Civilisation/Words

A

Abasia – inability to walk

Abaya – a loose robe covering most of the body, worn in Saudi Arabia

Abecedarius – a special type of acrostic in which the first letter of every word follows the order of the letters in the alphabet

Ablutophobia – fear of washing

Absolution – remission of sins

Abstemious – eating and drinking in moderation

Accolade – an embrace formerly used in conferring knighthood

Achluphobia – fear of darkness

Achromatopsia – the inability to see colour

Acre – the amount of ground an ox could plough in a day

Acrophobia – fear of heights

Acrostic – a poem or other form of writing in an alphabetic script, in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message

Acrylic – a clear plastic used as a binder in paint and as a casting material in sculpture

Adjunct – an optional part of a sentence, clause, or phrase that, if removed or discarded, will not otherwise affect the remainder of the sentence

Adobe – a sun-dried, unburned brick of clay and straw

Adonism – a Neopagen religion that reveres Adonis

Adumbrate – to outline

Advertorial – an advertisement written in the form of an objective opinion editorial, and presented in a printed publication

Advocate – a barrister in Scotland

Aedile – an elected official of ancient Rome who was responsible for public works and games and who supervised markets, the grain supply, and the water supply

Aegrotat – an unclassified university degree granted to a candidate who is prevented by illness from attending examinations

Aeolipile – a rocket-like jet engine invented in the first century by Hero of Alexandria. It is considered to be the first recorded steam engine and reaction steam turbine

Aestivation – summer hibernation

Affidavit – a written declaration made under oath

Affinity – related by marriage

Affirmation – taken by people who cannot swear on oath for religious reasons

Affluenza – an extreme form of materialism resulting from the excessive desire for material goods

Afghan – a knitted or crocheted woollen blanket

Afrofuturism – a cultural movement that uses science fiction and fantasy to reimagine the history of the African diaspora

Afterburner – a device for augmenting the thrust of a jet engine by burning additional fuel with the uncombined oxygen in the exhaust gases

Aftermath – a new growth of grass following one or more mowings

Aibohphobia – fear of palindromes

Agister – someone who looks after New Forest ponies. To agist is, in English law, to take cattle to graze, for remuneration

Agitprop – agitation and propaganda used to educate people after 1917 Russian Revolution

Agnosia – the inability to process sensory information

Agnosticism – a denial of knowledge about whether there is or is not a God

Agora – the public open space that formed the heart of ancient Greek cities

Agoraphobia – fear of public places

Ague – fever in which sufferer feels alternately hot and cold

Aichmophobia – fear of needles and other pointed or sharp objects

Ailurophile – a cat-lover

Ailurophobia – fear of cats

Alb – a white vestment worn by clergy and servers in some Christian churches

Alektorophobia – fear of chickens

Alethiometer – device which measures the truth. Featured in The Golden Compass

Algophobia – fear of pain

Algorave – an event where people dance to music generated from algorithms, often using live coding techniques

Alkaloid – a naturally occurring chemical compound

Allegory – word with an alternative symbolic meaning. For example, an eagle can represent the abstract concept of ‘freedom,’ a witch can represent ‘evil’

Allegory – fable: a short moral story (often with animal characters)

Allision – the striking of one ship by another

Alliterate – a person who can read, but chooses not to do so

Alliteration – when a number of words begin with the same letter, e.g. Peter Piper Picked

Allometry – the study of the relationship of body size to shape, anatomy, physiology and behaviour

Alloy – a mixture or solid solution composed of a metal and another element

Allusion – a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, a place, event, literary work, myth, or work of art, either directly or by implication

Almoner – an official in a hospital who looks after the social and material needs of the patients

Altimetry – the measurement of altitude

Altruism – the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others; behavior of an animal that benefits another at its own expense

Ambigram – a visually symmetrical word. When flipped, it remains unchanged

Ambit – an extravagant initial demand made in expectation of a counter-offer

Amenuenis – a literary assistant, in particular one who takes dictation or copies manuscripts

Amethyst – purple or violet form of transparent quartz used as a gemstone. Means ‘not intoxicating’

Ammonite – the coiled, flat, chambered fossil shell of an extinct cephalopod mollusc, named after the Egyptian god Ammon

Amortisation – the process of decreasing, or accounting for, an amount over a period

Anamorphosis – a distorted image where the viewer must use special devices or be in a specific place to see the image undistorted, e.g. the skull in the painting The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein

Animadvert – to criticize

Aphonia – loss of voice

Amphora / Ampulla – a two-handled pottery jar with a narrow neck used by the ancient Greeks and Romans to carry liquids, especially wine and oil

Ampoule – a small, sealed glass capsule containing a liquid, especially a measured quantity ready for injecting

Anabasis – a large-scale military advance, specifically the Greek mercenary expedition across Asia Minor in 401 BCE

Anadem – a wreath for the head; a garland

Anadrome – a word which forms a different word when spelled backwards. Portmanteau of anagram and palindrome

Anaglypta – wallpaper designed to be painted over

Analogous – structures which perform similar functions but have different evolutions, e.g the wing (see homologous)

Anaphora – the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses e.g. “every day, every night, in every way, I am getting better”

Anathema – something or someone that is detested or shunned, or a formal excommunication

Andabatae – gladiators who fought with helmets with no eye holes

Angelica – licorice flavored stalks from the Angelica plants are candied and used primarily in pastry making. Angelica is also used to flavor liqueurs

Angelus – a devotional prayer in the Roman Catholic Church at morning, noon, and night to commemorate the Annunciation

Anglish – linguistic purism in the English language. A movement that promotes using words of native (Anglic, West Germanic) origin

Aniline – oil-based solvent (quick drying) used in the preparation process of dyes and inks

Anime – a style of animation characterised by colourful art, futuristic settings, violence and sex

Anisotropy – having properties that differ according to the direction of measurement, e.g. conductivity

Anneal – heat (metal or glass) and allow it to cool slowly, in order to remove internal stresses and toughen it

Annual – a plant that flowers and dies within a period of one year from germination

Annunciation – the revelation to Mary, the mother of Jesus by the archangel Gabriel that she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God

Anodyne – capable of soothing or eliminating pain

Anomie – social disorder. Term coined by Emile Durkheim

Anosmic – relating to an impairment or loss of the sense of smell

Anoxia – a total decrease in the level of oxygen; an extreme form of hypoxia

Anthropoid – resembling a human being in form

Anthropometry – the study of human body measurement for use in anthropological classification and comparison

Anthroponomy – the study of anthroponyms, the proper names of human beings

Anthroposophy – a system of beliefs and practice based on the teachings of Rudolph Steiner and maintaining that by correct training and personal discipline one can attain experience of the spiritual world

Anthropothegy – cannibalism

Antimacassar – a piece of cloth put over the back of a chair to protect it from grease and dirt or as an ornament

Antinomy – contradiction or opposition, especially between two laws or rules. Used in the philosophy of Kant

Antioxidant – a chemical compound or substance that inhibits oxidation

Antipenultimate – last but two

Antipodal – opposite point on a sphere

Antonyms – word pairs that are opposite in meaning, e.g. fast and slow

Apercu – a witty comment

Apocryphal – of questionable authorship or authenticity

Aphonic – having no voice or sound; mute

Aphorism – a tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion; an adage

Apologue – an allegorical narrative usually intended to convey a moral

Apoplectic – furious

Aposematism – most commonly known in the context of warning colouration, describes a family of antipredator adaptations where a warning signal is associated with the unprofitability of a prey item to potential predators

Apostasy – the state of having rejected your religious beliefs or your political party or a cause (often in favour of opposing beliefs or causes)

Apostle spoon – has an image of an apostle or other Christian religious figure as the termination of the handle

Applique – material is cut out and sewn, embroidered or pasted onto another material

Apse – a semicircular recess in a church covered with a hemispherical vault

Aptonym – (or aptronym) a name aptly suited to its owner, e.g. Chip Beck

Aquafaba – the liquid from canned chickpeas. Used as an egg substitute in vegan recipes

Aquaponics – a sustainable food production system that combines a traditional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment

Arabesque – a form of artistic decoration consisting of plant tendrils, leaves and flowers, common in Islamic art

Arbitrage – the purchase of securities on one market for immediate resale on another market in order to profit from a price discrepancy

Arcadia – an image or idea of life in the countryside that is believed to be perfect

Arctophile – a collector of teddy bears

Argot – the jargon or slang of a particular group or class

Arguido – a named suspect in Portugal

Artwashing – the gentrification of areas by the arrival of art galleries

Aruthophobia – fear of blushing

Aryan – Indo-Iranian. A member of the people who spoke the parent language of the Indo-European languages

Asana – a yoga posture in which a practitioner sits

Asceticism – a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various worldly pleasures, often with the aim of pursuing spiritual goals

Ashram – a religious hermitage

Assegai – a spear used by Zulu warriors

Assemblage – making three-dimensional or two-dimensional artistic compositions by putting together found objects

Assonance – repetition of similar vowels in the stressed syllables of successive words, e.g. Do you like blue?

