Wondrous Words Wednesday

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where readers share new (to us) words encountered in our reading.

Feel free to join by posting your new words, and then leaving a comment for Kathy with your link at Bermuda Onion.

The object is to increase our vocabulary while having a bit of fun. Here are new words that I’ve discovered while reading this week;

miasma - "A dusty miasma assaulted her nostrils as she pulled the door open, and she faced a darkness as impenetrable as granite" (367). Fatal Illusions, a fantastic first novel by Adam Blummer.

miasma - a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere.

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The following words are from The Unquiet Bones, an enjoyable medieval English mystery by Melvin R. Starr. Even with an extensive five page glossary, these nine words stumped me, and I had to look them up!

coney - "John had sent the two girls from the castle to clean the dusty place,and I found a coney pie still warm on the table" (39).

coney - any of various burrowing animals of the family Leporidae having long ears and short tails; some domesticated and raised for pets or food



osseous - "But my expertise in osseous materials seemed hardly necessary" (40).

osseous - Composed of, containing, or resembling bone; bony.



dags - "The long sleeves were cut in dags, ornamented with a trim of yellow velvet, and emgroidered with gold thread" (78).

dags - A hanging end or shred.



fecundity - "The youth spoke of his reasons for desiring Margaret for a wife, among which were her health, her likely fecundity, her reputation for hard work won at her father's forge, an even her appearance" (88).

fecundity - The quality or power of producing abundantly; fruitfulness or fertility.



surfeit - "I gave him three farthings, which did not cause him a surfeit of joy" (122).

surfeit - excess; an excessive amount:



imprecations - "He will kick and struggle while students shout imprecations at him" (158).

imprecations - A curse



parsimonious - "Not so, Lord Gilbert, who, as I have related, could be parsimonious" (196).

parsimonious - frugal or stingy.



trencher - "I sat before the trencher assigned to me, and washed my when servants brought pitcher and towel" (196).

trencher - a rectangular or circular flat piece of wood on which meat, or other food, is served or carved.



destrier - "The horse was large and strong, a destrier worth 40 or more" (209)

destrier - a war-horse; charger.