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Topic: Darkstorme's Word of the Day (Read 5599 times)
darkstorme
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Posts: 4648
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Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #200 on:
February 28, 2011, 04:28:11 am »
(I'll catch up soon, I promise!)
Atrocity
An
atrocity
(ah-traw-sih-tee) is a particularly cruel, vicious,
heinous
or monstrous act.
The
atrocity
of a given act or behaviour is a measure of its monstrousness.
Usage:
Behind the disarming smile, Hal was a fiend. There was no evil scheme he wouldn't concoct; no
atrocity
he wouldn't commit.
The cultists had the village at their mercy for nearly a week; when the Aeridinite rescue party arrived, the
atrocity
of the cultists' actions left the clerics at a loss for words.
Reference:
atrocity - definition of atrocity by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
atrocity - Definition of atrocity at YourDictionary.com
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darkstorme
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Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #201 on:
March 01, 2011, 03:49:59 am »
A description of that which Corathites
inflict on their victims
...
Excruciating
If something is
excruciating
(ek-screw-shee-ay-ting) it is painful to the extreme, agonizing - unbearably painful. This can be figurative pain, rather than literal pain, but if it is, it's so intense as to be almost physical.
It can also describe something that is incredibly intense (pain or otherwise) - for example, describing something in "excruciating detail".
To
excruciate
is to torture. In real life, the word derives from the Latin, "cruciare" - literally, to crucify. So, being tied to a cross, hoisted up into the air and suffering a slow death while having your arms dislocated could be described as
excruciating
torment.
Usage:
Sion had thought he'd been prepared for being caught by his own kind after his exile to the Deep. Now, his throat raw from screaming, and the tendrils of the scourge burning another
excruciating
line down his back, he was no longer so sure.
Jenna stilled her breath and tried to make no sound as the heavy tread of the monster rattled the door of the small hut. The footsteps paused, and Jenna had a moment of
excruciating
terror as she envisioned the heavy head turning, smelling her on the air - but then they restarted, and receded.
Reference:
excruciating - definition of excruciating by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
Excruciating | Define Excruciating at Dictionary.com
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #202 on:
March 02, 2011, 03:31:51 am »
And yet another activity they might choose to engage in:
Exsanguinate
This may seem somewhat
familiar
, and it should be - it derives from the same root.
Sang
, again, is from the latin for blood.
"ex"
, in this case, means "remove".
To
exsanguinate
(ecks-ang-gwinn-ate) something (or someone, all you budding Corathites!) then, is to drain blood from its (their) body.
The process is called
exsanguination
.
It should also be noted that the process isn't solely confined to the realm of torturers, murderers and sociopathic serial killers. Butchers regularly
exsanguinate
animals before they're made up into cuts of meat.
Usage:
The first step in creating a viable mummy is
exanguinating
the body. This can be tedious and messy, but has an advantage over your everyday zombie in that the process greatly retards (or avoids altogether) the problem of putrefaction.
The village healer couldn't understand it. The young woman was showing all the signs of substantial blood loss - but she showed no wounds by which this
exsanguination
could have been accomplished. Just two very neat puncture marks on her neck.
Reference:
exsanguination - definition of exsanguination by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
exsanguinated - definition of exsanguinated in the Medical dictionary - by the Free Online Medical Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #203 on:
March 04, 2011, 03:56:56 am »
To wrap up Corath...
Unhallowed
Just the kind of ground for evil folk to walk on. So much so, in fact, there's a
spell for it
.
A location or object that is
unhallowed
(un-hahl-load) ranges from simply not at all sacred to the opposite of hallowed - that is, desecrated, profane, and downright evil.
Usage:
The clearing was
unhallowed
land - few plants grew there, and those that did were twisted and unnaturally warped.
Those who stepped into the
unhallowed
temple felt a chill wash over them, a stain soaking through their very soul.
Reference:
unhallowed - definition of unhallowed by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
unhallowed - Definition of unhallowed at YourDictionary.com
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darkstorme
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Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #204 on:
March 05, 2011, 04:43:29 am »
And now, to start Deliar on his merry way...
Happenstance
A
happenstance
(hah-pen-stance) is a coincidence that seems too convenient or elaborate to not have been the work of some other agency. It is, nonetheless, simple coincidence. Or, to put it another way, luck.
Generally, this is a coincidence with a positive outcome, rather than a negative.
Usage:
It was sheer
happenstance
that the adventurers were all in the tavern when the sailor rushed in out of the rain.