Astraphobia – fear of thunder and lightning

Astrolabe – a historical astronomical instrument used by classical astronomers and astrologers. It was the chief navigational instrument until the invention of the sextant in the 18th century

Astrometry – the branch of astronomy that deals with the measurement of the position and motion of celestial bodies

Astrophobia – fear of thunder and lightning. Also known as brontophobia

Astrophysics – the branch of astronomy concerned with the physical and chemical properties of celestial bodies

Astroturfing – political, advertising or public relations campaigns that are designed to mask the sponsors of the message to give the appearance of coming from a disinterested, grassroots participant

Atavism – the tendency to revert to ancestral type

Atrium – a rectangular court

Atropine – alkaloid extracted from Deadly Nightshade, named after Atropos, the Fate who chose how a person was to die

Aubade – a love song or poem performed in the morning

Augury – the practice from ancient Roman religion of interpreting omens from the observed flight of birds

Aumbry – a cabinet in the wall of a Christian church or in the sacristy which was used to store chalices and other vessels

Auscultation – the action of listening to sounds from the heart, lungs, or other organs, typically with a stethoscope

Autarchy – economic independence as a national policy

Auteur – a filmmaker whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp

Autoclave – a pressure chamber used to carry out industrial processes requiring elevated temperature and pressure different from ambient air pressure. Used to sterilize equipment

Autocracy – government by one individual

Autological – a word (also called homological word) is a word expressing a property which it also possesses itself (e.g., the word ‘short’ is short. The opposite is a heterological word; one that does not apply to itself (e.g., ‘long’ is not long)

Autophobia – fear of isolation

Auroch – large, extinct type of cattle, originally prevalent in Europe

Autarky – the quality of being self-sufficient. Usually the term is applied to political states or their economic systems. The latter are called closed economies

Autodidactism – self-directed learning

Avuncular – like an uncle in kindness or indulgence

Axilla – armpit

Axiology – philosophical study of value

Axiom – a self-evident or universally recognized truth; a maxim

B

Backburning – lighting small fires to keep a larger fire under control

Backdraft – situation when a fire that has absorbed all available oxygen explodes suddenly when more oxygen is introduced, e.g. by opening a door

Backronym or bacronym – a phrase constructed after the fact to make an existing word or words into an acronym

Badinage – banter

Bailiwick – the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff. The term survives in administrative usage in the Channel Islands, which for administrative purposes are grouped into the two bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey

Bajans – inhabitants of Barbados

Bakelite – a mouldable plastic invented by Leo Baekeland in 1909. It was used in jewellery extensively during the US Great Depression of the 1930's

Balconing – an activity that involves jumping from a balcony towards a swimming pool

Baldachin – a canopy of state over an altar or throne

Baldric – a belt worn over one shoulder that is typically used to carry a weapon (usually a sword)

Ballista – a device, resembling a large mounted crossbow, used in ancient warfare to hurl heavy stones and similar missiles

Baluster – a single leg, spindle, or post

Balustrade – several balusters connected to form a decorative railing

Banderilla – a decorated barbed dart that is thrust into the bull's neck or shoulder muscles by a banderillero in a bullfight

Bang – a fringe

Banlieue – suburb of a city

Banjolele – a four-stringed musical instrument with a small banjo-type body and a fretted ukulele neck. Played by George Formby

Banquette – a long bench with an upholstered seat

Bard – the winner of a prize for Welsh verse at an Eisteddfod

Banshee – a female spirit in Gaelic folklore whose appearance or wailing warns a family that one of them will soon die

Bantustan – a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia), as part of the policy of apartheid

Barette – a hair-slide

Bargello – a type of needlepoint embroidery consisting of upright flat stitches laid in a mathematical pattern to create motifs

Barista – a person who prepares and serves coffee

Barograph – a recording instrument that provides a continuous trace of air pressure variation with time

Bassinet – a helmet, in heraldry

Bast – fibrous material from the phloem of a plant, used as fibre in matting, cord, etc.

Bastinado – beating the soles of the feet

Bathos – a ludicrous descent from the sublime to the ridiculous

Bathymetry – the measurement of depth of water in oceans, seas, or lakes

Batik – a method of printing patterns on cloth, in which wax is put on the cloth before it is put in the dye

Beam – of a ship is its width at the widest point

Beatboxing – a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines

Beatification – a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven. A stage in the process of canonization

Bedlam – name comes from the lunatic asylum of St Mary of Bethlehem, in London

Beeswax – the yellow to grayish-brown wax secreted by the honeybee for constructing honeycombs

Beguine – popular ballroom dance in St Lucia and Martinique

Bellwether – placing a bell around the neck of a castrated ram (a wether) leading the flock of sheep

Beltway – American word for ring road

Benchmark – surveyor’s mark cut in a rock

Benediction – a short prayer for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service.

Bey – a Turkish title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders or rulers in the Ottoman Empire

Bezoar – a mass found trapped in the gastrointestinal system

Bhang – an edible preparation of cannabis originating from India

Biannual – occurring twice a year

Bicameralism – the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers

Bicorne – Napoleon hat

Biennial – occurring every two years

Biga – two-horse chariot

Bigot – a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own

Bilking – making off without payment

Bimestrial – occurring once every two months

Bijouterie – a collection of trinkets or jewellery

Binge-watching – the practice of watching television for longer time spans than usual, usually of a single television show

Biodiesel – a fuel that is similar to diesel fuel and is derived from usually vegetable sources (as soybean oil)

Bioethanol – a biofuel derived from the fermentation of sugars from cereals or sugar-producing plants. In the European Union, bioethanol can be blended with gasoline in a proportion of up to 5%

Biometrics – the technique of studying physical characteristics of a person such as finger prints, hand geometry, eye structure or voice pattern

Bionics – (also known as biomimicry, biomimetics) is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology

Biopsy – the removal and examination of a sample of tissue from a living body for diagnostic purposes

Biltong – dried and salted meat in South Africa

Biotope – synonymous with habitat

Bindi – red sticker worn on forehead by Hindu women

Bindle – the bag, sack, or carrying device stereotypically used by American hobos

Biogenesis – the process of life forms producing other life forms, e.g. a spider lays eggs, which develop into spiders

Birching – a corporal punishment with a birch rod, typically applied to the recipient's bare buttocks

Biretta – a square cap with three or four ridges or peaks, sometimes surmounted by a tuft, traditionally worn by Roman Catholic clergy. There are different colours, according to rank

Blackdamp – a noncombustible carbon dioxide mixture occurring as a mine gas

Black Knight – someone who makes a hostile takeover approach for a company

Blanching – putting food items in boiling water for a short time

Blessed – someone who has gone through beatification

Bletting – over-ripening of fruit

Blobject – a design product, often a household object, distinguished by smooth flowing curves, bright colors, and an absence of sharp edges

Blowout – the uncontrolled release of crude oil and/or natural gas from an oil well or gas well after pressure control systems have failed

Blue on Blue – friendly fire

Bocage – a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture, with tortuous side-roads and lanes bounded on both sides by banks surmounted with high thick hedgerows limiting visibility. During the Battle of Normandy bocage made fighting and forward progress against entrenched opposition extremely difficult

Bodega – a small Hispanic shop selling wine and groceries

Bodging – a traditional wood-turning craft, using green (unseasoned) wood to make chair legs

Bodhran – Irish drum

Bogan – Australian slang for an uncouth or unsophisticated person regarded as being of low social status

Bonanza – a rich vein of precious ore

Boreal – of the north or northern regions

Borsalino – a type of felt hat

Boscage – a mass of trees or shrubs; a thicket

Bossa nova – a style of popular Brazilian music derived from the samba but with more melodic and harmonic complexity and less emphasis on percussion

Bothy – a small Scottish cottage

Botnet – a large number of compromised computers that are used to create and send spam or viruses or flood a network with messages as a denial of service attack. Short for ‘robot network’. Also called a ‘zombie army’

Botox – commercial name for botulinum, a powerful toxin that causes botulism

Botryoidal – shaped like a bunch of grapes

Bowdlerise – remove material that is considered improper or offensive. Named after Thomas Bowdler, who published an expurgated version of Shakespeare’s plays

Bower – a place enclosed by overhanging boughs of trees or by vines on a trellis

Bower – heaviest anchor of a ship

Bowline – type of knot used to form a fixed loop at the end of a rope

Bowser – mobile water dispenser

Bowsprit – a spar projecting from the bow of a vessel

Boyar – a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes, from the 10th century through the 17th century

