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[lexigraphique]

zorino

n. · skunk fur

Penelope appeared to wear zorino after brushing up against fresh paint.

En español, zorrino significa skunk.

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calavera

n. · a representation of a human skull, edible or decorative, made from sugar or clay for Día de Muertos and All Souls’ Day

Ichabod painted a calavera for Katrina.

Spanish for skull.

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sagacity

[sə·GA·sə·tē]

n. · keen insight, sound judgement

Despite Oso’s promise not to eat her, Adele had the sagacity to not stick her head in his mouth.

From Latin sagax meaning of quick perception.

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inchoate

[in·KŌ·ət]

adj. · not yet fully developed

When it was time to use the facilities, the inchoate prototype’s design flaws became apparent.

From Latin inchoare meaning to commence, and literally to hitch up.

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pterippus

n. · a winged horse

Bellerophon presented a golden bridle to the pterippus at the Pierian Spring.

From Greek pteros meaning winged + hippos meaning horse. Pegasus is a pterippus. Pterodactyl means winged finger. Platypus, however, means flat footed, where the -pus is from pous meaning foot.

via Mythology, “Bellerophon Pt. 1: Justly Exiled, Unjustly Reviled”, 30 April 2019

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trypophobia

n. · a fear of holes (or irregular patterns, clusters of holes or bumps)

Alie’s trypophobia set in after she licked the toad.

Curious to find this word after listening to Ologies episode on Bufology with Priya Nanjappa. Definitely don’t visit the website and watch the video of a suriname toad giving birth.

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wamble

v. · to feel nausea; (of the stomach) to rumble or growl

The chocolate made Marcella wamble a bit at first.

Latin vomere meaning to vomit → Danish vamle meaning to become nauseated → Middle English wamlen

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gynarchy

n. · government by women

After forever years under the rule of men, Ibi dreamt of life in a gynarchy.

Opposite of androcracy and patriarchy. Same as gynecocracy and matriarchy. Latinized Proto-Indo-European roots andro (man) + gyno (woman) smash together to make androgynous.

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yeuk

[yūk]

v. · to itch

His beard was beautiful and never yeuked.

From Middle Dutch jeuken meaning to itch.

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persiflage

n. · frivolous or bantering talk, light jest

Terry did not appreciate Eric’s tongue-in-cheek persiflage.

From French per- meaning through + siffler meaning whistle.

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cria

n. · a baby alpaca, guanaco, llama or vicuña

The cria followed its mama everywhere—which is great and I’m not complaining but how about some privacy once in a while like can a llama even pee alone here?

From Spanish cría meaning baby.

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quaff

v. · to drink a beverage, esp. an intoxicating one, deeply

Jean-Marie quaffed an apéritif before each meal to fight arthritis, babesiosis, lupus and malaria.

Chug, slug, booze, carouse, wassail, gulp, guzzle, gormandize, swig, slosh, slam, soak, drain, pound and tipple.

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nuciferous

adj. · nut bearing; of or related to nuts

Henny Penny’s fateful stroll beneath a nuciferous oak wreaked panic and despair on the community.

From Latin nucis, the same root for nucleus. Though a peanut butter enthusiast may identify as a nucivor, they are actually a legumivor.

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perfidy

n. · an act of faithlessness or treachery; treason

King James I celebrated his deliverance from perfidy with a day of thanksgiving, and allowed bonfires “without any danger or disorder.”

From Latin phrase per fidem decipere, meaning to deceive through trustingness, shortened to perfidus. Funny how dropping the deception part from the expression doesn‘t alter its definition to mean the exact opposite. One must have faith in a word that denotes faithlessness. Or, perhaps the use of perfidy is an act of treason upon the English language.

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murmuration

n. · a flock formation of starlings, swifts, swallows, etc.; an emergent order in a multi-agent social system

Tahli looked forward to the vespertine murmurations of swifts every year.

From Medieval Latin murmuratio meaning grumbling. Re: birds, probably derived from the sound of the very large groups that starlings form at dusk.

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quotidian

adj. · commonplace, ordinary

Charlie’s quotidian tasks comprised basement stuff, cleaning urinals, blood stuff, your basic slimes, your sludges, anything dead or decaying…

From Latin quotus (how many?) + dies (day).

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effrickable

adj. · prone to freaking out

Her meltdown over spilt milk was the first sign of Sarah’s effrickable disposition.

Root word freak meaning a sudden and apparently causeless turn of mind.