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a list of words from the second book of Edward Gorey's Amphigorey Too

  • Archipelago
    • a group of islands
  • cardamon
    • a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the family Zingiberaceae
  • obloquy
    • strong public criticism or verbal abuse
      • disgrace, especially that brought about by public abuse
  • tacks
  • Ignavia
    • Italian: sloth, indolence
  • samisen
    • a traditional Japanese three-stringed lute with a square body, played with a large plectrum
  • bandages
  • wax
  • Gavelkind
    • historical: a system of inheritance in which a deceased person's land is divided equally among all male heirs
  • tumeric
    • a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae
  • imbat
    • a type of dry north wind which blows in the eastern Mediterranean
  • cedilla
    • a mark ( ¸ ) written under the letter c, especially in French, to show that it is pronounced like an s rather than a k (e.g., façade)
      • a mark similar to a cedilla written under s in Turkish and other languages
  • Cassation
    • music: an informal instrumental composition of the 18th century, similar to a divertimento and originally often for outdoor performance
  • hendiadys
    • the expression of a single idea by two words connected with “and,” e.g., nice and warm, when one could be used to modify the other, as in nicely warm
  • quincunx
    • an arrangement of five objects with four at the corners of a square or rectangle and the fifth at its center, used for the five on dice or playing cards, and in planting trees
      • astrology: an aspect of 150°, equivalent to five zodiacal signs
  • vanilla
  • Corposant
    • archaic: an appearance of St. Elmo's fire on a mast, rigging, or other structure
  • madrepore
    • a stony coral of the genus Madrepora
    • the polyp producing this
  • ophicleide
    • a keyed brass instrument similar to the tuba
  • paste
  • Jequirity
    • a slender, perennial climber that twines around trees, shrubs, and hedges
  • tombola
    • a type of raffle popular in Britain, South Africa, Croatia, Italy, Turkey and Austria
  • sphagnum
    • a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as peat moss
  • distaste
  • Aceldama
    • Aramaic: field of blood
      • the place near Jerusalem purchased with the bribe Judas took for betraying Jesus. Acts 1:18, 19
      • any place of slaughter and bloodshed
  • lunistice
    • astronomy, obsolete: The farthest point of the moon's northing and southing, in its monthly revolution.
  • yarborough
    • whist, bridge: a hand in which no card is higher than a nine
  • cranium
  • Febrifuge
    • a medicine used to reduce fever
  • ampersand
  • hubris
  • geranium
  • opopanax
    • an odorous gum resin formerly used in medicine and believed to be obtained from Hercules' allheal
  • thunder
  • dismemberment
  • baize
    • a coarse, feltlike, woolen material that is typically green, used for covering billiard and card tables and for aprons
  • Hellebore
    • a poisonous winter-flowering Eurasian plant of the buttercup family, typically having coarse divided leaves and large white, green, or purplish flowers
  • obelus
    • a symbol (†) used as a reference mark in printed matter, or to indicate that a person is deceased
    • a mark (– or ÷) used in ancient texts to mark a word or passage as spurious, corrupt, or doubtful
  • cartilage
  • maze
  • Antigropelos
    • The word antigropelos, meaning galoshes, was coined in 19th century England, and is composed of the prefix anti- plus the Greek words for 'wet' (υγρός: hugros ) and mud (πηλός: pelos).
  • piacle
    • a heinous offense which requires expiation
  • occamy
    • alchemy
      • a metallic composition imitating silver
      • the pursuit of the transmutation of baser metals into silver
  • whistle
  • Maremma
    • an area of Italy bordering the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas
  • accismus
    • a form of irony in which a person feigns indifference to or pretends to refuse something he or she desires
  • badigeon
    • a cement or distemper paste (as of plaster and powdered freestone, or of sawdust and glue or lime) used by sculptors, builders, and workers in wood or stone, to fill holes, cover defects, finish a surface, etc.
  • epistle
  • Quodlibet
    • Latin for "whatever you wish" from quod, "what" and libet, "pleases"
      • a musical composition that combines several different melodies—usually popular tunes—in counterpoint, and often in a light-hearted, humorous manner
  • catafalque
    • a decorated wooden framework supporting the coffin of a distinguished person during a funeral or while lying in state
  • hiccup
  • remorse
  • Idioticon
    • a dictionary of a peculiar dialect, or of the words and phrases peculiar to one part of a country; a glossary
  • gibus
    • A collapsible top hat.