Brachial – of the arm

Brachiate – move by using the arms to swing from branch to branch

Braggadocio – boasting or arrogant behavior

Braising – slow cooking of inexpensive cuts of meat

Brake horsepower – power needed to stop an engine

Brassard – or armlet, is an armband or piece of cloth or other material worn around the upper arm, used as an item of military uniform to which rank badges may be attached instead of being stitched into the actual clothing

Breastsummer – in timber-building, a beam in the outward part of the building, and the middle floors, (not in the garrets or ground floors) into which the girders are framed. In the inner parts of a building, such beams are called ‘summers’

Bridge – a device for supporting the strings on a stringed instrument and transmitting the vibration of those strings to some other structural component of the instrument

Brindisi – drinking songs in operas

Brindled – tawny or greyish with streaks or spots of a different colour

Brocade – a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and with or without gold and silver threads

Broch – an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland

Bromatology – the study of food

Broch – an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland

Bronco – an untrained horse or one that habitually bucks

Brony – a male who watches My Little Pony

Brumby – free-roaming feral horse in Australia

Brunoise – vegetables cut into cubes

Brushing – stealing identities to give false reviews

Bruxism – grinding of the teeth

Bryology – the branch of botany concerned with the scientific study of bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts)

Buccal – of or relating to the cheeks or the mouth cavity

Buckler – a type of shield

Bucolic – a short poem descriptive of rural or pastoral life

Buckram – coarse cotton fabric heavily sized with glue, used for stiffening garments and in bookbinding

Bulla – papal seal, hence papal documents are called papal bulls

Bumsters – low-cut trousers

Bunnet – a flat cap

Bunraku – a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in 1684

Bunyip – (usually translated as ‘devil’ or spirit’) is a mythical creature from Australian folklore

Buoyancy – the phenomenon (discovered by Archimedes) that an object less dense than a fluid will float in the fluid

Bureaucracy – government by clerks

Burgee – the name of the distinguishing flag, regardless of its shape, of a recreational boating organization

Burh – Anglo-Saxon name for a fortified town or other defended site, such as a hill fort

Burka – a loose garment (usually with veiled holes for the eyes) worn by Muslim women

Burkini – Muslim swimsuit

Burlesque – a parody

Bustle – a type of framework used to expand the fullness or support the drapery of the back of a woman's dress

Byssus – both the silky filaments by which certain bivalve molluscs attach themselves to hard surfaces, and a rare fabric, also called sea silk made from that fibre source

C

Cabal – a small group of secret plotters, as against a government or person in authority. The term took on its present meaning from a group of ministers of King Charles II

Caballero – Spanish gentleman

Cabana – a cabin, hut, or shelter, especially one at a beach or swimming pool

Cacophony – a harsh discordant mixture of sounds

Cabotage – the right to operate sea, air, or other transport services within a particular territory

Cadency – any systematic way of distinguishing similar coats of arms belonging to members of the same family

Cadre – a key group of officers and enlisted personnel necessary to establish and train a new military unit

Caduceus – a short herald's staff entwined by two serpents in the form of a double helix, and sometimes surmounted by wings. Carried by Hermes

Cakewalk – a dance developed from the ‘Prize Walks’ held in the late 19th century, generally at get-togethers on slave plantations in the Southern United States

Caesura – a complete stop in a line of poetry

Calcography – the art of engraving on copper or brass

Calends – the first days of each month of the Roman calendar

Calico – a plain-woven textile made from unbleached and often not fully processed cotton

Caliph – a leader of Islam; the title literally means the successor to Mohammed

Calisthenics – systematic rhythmic bodily exercises performed usually without apparatus

Callipygous – having well-shaped buttocks

Caloptrics – the science of manipulating light using mirrors

Calumet – a ceremonial smoking pipe used by some Native American Nations. Known as a ‘peace pipe’

Calumny – defamation

Calx – a residual substance, sometimes in the form of a fine powder, that is left when a metal or mineral combusts

Cam – an eccentric or multiply curved wheel mounted on a rotating shaft, used to produce variable or reciprocating motion

Camber – 1. to bend or curve upward in the middle. 2. the angle between the plane of a wheel and the vertical

Campanile – a bell tower not attached to main building

Canard – a small winglike projection attached to an aircraft forward of the main wing to provide extra stability or control

Candlewick – a soft cotton embroidery yarn

Canicross – cross country running with dogs

Cannula – a small tube for insertion into the body to draw off fluid or to introduce medication

Canon – a priest who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule

Canonization – the act of admitting a deceased person into the canon of saints

Canophile – a dog lover

Cant – a secret language used only by members of a group

Canticle – a hymn taken from the bible

Cantor – an ecclesiastical officer leading liturgical music in several branches of the Christian church

Capacitance – an electrical phenomenon whereby an electric charge is stored

Capellmeister – the musical director in royal or ducal chapel; a choir-master

Capon – a rooster or cockerel that has been castrated

Capotain – a tall-crowned, narrow-brimmed, slightly conical hat, usually black. Associated with Puritan costume in England in the years leading up to the Civil War

Carpology – the study of fruits and seeds

Caprine – of, relating to, or characteristic of a goat

Caravel – a small, highly manoeuverable, two or three-masted ship used by the Portuguese and Spanish for long voyages of exploration from the 15th century

Careen – to put (a ship or boat) on a beach especially in order to clean, caulk, or repair the hull

Caricature – a representation of a person that is exaggerated for comic effect

Carolean, Caroline – refers to reign of Charles I and Charles II

Cartogram – a map on which statistical information is shown in diagrammatic form

Cartophilist – a person who collects cigarette cards

Cartouche – an oval which was drawn to contain the hieroglyphs that spelt out a king's or queen's name

Castell – a human tower built traditionally in festivals at many locations within Catalonia

Catafalque – the platform on which a person who has died rests before their funeral, usually while they are lying in a coffin

Catechism – a Christian doctrinal manual often in the form of questions followed by answers to be memorized

Caterwauling – the shrieking and yowling made by a cat, for example when it is on heat or fighting

Catfishing – a type of deceptive activity where a person creates a sockpuppet social networking presence

Catharsis – the process of releasing emotions

Cathedra – a bishop’s chair or throne

Caucus – a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement

Cauterization – sealing wounds by heating or freezing

Caveat – caution: a warning against certain acts

Cay – a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs

Celadon – a term for ceramics denoting both a type glaze, and a ware of a specific jade-green colour, also called celadon

Celerity – very fast motion

Cereology – study of crop circles

Ceromancy – fortune telling by inspection of dripping wax

Ceroplastics – modelling in wax

Cerulean – a sky-blue colour

Chad – a derogatory slang term referring to a young urban white man, typically single and in his 20s or 30s. Originated in Chicago. The female counterpart is the ‘Trixie’

Chador – loose black robe covering most of the body, worn in Iran

Chandler – a candle maker

Charcoal – a black, porous, carbonaceous material, 85 to 98 % carbon, produced by the destructive distillation of wood

Centuria – consisted of originally 100, later 80, men distributed along 10 contubernia. Each contubernium lived at the same tent

Chamfer – a transitional edge between two faces of an object

Changeling – the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or legendary creature that has been exchanged for a human child

Chantry – a chapel founded by endowments from a benefactor

Chapters – canons who administer a cathedral

Charivari – a French folk custom in which the community gave a noisy, discordant mock serenade, also pounding on pots and pans, at the home of newlyweds

Chasuble – a long sleeveless vestment worn by a priest when celebrating Mass

Chattel – personal property

Chemtrail – contrail-like cloud that contains toxic chemicals left by aircraft

Chemise – a woman's loose-fitting, shirtlike undergarment

Cheroot – a cylindrical cigar with both ends clipped during manufacture

Chessel – a press used to make cheese

Cheugy – Internet neologism that means ‘the opposite of trendy’ or ‘trying too hard’

Chevauchee – a raiding method of medieval warfare for weakening the enemy, focusing mainly on wreaking havoc, burning and pillaging enemy territory

Chiasmus – the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point, e.g. ‘...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country’

Chickenhawk – epithet used in the United States to criticize a politician, bureaucrat, or commentator who strongly supports a war or other military action, but has never personally been in a war

Chignon – a popular type of French bun hairstyle

Chillaxing – a state of ultimate chill and relaxation

Chimenea – a freestanding earthenware or metal fireplace

Chine – a steep-sided river valley where the river flows through coastal cliffs to the sea

Chinoiserie – the imitation or evocation of Chinese motifs and techniques in Western art, furniture, and architecture

Chintz – a cotton fabric, usually glazed and often printed in bright patterns

Chionophobia – fear of snow

Chiromancy – palm reading

Chiroptophobia – fear of bats

Chitin – a tough semitransparent horny substance; the principal component of the exoskeletons of arthropods and the cell walls of certain fungi

Chitting – a method of preparing potatoes or other tubers for planting. Most of the sprouting parts are removed, leaving the strongest growths only

