One of the things I often do as I'm reading a novel or short story is keep track of words whose definitions I do not know or that I find interesting. Either way, these interesting words are ones I feel might be of use in my own writing. That, and it's good to expand one's vocabulary every once in a while.
This latest round of interesting words comes from Kay Kenyon's Bright of the Sky.
alkaloid: Any of various organic compounds normally with basic chemical properties and usually containing at least one nitrogen atom in a heterocyclic ring, occurring chiefly in many vascular plants and some fungi.
archon: A high official; a ruler.
cyanogenic: Capable of producing cyanide.
demiurge: A powerful creative force or personality.
epicanthic: Of or pertaining to an epicanthis; growing in or upon a canthus or corner of the eye.
espalier: A tree or shrub that is trained to grow in a flat plane against a wall, often in a symmetrical pattern.
evanescent: Vanishing or likely to vanish like vapor.
glycoside: Any of a group of organic compounds, occurring abundantly in plants, that yield a sugar and one or more nonsugar substances on hydrolysis.
gulag: A forced labor camp or prison, especially for political dissidents.
harangue: A long pompous speech, especially one delivered before a gathering.
legate: A person commissioned to represent a state, or the highest authority in the state, in a foreign state or court; a deputy; an ambassador.
meritocracy: A system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement.
phenolic: Any of various synthetic thermosetting resins, obtained by the reaction of phenols with simple aldehydes and used to make molded products and as coatings and adhesives.
tannin: Any of various chemically different substances capable of promoting tanning.
terpenoid: A very large class of naturally occurring and synthetic organic compounds formally derived from the hydrocarbon isoprene; they include many volatile compounds used in perfume and food flavours, turpentine, the steroids, the carotene pigments and rubber.
toadyism: The practice of meanly fawning on another; base sycophancy; servile adulation.
unctuous: Containing or composed of oil or fat.
vilification: slanderous or malicious defamation; character assassination
[ Follow me on Twitter ]
Indulge in fantastic tales of sword, sorcery, and alchemy today by joining thousands of readers like yourself who can't get enough of Scott Marlowe's
"intense" storytelling and "skillfully written" adventures. You'll get two free stories, The Hall of Riddles and The Assassin's Dilemma, plus an original short story set in my world delivered to you each and every month.