Great words.

One super thing about the Kindle is the enclosed dictionary. If you’re reading something heavy with syllables and you just can’t figure out what the heck it’s saying, then the kindle will tell you.

As it happens, I’m reading Cloud Atlas and it’s stacked with words I’ve never seen. Here are some of the awesome words that I’ve learned over the past two days.

Peregrinate: (v) archaic or humorous travel or wandering from place to place
Circumvallate: (v) surround as if with a rampart
Obdurate: (adj.) stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action
Somnambulism: (n) sleepwalking *this is my favorite
Terraqueous: (adj.) consisting of, or formed of, land and water
Pusillanimous: (adj.) showing a lack of courage or determination
Extirpate: (v) root out and destroy completely
Ameliorate: (v) make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better
Abrogate: (v) repeal or do away with (a law, right, or formal agreement)
Renege (also renegue): (v) go back on a promise
Simulacrum: (n) an image or representation of someone or something
Diaphanus: (adj) light, delicate, and translucent *I like this one too
Indelible: (adj) not able to be forgotten or removed
Pellucid: (adj) translucently clear: mountains reflected in the pellucid waters.

There were more, but those are the ones that were easy to find again in the book. Oh man, I love somnambulant and diaphanus. They were used as follows:

The somnambulant grandfather clock. The diaphanus fog. Neat!

4 thoughts on “Great words.

  • 5/1/2009 at 6:19 pm
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    Let’s see….I knew obdurate, ameliorate, renege, and indelible. Since I knew them, they are obviously real. The rest are shams.

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  • 5/1/2009 at 6:26 pm
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    If you have a somnambulant grandfather clock are you unconsciously letting time get away from you?

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  • 5/1/2009 at 6:32 pm
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    I could guess the meaning of Terraqueous, Somnabulism, and half of Circumvallate from Latin. It’s kinda cool being able to guess the meaning of a word without even seeing it before. I have a friend that can guess lots of medical terms correctly cause he was raised speaking english and greek. Its amazing how he can guess symptoms and diseases without knowing anything about it.

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