Words I used to not know. (Since 2011.)
agnotology - the study of willful acts to spread confusion and deceit, usually to sell a product or win favor.
agnomen – nickname
anosognosia - a deficit of self-awareness, a condition in which a person with some disability seems unaware of its existence. (ἀ- a-, "without", νόσος nosos, "disease" and γνῶσις gnōsis, "knowledge")
littoral - of a shoreline
weir - 1. a small dam in a river or stream. 2. a fence, as of brush, boards, or a net set in a stream for catching fish.
prorogue - to defer; postpone.
pother - heated discussion, debate, or argument; fuss; to-do
matrilineal - inheriting or determining descent through the female line
auscultation - the act of listening to sounds within the body as a method of diagnosis.
omphalos - the central point.
omphaloskepsis - navel gazing
phatic - denoting speech used to express or create an atmosphere of shared feelings, goodwill, or sociability rather than to impart information.
asperse - to sprinkle about; bespatter
illocutionary - pertaining to a linguistic act performed by a speaker in producing an utterance, as suggesting, warning, promising, or requesting. ("in saying" versus locutionary "by saying" or perlocutionary "from saying".)
sprachgefuhl - intuitive feeling for the natural idiom of a language; a sensitivity to language, especially for what is grammatically or idiomatically acceptable in a given language.
pellucid - translucently clear (in style or meaning; easily understood
nugatory - of no value or importance; useless; futile
propinquity - the state of being close to someone or something; proximity
infelicitous - unfortunate; inappropriate
ichthyomorphic - shaped like a fish
bosh - absurd or silly talk; nonsense
armamentaria - a fruitful source of devices or materials available or used for an undertaking.
varvet -a knavish person; rascal
demiurge - a supernatural being imagined as creating or fashioning the world in subordination to the Supreme Being, and sometimes regarded as the originator of evil.
exegesis - critical explanation or interpretation of a text or portion of a text, especially of the Bible.
peripeteia - a sudden turn of events or an unexpected reversal, especially in a literary work.
pochismo - 1. an English word or expression borrowed into Spanish; a Spanish word showing U.S. influence. 2. a form of speech employing many such words. 3. an adopted U.S. custom, attitude, etc.
divulse - to tear away or apart, as distinguished from cut or dissect.
roué - a dissolute and licentious man; rake.
larrup - to beat or thrash.
profligate - utterly and shamelessly immoral or dissipated; thoroughly dissolute.
belletristic - related to literature regarded as a fine art
concatenate - to link together; unite in a series or chain
vicinage - the region near or about a place; vicinity
forelscet - the euphoria felt when falling in love
koi no yokan – (Japanese) the feeling that love is imminent between two people
anacoluthon - a construction involving a break in grammatical sequence, as in: “It makes me so—I just get angry.”
privity - participation in the knowledge of something private or secret
callipygous - having well-shaped butt (also callipygian)
sententious - abounding in pithy maxims or aphorisms
pharisaic - advocating strict observation to religion without regard to the spirit
strepitous - boisterous; noisy
diapason - a full, rich outpouring of melodious sound
piceous - inflammable; combustible
quid - a piece of something to be chewed but not swallowed
climacteric - a critical period
loup-garou - a werewolf; lycanthrope
cantrip - a magic spell; trick by sourcery
cognomen - last or "third" name
agnomen - an additional, fourth name given to a person by the ancient Romans in allusion to some achievement or other circumstance, as “Africanus” in “Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus.” ; a nickname
parturient - bearing or about to bear young
acephalous - without a ruler or leader
veloce – (Italian) (music) played at a fast tempo (From Latin velox, velocem)
fulgurant - flashing like lightning
mucro - a short point projecting abruptly, as at the end of a leaf
nictitate - to wink
hendiatris - a figure of speech used for emphasis, in which three words are used to express one idea. Like: "vini, vidi, vici" or "wine, women, and song" (from the Greek: ἓν διὰ τριῶν, hèn dià triôn, "one through three")
ataraxia - a state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety
aeonian - eternal; everlasting (aeon)
laconic - using few words; concise
pirogue - a (native) dugout canoe/boat (Spanish: piragua)
portage - the act of carrying (esp. boats, goods, etc.) overland from one navigable water to another; the route over which this is done.
vicinage - the area of or about a region; vicinity
pilikia - (Hawaiian) trouble
anopisthograph - a manuscript, parchment, or book having writing on only one side of the leaves.
howdah - a seat or platform for one or more persons placed on the back of an elephant.
erinaceous - of the hedgehog kind or family.
alexipharmic - warding off poisoning or infection; antidotal.
fainaigue - to shirk; evade work or responsibility.
amygdaliform - shaped like an almond.
numen - divine power or spirit; a deity, especially one presiding locally or believed to inhabit a particular object. (Latin nūmen: a nod, command, divine will or power)
numinous - 1. of/like a numen; spiritual or supernatural. 2. surpassing comprehension or understanding; mysterious 3.arousing one's elevated feelings of duty, honor, loyalty, etc.
cruciverbalist - aficionado or creator of crossword puzzles
virilescent - virile scent
fastigiate - rising to a pointed top
vorfruede - the joyful, intense anticipation of imagining future pleasures
douce - sedate, modest, quiet
lagan - anything sunk in the sea, but attached to a buoy or the like so that it may be recovered.
bildungsroman - type of novel concerned with the education, development, and maturing of a young protagonist.
brabble - 1. to argue stubbornly about trifles; wrangle. 2. noisy chatter
plotz - to collapse or faint, as from surprise, excitement, or exhaustion.
venal - willing to sell one's influence, especially in return for a bribe; open to bribery; mercenary
anoesis - a state of mind consisting of pure sensation or emotion without cognitive content.
jackanapes - impertinent, presumptuous person, esp. a young man; whippersnapper.