Chorophobia – fear of dancing

Chortle – to chuckle. Coined by Lewis Carroll

Chrometophobia – fear of money

Chryselephantine – the sculptural medium of gold and ivory

Chrysopoeia – turning base metals into gold, in alchemy

Chthonic – pertains to deities or spirits of the underworld

Chugger – a charity street collector

Chullo – an Andean style of hat with earflaps

Chuppah – a canopy under which a Jewish couple stand during their wedding ceremony

Churlish – rude

Cist – a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead

Claymore – a broadsword formerly used by Scottish Highlanders, typically double-edged

Cleat – 1. a T-shaped piece of metal or wood on a boat or ship, to which ropes are attached. 2. a protrusion on the sole of a shoe or on an external attachment to a shoe that provides additional traction on a soft or slippery surface

Clemmed – starving

Clepsydra – a water clock

Clerihew – a whimsical, four-line biographical poem invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley

Cleromancy – divination that produces random numbers

Cliometrics – the systematic application of economic theory, econometric techniques, and other formal or mathematical methods to the study of history

Clough – a type of ravine

Cicerone – an archaic term for a guide

Circumlocution – using many words when only a few are needed

Claque – a group of people hired to applaud a performer or public speaker

Cloisonne – enamelware in which coloured areas are separated by thin metal strips

Cloister – a covered walk with an open colonnade on one side, running along the walls of buildings that face a quadrangle

Cloy – disgust or sicken (someone) with an excess of sweetness, richness, or sentiment

Clue – a ball of yarn etc, used to trace a path through a maze (as in the Greek myth of Theseus in the Labyrinth)

Coasteering – exploring the coast by swimming, jumping and climbing cliffs

Cockatrice – a mythical beast, essentially a two-legged dragon or serpent-like creature with a rooster's head

Cochleate – spiral or twisted like a snail shell

Codex – a manuscript volume, especially of a classic work or of the Scriptures

Cognomen – a nickname

Cohort – 480 infantrymen. Divided into six centuries of 80 men, each commanded by a centurion

Colloquial – characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation

Colonnade – a series of evenly spaced columns

Colophon – a brief statement containing information about the publication of a book. A colophon may also be emblematic or pictorial in nature

Colporteur – old bible seller

Columbarium – a place for the respectful and usually public storage of urns

Compline – the final church service (or Office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours

Compote – a dessert of stewed fruits

Concordance – an alphabetical list of the principal words used in a book or body of work, with their immediate contexts

Concretion – the act or process of concreting into a mass; coalescence

Condenser – a piece of laboratory glassware used to cool hot vapours or liquids

Condign – (of punishment or retribution) appropriate to the crime or wrongdoing; fitting and deserved

Condominium – rule of a territory by two or more states

Coney – a rabbit

Confabulation – filling in of gaps in memory through the creation of false memories

Consanguinity – related by blood

Consecotaleophobia – fear of chopsticks

Consigliere – member of a Mafia family who serves as an advisor to the boss

Consonance – a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable (at rest), as opposed to a dissonance

Consul – the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. New consuls were elected every year. There were two consuls and they ruled together by mutual consensus

Contemnor – a person who commits contempt of court

Conterminous – sharing a common boundary

Contessa – an Italian countess

Contingent Legacy – in a will, a bequest that takes place only if a specific event takes place

Contranym – a word having two meanings that contradict one another, e.g. finished

Contretemps – an unforeseen event that disrupts the normal course of things; an inopportune occurrence. Term originally used in fencing

Contusion – a bruise

Conurbation – an extended urban area. Coined as a neologism in 1915 by Patrick Geddes in his book Cities In Evolution

Convection – the transfer of heat through a fluid (liquid or gas) caused by molecular motion

Convocation – a large formal assembly of people, also an assembly of the clergy of part of a diocese

Coombe – a steep-sided valley

Cope – a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp

Coping – the capping or covering of a wall

Copita – tulip-shaped sherry glass

Copoclephilist – a collector of keyrings

Copra – the kernel of a coconut used to extract coconut oil

Coprolalia – involuntary swearing

Coprolite – fossilized animal dung

Copyleft – putting a program into the public domain and choosing not to enforce any copyright on the program. Formerly known as GPL (general public license)

Corbel – a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any extra weight

Cordilera – an extensive chain of mountains or mountain ranges, especially the principal mountain system of a continent or large island

Cordwainer – a shoemaker

Cordite – a smokeless explosive made from nitrocellulose, nitroglycerine, and petroleum jelly

Corniche – a road on the side of a cliff or mountain, with the ground rising on one side of the road and falling away on the other

Corniculate – horn-shaped

Cornrows – a style of hair braiding in which the hair is braided very close to the scalp

Cornucopia – or horn of plenty, is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce

Corollary – a proposition that follows with little or no proof required from one already proven

Corpsing – theatrical slang for unintentionally breaking character by laughing

Corsage – a bouquet of flowers worn on a woman's dress or worn around her wrist

Cortege – a funeral procession or a train of attendants

Cortisol – hormone produced principally in response to physical or psychological stress and secreted by the adrenal glands

Corvus – a Roman military boarding device used in naval warfare during the First Punic War against Carthage. Gangplank with a spike that was designed to pierce the enemy ship's deck when the boarding-bridge was lowered

Cosmogeny – any scientific theory concerning the coming into existence (or origin) of either the cosmos (or universe), or the so-called ‘reality’ of sentient beings

Cosset – a lamb reared by hand, which then becomes a family pet

Cotillion – a type of patterned social dance that originated in France in the 18th century. It was originally made up of four couples in a square formation, the forerunner of the quadrille

Cougar – a woman over 40 who pursues younger men

Coulrophobia – fear of clowns

Coulter – a cutting tool attached to a plough

Countersinking – process of making a cone shaped enlargement at the entrance of a hole

Coven – a group of witches

Covenant – a solemn agreement to engage in or refrain from a specified action. It is commonly found in religious contexts, where it refers to sacred agreements between a god and human beings

Coverture – refers to a woman’s legal status during marriage

Cowling – the removable cover of a vehicle engine

Cowrie – type of sea snail. Shells of certain species have historically been used as currency and jewellery in several parts of the world

Craftivism – the activity of using crafts to try to achieve political or social change

Crankshaft – is used in a piston engine to convert linear piston motion into rotational motion

Crannog – Gaelic for a dwelling built on an artificial island

Crapulent – suffering from excessive eating or drinking

Cravat – necktie worn by Croatian mercenaries in the service of France

Craven – cowardly

Creationism – a religious belief that humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe were created in their original form by a deity or deities (often the Abrahamic God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam), whose existence is presupposed

Creel – large wicker basket, used for fish

Creep – the tendency of a solid to undergo gradual deformation under stress

Cremains – the ashes that remain after a dead body has been cremated (portmanteau of ‘cremated remains’)

Creosote – a colourless or yellowish oily liquid obtained by distillation of wood tar

Crepe – a silk, wool, or polyester fabric of a gauzy texture, having a peculiar crisp or crimpy appearance

Crepuscular – twilight

Cretonne – a strong, white French fabric

Crew cut – a haircut named after rowing crews

Crinoline – originally a stiff fabric with a weft of horse-hair and a warp of cotton or linen thread. The fabric first appeared around 1830, but by 1850 the word had come to mean a stiffened petticoat or rigid skirt-shaped structure of steel designed to support the skirts of a woman’s dress into the required shape

Crochet – a quarter note

Crowdfunding – the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations

Crowdsourcing – the act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to a group of people or community (crowd) through an open call

Crozier – a staff carried by a bishop

Cruciverbalist – a crossword compiler

Cryogenics – the science that deals with the production of very low temperatures and their effect on the properties of matter

Cryonics – low-temperature freezing (usually at −196°C) of a human corpse, with the hope that resuscitation may be possible in the future

Cryotherapy – the use of low temperatures in medical therapy

Cryptid – a creature or plant whose existence has been suggested but that is unrecognized by a scientific consensus, and whose existence is regarded as highly unlikely

Cryptozoology – the search for animals whose existence has not been proven

Cuckold – a married man with an adulterous wife. Cuckolds have sometimes been written as ‘wearing the horns’

Cud – a portion of food that returns from a ruminant's stomach in the mouth to be chewed for the second time

Cullet – recycled material used in glass

Culverin – a type of cannon

Cultivar – a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because it has desirable characteristics (decorative or useful) that distinguish it from otherwise similar plants of the same species

Culvert – a tunnel carrying a stream or open drain under a road or railway

Cummerbund – a sash worn around the waist as part of a man’s formal dress

Cuneate – wedge-shaped

Cuneiform – the earliest standardized writing system, first used in ancient Mesopotamia, and later throughout the Ancient Near East. A form of writing on wet clay tablets using a wedge-like writing tool called a stylus

Cupidity – excessive desire

Cupola – a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building

Curia – a governing body and name of the building which housed it. The Curia was a meeting place for the Senate or the town council of a Roman town

