Wonderful Words

Words not very often used 02:05

Anne C West

Blog post heading_ Words not very often used (5)

Halo there

Last week I started my personal challenge of #1000days on Instagram. I’ve read some fascinating words in the three different pieces of writing every time. Words I’ve either never seen before or words that I’ve never learned the meaning and sometimes the pronunciation of.

scimitar

  • a sword with a curved blade that is sharp only on its one outer edge and gets wider towards its pointed end; Asian, especially Eastern origin

castigate

  • to criticize someone oR something severely ( e.g. health inspectors castigated the kitchen staff for poor standards of cleanliness)

cur

  • a mongrel dog, especially a worthless or unfriendly one
  • a mean, cowardly person

sophist

  • any of a class of professional teachers in Ancient Greece who gave instruction in various fields
  • a person who reasons adroitly and specious,y rather than soundly
  • a philosopher

scupper

  • to sink your own ship on purpose
  • to cause something such as a plan or an opportunity to fail (e.g. arriving late for the interview scuppered my chances of getting the job)

sacrilege

  • the violation or pro fanatic name of anything sacred or held sacred
  • the stealing of anything consecrated to the service of God

capstan

  • a machine for moving or raising heavy weights that consists of a vertical drum which can be rotated and around which cable is turned
  • a rotating shaft that drives at a constant speed in a recorder

coaster

  • a ship that sails between ports along a coast
  • That piece of wood or other material under a mug or glass to protect a surface from the moisture or heat

turgid

  • to think a piece of writing or movie is boring and difficult to understand (e.g. he used to make extremely dull, turgid and frankly boring movies)

yardarm

  • sailing ship are the horizontal timbers or spars mounted on the masts, from which the square sails are hung

That’s it from me this week.

Were some of these words new to you? Did you learn a new word this week. Share it with me on Twitter.

Until next time

SOURCES

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