Word origins

• vitrumGlass; a glassy material.
• vitulineOf or pertaining to a calf or veal.
• vituperablehighly censurable; worthy of vituperation or severe censure.
• vituperateTo criticize (someone or something) in an abusive or harsh manner.
• vituperatorOne who vituperates, or censures abusively.
• VivationA form of breathwork that claims to improve wellbeing through the use of circular breathing.
• viva voceDone by word of mouth.
• vivencyliveliness, vitality, or manner of living.
• viverridAny member of the family Viverridae
• viverrineOf or pertaining to the mammals of the subfamily Viverrinae.
• vivificGiving life or vigor; reviving; enlivening.
• vivificateTo give life to; to animate or vitalise.
• vivificationThe giving of life; vitalization; animation.
• vivisepultureThe practice of burying someone alive.
• VivitronA particle accelerator in Strasbourg, France.
• vocabulariumVocabulary.
• vocalisA triangular band of muscle that is the medial part of the thyroarytenoid muscle, originates in the lamina of the thyroid cartilage, and inserts into the vocal process of the arytenoid cartilage; it lies parallel with the vocal ligament to which it is adherent and modulates the tension of the true vocal cords.
• voces magicaeMagical formulae, typically consisting of incomprehensible words or syllables, as used in ancient and early-modern amulets and magical texts.
• vociferanceVociferation; clamour, noise.
• vociferantnoisy; clamorous
• vociferateTo cry out with vehemence
• vociferationThe act of exclaiming; violent outcry; vehement utterance of the voice.
• voculeAn emphatic aspiration or burst of air.
• volcanianSynonym of volcanic, of or related to volcanoes and volcanism.
• VolcanusSynonym of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and metalwork.
• volensIn the state of mind where one voluntarily accepts a specific risk.
• volgivagantOf or pertaining to the uneducated masses.
• volitantflying; capable of flight.
• volitorialRelating to flight.
• VologaesesA male given name of historical usage, notably borne by several kings of Parthia and Armenia
• VolsceOne of the Volsci; a Volscian.
• VolsciAn ancient Italic people and culture from the first century of the Roman republic.
• VolscianOr, or relating to, the people or language of the Volsci.
• volubilitythe state of being voluble
• voluntyThe positive aspect of God, encompassing light, love, creation, etc.
• VoluptasThe Roman goddess of sensual pleasures. She is the daughter of Eros/Cupid and Psyche, and the grandaughter of Aphrodite/Venus and Ares/Mars. She is the Roman counterpart of Hedone.
• volutaAny of numerous species of large, handsome marine gastropods belonging to Voluta and allied genera.
• volutationA circular movement; a rolling, wallowing, circulation or rotation.
• volvaA cup-shaped mass at the base of various fungi.
• volvulateTo twist or form a knot: to undergo volvulus.
• volvulizeSynonym of volvulate.
• vomerThe vomer bone; the small thin bone that forms part of the septum between the nostrils.
• vomicpurulent
• vomitoriumA passage located behind a tier of seats in an amphitheatre used as an exit for the crowds
• vomitoryThe entrance into a theater or other large public venue, where masses of people are disgorged into the stands; a vomitorium
• voraginousPertaining to a whirlpool; full of whirlpools; hence, devouring.
• voragoabyss, chasm, gulf
• vorarephileA person who has vorarephilia.
• vorarephiliaA paraphilia or fetish in role-playing, involving the devouring of or being devoured by another person or creature.
• -voreAn organism, usually animal, identified by its kind of diet.
• -vorousforming adjectives with the sense of ‘habitually eating, feeding on’
• vorticelSynonym of vorticella.
• vox angelicaan organ stop giving a gentle tremolo effect; the voix céleste
• vox humanaAn organ stop having some resemblance to the human voice.
• vox populiVoice of the people.
• VulcanaliaThe Ancient Roman festival of the god Vulcan, celebrated on August 23, during which live fish or small animals were thrown into bonfires as a sacrifice.
• VulcanianOf, related to, or created by Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and metalwork, considered equivalent to the Greek Hephaestus and several German and Celtic gods.
• vulcanologyThe study of volcanoes.
• Vulgar EraSynonym of Common Era.
• vulgationThe act of spreading or promulgating among the common people.
• vulgoIn the vernacular; commonly known as.
• vulnarySynonym of vulnerary.
• vulneraryUseful or used for healing wounds; curative, healing.
• vulnerateTo wound, cause to become vulnerable.
• vulnerationThe act of wounding.
• vulnificCausing wounds.
• vulnusA wound.
• vulpicideSomeone who kills foxes other than by hunting them with hounds.
• vulpinic acidvulpic acid
• vulpinousof a reddish colour, rufous
• vulturinePertaining to or having characteristics of vultures.
• wargusAn outlaw, outcast, or exile; one driven out of society for their crimes.
• warm the cockles of someone's heartEspecially of food or drink (particularly an alcoholic beverage): to cause someone to feel deeply warm and comfortable; to comfort, to satisfy.
• watch of the nightIn Antiquity, one of four divisions of the night (each equivalent to three hours).
• Water BearerThe constellation and zodiacal sign Aquarius.
• water carrierA person who carries water from a spring or well, especially in antiquity and pre-modern era when it was a common job.
• Water ManThe constellation and zodiacal sign Aquarius.
• Water PourerThe constellation and zodiacal sign Aquarius.
• Way of the CrossA series of pictures or statues depicting the Stations of the Cross, as laid out around a church, along a road etc.
• Wendens AmboA village and civil parish in Uttlesford district, Essex, England (OS grid ref TL5136).
• wheel of fortuneA gambling or lottery device consisting of a wheel which is spun horizontally to determine, by its stopping position, whether a gambler will receive one of the prizes marked around its circumference.
• while the grass grows, the steed starvesIn the process of trying to achieve something, one's aspirations may be realized too late.
• white leadTin, golden marcasite.
• white-necked mynaStreptocitta albicollis, a common species of myna often confused for a magpie due to its coloration, endemic to Indonesia.
• white snowSynonym of zinc oxide, particularly white forms.
• widow birdAny of several species of birds in the family Viduidae, incorporating whydahs and widow finches.
• WincarnisA spiced British tonic wine, popular in Jamaica and some other former British colonies.
• wisdom toothOne of the four (one upper and one lower on each side) rearmost molars in humans, which typically develop between ages 18-24.
• with a grain of saltWith a little common sense and skepticism.
• with privilegeused to indicate a book has been legally published or is entitled to special privileges, e.g., due to a royal monopoly
• wolf's headIn mediaeval times, an outlaw; one who may be slain without judicial enquiry.
• world soulA single, unifying spirit believed by some to animate every living being in the world and to underlie the value of every inanimate thing as well.
• xanthomonadAny of the genus Xanthomonas of proteobacteria.
• xenoparityThe condition of being xenoparous.
• xenoparousOf or relating to a reproductive strategy in which a female produces offspring of a different species without a process of hybridization.
• xerocomorubinA pigment found in Boletales fungi; the oxidized form of isoxerocomic acid.
• xylospongiumA Greek and Roman utensil consisting of a sea sponge fixed to the end of a wooden stick, typically thought to have been used for anal hygiene or as a toilet brush.
• xyridAny of several North American plants, of the genus Xyris, resembling sedges.
• xystA xystus.
• xystarchThe officer in charge of a xystus in Ancient Greece.