Time to Expand Your Vocabulary Again

Hey Everyone, it's time for your regularly scheduled dose of vocabulary! This time the words are courtesy of Jean Plaidy and The Merry Monarch's Wife. I knew ahead of time that Plaidy uses a lot of old fashioned words, and boy does she ever. I had to keep a running list as I went. So here they are, hopefully they are new to you too.

Augury – (n) the art, ability, or practice of divination

Alacrity - (n) cheerful readiness, promptness, or willingness

Temerity – (n) reckless boldness

Felicitous – (adj) well-suited for the occasion, as an action, manner, or expression

Halcyon – (adj) happy, joyful, carefree

Saturnine – (adj) sluggish in temperament, gloomy

Tessellated – (adj) arranged in or having the appearance of a mosaic

Sylvan – (adj) of, pertaining to, or inhabiting the woods

Piquant – (adj) agreeably stimulating, interesting, or attractive

Chalybeate – (adj) containing or impregnated with salts of iron, as a mineral spring or medicine

Calash – (n) a light vehicle pulled by one or two horses, seating two to four passengers, and having two or four wheels, a seat for a driver on a splashboard, and sometimes a folding top

Abstemious – (adj) sparing or moderate in eating and drinking; temperate in diet

Calumny – (n) a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something

Macula – (n) a spot or blotch, esp. on one’s skin

Insouciance – (n) lack of care or concern; indifferent

Seraglio – (n) the part of a house or palace in which the wives and concubines are secluded; harem

Curate – (n) a member of the clergy employed to assist a rector or vicar

Whew, that was a long one!




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