Word-Hunting in Tess

A while ago, I promised that I would share all the strange and wonderful words from Tess of the D'Urbervilles that I wrote down on my vocabulary building list.  I like Thomas Hardy's writing.  It's easy to read and understand, but is still strewn with words that I've never encountered before, and are mostly very fascinating to look at.  Here are the ones I've jotted down so far:

 

calcareous - adj. containing calcium corbonate; chalky

 

conterminous - adj. 1. sharing a common boundary; 2. having the same area, context, or meaning

 

extemporize - v. improvise: perform without preparation

 

emolument - n. a salary, fee, or profit from employment or office

 

dolorifuge - n. something that banishes or mitigates grief

 

nascent - adj. just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential; not yet fully developed

 

mien - n. a person's look or manner, indicating their character or mood

 

ensconce - v. establish or settle esp. in a comfortable, safe, or secretive place

 

dyspeptic - adj. of or having indigestion or consequent irritability or depression

 

vituperation - n. bitter and abusive language

 

accretion - n. the process of growth or increase, typically by the gradual accumulation of additional layers of matter

 

concatenation - n. the state of being linked together, as in a chain; union in a linked series

 

 

So many of them seem so strangely random, but their specificity makes them each incredibly unique and quirky.  Now that I know what they mean, I particularly like 'mien' and 'concatenation'.  I must admit, however, to liking the sound of 'vituperation'.

 

Having a little scrap of notepaper in every book is great because it means that I never have to leave behind a word I don't know.  I collect them, gather them up, so that I can learn them and use them!