Cursive – a style of writing with successive letters joined together

Cryophobia – fear of cold

Cuticle – the dead skin at the base of a fingernail or toenail

Cuvee – contents of a vat

Cyberchondriac – a person who develops extreme anxiety by using the internet to search for medical information

Cyberloafing – employees who surf the net, write e-mail or other Internet-related activities at work that are not related to their job

Cybernetics – the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems

Cyberphobia – fear of computers

Cyberpunk – a science fiction genre noted for its focus on ‘high tech and low life’. The name is derived from cybernetics and punk

Cybersquatting – registering an internet domain name that is likely to be wanted by another person or organization

Cyborg – a being with both biological and artificial (e.g. electronic, mechanical or robotic) parts

Cyclorama – a panoramic image on the inside of a cylindrical platform

Cynophobia – fear of dogs

D

Dabbawallah – a tiffin-box carrier in Mumbai

Dactylography – fingerprinting

Dactylology – (or fingerspelling) is the representation of the letters of a writing system, and sometimes numeral systems, using only the hands

Dado – the lower part of an interior wall

Damask – a reversible figured fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibres, with a pattern formed by weaving

Dargason – English folk-tune, used from the 16th century onwards for a country dance or as a ballad tune

Davenport – a writing desk

Deaccession – the official removal of an item from a library, museum, or art gallery in order to sell it

Deadlock – a lock that requires a key to open and close it

Dean – a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy

Debasement – the practice of lowering the value of currency

Decantation – a process for the separation of mixtures, by removing a top layer of liquid from which a precipitate has settled

Decennial – occurring every ten years

Decurved – curved downwards

Deemster – a judge in the Isle of Man

Deepfake – a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else's likeness

Defibrillator – an electrical device used to counteract fibrillation of the heart muscle and restore normal heartbeat by applying a brief electric shock

Deglazing – a technique for removing and dissolving browned food residue from a pan to make a sauce

Deltiology – collecting picture postcards

Demagogue – a leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace

Deme – a political division of Attica in ancient Greece

Demijohn – a large narrow-necked bottle usually enclosed in wickerwork

Demography – statistical study of human populations

Demonym – denotes the members of a people or the inhabitants of a place. In English, a demonym is often the same as the name of the people's native language: e.g., the ‘French’

Demurrage – a charge payable to the owner of a chartered ship in respect of failure to load or discharge the ship within the time agreed

Dendrology – the science and study of wooded plants

Denizen – an individual permanently resident in a foreign country where he or she enjoys certain rights of citizenship

Denouement – a series of events that follow the climax of a drama or narrative, and thus serves as the conclusion of the story

Deontic – of, relating to, or concerning duties or obligations

Deontology – the theory or study of moral obligation

Deposition – a painting showing Christ being taken down from the cross

Derby – American name for a bowler hat

Dermatoglyphics – the study of the whorls and loops and arches in the fingertips and on the palms of the hand and the soles of the feet

Desi – people from the Indian subcontinent

Destrier – a war horse in medieval warfare

Dewclaw – a vestigial digit of the foot of many mammals, birds, and reptiles

Dhabihah – ritual slaughter of animals in Islam

Dhol – a two-sided drum, played with two sticks (one held in each hand). Associated with the Punjab

Dhoti – a loin cloth

Dhow – generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with lateen sails used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region

Diacritic – an ancillary glyph added to a letter, or basic glyph

Diadem – jewelled crown

Diaeresis – diacritic mark used to denote the separation of two consecutive vowels. Consists of consists of two dots placed over the letter, which is the same symbol used for an umlaut

Digestif – a drink, especially an alcoholic one, drunk before or after a meal in order to aid the digestion

Diorama – a model representing a scene with three-dimensional figures

Diarchy – a form of government in which two individuals, the diarchs, are the heads of state

Diastema – a gap or space between teeth

Dibber – a tool that makes holes to plant seedlings

Dicennial – occurring every 10 years

Diffusion – the movement of molecules from a high concentration to a low concentration

Digerati – the elite of the computer industry and online communities

Digraph – a pair of characters used to write one phoneme (distinct sound) or a sequence of phonemes that does not correspond to the normal values of the two characters combined, e.g. Ll in Welsh

Dihedral – the angle between an upwardly inclined aircraft wing and a horizontal line

Dioptre – a unit of measurement of the optical power of a lens or curved mirror, which is equal to the reciprocal of the focal length measured in metres

Dioptrics – the study of the refraction of light, especially by lenses

Diphthong – a vowel that changes quality during its pronunciation, or ‘glides’, with a smooth movement of the tongue from one articulation to another, as in the English words eye, boy, and cow

Dirndl – a type of traditional dress worn in Germany and Austria

Discombobulate – to throw into a state of confusion

Discourse – written or spoken communication

Dissectologist – a jigsaw puzzle enthusiast

Dissonance – lack of harmony among musical notes

Distemper – has a variety of meanings for paints used in decorating and as a historical medium for painting pictures

Distressing – the activity of making a piece of furniture or object appear aged and older, giving it a ‘weathered look’

Dithyramb – an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honour of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility

Ditloid – a type of word puzzle, in which a phrase, quotation, date, or fact must be deduced from the numbers and abbreviated letters in the clue, e.g. 26 L of the A

Djellaba – long loose-fitting unisex outer robe with full sleeves, of middle-eastern origin

Doctrinaire – dogmatist: a stubborn person of arbitrary or arrogant opinions

Doctrine – a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions

Dogaressa – the official title of the spouse of the Doge of Venice

Dolly Varden – hat named after a character in the Charles Dickens novel Barnaby Rudge

Dolmen – a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more vertical megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone

Dorsal – of, on, or near the back

Doublet – a close-fitting jacket, with or without sleeves, worn by European men between the 15th and17th centuries

Doughnuting – surrounding an MP by colleagues to give the impression of a packed House of Commons

Doula – a nonmedical person who assists a woman before, during, and/or after childbirth

Dowager – a widow holding property received from her deceased husband. Usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles

Dowry – (also known as trousseau or tocher) the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband in marriage

Dowsing – a form of divination involving a rod or wand, especially the art of finding underground supplies of water

Doxology – a hymn of praise to God

Doxxing – the Internet-based practice of researching and broadcasting personally identifiable information about an individual

Dragoman – an interpreter and guide in the Near East

Dreich – Scottish word for dull or gloomy weather

Drone – a male honey bee that develops from an unfertilized egg

Dross – the scum formed by oxidation at the surface of molten metals

Drumhead – a court-martial held on a battlefield

Drunkorexia – self-imposed starvation or binge eating/purging combined with alcohol abuse

Drupe – a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed (kernel) inside

Dyad – a group of two people

Dryad – a tree nymph, or female tree spirit, in Greek mythology

Dubbin – tallow mixed with oil; used to make leather soft and waterproof

Dumbledore – a bumble bee

Dutch barn – a barn with tall open sides and a curved roof

Dynasty – a succession of rulers who belong to the same family for generations. A dynasty is also often called a house

Dysgraphia – inability to write coherently

Dysphemism – purposefully unpleasant or objectionable language. Opposite of euphemism

Dysphonia – any impairment of the voice or speaking ability

Dystopia – a fictional society where the people lead dehumanised, fearful lives. Opposite of Utopia

E

Earworm – a catchy piece of music that continually repeats through a person's mind after it is no longer playing

Easement – a right that a person has on another person’s land

Ebullism – the formation of gas bubbles in bodily fluids due to reduced environmental pressure, for example at high altitude

Ecdysiast – a stripper

Echolocation – animals sending out a high-pitched sound, and using its echo to locate an object

Eclectic – deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources

Eclogue – a poem in a classical style on a pastoral subject

Ecocide – destruction of the natural environment by deliberate or negligent human action

Ectopic – occurring in an abnormal position. Ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo attaches outside the uterus

Ectotherm – a cold-blooded animal

Ecumenical – representing a number of different Christian churches

Edacity – greed

Edentulous – without teeth

Edutainment – a portmanteau word of education and entertainment

Egestion – defaecation

Eggcorn – a word or phrase that results from a mishearing or misinterpretation of another

Eggshell – paint with a finish midsheen between matt and gloss

Ekistics – the science or study of human settlements

Ekphrasis – the graphic, often dramatic, description of a visual work of art

Electra complex – female equivalent of Oedipus complex

Elevon – a portmanteau word of elevator and aileron

Elision – refers to when a sound or syllable is lost or omitted e.g. I will to I’ll

Emendation – a correction by emending; a correction resulting from critical editing

Emeritus professor – a professor who has retired, but is allowed to keep the title

Emery – a very hard rock type used to make abrasive powder. It largely consists of the mineral corundum (aluminum oxide)

Emoji – ideograms or smileys used in Japanese electronic messages and web pages

Emoticon – a pictorial representation of a facial expression using characters. Precursor to the emoji

