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.
Read my review of Lord of the Fire Lands.
adjudicator: a person who studies and settles conflicts and disputes
baldric: a wide (ornamented) belt worn over the right shoulder to support a sword or bugle by the left hip
burgher: a member of the middle class
cabochon: a highly polished convex-cut but unfaceted gem
connivance: agreement on a secret plot
cordwainer: A worker in cordwain, or cordovan leather; a shoemaker
coronet: a small crown; usually indicates a high rank but below that of sovereign
creel: a wicker basket used by anglers to hold fish
demesne: territory over which rule or control is exercised
deportment: the way a person behaves toward other people
despot: a cruel and oppressive dictator
dormer: a gabled extension built out from a sloping roof to accommodate a vertical window
dory: a small boat of shallow draft with cross thwarts for seats and rowlocks for oars with which it is propelled
elocution: an expert manner of speaking involving control of voice and gesture
estuary: the wide part of a river where it nears the sea; fresh and salt water mix
fo'c'sle: living quarters consisting of a superstructure in the bow of a merchant ship where the crew is housed
haberdasher: a merchant who sells men's clothing
harangue: a loud bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion
heriot: a payment or tribute of arms or military accouterments, or the best beast, or chattel, due to the lord on the death of a tenant
hummocky: a small natural hill
moorland: open land usually with peaty soil covered with heather and bracken and moss
muniment: A record; the evidences or writings whereby a man is enabled to defend the title to his estate; title deeds and papers.
piebald: having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly
priory: religious residence in a monastery governed by a prior or a convent governed by a prioress
rapacious: excessively greedy and grasping
smock: a loose coverall (coat or frock) reaching down to the ankles
spume: foam or froth on the sea
squelch: walk through mud or mire
tanist: a lord or proprietor of a tract of land or of a castle, elected by a family, under the system of tanistry
tarn: a mountain lake
tattoo: a drumbeat or bugle call that signals the military to return to their quarters
thegn: a thane
trusses: a framework of beams forming a rigid structure
weathercock: weathervane with a vane in the form of a rooster
wimple: headdress of cloth; worn over the head and around the neck and ears by medieval women
witan: sage, adviser
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