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis - obscure term ostensibly referring to a lung disease caused by silica dust, sometimes cited as one of the longest words in the English language.
vituperation - verbal abuse or castigation; violent denunciation or condemnation.
wellaway - (archaic interjection used to express sorrow)
apophasis - denial of one's intention to speak of a subject that is at the same time named or insinuated, as “I shall not mention Caesar's avarice, nor his cunning, nor his morality”.
boustrophedon - ancient method of writing in which the lines run alternately from right to left and from left to right.
dyslogistic - conveying disapproval or censure; not complimentary or eulogistic
epexegesis - the addition of a word or words to explain a preceding word or sentence.
frangible - easily broken; breakable
refrangible - capable of being refracted, as rays of light.
irrefrangible - not to be broken or violated; inviolable.
mainour - stolen article found on the person of or near the thief.
paraph - a flourish made after a signature, as in a document, originally as a precaution against forgery.
satrap - 1. a subordinate ruler, often a despotic one. 2. governor of a province under the ancient Persian monarch
tranche - any part, division, or installment.
percipient - having perception; discerning; discriminating.
allochthonous [ uh-LOK-thuh-nuhs ] - not formed in the region where found.
theurgy - the working of a divine or supernatural agency in human affairs.
skeuomorph - a design on an object copied from a form of the object when made from another material or by other techniques.
pandiculate - to stretch and yawn.
battology - wearisome repetition of words in speaking or writing
panegyric - a lofty oration or writing in praise of a person or thing; eulogy
mickle - great; large; much
logy - lacking physical or mental energy or vitality; sluggish; dull; lethargic
fribble - to act in a foolish or frivolous manner; trifle
propound - put forward (an idea, theory or point of view) for consideration
rifacimento - a recast or adaptation, as of a literary or musical work.
ploce - the repetition of a word or phrase to gain special emphasis or to indicate an extension of meaning, as in Ex. 3:14: “I am that I am.”
petaflop - a quadrillion (10 to the 15th) operations a second
vade mecum - a handbook or guide that is kept constantly at hand for consultation
auspicate - to initiate with ceremonies calculated to ensure good luck; inaugurate.
pari passu - with equal pace or progress; side by side. (Latin: "simultaneously." Literally, "with equal step.")
serotinal - pertaining to or occurring in late summer (especially in descriptions of life-histories of freshwater organisms)
serotinous - late-blossoming
serotiny - an ecological adaptation exhibited by some seed plants, in which seed release occurs in response to an environmental trigger, rather than spontaneously at seed maturation. (Latin serotinus “coming late”, from sero “late”; related: soiree)
habiliment: 1. clothes or clothing 2. clothes as worn in a particular profession, way of life, etc.. 3. accouterments or trappings.
urtext - the original or earliest version of a text, to which others can be compared (especially of a musical composition)
logorrheic - a tendency to extreme loquacity
apotheosis - the highest point in the development of something; the culmination or climax
passel - a group or lot of indeterminate number (from "parcel")
harridan - a strict, bossy, or belligerent old woman
diathesis - constitutional predisposition or tendency, as to a particular disease or affection
pyrrhic - an ancient Greek warlike dance in which the motions of actual warfare were imitated.
misophonia - the disorder in which a person experiences excessive anger towards those who smack their food or breathe too heavily. (Urban Dictionary)
jocose - given to or characterized by joking; jesting; humorous; playful
jocund - cheerful; merry; gay; blithe; glad: a witty and jocund group.
bien pensant - A right thinking or orthodox person.
cockalorum - a self-important little man.
Safa & Marwa - two hills that must be climbed as a part of the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.
rialto - store or mart
rosemaling - decorative work of Norwegian folk origin consisting of painted or carved floral designs, as on furniture or woodwork.
anagnorisis - (in ancient Greek tragedy) the critical moment of recognition or discovery, especially preceding peripeteia. (From the Greek anagnōrí(zein) which meant "to know again." This concept is discussed in Aristotle's Poetics.)
palimpsest - a manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain; something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form.
omphalos - the central point
rejectamenta -do things or matter rejected as useless or worthless
frabjous - wonderful, elegant, superb, or delicious
floccinaucinihilipilification - the estimation of something as valueless
mythomane - a person with a strong or irresistible propensity for fantasizing, lying, or exaggerating.
catamite - a boy or youth who is in a sexual relationship with a man.
