Definitions

December 1st 2016

• Yiddish:a language used by Jewish people in central and northern Europe before the Holocaust.

• Amalgamation: the action, process, or result of combining or uniting.

• Pyrrhic: of a victory won at too great a cost to have been worthwhile for the victor.

• Scuttled: run hurriedly or furtively with short quick steps.

• Arbitration: the use of an arbitrator to settle a dispute.

• Upsurge: an upward surge in the strength or quantity of something.

• Astute: having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this into someone’s advantage.

November 29th 2016

• Defamiliarization: the artistic technique of presenting to audiences common things in an unfamiliar or strange way in order to enhance perception of the familiar.

• Contingent: subject to chance.

• Teleology: the explanation of phenomena by the purpose they serve rather than by postulated causes.

• Meritocracy: government or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability.

• Vestigal: forming a very small remnant of something that was once was much larger or more noticeable.

• Pastiche: imitate the style of an artist of work.

• Artillery: large-caliber guns used in warfare on land.

November 22nd 2016

• Agricultural: of or relating to agriculture

• Mineral: a solid inorganic substance of natural occurrence.

• Protracted: lasting for a long time or longer than expected or usual.

• Dispersion: the action or process of disturbing things or people over a wide area.

• Creel: a wicker basket for carrying fish.

November 17th 2016

• Bourgeois: of or characteristics of the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values.

• Ermine: a fur, consisting of a white background with a pattern of black shapes representing the winter coat of the stoat.

• Cachet: the state of being respected or admired.

• Millinery: women’s hats

• Vaudeville: a stage play on a trivial theme with interspersed songs.

• Opulence: great wealth or luxurious.

• Belfries: a bell tower or steeping housing bells, especially one that is a part of a church.

November 15th 2016

• Ubiquitous: present, appearing, or found elsewhere.

• Oligarchs: a small group of people having control of a country, organization or institution.

• Vilified: speak or write about in an abusively disparaging manner.

• Mercantile: of or relating to trade or commerce

• Patronage: the support given by a patron

• Hitherto: until now or until the point in time under discussion

• Cordwainer: shoemaker who makes new shoes from new leather.

November 3rd 2016

• Polemicist: person who attacks someone else with written or spoken words.

• Cajoling: persuade someone to do something by sustained coaxing or flattery.

• Ebullient: cheerful and full of energy.

• Lethargy: a lack of energy and enthusiasm.

• Amalgam: a mixture or blend.

• Quasi: seemingly; apparently but not really.

• Squalid: of a place extremely dirty and unpleasant, especially as a result of poverty or neglect.

November 1st 2016

• hydropathy: the treatment of illness through the use of water, either internally or through external means such as steam baths.

• Austere: severe or strict in manner, attitude, or appearance.

• Exultant: triumphantly happy.

• Gallantry: courageous behavior, especially in battle.

• Stalwarts: a loyal, reliable, and hardworking supporter or participant in an organization or team.

• Breeches: short trousers fastened below the knee, now chiefly worn for riding a horse or as part of a ceremonial dress.

• Sectarian: denoting or concerning a sect or sects.

October 27th 2016

• doffing:to remove an item of clothing.

• superseded:taking the place of a person or thing previously in authority or use.

• crinoline:a stiff fabric made of horse hair and cotton or linen that’s used  stiffening a petticoat or as a lining.

• passe: no longer fashion or it’s out of date.

• faille: a soft, light-woven fabric having a ribbed texture and originally made out of silk.

• serge: a durable twilled woolen or worsted fabric.

• festoon: a chain or garland of flowers, leaves, or ribbons, hung in a curve as a decoration.

October 25th 2016

• chaste: abstaining from extramarital, or from all, sexual intercourse.

• privy:sharing in the knowledge of (something secret or private)

• sartorial: of or relating to tailoring, clothes, or style of dress.

• epitaph: a phrase or statement written in memory of a person who died, especially as an inscription on a tombstone.

• sardonic: grimly mocking or cynical.

• regnant: reiniging or ruling.

• liturgy: a form or formulary according to which public religious worship, especially Christian worship.

October 20th 2016

• relics:an object surviving from an earlier time, especially one of historical or sentimental interest.

• fortuitous:happening by chance rather than design.

• archduchess: wife or widow of an archduke.

• coiffure:a person’s hairstyle, typically an elaborate one.