The front lines were so confused that when two arbalests fired at once, it was
happenstance
, rather than coordination.
Reference:
happenstance - Definition of happenstance at YourDictionary.com
Happenstance | Define Happenstance at Dictionary.com
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darkstorme
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Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #205 on:
March 08, 2011, 03:58:32 am »
And continuing with Deliar:
Haggle
To
haggle
(hag-gull), at least in the context of Deliar, is to argue and bargain over a price or settlement.
It can also mean to cut roughly, or hack. In real life, this eventually led to its other meaning - as
hagglers
would cut away at the proposed price of an item.
A
haggle
is an argument over a price.
Usage:
Storold
haggled
with the merchant over the price of the spell components.
Halflings are famously capable
hagglers
.
References:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/haggler?show=0&t=1299574048
haggle: Definition, Synonyms from Answers.com
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darkstorme
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Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #206 on:
March 09, 2011, 03:48:37 am »
Lucky I thought of this one...
Fortuitous
A
fortuitous
(for-tew-ih-tuss) event is one that comes about by fortunate chance.
As an adverb,
fortuitously
describes an action that was previously taken that turned out to be advantageous or lucky.
Usage:
Elohanna grimaced as the fire elementals hauled themselves out of the lava stream. Well,
fortuitously
, she'd brought along a few dozen scrolls of Cone of Cold. Time for some impromptu lava sculptures.
It really was
fortuitous
that the Housemanns were out of town, Kell thought, as he let himself in through the upstairs window.
References:
fortuitous - definition of fortuitous by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
fortuitous - Definition of fortuitous at YourDictionary.com
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #207 on:
March 10, 2011, 03:59:25 am »
A drastically underused word in our setting:
Wares
Someone's
wares
(rhymes with "hairs") are the goods or services they have for sale. Can be (and often is) used to describe certain Xeenite services in a circuitous sort of fashion.
Usage:
"Pardon me, miss", the halfling said, "But I run the general store. Could I perhaps interest you in some of my
wares
?"
A lad named Twist, he found a lass, a trav'lin' twixt the fairs.
Said Twist, eyeing the pies she bore, "Let me taste your
wares
!"
The lass, no fool, replied to Twist - "Show me first your true!"
Said Twist, drawn dagger in his hand, "Well, this will have to do."[/I]
[/list]
Reference:
What is wares? Definition and Meaning
wares - definition of wares by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #208 on:
March 11, 2011, 04:05:40 am »
Yet another term to describe those things that happen to Lucky Coins...
Propitious
Events or circumstances that favour a beneficial outcome, or that suggest upcoming good fortune, are
propitious
(pro-pih-shuss),
Kindly actions can be similarly described.
Usage:
Propitious
winds hurried the ship along its trade route, shaving days off the trip.
In a
propitious
turn of events, the roof of the cavern halted in its collapse for a few minutes, allowing the party to escape before falling in entirely.
References:
Definition of propitious, soporific, dulcet, conclusive
propitious - definition of propitious by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #209 on:
March 14, 2011, 04:39:20 am »
Some may focus on Deliar's domains of money and wealth, but neglect generosity, harmony, and family. Happily, there is a word for these people.
Skinflint
A
skinflint
(skin-flint - not much to that, really) is an individual who is miserly, unwilling to spend money, a penny-pincher... basically, Ebeneezer Scrooge or Scrooge McDuck, but not necessarily as nasty as the former. A
skinflint
might be the type who would walk across town rather than spend money on a bus ticket.
Usage:
Griff eyed the paltry few coins the pawn shop owner had given him for the wands and scrolls he had come across. What a
skinflint.
Jebediah Stone in Vehl was well-known as a
skinflint
. He did, however, start heating his clerks' offices when it was pointed out that the time they took warming their ink until it unfroze was actually costing him more than the heating would.
Reference:
Dictionary - Definition of skinflint
skinflint: Definition, Synonyms from Answers.com
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #210 on:
March 15, 2011, 02:17:12 am »
And to round out Deliar (not that the little halfling needs any more rounding - Prunilla keeps him well-stuffed!)...
Dicker
To
dicker
(dih-ker) is to bargain, barter or deal.
A
dicker
is an act of bargaining.
Usage:
The two halflings
dickered
amiably for twenty minutes before the bargain was struck.
"I'll just be a moment - gonna have a bit of a
dicker
, eh?" The dwarf grinned and vanished into the crowd in the tavern.