dysphemism - opposite of euphemism; the substitution of a harsh, disparaging or unpleasant expression for a more neutral one.
clowder - a group or cluster of cats
horripilation - a bristling of the hair on the skin from cold, fear, etc; goosebumps
hwæt - An Old English word often used at the beginning of a poem to indicate that all prior speech is to end as the new narrative begins.
diegesis (diegetic) - the telling of a story by a narrator who summarizes events in the plot and comments on the conversations, thoughts, etc., of the characters.
ultracrepidate - to go beyond one's province.
impute - render or ascribe
thurible - a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. (Late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin thuribulum, from thus, thur- ‘incense’)
peplum - a short flared, gathered, or pleated strip of fabric attached at the waist of a woman's jacket, dress, or blouse to create a hanging frill or flounce; (in ancient Greece) a woman's loose outer tunic or shawl. (plural: peplums)
anapest - a metrical foot consisting of two short or unstressed syllables followed by one long or stressed syllable. (“Twas the Night Before Christmas” is exemplary anapestic tetrameter.) (aka “antidactylus”, since it is a reverse pattern of dactyl meter.
dactyl - a quantitative meter consists of a first stressed syllable, and then two unstressed syllables (employed perfectly in Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade”)
vorpal - a sword (origin: created by Lewis Carroll in Jabberwocky)
hessian – 1. of or relating to the state of Hesse (centeral Germany) or its inhabitants. 2. a Hessian mercenary used by England during the American Revolution. 3. a hireling or ruffian.
godet - a triangular piece of fabric, often rounded at the top, inserted in a garment to give fullness.
buccal – 1. of or relating to the cheek. 2.pertaining to the sides of the mouth or to the mouth; oral.
morocco - fine flexible leather made (originally in Morocco) from goatskin tanned with sumac, used especially for book covers and shoes.
mountebank – 1. a person who sells quack medicines from a platform 2. a boastful unscrupulous pretender; charlatan
caparison - 1a. an ornamental covering for a horse. 1b. decorative trappings and harness 2. rich clothing; adornment
eldritch – weird; eerie (“…whose voice had risen to a kind of eldritch singsong.” —R. L. Stevenson)
sortilege - divination by lots; sorcery
otoconia - small crystals of calcium carbonate in the saccule and utricle of the ear that under the influence of acceleration in a straight line cause stimulation of the hair cells by their movement relative to the gelatinous supporting substrate containing the embedded cilia of the hair cells—called also statoconia.
peroration - the concluding part of a speech, typically intended to inspire enthusiasm in the audience.
perorate - formal-speak at length (archaic: sum up and conclude a speech)
predation - predatory plundering
brio - vigor
testudinal - pertaining to or resembling a tortoise or tortoise shell
aleatory - (law.) depending on a contingent event: an aleatory contract; of or relating to accidental causes; of luck or chance; unpredictable: an aleatory element.
Aleatoric music (also aleatory or chance music; Latin alea: "dice") - music in which some element of the composition is left to chance, and/or some primary element of a composed work's realization is left to the determination of its performer(s); employing the element of chance in the choice of tones, rests, durations, rhythms, dynamics, etc.
paralogize - to draw conclusions that do not follow logically from a given set of assumptions.
supertentorial - all in their head; imagined (medical -- re maladies. From tentorial: separation of the brain from the body.)
stet - let it stand (Latin stēt, present subjunctive 3rd person singular of stāre to stand)
Rx - Recipe (Take!)
zugzwang - Chess. a situation in which a player is limited to moves that cost pieces or have a damaging positional effect. (German: “compulsion to move,”)
supine - lying on the back, face or front upward; inactive, passive, or inert, especially from indolence or indifference; (of the hand) having the palm upward.
ultracrepidarianism - the habit of giving opinions and advice on matters outside of one's knowledge.
Origin: From comment purportedly made by Greek artist Apelles, to a shoemaker who presumed to criticize his painting. Pliny's Latin phrase "Sutor, ne ultra crepidam", altered to "Ne ultra crepidam judicaret", is taken to mean that a shoemaker ought not to judge beyond his own soles. That is to say, critics should only comment on things they know something about. The saying remains popular in several languages: "Zapatero a tus zapatos" (Spanish), "Schoenmaker, blijf bij je leest" (Dutch), "Schuster, bleib bei deinen Leisten" (German), "A cobbler should stick to his last" (English)
apophenia - the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns within random data.
coruscate - to emit vivid flashes of light; sparkle; scintillate; gleam.
floccinaucinihilipilification - the estimation of something as valueless
contronym - a word that simultaneously means one thing and the opposite.
inimical - tending to obstruct or harm; unfriendly; hostile
enjambment: 'the running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a syntactical break.
zazify – to hyperbolize, typically by adding a Z sound to the prefix of words (e.g zillion)
Hyperbolic metaphorical numeral - inexact terms of indefinite size, used for comic effect, for exaggeration, as placeholder names, or when precision is unnecessary or undesirable. Also "non-numerical vague quantifier”. (e.g. umpteen; jillion, zillion, gazillion; googol; mickey; Warhol)