• apocryphal: a story or statement of doubtful authenticity, thought circulating as true.

• aigrette:a headdress consisting of a white egret’s feather or other decoration such as a spray of gems.

• edifice:a building, especially large, imposing one.

• sacrosanct: a principle,place or routine regarded as too important or valuable to be interfered with.

October 18th 2016

• magnanimous: very generous or forgiving, especially towards rival or someone less powerful than oneself.

• courtiers: a person know attends a royal court as a companion or advisor to the king or queen.

• usurped: taking a position of power or importance illegally or by force.

• duchy: the territory of a duke or duchess; a dukedom.

• emissary:a person sent on a special mission, usually as a diplomatic representative.

• seigneuries: a feudal lordship; the position, authority, or domain of a feudal lord.

• tutelage: protection of or authority over someone or something; guardianship.

• quarrels: having an angry argument or disagreement.

October 6th 2016

• Mimicry: the action or art of imitating someone or something, typically in order to entertain or ridicule.

• Mauve: of a pale purple color.

• Toile: an early version of a finished garment made up of  cheap material so that the design can be tested and perfected.

• Svelte: slender and elegant person.

• Automaton: a moving mechanical device made in imitation of  human being.

• Mercer: a dealer in textile fabrics, especially silks, velvets, and other fine materials.

• Vaudeville: a type of entertainment popular chiefly in the US in the early 20th Century, featuring a mixture of specialty acts such as burlesque comedy and song and dance.

• Rudimentary: involving or limited to basic principles.

• Maquette: a sculptor’s small preliminary model or sketch.

October 4th 2016

• Decomposition: the state or process of rotting; decay

• Indican: a potassium salt present in urine, in which it occurs as a product of the metabolism of indole.

• Vat Dye: a process that refers to dyeing  that takes place in a bucket or vat.

• Buoyant: able or apt to stay afloat or rise to the top of a liquid or gas.

• Flora:the plants of a particular region, habitat, or geological period.

• Insalubrious: not clean or healthy

• Deleterious: causing harm or damage.

• Juxtaposition: the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

• Toilsome: involving hard or tedious work.

• Sieve: a utensil consisting of a wire or plastic mesh held in a frame, used for stringing solids from liquids, for separating coarser from finer particles, or for reducing soft solids to a pulp.

September 29th 2016

• Khubilai Khan: was the 5th Khagan (Great Kahn) of the Mongol Empire, reigning from 1260 to 1294. He also founded the Yuan Dynasty in China as a conquest dynasty in 1271 and ruled as the first Yuan emperor until his death in 1294.

• Silk Road: was an ancient network of trade routes that for centuries were central to cultural interaction through regions of the Asian continent connecting the East and West from China to the Mediterranean Sea.

• Takamakan Desert: is a desert in Southwest Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwest China.

• Bactria: was the name of a historical region in Central Asia.

• Khotan: (Kingdom of Khotan) was an ancient Saka Buddhist kingdom that was located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the Southern edge of the Takamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin (modern Xinjiang, China)

• Didactic: intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.

• Bazaar: a market in a Middle Eastern country.

• Mercantile: of or relating to trade or commerce; commercial.

• Sojourn: a temporary stay.

• Kinsmen: a man who is one of a person’s blood relations.

• Atrocities: an extremely wicked or cruel act, typically involving physical violence or injury.

• Cantata: a medium-length narrative piece of music for voices with instrumental accompaniment, typically with solos, chorus, and orchestra.

September 27th 2016

• Ledgers: a book or collection of financial accounts of a particular type.

• Sasanian Empire: was the last Iranian empire before the rise of Islam, ruled by and named after the Sasanian dynasty from 224 to 651.

• Transcaucasian: is a geopolitical region located in the vicinity of the Southern Caucasus Mountains on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.

• Famine: widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, population imbalance or government policies.

• Sluice: a sliding gate or other device for controlling the flow of water, especially one in a lock gate.

• Bequests: are a legacy

• Empirical: based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic.

• Agrarian: of or relating to cultivated land or the cultivation of land.

• Tonnage:weight in tons, especially of cargo or freight.

• Shilling: a former British coin and monetary unit equal  to one twentieth of a pound or twelve pence.

• Stevedores: is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships.

September 22nd 2016

• Calcutta: (now known as Kolkata) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of East India.