Reference:
dicker - definition of dicker by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
dicker - Definition of dicker at YourDictionary.com
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #211 on:
March 17, 2011, 04:09:20 am »
And now a few non-topic ones while I prepare for next week:
Profligate
(Full disclosure - David Suzuki used it in a lecture the other day, and I thought, "That would make a great word of the day!" So now it is.)
An action (or action subject) which is
profligate
(proff-lih-git or proff-lih-gate, speaker's choice) is recklessly extravagant, wasteful, and/or immoral.
A
profligate
is an individual who commits such actions regularly.
Usage:
The halfling's
profligate
spending in the merchant districts of Vehl was likely to come back to haunt him sooner, rather than later.
Sallaron's
profligate
behaviour as a young adventurer earned him quite the reputation.
Reference:
Profligate | Define Profligate at Dictionary.com
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profligate
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #212 on:
March 18, 2011, 03:26:53 am »
Courtesy of a co-worker...
Witter
To
witter
(wit-tur) is to chatter or babble on for unnecessary length, pointlessly, and/or about some trivial topic.
Witter, as a noun, means pointless chatter.
(Which, if you think about it, means that "twitter" may be more apt a name than anyone thought!)
Usage:
Half the Angels waited impatiently while the elves
wittered
among themselves.
The pilgrim emerged from his temporary quarters in the Temple of Deliar into the morning
witter
as the merchants set up their shops.
Reference:
Wittering - definition of Wittering by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
witter, wittered, wittering, witters- WordWeb dictionary definition
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #213 on:
March 19, 2011, 06:02:13 am »
Given the weather outside tonight...
Dismal
Something that is
dismal
(diz-mull) is prone to cause gloom or depression; it's dreary. It can also be characterized by particular ineptitude, or a lack of merit, which of itself can also cause gloom or depression. (Imagine a teacher in a class of
dismal
students. They'd be gloomy too.)
Usage:
The weather in Palden Lake is always
dismal
, but on that fateful night, there was a storm brewing. The wind howled with a vengeance, and the rain pelted down like frigid bullets.
No one ever mentions Argali's
dismal
attempt at taking up ballroom dancing. As it turns out, swinging a double-headed axe doesn't translate well to swinging your partner. Or, at least, not in a way that doesn't result in them screaming and flailing about. And then there were the caterers...
Reference:
dismal - Definition of dismal at YourDictionary.com
dismal - definition of dismal by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #214 on:
March 20, 2011, 07:12:53 am »
A common misconception...
Bated
To
bate
(bayt) something is to reduce its force and intensity, or restrain it. To be waiting with
bated breath
, therefore, is to be waiting eagerly/apprehensively and breathing quietly/holding one's breath while so doing.
The verb is based on the same root as "abate", but split off from its sibling word while still in Old English.
Should not be confused with "bait". "Baited breath" would simply smell fishy. *grins*
It can also be used to describe a procedure used to soften leather in tanning, after liming the leather.
Usage:
As the undead monstrosity stomped towards their hiding place, the children waited with
bated
breath to see if their ploy had worked.
Timulty's summoned gust of wind
bated
the worst of the gale howling down on them, rushing forward to cancel it out.
Reference:
Bate | Define Bate at Dictionary.com
Definition of bated
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #215 on:
March 21, 2011, 04:08:51 am »
In the realms of mixed-up words:
Complement
This poor word gets mixed up with
compliment
all the time, but the two mean very different things.
A
complement
(comm-pleh-ment) can be a large number of things:
Something (or someone) that completes something or makes it whole. So if two people are chosen for a team because their strengths
complement
one another, it means that where one has a weakness, the other is strong, and the reverse.
The number of items required to make up a whole set. So a ship's
complement
is the full crew required to run it. A shelf with a full
complement
of books is full.
In art, a
complementary
colour is the colour that is (in pigments) comprised of all the primary colours that do not go into making up its
complement.
(In light,
complementary
colours mixed together make white.)
In music, a
complementary
interval is the interval that needs to be added to an interval to make it a full octave. For example, a perfect fourth is the
complement
of a perfect fifth. (In C major, C-G is a perfect fifth, G-C is a perfect fourth.)
In math, a
complementary
angle is whatever angle needs to be added to an acute angle to make it ninety degrees.
Usage:
The captain called on the quartermaster. "Have we received our full
complement
of supplies? We're due to head for the front in three days."
Zarianna straightened, adjusting the necklace. The golden chain was the perfect
complement
to the ruby fabric of her tunic.
References:
complement - definition of complement by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
Complement | Define Complement at Dictionary.com
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #216 on:
March 22, 2011, 03:57:24 am »
Starting off Dorand...