  • botargo
    • a delicacy of salted, cured fish roe, typically of the grey mullet or the bluefin tuna (bottarga di tonno), frequently found near coastlines throughout the world, that often is featured in Mediterranean cuisine
  • divorce
  • Phylactery
    • a small leather box containing Hebrew texts on vellum, worn by Jewish men at morning prayer as a reminder to keep the law
  • gegenschein
    • astronomy: a patch of very faint nebulous light sometimes seen in the night sky opposite the position of the sun. It is thought to be the image of the sun reflected from gas and dust outside the atmosphere.
  • clavicle
    • a long bone that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum or breastbone
  • sage
  • Bellonion
    • a mechanical musical instrument consisting of twenty-four trumpets and two kettle drums
  • thurible
    • a censer
  • aphthong
    • A letter or combination of letters employed in spelling a word but not pronounced.
  • plumbago
    • a genus of 10–20 species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world
  • Amaranth
    • a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants
  • rhonchus
    • medical: a whistling or snoring sound heard on auscultation of the chest when the air channels are partly obstructed
  • pantechnicon
    • a large van for transporting furniture
  • hymn
  • Diaeresis
    • a mark (¨) placed over a vowel to indicate that it is sounded in a separate syllable
    • a natural rhythmic break in a line of verse where the end of a metrical foot coincides with the end of a word
  • purlicue
    • Scottish: the end of a discourse
    • Presbyterian Church_: a review of a previous sermon or speech
    • Northern England: the distance between one's forefinger and thumb when extended
  • sparadrap
    • French:
      • A cerecloth.
      • medicine: Any adhesive plaster.
  • whim
  • Cicatrix
    • the scar of a healed wound
      • a scar on the bark of a tree
      • botany: a scar on the bark of a tree
  • salsify
    • Tragopogon, a plant genus
    • Tragopogon porrifolius, a plant with linear leaves cultivated for its light-skinned edible root and herbal properties
    • Scorzonera hispanica, a plant with lanceolate leaves cultivated for its dark-skinned edible root
  • palindrome
  • Bosporus
    • a narrow, natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in northwestern Turkey
  • Narthex
    • an antechamber, porch, or distinct area at the western entrance of some early Christian churches, separated off by a railing and used by catechumens, penitents, etc.
      • an antechamber or large porch in a modern church
  • betrayal
  • chalcedony
    • a microcrystalline type of quartz occurring in several different forms, including onyx, agate, and jasper
  • phosphorus
    • a chemical element with symbol P and atomic number 15
  • Ligament
  • exequies
    • formal, plural: funeral rites; obsequies
  • spandrel
    • architecture: the almost triangular space between one side of the outer curve of an arch, a wall, and the ceiling or framework
      • the space between the shoulders of adjoining arches and the ceiling or molding above
  • chandoo
    • an extract or preparation of opium, used in China and India for smoking
  • Gehenna
    • In rabbinic literature and Christian and Islamic scripture, a destination of the wicked.
  • etui
    • dated: a small ornamental case for holding needles, cosmetics, and other articles
  • anamorphosis
    • a distorted projection or drawing that appears normal when viewed from a particular point or with a suitable mirror or lens
  • glue
  • Wapentake
    • historical: (in the UK) a subdivision of certain northern and midland English counties, corresponding to a hundred in other counties
  • orrery
    • a mechanical model of the solar system, or of just the sun, earth, and moon, used to represent their relative positions and motions
  • aspic
    • a savory jelly made with meat stock, set in a mold and used to contain pieces of meat, seafood, or eggs
  • mistrust
  • Ichor
    • the fluid that flows like blood in the veins of the gods
      • literary: any bloodlike fluid
      • archaic: a watery, fetid discharge from a wound
  • ganosis
    • a process of toning down the glare of marble especially on nude parts as practiced by sculptors in classical antiquity
  • velleity
    • a wish or inclination not strong enough to lead to action
  • dust
apr 20 2024 ∞
oct 20 2024 +