New Word Wednesday

Bivouac

 [biv-oo-ak, biv-wak]

–noun
1. a military encampment made with tents or improvised shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire.

2. the place used for such an encampment.


–verb (used without object)

3. to rest or assemble in such an area; encamp.

from dictionary.com

I came across this word several times as I was reading War and Peace. I got the basic meaning down but wasn't quite sure of the pronunciation until I heard Seth use it the other day. He was talking about a time he was on a scout bivouac. He pronounced it "biv-wack", as in the 2nd pronunciation suggestion above. I'd been saying it "biv-oo-wack," which apparently isn't wrong (according to the 1st pronunciation shown above), but I figure "biv-wack" is probably a more common pronunciation if that's how Seth says it. Plus I want to be just like Seth. Anyway, I figure this word is kind of an alternative to "camp" or "camping." As in, "I'm going to head up to the Uintas this weekend for some bivouacing." Say this to your buddies at work and they'll think you're really adventureous. And insanely smart.

New Word Wednesday

Dude this vocabulary thing is MAGIC! Every week whatever word I choose, I find it used in a completely different book than the one I found it in! Ok, so maybe you don't think this is odd, but I do. It's not like I choose that common of words. Take for instance, 'spleen' from last week. I kid you not, this was actually used in the book I'm reading now, "The Sex Lives of Cannibals." I was so excited! I know, I know, I'm a big dork for getting excited about WORDS. But anyhow, it just makes me feel a little bit smarter. Like I could really hold my own on Jeopardy if they had a "Random Somewhat Useful Vocabulary Words" category.

This week's word is probably going to be an obvious one for most of you. I chose this word because I hear it often enough but never really know what it means. I just pretend like I do. Usually it's in a movie and some woman is using it to describe a man.

Incorrigible

[in-kor-i-juh-buhl]

–adjective

1. Incapable of being corrected or reformed; an incorrigible liar.

2. Impervious to constraints or punishment; willful; unruly; uncontrollable: an incorrigible child; incorrigible hair.

3. Firmly fixed; not easily changed: an incorrigible habit.

4. Not easily swayed or influenced: an incorrigible optimist.

–noun
5. One that cannot be corrected or reformed.

from dictionary.com

New Word Wednesday

Ok so I almost forgot about New Word Wednesday. But it's still Wednesday, so there.

This week's word came from President Obama's "State of the Union" address. It was actually kind of tough to find a word I didn't know in his speech because he doesn't try to talk over the heads of the American people. He wants people to understand what he says. It's all about transparency, yo.

Spleen

noun:  ill humor, peevish temper, or spite.

(from dictionary.com)

Bet you didn't know 'spleen' had any other meanings besides the body part, eh? Well it does. Although I have to confess that Obama didn't use this word in his speech. I was listening for a big word but I never heard one I could use, so I got this word from Seth. It was used in the book he's reading about the 'Age of Enlightenment.' (I made this sentence up... it didn't come from the book... in case you couldn't tell)

"The spleen displayed by the disgruntled employees aroused a feeling of uneasiness in the boardroom."

So don't let your spleen get the best of you this week. Keep your spleen under control. And make sure to remove your spleen. The end.

New Word Wednesday

I came across a lot of new words this week and had a hard time choosing just one. I came across this one last night as I was reading "Robinson Crusoe," and thought it was a word that had the potential to be used somewhat frequently.

Inure

 [in-yoor, i-noor]

–verb (used with object):

1. to accustom to hardship, difficulty, pain, etc.; toughen or harden; habituate (usually fol. by to): inured to cold.

–verb (used without object):

2. to come into use; take or have effect.
3. to become beneficial or advantageous.

(from Dictionary.com)

The way this word was used in my book was something to the effect of "the next morning after a long turbulent first night at sea, Crusoe felt a bit better having become a little inured to the movement of the ocean."

New Word Wednesday

So remember how last week's word was 'vertiginous'? Well, turns out the same day I did that post I came across that same word in the new book I'm reading! Twice! And I felt so smart because I knew what it meant. I swear I'd never heard that word before, but maybe it's like when you get a new car and all of a sudden you become aware of all the cars that look just like yours and it seems like there's way more of them than there used to be. Anyway, my point is, I can already tell this is helping me 'grow' my vocabulary. And I'm actively trying to find new words now... gives me some motivation to read more. Now, onto today's word:

Avaricious

[av-uh-rish-uhs]

Adjective: Covetous, greedy, and rapacious share the sense of desiring to possess more of something than one already has or might in normal circumstances be entitled to. Avaricious often implies a pathological, driven greediness for money or other valuables and usually suggests a concomitant miserliness: the cheerless dwelling of an avaricious usurer. (from dictionary.com)

I think maybe Ebenezer Scrooge would be a perfect example of an avaricious character.

Seth actually asked me if I knew what this word meant one evening and we had to look it up. Oddly enough, it was just after our discussion about how I jokingly wanted to buy more stuff to review on my blog. Come on, I mean I may be covetous, but miserly? What do you people want from me?!

New Word Wednesday

I come across a lot of words I don't know in the books I read and because of this I keep a small dictionary on my nightstand so I have it at the ready when one of these unknowns pops up. I began marking each word I looked up with a red dot so I'd know if I'd looked it up before. I've been surprised at how many words I look up several times.

Because I'm barraged by so many new words, it's hard for me to remember them all and more importantly, begin including them in my regular vocabulary. There are some words I hear all the time and know that I should know what they mean, but never bothered to look them up. My vocabulary isn't very big so I thought if I started doing a weekly post on the new words I find, maybe I'll remember them. It's worth a shot I guess! So without further ado, here is this week's new word:

Vertiginous

Pronunciation: ver-tij-uh-nuhs

-adjective

1. whirling; spinning; rotary: vertiginous currents of air.

2. affected with vertigo; dizzy.

3. liable or threatening to cause vertigo: a vertiginous climb.

4. apt to change quickly; unstable: a vertiginous economy.

Related words: dizzy, giddy, woozy, unstable, lightheaded, whirling
(from Dictionary.com)

I can't remember the exact sentence I read, but I saw this word in "The River Why" by David James Duncan. It said something like: "Gus jumped into the relationship with Eddy vertiginously."

I had an inkling it was related to the word "vertigo" but was having a hard time putting two and two together. After looking up the definition, I determined that in that instance, 'vertiginous' was more closely synonymous with 'giddy.'

That's all for today, class. Now go forth and vocabularize! (or something like that)