Hone
A
hone
(rhymes with "moan") is a fine-grained whetstone or sharpening tool.
To
hone
something is to sharpen it with a
hone
or whetstone - or simply to put an edge on it or improve its edge. It can also mean to use a rotating abrasive tool to enlarge a bore hole to a precise size. (It can also be used metaphorically, putting an "edge" on a non-physical object, like hunger.)
Finally, to
hone
without an object means to moan or yearn.
Usage:
The axe blade had been
honed
until its edge was razor-sharp.
Lana Poetr's wit was
honed
by years growing up as one of
many
siblings.
Reference:
hone - Definition of hone at YourDictionary.com
Hone | Define Hone at Dictionary.com
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #217 on:
March 23, 2011, 04:29:21 am »
Not just for losing anymore...
Temper
A
temper
(temm-purr) can be a word describing a person's composure - that is, to lose one's
temper
is to become angry or excited. It can also indicate an inclination towards anger, if one is said to possess a
temper
.
It can also be a tone or state of being that is characteristic to something or someone.
A
temper
can also be a material (metal or otherwise) which is mixed with another material (usually metal) to alter the properties of the latter. Which is what Dorand would be most interested in, of course, and brings us to the verb form of the word.
To
temper
a material can mean to add a
temper
to it to change its properties - this can be both literal and figurative (for example,
tempering
a lecture with praise). It can also be a process of hardening or softening metal (or glass) by a process of repeated heating and cooling.
Because of this, it's often used to describe the strengthening of individuals' characteristics or organizations - for example, a battalion
tempered
by combat.
Usage:
Connor placed the flask of
tempered
glass on the flame and watched as the amber liquid came to a boil.
Jennara sought always to see that justice was
tempered
by mercy.
Reference:
Temper - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
temper - Definition of temper at YourDictionary.com
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #218 on:
March 24, 2011, 03:16:57 am »
Where Dorand and Ilsare intersect:
Luthier
A
luthier
(loo-tee-er) is, as the name implies, a maker of lutes. But that's not all! A
luthier
is a maker of stringed instruments in general - violins, viols, violas, celli, basses, guitars, harps... the
luthier
makes them all.
A repairman who specializes in stringed instruments can also bear the name.
Usage:
"What a lovely place you have here, Andrew!" gushed the ingenue, looking about the richly-appointed bedroom. "Thank you, my dear. Please, take a seat. Now, where did I put my..." A strangely tuneful crunch as the barmaid sat down told him where his violin had gone. Time for a trip to the
luthier
's... in the morning.
The
luthiers
in most town and city markets, like the other craftspeople, make decent instruments - but not the masterworks required by true virtuosi.
References:
luthier - definition of luthier by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
Luthier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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darkstorme
Sr. Member
Posts: 4648
Thanked: 283 times
Re: Darkstorme's Word of the Day
«
Reply #219 on:
March 25, 2011, 03:00:10 am »
A valuable tool a Dorandite would use to
stoke
the fire in his forge:
Bellows
A
bellows
(bell-lows) is a device with an air bladder connected to a nozzle and compressed between two hinged panels - example
here
. In a smithy, its primary use was to blow air onto the coals of the forge to heat it up. A large
bellows
could allow even a wood-fired forge to reach surprising temperatures.
Bellows
were also employed to provide the wind power for pipe organs. The name was also co-opted for a variety of similarly-designed structures, like the air reservoir in an accordion. It has also been used to refer to the lungs - which, in all fairness, operate somewhat similarly. (Of course, the lungs are expanded by the diaphragm producing a negative pressure in the body cavity, and air is forced out by the relaxation of the muscle, rather than compression, but the principle is similar.)
It might also be a present-tense conjugation of the verb "to bellow" but the two meanings have very different roots and simply evolved into the same word - at least in our world. The tool evolved from the Old English for, literally, "blowing bag". The verb is much older, its origins lying in a pre-English word for the sound a bull makes.
Usage:
The massive
bellows
was built into the forge itself, and was powered by a donkey walking on a treadmill. As the donkey picked up speed, the coals flared into incandescence.
Vrebel picked up the small hand-
bellows
, using it to heat the coals in the furnace. The iron bars glowed a cherry red, only just starting to soften around the edges. He wiped the sweat off his brow and pumped harder. Oh, for a big-city forge.
Reference:
bellows: Definition from Answers.com
bellows - Definition of bellows at YourDictionary.com
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