introspection \in-truh-SPEK-shuhn\ (noun) - The act or process of self-examination; contemplation of one's own thoughts and feelings; a looking inward.

"There is a popular cry against introspection and an insistence that it is necessarily morbid, which works in direct opposisiton to true self-control. Introspection for its own sake is self-...Read more

gravitas \GRAV-uh-tahs\ (noun) - High seriousness (as in a person's bearing or in the treatment of a subject).

"A man without gravitas was not fit to shoulder the weight of leadership. Nick wanted no part of gravitas. He wanted to be lighthearted..." -- Rick DeMarinis, 'Apocalypse Then'

Gravitas is from the Latin gravitas, "heaviness, ...Read more

varicolored \VER-ih-kuh-lurd\ (adjective) - Having a variety of colors; of various colors.

"There was a small place with a sign "Books" on the window, filled with strings of wooden camels and little glass jars of varicolored sands, as well as color postcards of varicolored fish." -- Meyer Levin, 'Gore and Igor: an extravaganza'

Varicolored is ...Read more

arrogate \AIR-uh-gayt\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To claim or seize without right or justification; to appropriate. 2 : To claim on behalf of another; to ascribe.

"The human and fallible should not arrogate a power with which the divine and perfect alone can be safely intrusted." -- Charlotte Bronte, 'Jane Eyre'

Arrogate comes from Latin adrogare...Read more

expatiate \ek-SPAY-shee-ayt\ (intransitive verb) - 1 : To speak or write at length or in considerable detail. 2 : To move about freely; to wander.

"I will not expatiate upon her beauty. I will not expatiate upon her intelligence, her quickness of perception, her powers of memory, her sweet consideration from the first moment for the slow-paced ...Read more

extol \ik-STOHL\ (transitive verb) - To praise highly; to glorify; to exalt.

"To praise the South was to praise himself; to boast of its valor was to advertise his own intrepidity; to extol its women was to enhance the glory of his own achievements in the lists of love; to vanut its chivalry was to avouch his own honor; to laud its greatness ...Read more

obloquy \OB-luh-kwee\ (noun) - 1 : Strongly condemnatory or abusive language or utterance. 2 : The condition of disgrace suffered as a result of public blame, abuse, or condemnation; ill repute.

"It is an honour 'longing to our house,
Bequeathed down from many ancestors,
Which were the greatest obloquy i' th' world
In me to ...Read more

malversation \mal-vur-SAY-shun\ (noun) - Misconduct, corruption, or extortion in public office.

"No man can designate the extent of such an official malversation, demonstrated, as it has been here, in the presence of us all, who are the lawful custodiers of the kingly dignity in this his majesty's royal burgh." --John Galt, 'Provost'

...Read more

maelstrom \MAYL-struhm\ (noun) - 1 : A large, powerful, or destructive whirlpool. 2 : Something resembling a maelstrom; a violent, disordered, or turbulent state of affairs.

"The Maelstrom shrieked and pounded against the barrier, creating tiny cracks through which small tendrils of air flowed, pulling apart and smashing the obstruction." Jayel...Read more

cerebration \ser-uh-BRAY-shuhn\ (noun) - The act or product of thinking; the use of the power of reason; mental activity; thought.

"Hicks rolled another cigarette and sat smoking it, his plump face wrinkled with the gravity and labour of his cerebration." -- Willa Cather, 'One of Ours'

Cerebration is ultimately derived from Latin cerebrum, "...Read more

vapid \VAP-id; VAY-pid\ (adjective) - 1 : Lacking liveliness and spirit; unanimated; spiritless; dull; as, "a vapid speech." 2 : Flavorless; lacking taste or zest; flat; as, "vapid beer."

"Its shoe-button eyes seemed to reflect a black, vapid horror, as if it had seen all the secrets of darkness during its long stay in the sandbox. Perhaps it ...Read more

limn \LIM\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To depict by drawing or painting. 2 : To portray in words; to describe.

""He questioned Brother Ambrose of the matter, and when he heard the Vision, bade him limn the Holy City even as he had seen it; and the Precentor gave him uterine vellum and much fine gold and what colours he asked for the work." -- ...Read more

melange \may-LAHNZH\ (noun) - A mixture; a medley.

"So, we already have melange concerts and melange theater," the scholar intervened. "Melange language will soon follow, you'll see." -- Albert Robida, 'The Twentieth Century'

Melange derives from Old French meslance, from mesler, "to mix," ultimately from Latin miscere, "to mix."

callow \KAL-oh\ (adjective) - Immature; lacking adult perception, experience, or judgment.

"If anybody thinks that I am callow they ought to see het -- she's so callow it makes me laugh. It even makes het laugh, too, to think how callow she is." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald, 'What I Think and Feel at 25'

Callow is from Old English calu, "featherless...Read more

lucre \LOO-kuhr\ (noun) - Monetary gain; profit; riches; money; -- often in a bad sense.

"The need of lucre never looms so large
As when 'tis gotten in some devious way;
It mitigates the blackness of the charge
That every nether level needed pay."
-- Herbert Quick, 'Double Trouble'

Lucre comes from Latin lucrum, "gain...Read more

imbue \im-BYOO\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To tinge or dye deeply; to cause to absorb thoroughly; as, "clothes thoroughly imbued with black." 2 : To instill profoundly; to cause to become impressed or penetrated.

"...I propose to throw you into a cataleptic sleep, in order that, while you are in that condition, I may imbue you with an absolute ...Read more

amity \AM-uh-tee\ (noun) - Friendship; friendly relations, especially between nations.

"This amity, begun at this time and place, was not an amity that polluted their souls; but an amity made up of a chain of suitable inclinations and virtues..." -- Izaak Walton, 'Lives of John Donne, Henry Wotton, Rich'd Hooker, George Herbert, AC'

Amity ...Read more

purdah \PUR-duh\ (noun) - 1 : A curtain, screen, or veil shielding women from the sight of men or strangers in Hindu and Muslim communities. 2 : A striped cotton cloth from which a curtain is made, often blue and white. 3 : The system of secluding Hindu or Muslim women. 4 : A state of seclusion or concealment; social seclusion.

'Weaned on royal...Read more

sycophant \SIK-uh-fuhnt\ (noun) - A person who seeks favor by flattering people of wealth or influence; a parasite; a toady.

"But many wiser than McGonagle succumb to the blandishments of the sycophant because, as is well known, the sycophant praises in them what they believe most worthy of praise." -- Alan Isler, 'Clerical Errors'

Sycophant ...Read more

And now the renowned linguistic paleontologist Professor U. Stew Mean examines verbal fossils to discover the former meanings of words...

Hmmm... Here's the expression "walk tall," meaning walk proudly, bravely. True, "tall" could refer to physical height alone, and, yes, people do stand up straight when they're trying to look bold.

Aha! An ...Read more