meticulous \muh-TIK-yuh-luhs\ (adjective) - Extremely or excessively careful about details.

"Donald Ray was seldom meticulous about anything. It went against his nature to think too much about any one thing at any one time." -- William Brashler, 'City Dogs'

Meticulous ultimately derives from Latin meticulosus "fearful" (from metus, "fear"). ...Read more

parsimonious \par-suh-MOH-nee-uhs\ (adjective) - Sparing in expenditure; frugal to excess.

"Clubs were ruined, so said certain young parsimonious profligates, by providing comforts for old fogies who paid little or nothing but their subscriptions..." -- Anthony Trollope, 'The Way We Live Now'

Parsimonious is the adjective form of parsimony, ...Read more

accede \ak-SEED\ (intransitive verb) - 1 - To agree or assent; to give in to a request or demand. 2 - To become a party to an agreement, treaty, convention, etc. 3 - To attain an office or rank; to enter upon the duties of an office.

"He has but to raise a brow and all accede to his wishes; Gilles d' Argent alone rules Hawkwatch Castle." -- ...Read more

portend \por-TEND\ (verb) - To indicate (events, misfortunes, etc.) as in future; to foreshadow; to bode.

"What did all this portend, and what portended the swift hoisting-up of Monsieur Gabelle behind a servant on horseback..." -- Charles Dickens, 'A Tale of Two Cities'

Portend comes from Latin portendere, to indicate, to predict, from por- (...Read more

omnipresent \om-nuh-PREZ-uhnt\ (adjective) - Present in all places at the same time; ubiquitous.

"He cannot doubt concerning God hearing him, because God is Omnipresent. He cannot doubt, because he realizes God is Love." -- Elizabeth Delv King, 'The Lotus Path'

Omnipresent is from Medieval Latin omnipresens, from Latin omni-, "all" + praesens,...Read more

ineffable \in-EF-uh-buhl\ (adjective) - 1 - Incapable of being expressed in words; unspeakable; unutterable; indescribable. 2 - Not to be uttered; taboo.

"I have no objection to reinvention or coinage where necessary, but I wonder whether ineffable would have served Mr. Warren 's purpose..." -- William Safire, 'In Love With Norma Loquendi'

...Read more

mercurial \mur-KYUR-ee-uhl\ (adjective) - 1 - [Often capitalized] Of or pertaining to the god Mercury. 2 - [Often capitalized] Of or pertaining to the planet Mercury. 3 - Having the qualities of shrewdness, eloquence, or thievishness attributed to the god Mercury. 4 - Changeable in temperament or mood; temperamental; volatile. 5 - Of, pertaining...Read more

flummery \FLUHM-uh-ree\ (noun) - 1 : A name given to various sweet dishes made with milk, eggs, flour, etc. 2 : Empty compliment; unsubstantial talk or writing; mumbo jumbo; nonsense.

"Magnificence and flummery. Whether flummery is the price one must pay for magnificence or whether magnificence is the cost of flummery, I should not care to say....Read more

teetotaler \TEE-TOH-tuh-lur\ (noun) - One pledged to entire abstinence from all intoxicating drinks.

"A man who had walked forty miles, in an agony of endurance, to bring wine to a sick person would probably know that a teetotaler would have ordered some other medicine -- for a teetotaler forbids all wine, as the Pacifict forbids all war." -- G...Read more

congeries \KON-juh-reez\ (noun) - A collection; an aggregation.

"If the 'en masse' feels its effects it does so not as a unit but as a congeries of individuals; a wave there may be, but it is a wave of integers dominated by a common thought or purpose." -- Bram Stoker, 'Dracula'

Congeries is from Latin congeries, "a heap, a mass," from ...Read more

refractory \rih-FRAK-tuh-ree\ (adjective) - 1 : Stubbornly disobedient; unmanageable. 2 : Resisting ordinary treatment or cure. 3 : Difficult to melt or work; capable of enduring high temperature.

"Before they were allowed in, the matron announced the single rule within the house: no refractory behaviour. Not exactly certain what refractory ...Read more

collegial \kuh-LEE-jee-uhl; -juhl\ (adjective) - 1 : Characterized by or having authority or responsibility shared equally by each of a group of colleagues. 2 : Characterized by equal sharing of authority especially by Roman Catholic bishops. 3 : Of or relating to a college or university; collegiate. 4 : Characterized by camaraderie among ...Read more

agon \AH-gahn; ah-GOHN\ (noun) - A struggle or contest; conflict; especially between the protagonist and antagonist in a literary work.

"The course was a survey of recorded western sport history as measured against the principles of those who founded sport, the greeks. The principles were agon, the struggle, and its relationship to arete, the ...Read more

preternatural \pree-tuhr-NACH-uhr-uhl; -NACH-ruhl\ (adjective) - 1 : Existing outside of nature; differing from the natural; nonnatural. 2 : Surpassing the usual or normal; extraordinary; abnormal. 3 : Beyond or outside ordinary experience; inexplicable by ordinary means.

"She could not get that sound out of her ears even in Mrs. Kingswards ...Read more

embonpoint \ahn-bohn-PWAN\ (noun) - Plumpness of person; stoutness.

"It was a girl called Tinker Bell exquisitely gowned in a skeleton leaf, cut low and square, through which her figure could be seen to best advantage. She was slightly inclined to embonpoint." -- J.M. Barrie, 'Peter Pan'

Embonpoint is from French, literally "in good condition"...Read more

militate \MIL-ih-tayt\ (intransitive verb) - To have force or influence.

"Where you frequent a house it may militate very much against a girl's making a desirable settlement in life, and prevent her from accepting offers even if they are made." -- George Eliot, 'Middlemarch'

Militate comes from Latin militatus, past participle of militare, "to...Read more

abstruse \ab-STROOS; uhb-\ (adjective) - Difficult to comprehend or understand.

"When Tony Gate's critical sire had come up from Boston to watch his boy play Fluellen at a rehearsal and had taken him and Ronny out for supper, he offered the argument that the play contained Shakespeare's hidden pacifism and that King Henry's seizin on an abtruse...Read more

urbane \ur-BAYN\ (adjective) - Polished and smooth in manner; polite, refined, and elegant.

"My voice was dry, interested, but in an academic sort of way. It was the voice I'd cultivated at court. I had learned to watch the most awful things and make dry, urbane comments." -- Laurell K. Hamilton, 'A Kiss of Shadows'

Urbane comes from Latin ...Read more

Q: Is it "champing at the bit" or "chomping at the bit"? I'm champing/chomping at the bit to know! -- Leigh, via email

A: Whoa! Easy there, Seabiscuit. Hold your horses!

Now that you've been reined in and are resting easy in the harness, I'll remind you that many terms in English are derived from horseback riding. Don't worry; I'm saddling ...Read more

commensurate \kuh-MEN(T)S-uhr-it; -shuhr-\ (adjective) - 1 : Equal in measure, extent, or duration. 2 : Corresponding in size or degree or extent; proportionate. 3 : Having a common measure; commensurable; reducible to a common measure; as, commensurate quantities.

"You have a rank commensurate with your achievements... but you will have duties...Read more