• Bullion: gold or silver in bulk before coining or valued by weight.

• Saltpetre: several nitrogen-based compounds and minerals scubas potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, calcium nitrate, and magnesium nitrate.

• Hemp: a variety of the cannabis sativa plant species that is grown specifically for the industrial uses of it’s derived products.

• Jute: it is the name of the plant or fiber that is used to make burlap, hessian, or gunny cloth. It is also used to make bags out of it.

• Proliferation: rapid increase in numbers or rapid production of a cell, part, or organism.

• Specie: money in the form of coins rather than notes.

September 20th 2016

• Pagne: it is colorful women’s garment widely worn in West Africa. It has formal and informal versions and varies from simple draped clothes to fully tailored ensembles.

• Gagnoa: it is a city in the South-Central Ivory Coast that is also the seat of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gagnon and contains it’s Cathedral.

• Cote d’Ivoire: also known as the Ivory Coast,  it is a French speaking country located West Africa.

• Baoule: (pronounced in French) are Akan people and it’s one of the largest groups in Cote d’ Ivoire. They are traditionally farmers who live in the center of Cote d’ Ivoire.

• Maritime: connected with the sea, especially in relation to seafaring commercial or military activity.

• Mongols: East-Central Asian ethnic group that’s native to Mongolia and China’s inner Mongolia Autonomous region.

• Zeelandia Castle: fortress built in 10 years between 1624 to 1634 by Dutch East India Company. It was considered an International Business Center.

September 7th 2016

• Safavid Court:one of the most significant ruling dynasties of the Persia (modern Iran) after the fall of the Sassanian Empire during the Muslim conquest of Persia in the 7th Century AD.

• Brocades: a rich fabric, usually silk, woven with a raised pattern, typically with gold or silver thread.

• Arabesque: ornamental design consisting of intertwined flowing lines, originally found in Arabic or Moorish decoration.

• Mughal Paintings: South Asian paintings continued to miniatures either as book illustrations or single works to be kept in albums.

• Palmettes: an ornaments of radiating petals that resemble the leaflets of a palm.

September 6th 2016

• Yoruba: a member of a people of Southwestern Nigeria and Benin.

• Ikat: fabric made using an Indonesian decorative technique in which warp or weft threads, or both, are tie-dyed before weaving.

• Warp:the threads on a loom over and under which other threads (the weft) are passed to make cloth.

September 1st 2016

• Lamaist: it is a reformation of Buddhism in Tibet intended to bring about stricter discipline in the monasteries

• charioteer: a chariot driver

• vestments: a chasuble or robe worn by the clergy or choristers during services

• palmette: an ornament of radiating petals that resemble the leaflets of a palm

• motifs: a decorative design or pattern

• surimono: a genre of Japanese woodblock print

• waraji: sandals that are made out of straw rope that in the past were the standard footwear of the common people of Japan

• haori: traditional Japanese for of hip- or thigh-length kimono-like jacket, worn over a kosode.

• obi: a sash for traditional Japanese dress, keikogi, and part of kimono outfits

• kanji: adoptive logographic Chinese characters that are used in modern Japanese writing system.

August 30th 2016

• rapprochement: an establishment or resumption of harmonious relations.
• cartouche: a carved tablet or drawing representing a scroll with rolled-up ends, used ornamentally or bearing an inscription.  
• quatrefoils: an ornament design of four lobes or leaves as used in architectural tracery, resembling a flower or four-leaved clover.

• papyrus: a material prepared in ancient Egypt from the pithy stem of a water plant, used in sheets throughout the Mediterranean world for writing or painting on, and also for making rope, sandals, and boats.
• boudoir cap:a form of lingerie hat that’s popularly worn in the 29th and early 20th century.

• mallows: herbaceous plant with hairy stems, pink or purple flowers, and disk-shaped fruit. Some kinds are grown as ornaments and other are edible.

August 24th 2016

• merino: the economically influential breed of sheep prized for its wool
• mestiza: a woman of mixed race, especially the offspring of a Spaniard and an American Indian
• flax: a blue-flowered herbaceous  plant that is cultivated for its seed (linseed) and for textile fiber made from its stalks
• linseed: seeds of a flax plant, which are the source of linseed oil and linseed cake
• flax straw:the whole flax plant after pulling and drying