Emolument – payment for work

Empiricism – the idea that all knowledge is derived from experience

Emulsion – a suspension of small globules of one liquid in a second liquid with which the first will not mix

Enamel – a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing

Enclave – any portion of a state that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state. When an enclave additionally borders a body of water that is not enclosed by a different state, it is termed a pene-enclave or "practical" enclave

Encomium – a poem in praise of a person

Encyclical – a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Christian church

Endemic – of or relating to a disease constantly present to greater or lesser extent in a particular locality, or the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location

Endogamy – the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social group

Endonym – name given by an ethnic group to its own geographical entity, or the name an ethnic group calls itself

Endoscope – an instrument used to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body

Engram – a hypothetical permanent change in the brain accounting for the existence of memory; a memory trace

Enochlophobia – fear of crowds

Ensiform – having sharp edges and tapering to a slender point, having a shape suggesting a sword

Ensign – name given to the boy who carried the regimental colours

Enteric – relating to the intestines

Entomophily – a form of pollination whereby pollen or spores are distributed by insects

Entrepot – a term used for international trade where goods are shipped to a centre for re-export. Hong Kong engages in significant amounts of this form of trade

Envoi – a short stanza at the end of a poem

Ephemera – things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time

Epicene – having characteristics of both sexes or no characteristics of either sex; of indeterminate sex

Epidemiology – the study of the patterns, causes, and control of disease in groups of people

Epiglottis – the flap that covers the trachea during swallowing so that food does not enter the lungs

Epigram – a short, witty poem expressing a single thought or observation. A concise, clever, often paradoxical statement

Epigraph – a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document

Epigraphy – study of inscriptions

Epistemology – concerned with knowledge

Epistle – a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually a letter

Epitasis – the middle part of a play that develops the action leading to the catastrophe

Epithalamia – a song celebrating marriage

Epithet – an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned

Epitome – a person or thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type

Epizeuxis – repetition of a word or phrase in immediate succession, e.g. “Education, education, education”

Eponym – a noun named after a person or town

Equerry – an officer of honour. A personal attendant, usually upon a Sovereign, a member of a Royal Family, or a national representative

Ergometer – a device which measures the amount of energy or work performed

Ergophobia – fear of work

Ertomania – a delusional belief that a person is in love with the affected individual, despite contrary evidence

Eschatology – a branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of humankind

Eschew – to avoid something intentionally

Escrotoire – a writing desk

Escrow – safekeeping of money with a third party

Esotericism – the hidden meanings and symbolism of various philosophical, historical, and religious texts

Espagnolette – a locking device, normally mounted on the vertical frame of a French door or casement window

Esquire – an attendant and shield bearer to a knight; a candidate for knighthood

Ethnography – a qualitative research method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group

Ethnomusicology – the study of the music of a particular region or people from the viewpoint of its social or cultural implication

Ethology – the scientific study of animal behavior, especially as it occurs in a natural environment

Etui – a woman's ornamental case, usually carried in a pocket or purse

Etymology – the origin and history of words

Etymon – a word from which a later word is derived

Eucharist – a Christian sacrament commemorating the Last Supper by consecrating bread and wine

Euphemism – a mild word of phrase which substitutes for another which would be undesirable because it is too direct, unpleasant, or offensive

Euphobia – fear of hearing good news

Euphony – a pleasing sound

Excarnation – the act of removing flesh, especially from a corpse

Exclave – a portion of a state geographically separated from the main part by surrounding alien territory. Many enclaves are also exclaves

Exedra – a semi-circular apse

Exonumismatics – collecting commemorative coins and medals

Exonym – name given to an ethnic group or to a geographical entity by another ethnic group, e.g. Germany is an English exonym corresponding to the endonym Deutschland

Expiation – the act of atoning for sin or wrongdoing

Extrait – a weak perfume

Extremophiles – organisms that live in extreme conditions

Exurbia – the region outside a city and its suburbs where wealthier families live

Eyas – an unfledged hawk

F

Facepalm – the act of covering your face with your hand because you are embarrassed

Facet – the cut surface of a gemstone

Factoid – a spurious statement formed and asserted as a fact, but with no veracity. The word was coined by Norman Mailer in his 1973 biography of Marilyn Monroe

Fado – a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal

Faience – tin-glazed pottery on a delicate pale buff body

Fakir – a Muslim or Hindu religious ascetic who lives by begging

Falchion – a type of sword

Fallacy – a misconception resulting from incorrect reasoning

Fanfare – a loud flourish of brass instruments, especially trumpets

Fanlight – window, often semicircular, with radiating glazing bars suggesting a fan that is placed over a door

Farthingale – a term applied to any of several structures used under Western European women's clothing in the late 15th and 16th centuries to support the skirts into the desired shape. Also known as a hoop skirt

Fasces – bundle of rods containing an axe with the blade protruding; in ancient Rome it was a symbol of a magistrate's power

Fatwa – ruling on a point of Islamic law

Fecundity – the potential reproductive capacity of an organism or population

Fedora – a soft felt hat that is creased lengthwise down the crown and pinched in the front on both sides. It was invented in the 1910s. Known as a trilby in Britain. Comes from the title of an 1882 play by Victorien Sardou, Fedora, written for Sarah Bernhardt

Fellahin – a peasant or agricultural laborer in an Arab country

Fellow traveller – name given to a non-card carrying member of the Communist Party in the 1950s. Term was coined by Leon Trotsky

Felt – a fabric of matted, compressed animal fibres, such as wool or fur, sometimes mixed with vegetable or synthetic fibres

Felucca – a Nile sailing boat

Feretory – a portable shrine holding the relics of a saint

Fermentation – a process that converts sugar to acids, gases, and/or alcohol

Ferrule – a metal band or cap strengthening or forming a joint

Fess – a wide horizontal band on a heraldic shield

Fey – the quality of being mysterious and strange

Fiat – decree: a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record

Fibril – a small slender fibre or filament

Fifth column – a clandestine subversive organization working within a country to further an invading enemy's military and political aims

Fiasco – a traditional Italian straw-covered wine bottle

Filigree – fine wires soldered onto a design, often gold or silver

Finial – carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods

Firedamp – a mixture of gases (mostly methane) that form in coal mines and become explosive when mixed with air

Firman – an edict or administrative order issued by or in the name of a Middle Eastern sovereign (formerly by an Ottoman Turkish sultan)

Firth – an estuary

Fixie – a bike without a front brake

Flageolet – a small flute blown at the end, like a recorder but with two thumb holes

Flambe – to pour alcohol over food and set fire to it during cooking

Flaneur – a rich Parisian ‘stroller’ in the 1860s

Flash – a lake caused by excavation of mining works

Flatware – implements that are used for eating or serving food

Fleadh – a festival of Irish or Celtic music, dancing, and culture

Flexitarian – a person who has a primarily vegetarian diet but occasionally eats meat or fish

Flipping – 1. a technique whereby a Member of Parliament switches his second home between several houses, which has the effect of allowing him to maximize his taxpayer funded allowances 2. buying houses off plan and selling at a profit

Flocking – the process of depositing many small fibre particles (called flock) onto a surface

Flocculent – made of wool

Floret – a small flower which is part of a much larger compound flower head

Flotsam – goods which float upon the sea after a ship is sunk (see jetsam and lagan)

Fluke – either of the two horizontally flattened divisions of the tail of a whale

Flywheel – a rotating mechanical device that is used to store rotational energy. Flywheels have a moment of inertia and resist changes in rotational speed

Focimeter – measures the focal length of a lens

Fogle-hunter – a pickpocket

Foliage – the leaf mass of a tree

Foley – the reproduction of everyday sounds for use in filmmaking

Fomite – any nonliving object or substance capable of carrying infectious organisms

Foot – basic unit of a line of poetry. Common types – iamb (a short syllable followed by a long one), trochee (a long syllable followed by a short one), dactyl (a long syllable followed by two short ones), anapest (two short syllables followed by a long one), spondee (two long syllables)

Forcene – heraldic term for rearing

Foreboding – a feeling that something very bad is going to happen

Foreclosure – US equivalent of house repossession

Foreshadowing – an indication of something that will happen in the future, used as a literary device to hint at future plot developments

Formateur – a politician who is appointed by the head of state to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government

Forthwith – as soon as can be reasonably done

Fortification – adding alcohol to wine, e.g. Madeira, port and sherry

Fossicking – prospecting by sifting, e.g. for gold

Fragging – the act of deliberately assassinating another member, or members of the military, particularly a member of one’s own command or fighting squad

Frangipane – almond-flavoured paste, named after noble Frangipani family of Rome

Fratricide – the killing of one’s own brother

Freecycling – the act of giving away usable unwanted items to others

Freedman – a man who has been freed from slavery

Freeganism – involves choosing to salvage discarded, unspoiled food from supermarket dumpsters. The word ‘freegan’ is a portmanteau of ‘free’ and ‘vegan’

