Westerfeld Word List
Scott Westerfeld, the famous author of the young adult series Uglies and Midnighters, also wrote a 2 book adult space opera series that I'm in love with. If you liked Ringworld by Larry Niven, I highly recommend The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfeld.
He also insisted on expanding my vocabulary pretty significantly.
ablative the case of nouns and pronouns indicating an agent, instrument of location (... what? context: "The ablative suit was mostly gone now...." I was thinking maybe the heat tiles that fall off on shuttles during re-entry are ablative, but maybe I made that up)
analysand a person undergoing psychoanalysis
celerity archaic or literary swiftness (esp. of a living creature)
colloid substance consisting of ultramicroscopic particles; a mixture of such a substance uniformly dispersed through a second substance, esp. to form a viscous solution; a substance of a homogeneous gelatinous consistency
coruscate give off flashing light; sparkle
corpulent satrap bulky-bodied subordinate ruler or colonial governor
diaspora the dispersion of a people
effulgent radiant; shining brilliantly
egress exit, a way out
insensate without physical sensation, unconscious; without sensibility; stupid
phatic used to convey general sociability rather than to communicate a specific meaning, e.g. "How do you do?"
pointillism a technique of impressionist painting using tiny dots of various pure colors, which become blended in the viewer's eye
Ex. p. 22 The Killing of Worlds: "The sharp, determinate math of trajectories and wind smelled like camphor, rang in her ears with vibrato-free, pointillistic notes on a handful of flutes, one for each variable."
quotidian daily, of every day; commonplace, trivial
simoom a hot, dry, dust-laden wind blowing at intervals esp. in the Arabian desert
sirocco a Saharan simoom reaching the northern shores of the Mediterranean; a warm rainy wind in Southern Europe
tattoo evening drum or bugle signal recalling soldiers to their quarters; elaboration of this with music and marching, presented as an entertainment; a rhythmic tapping or drumming
vertiginous of or causing vertigo
To Do:
• boloid [ocean]
• lamina cribrosa
• mesopause
• mycoid
• telomere decay
• whisketter
Unless otherwise noted, definitions are from my Illustrated Oxford Dictionary, which I lovingly deface every time I have to look up a new word. :>
He also insisted on expanding my vocabulary pretty significantly.
ablative the case of nouns and pronouns indicating an agent, instrument of location (... what? context: "The ablative suit was mostly gone now...." I was thinking maybe the heat tiles that fall off on shuttles during re-entry are ablative, but maybe I made that up)
analysand a person undergoing psychoanalysis
celerity archaic or literary swiftness (esp. of a living creature)
colloid substance consisting of ultramicroscopic particles; a mixture of such a substance uniformly dispersed through a second substance, esp. to form a viscous solution; a substance of a homogeneous gelatinous consistency
coruscate give off flashing light; sparkle
corpulent satrap bulky-bodied subordinate ruler or colonial governor
diaspora the dispersion of a people
effulgent radiant; shining brilliantly
egress exit, a way out
insensate without physical sensation, unconscious; without sensibility; stupid
phatic used to convey general sociability rather than to communicate a specific meaning, e.g. "How do you do?"
pointillism a technique of impressionist painting using tiny dots of various pure colors, which become blended in the viewer's eye
Ex. p. 22 The Killing of Worlds: "The sharp, determinate math of trajectories and wind smelled like camphor, rang in her ears with vibrato-free, pointillistic notes on a handful of flutes, one for each variable."
quotidian daily, of every day; commonplace, trivial
simoom a hot, dry, dust-laden wind blowing at intervals esp. in the Arabian desert
sirocco a Saharan simoom reaching the northern shores of the Mediterranean; a warm rainy wind in Southern Europe
tattoo evening drum or bugle signal recalling soldiers to their quarters; elaboration of this with music and marching, presented as an entertainment; a rhythmic tapping or drumming
vertiginous of or causing vertigo
To Do:
• boloid [ocean]
• lamina cribrosa
• mesopause
• mycoid
• telomere decay
• whisketter
Unless otherwise noted, definitions are from my Illustrated Oxford Dictionary, which I lovingly deface every time I have to look up a new word. :>