"Pelion upon Ossa" When the giants Otus and Ephialtes attempted to storm Olympus, they piled Mount Pelion upon Mount Ossa, which became a proverbial allusion for any huge but fruitless attempt. pudicity... n. [Cf. F. pudicit['e], L. pudicitia.] Modesty; chastity. --Howell. sago : a dry granulated or powdered starch prepared from the pith of a sago palm and used in foods and as textile stiffenin

carking Pronunciation: \ˈkär-kiŋ\ Function: adjective Etymology: Middle English, from carken, literally, to load, burden, from Anglo-French carker, from Late Latin carricare Date: circa 1565 : burdensome...and intransitive verb (past and past participle sol-faed, present participle sol-fa·ing, 3rd person present singular sol-fas) Definition: sing using sol-fa: to sing a tune using the sol-fa syllable

caber /kaybr/ • noun a roughly trimmed tree trunk used in the Scottish Highland sport of tossing the caber. ORIGIN Scottish Gaelic cabar ‘pole’. latifundia a great estate. [Origin: 1620–30;... pisco (plural piscos) 1. A liquor distilled from grapes (a brandy) made in wine-producing regions of Peru and Chile. It is the most widely consumed spirit in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru.

anthropophagous Pronunciation: \ˌan(t)-thrə-ˈpä-fə-gəs\ Function: adjective Date: circa 1828 : feeding on human flesh daric Pronunciation: (dar'ik), [key] —n. a gold coin and monetary... from Late Latin, from Greek statēr, literally, a unit of weight, from histanai to cause to stand, weigh — more at stand Date: 14th century : an ancient gold or silver coin of the Greek city-states

voussoir Pronunciation: \vü-ˈswär, ˈvü-ˌ\ Function: noun Etymology: French, from Old French vosoir, from Vulgar Latin *volsorium, from Latin volvere to roll — more at voluble Date: 1728 : one of the wedge-shaped pieces forming an arch or vault — see arch illustration

calefaction Pronunciation: (kal"u-fak'shun), [key] —n. 1. the act of heating. 2. a heated state. coryphaeus Main Entry: cor·y·phae·us Listen to the pronunciation of coryphaeus Pronunciation...] A conflict of the soul with the body. resipiscence (n.) Wisdom derived from severe experience; hence, repentance. theriac an antidote to a poison, especially to the venom of a snake

drugget noun Definition: 1. carpeting fabric: a thick heavy woolen or cotton and wool blend fabric. Use: floor coverings. 2. rug: a coarse rug made of wool or cotton and wool 3. woolen fabric...sale. --Bp. Hall. whin Pronunciation: \ˈhwin, ˈwin\ Function: noun Etymology: Middle English whynne, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian kvein bent grass Date: 14th century : gorse

cardoon noun Definition: spiny plant with edible parts: a large perennial plant related to the artichoke with spiny leaves and edible roots and leafstalks. Native to: southern Europe. Latin name...four sides, in each of which the lower part of the slope is steeper than the upper part. 2 Brit. another term for GAMBREL. — ORIGIN named after the 17th-century French architect François Mansart

Main Entry: sap·id Listen to the pronunciation of sapid Pronunciation: \ˈsa-pəd\ Function: adjective Etymology: Latin sapidus tasty, from sapere to taste — more at sage Date: 1623 1: having flavor : flavorful2archaic : agreeable to the mind — sa·pid·i·ty Listen to the pronunciation of sapidity \sa-ˈpi-də-tē\ noun archaic

antependium noun Definition: altar hanging: a decorative cloth that hangs on the front of an altar or lectern [Late 16th century. < medieval Latin < Latin ante "before" + pendere "hang"] archivolt...supreme papal authority. — DERIVATIVES ultramontanism noun. — ORIGIN originally referring to a representative of the Roman Catholic Church north of the Alps: from Latin ultra ‘beyond’ + mons ‘mountain’.