Freemium – a business model that works by offering a game, product or service free of charge while charging a premium for advanced features, functionality, or related products and services. Portmanteau of the two aspects of the business model: ‘free’ and ‘premium’

Fret – a raised portion on the neck of a stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck

Fromologist – a collector of cheese labels

Fronting – parents saying they are main driver of children’s cars to cut insurance costs

Frost – ice crystals formed by condensation on surfaces below freezing

Frotteurism – an interest in rubbing, usually one's pelvis or erect penis, against a non-consenting person for sexual gratification

Frugivore – a fruit eater

Fruit – a structure of a plant that contains its seeds

Fulsome – complimentary or flattering to an excessive degree

Funambulist – tightrope walker

Furlough – a temporary leave of absence from work

Fusilatelist – a collector of phone cards

Fustian – a coarse sturdy cloth made of cotton and linen

Fyrd – a type of early Anglo-Saxon army that was mobilized from freemen to defend their shire

G

Gaff – a pole with a sharp hook on the end that is used to stab a large fish

Galette – a type of pastry

Gallimaufry – a hotchpotch

Galvanize – to stimulate or shock with an electric current

Galvanometer – a device that detects and measures electric current

Gamophobia – fear of marriage

Gamp – an umbrella, named after the nurse Sarah Gamp in the Charles Dickens novel Martin Chuzzlewit

Garret – a small room at the top of a house

Gauze – thin, loosely woven cloth used for dressings and swabs

Gazanging – where a seller withdraws the property from the market at the last minute

Gazette – an official journal

Gazumping – where a seller accepts a better offer than a previously accepted offer

Gazundering – homebuyers reducing their offer at the last minute

Gearing – used to describe the relationship between debt and equity and is calculated by dividing the company debt by common shareholders’ equity

Gematria – assigning numeric values to letters of the alphabet in order to find some hidden meaning in them

Genal – of the cheeks

Generalissimo – Commander of a large force, consisting of more than one Army, or both Land and Naval forces with their Air units included

Genericide – the historical process whereby a brand name or trademark is transformed through popular usage into a common noun, e.g. Xerox, Escalator

Genophobia – fear of sex

Gentile – a person who is not Jewish

Gentle – a maggot used as bait in angling

Genuflection – bending on one knee as a sign of reverence, in the Roman Catholic Church

Geoblocking – technology that restricts access to Internet content based upon the user's geographical location

Geocaching – participants use a GPS receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called ‘geocaches’, anywhere in the world

Geocentric – theory that the Earth is at the centre of the Universe

Geoengineering – proposals to deliberately manipulate the Earth’s climate to counteract the effects of global warming from greenhouse gas emissions

Geoglyph – figure or shape produced on the ground by the clearing of stones or the building of stone alignments, e.g. Nazca lines in Peru

Geomancy – handful of dust thrown to ground and read, as a prophecy

Geomatics – the discipline of gathering, storing, processing, and delivering of geographic information, or spatially referenced information

Georgette – a thin silk or crepe dress material

Georgic poem – a poem that describes rural life

Geribanger – a woman who furthers her career by seducing older men

Gerontology – the study of the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging

Gerrymander – political manipulation of electoral boundaries. Portmanteau of Gerry and salamander

Gerund – the usage of a verb as a noun (for example, the verb ‘learning’ in the sentence ‘Learning is an easy process for some’

Gesso – a preparation of plaster of Paris and glue used as a base for low relief or as a surface for painting

Gewgaw – a decorative trinket; a bauble

Ghetto – originally used to refer to the Venetian Ghetto in Venice where Jews were forced to live

Gibbet – gallows on which prisoners were hung

Giclee – fine art digital prints made on inkjet printers

Gig – boat in the Scilly Islands

Gigolo – a man who has a continuing sexual relationship with and receives financial support from a woman

Gigue – a lively piece of music in the style of a dance

Gimbal – an appliance that allows an object (such as a ship's compass) to remain horizontal

Gingham – plain-woven cotton cloth, typically with a check pattern

Glair – egg white

Glaive – a type of sword

Glamping – portmanteau of glamorous and camping

Gleave – a tool used to catch eels

Glengarry – a boat-shaped cap without a peak

Glitterati – the fashionable set of people engaged in show business or some other glamorous activity

Globophobia – fear of balloons

Glottophobia – discrimination against people on the grounds of their accent

Glyph – an element of writing: an individual mark on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written

Glyptotheque – a collection of sculptures

Gnomon – the finger on a sundial

Golem – in Jewish folklore, an animated being created entirely from inanimate matter

Gonfalon – a type of heraldic flag or banner, often pointed, swallow-tailed, or with several streamers, and suspended from a crossbar

Gongoozler – a person who enjoys watching boats and activities on canals

Googleganger – a person with your name who shows up when you Google yourself

Googlewhacking – using two words in a search engine to find fewer results, or exactly one result

Googol – one followed by 100 zeroes

Gorget – a steel or leather collar designed to protect the throat

Gorgon – a female monster with sharp fangs and hair of living, venomous snakes

Gouache – or bodycolour, is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water (see tempera)

Graft – a form of political corruption, the unscrupulous use of a politician's authority for personal gain

Graminivore – a herbivorous animal that feeds primarily on grass

Grammagram – a word (or words) which, when pronounced, consists entirely of letter sounds, e.g. INVU is ‘I envy you’

Granivore – animal or bird that feeds on seeds

Grapeshot – a cluster of small projectiles fired together from a cannon to produce a hail of shot

Grapheme – a fundamental unit in a written language. Examples of graphemes include alphabetic letters, numerical digits, and punctuation marks

Graphesthesia – the ability to recognize writing on the skin

Graphology – the study of handwriting especially for the purpose of analyzing the writer's personality

Gratin – a dish with a light browned crust of breadcrumbs or melted cheese

Greave – a piece of armour that protects the leg

Greenwashing – a form of spin in which green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that an organization's products, aims or policies are environmentally friendly

Gregarious – sociable

Griffin – a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle

Grifter – a person who swindles another out of money

Grist – grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding

Grok – to intimately and completely share the same reality or line of thinking with another physical or conceptual entity. Robert A. Heinlein coined the term in his book Stranger in a Strange Land

Growler – the smallest type of iceberg

Gubernatorial – relating to a governor

Guidon – a heraldic flag

Guipure – a type of lace

Gunwale – the top edge of the side of a boat

Gustatory – relating to the sense of taste

Guyliner – eyeliner used by men

Gymnophobia – fear of nudity

Gynaecide – killing a woman

Gynophobia – fear of women

Gyre – any large system of rotating ocean currents, particularly those involved with large wind movements. Gyres are caused by the Coriolis Effect

H

Habanero – a resident of Havana

Haboob – a type of sandstorm or dust storm

Hacienda – an estate or plantation with a dwelling-house

Hacktivism – the subversive use of computers and computer networks to promote a political agenda or a social change

Hadith – oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic prophet Muhammad

Hafiz – a person who knows the Koran by heart

Haiku – a mode of Japanese poetry with the pattern 5, 7, 5

Hair shirt – a coarse haircloth garment worn next to the skin by religious ascetics as penance

Halberd – a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries

Halftone – the reprographic technique that simulates continuous tone imagery through the use of dots, varying either in size, in shape or in spacing

Halter – a device made of rope or leather straps that fits around the head or neck of an animal and is used to lead or secure the animal

Halyard – a rope for raising or lowering a sail or flag

Hand planing – bodysurfing with a small float

Haphephobia – fear of being touched

Haptics – any form of interaction involving touch

Hardwood – the wood of broad-leaved dicotyledonous trees

Hart – a male red deer over five years old

Haruspicy – a form of divination using the inspection of animal entrails

Haunch – the area of the body which includes the hip, buttock, and upper thigh

Hawk – plasterer’s mortar board

Hawse – part of a ship’s bow through which the anchor cables pass

Hazing – to force a new or potential recruit to the military, a college fraternity, etc. to perform strenuous, humiliating, or dangerous tasks

Heathen – a person who does not belong to a widely held religion (especially one who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim)

Heckler – term originates from the textile trade, where to heckle was to tease or comb out flax or hemp fibres

Hedging – taking a position in a futures market opposite to a position held in the cash market to minimize the risk of financial loss from an adverse price

Hegemony – leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group

Heifer – a young female cow that has not borne any young

Helot – one of a class of serfs in ancient Sparta, neither a slave nor a free citizen

Henge – a large prehistoric earthwork

Henotheism – the belief in and worship of a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities

Hentai – sexually explicit anime

Hermeneutics – the art and science of text interpretation

Hermetic – an airtight seal

Herpetology – the study of reptiles and amphibians

Hessian – a coarse woven fabric usually made from jute or other vegetable fibres. Hessian is also known as burlap

