensibleBlameworthy, censurable, guilty.
• evertTo turn inside out (like a pocket being emptied) or outwards.
• mandibleThe jaw or a jawbone, especially the lower jawbone in mammals and fishes.
• magnatePowerful industrialist; captain of industry.
• reticleA transparent plate marked with a crosshair, grid, or scale which is used in an optical instrument, etc., to aid in alignment, counting, or measurement of objects being observed; also, the crosshair, grid, or scale on such a plate.
• humiliateTo cause to be ashamed; to injure the dignity and self-respect of.
• subrogationSubstitution of a different person in place of a creditor or claimant with respect to certain rights and duties.
• situateTo place on or into a physical location.
• BaltAn ethnic descendant of the Indo-European Baltic people, especially including ethnic Lithuanians, Latvians or Prussians, but generally not including ethnic Belarusians, Estonians, Germans, Jews, Livonians, Poles, Russians, Swedes or Tatars who have also inhabited or currently inhabit the modern Baltic states.
• endometriumThe mucous membrane that lines the uterus in mammals and in which fertilized eggs are implanted.
• inscrutableDifficult or impossible to comprehend, fathom, or interpret.
• figmentA fabrication, fantasy, invention; something fictitious.
• nosocomialOf an infection or its cause: arising from the environment of, or treatment in, a hospital.
• inconspicuousInvisible.
• syncopeThe elision or loss of a sound from the interior of a word, especially of a vowel sound with loss of a syllable.
• irrefutableundeniable; unable to be disproved or refuted
• jugularRelating to, or located near, the neck or throat.
• reminiscenceAn act of remembering long-past experiences, especially positive or pleasant ones, often fondly.
• confectionaryRelating to, or of the nature of confections or their production.
• SaracenA member of a nomadic people from the Sinai near the Roman province of Arabia in the early centuries AD, who were specifically distinct from Arabs.
• apostateExhibiting apostasy; (from the religious viewpoint) guilty of apostasy.
• abracadabraA use of the mystical term ‘abracadabra’, supposed to work as part of a healing charm or a magical spell; any spell or incantation making use of the word.
• conchaAny shell-shaped structure
• indomitableIncapable of being subdued, overcome, or vanquished.
• dichotomousDividing or branching into two mutually exclusive pieces.
• expletiveServing to fill up, merely for effect, otherwise redundant.
• funeraryOf or relating to a funeral.
• amendatoryFor the purpose of amending or correction.
• fiducialAccepted as a fixed basis of reference.
• tabulateTo arrange in tabular form; to arrange into a table.
• ovineOf, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep; also, (not comparable) of an animal: from the genus Ovis.
• soliloquyThe act of a character speaking to themselves so as to reveal their thoughts to the audience.
• interrogativeAsking or denoting a question.
• humerusThe bone of the upper arm.
• merganserAny of various diving ducks of the genera Mergus or Lophodytes, which feed on fish and have a sharply serrated bill.
• magisterialBefitting the status or skill of a magister or master; authoritative, masterly.
• immanentNaturally part of something; existing throughout and within something; intrinsic.
• marcheseAn Italian marquis.
• albumenSynonym of egg white (“(uncountable) the clear fluid part of an egg surrounding the yolk, being mostly the protein albumin and water, which turns stiff and white when beaten or cooked; (countable) the white of a particular egg”).
• nullificationThe act of nullifying; a rendering void and of no effect, or no legal effect.
• perihelionThe point in the elliptical orbit of a comet, planet, etc., where it is nearest to the Sun.
• VitusA male given name from Latin.
• apostolateThe office, or responsibilities of an apostle.
• perfunctoryDone only or merely to conform to a minimal standard or to fulfill a protocol or presumptive duty.
• indiscretionThe quality or state of being indiscreet; lack of discretion
• exfoliateTo remove the leaves from a plant.
• auricularOf or pertaining to the ear.
• strictureA rule restricting behaviour or action.
• denotationThe act of denoting, or something (such as a symbol) that denotes
• bronchusEither of two airways, which are primary branches of the trachea, leading directly into the lungs.
• mammonThe desire for wealth personified as an evil spirit or a malign influence.
• tautologyRedundant use of words, a pleonasm, an unnecessary and tedious repetition.
• interpretableCapable of being interpreted or explained.
• defecationThe act or process of voiding feces from the bowels.
• licentiateA person who holds the academic degree of license.
• perineumThe region between the genitalia and anus.
• diaeresisA separation of one syllable (especially a vowel which is a diphthong, that is, beginning with one sound and ending with another) into two distinct syllables; distraction.
• MinorcaA domestic chicken of a certain breed originating on the island of Menorca.
• scapulaEither of the two large, flat, bones forming the back of the shoulder.
• impregnableOf a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks; impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable.
• vitrificationTurning to glass or glasslike material: the action or process of vitrifying a material: conversion into an amorphous solid free of any crystalline structure by addition or removal of heat or by mixture with an additive.
• succubusA female demon which comes to men, especially monks, in their dreams to seduce them and have sexual intercourse, drawing energy from the men to sustain themselves, often until the point of exhaustion or death.
• oblateA person dedicated to a life of religion or monasticism, especially a member of an order without religious vows or a lay member of a religious community.
• ovalbuminA glycoprotein which is the primary constituent of egg white.
• GienA commune of Loiret department, in north-central France.
• paradigmaA written pattern of inflection for parts of speech, especially organized into a tabular form.
• poplitealOf or pertaining to the popliteus (the area behind the knee).
• histrionicOf or relating to actors or acting.