Hetacomb – an ancient Greek public sacrifice

Heterograph – words that are spelled differently, but sound the same

Heteronym – one of two or more words with identical spelling, but different meanings and pronunciations, e.g. bow (the front of a ship) and bow (a type of knot). Subset of homographs

Heuristics – experience-based techniques that help in problem solving, learning and discovery. A heuristic method is particularly used to rapidly come to a solution that is hoped to be close to the best possible answer, or 'optimal solution'

Hexameter – a line of poetry with six metrical feet

Hibakusha – survivors of atomic bombs in Japan

Hidalgo – the lowest rank of the Spanish nobility

Highball – a family of mixed drinks that are composed of an alcoholic base spirit and a larger proportion of a non-alcoholic mixer

Hijab – a scarf that Muslim women use to cover their hair

Hikkomori – modern-day hermits in Japan

Hilt – (sometimes called the haft) of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard, grip and pommel

Hinny – the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey (jennet or jenny) (see mule)

Hippogriff – a legendary creature, supposedly the offspring of a griffin and a mare

Hijra – a transgender individual who was assigned male at birth, in South Asia

Hobnail – a heavy nail used in horseshoes

Hogget – a sheep between one and two years of age

Hogwash – was originally swill fed to swine that had no nutritional value

Holocaust – a burnt sacrifice; an offering, the whole of which was consumed by fire

Holograph – a document written entirely by the author, e.g. a will

Homecoming – the tradition of welcoming back alumni of a school

Homeopathy – a system for treating disease based on the administration of minute doses of a drug. Based on the principle of ‘like cures like’ (the law of similars)

Homiletics – the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific department of public preaching

Homograph – a word with multiple meanings, based upon how it is pronounced, e.g. minute

Homologation – to approve or confirm officially

Homologous – structures which have a common evolutionary origin, but perform different functions, e.g. forearms (see analogous)

Homophone – a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose and rose, or differently, such as caret and carrot. Homophones that are spelled the same are known as homonyms

Honeydew – a sweet sticky substance excreted by various insects, especially aphids, on the leaves of plants

Hongi – Maori greeting of rubbing noses

Honorific – a title that conveys esteem or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person

Hootenanny – an informal performance by folksingers, typically with participation by the audience

Hoplite – foot soldier in ancient Greece. Hoplites were primarily armed as spear-men and fought in a phalanx formation

Hoplophobia – fear of firearms

Hostelaphilist – a collector of pub signs

Hotte – a picking basket worn on the back of French grape pickers

Houndstooth – a large check pattern with notched corners, typically used in cloth for jackets and suit

Howdah – a seat for riding on the back of an elephant or camel

Hubris – excessive pride or self-confidence

Huckaback – a type of coarse, absorbent cotton or linen fabric used for making towels

Hulling – removing green calyx from strawberries, and shelling peas

Humblebrag – a statement on social media in which you pretend to be modest but which you are really using as a way of telling people about your success or achievements

Humidor – a container designed for storing cigars or other tobacco products at a constant level of humidity

Hydrophilic – having an affinity for water; readily absorbing or dissolving in water

Hyetometer – a device for measuring rainfall

Hygrometer – a device for measuring humidity

Hyperbole – use of exaggeration for effect, e.g. I’ve told you a hundred times

Hyperosmia – heightened sense of smell

Hypertension – high blood pressure

Hypertrichosis – excessive hair growth

Hypnogogic – relating to the state immediately before falling asleep

Hypnophobia – fear of sleep

Hypocaust – an ancient Roman heating system, comprising a hollow space under the floor of a building, into which hot air was directed

Hyponym – a word whose meaning is included in that of another word: scarlet, vermilion and crimson are hyponyms of red

Hypostasis – the essential nature of a substance as opposed to its attributes

Hypotension – low blood pressure

Hysteresis – the lagging of an effect behind its cause, as when the change in magnetism of a body lags behind changes in the magnetic field

I

Iatrogenesis – illness or injury caused by medical activity

Ichor – the ethereal golden fluid that is the blood of the gods and/or immortals

Ichthys – a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the meeting point so as to resemble the profile of a fish, used by early Christians as a secret Christian symbol. Known as the ‘Jesus fish’

Iconoclast – one who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions

Iconostasis – a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church

Idiocracy – a society governed or populated by idiots

Idiolect – the speech habits peculiar to a particular person

Idiom – a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language

Idiophone – any musical instrument that creates sound primarily by the vibration of the instrument itself

Idyll – a short poem, descriptive of rustic life

Ikat – a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles

Imbroglio – an extremely confused, complicated, or embarrassing situation

Impeachment – the first of two stages in a specific process for a legislative body to remove a government official without that official's agreement. The second stage is called conviction

Impedance – electric resistance: a material's opposition to the flow of electric current

Imperialism – a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force

Imprecate – to invoke evil upon; curse

Impunity – exemption or freedom from punishment, harm, or loss

Incel – involuntary celibate. A slang term for a sexist male

Incense – a material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt

Inch – the name for a small Scottish island

Inchoate – incomplete documents in law

Incipit – the first few words or opening line of a book, poem or song

Incubus – a demon in male form who lies upon sleepers, especially women, in order to engage in sexual activity with them

Inculpate – to accuse

Incunabula – a book printed before 1501

Indenture – a legal contract between two parties, particularly for indentured labour or a term of apprenticeship but also for certain land transactions

Indictment – a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime

Ineffable – incapable of being expressed in words

Infomercial – direct response television commercial which generally includes a phone number or website

Infrasound – a wave phenomenon sharing the physical nature of sound but with a range of frequencies below that of human

Ingenue – an innocent or unsophisticated young woman

Initialism – an abbreviation consisting of initial letters pronounced separately

Insolation – exposure to sunlight

Intaglio – glyptic art consisting of a sunken or depressed engraving or carving on a stone or gem (as opposed to cameo)

Interferometer – an instrument that combines the signal from two or more telescopes to produce a sharper image than the telescopes could achieve separately

Intercalation – the insertion of a leap day, week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases

Intercession – prayer on behalf of someone else

Intermercial – Internet commercial

Interpol – International Criminal Police Organisation. HQ in Lyon

Interregnum – the interval of time between the end of a sovereign's reign and the accession of a successor

Interrobang – punctuation mark (?!) intended to combine the functions of the question mark (also called the ‘interrogative point’) and the exclamation mark or exclamation point (known in printers’ jargon as the ‘bang’)

Interstice – an empty space or gap between spaces full of structure or matter

Interweb – the internet; used in a humorous way to suggest you do not really understand technology

Intarsia – a knitting technique used to create patterns with multiple colours. As with the woodworking technique of the same name, fields of different colours and materials appear to be inlaid in one another, but are in fact all separate pieces

Invacuate – to confine (people) to a closed area in an emergency situation

Invagination – to fold inward or to sheath

Iridescent – displaying a play of lustrous colours like those of the rainbow

Isogloss – the geographical boundary of a certain linguistic feature

Isogram – word in which no letter appears more than once (see pangram)

Isometrics – a type of strength training in which the joint angle and muscle length do not change during contraction

Isopleth – contour lines that depict a variable which cannot be measured at a point, but which instead must be calculated from data collected over an area. An example is population density

Isotonic – having the same salt concentration as blood

Isotropy – having physical properties that are the same regardless of the direction of measurement. Opposite of anisotropy

Isthmus – a narrow strip of land connecting two larger masses of land

J

Jacinth – a red transparent variety of zircon used as a gemstone

Jack – press used for Monterey Jack cheese

Jainism – an ascetic religion of India, founded in the 6th century BC as a revolt against Hinduism

Japanning – the European imitation of Asian lacquer work, originally used on furniture

Japonisme – the study of Japanese art and artistic talent

Jardiniere – a flower box

Jeggings – tight-fitting stretch trousers for women, styled to resemble a pair of denim jeans. Portmanteau of jeans and leggings

Jejune – not nourishing; barren; not interesting or satisfying; dull or empty; childish

Jeremiad – a prolonged lamentation or complaint. Named after the biblical prophet Jeremiah

Jerky – meat that has been cut into strips, trimmed of fat, marinated in a spicy, salty, or sweet liquid, and dried or smoked with low heat, or is just salted and sun-dried

Jetsam – goods thrown overboard (see floatsam and lagan)

Jiffy – an informal term for any unspecified short period of time

Jilbab – any long and loose-fit coat or garment worn by Muslim women. It covers the entire body, except for hands, face, and head

Jingoism – nationalism in the form of aggressive foreign policy

Jinn – supernatural creatures in early Arabian and later Islamic mythology. An individual member of the jinn is known as a jinni, djinni, or genie

Jota – a genre of music and the associated dance known throughout Spain, most likely originating in Aragon

Juju – a supernatural power ascribed to an object

Jurisprudence – the branch of philosophy concerned with the law