Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Wonderous Words Wednesday (11)


My unfamiliar words this week all came from Diana Gabaldon’s Dragonfly in Amber which I really MUST finish soon because it’s getting badly beaten up in my purse. Whoops. To see other Wonderous Words, visit Bermuda Onion’s site.

Alembics: (n.) An apparatus consisting of two vessels connected by a tube, formerly used for distilling liquids.

Then he made up his mind, and turned toward the stone table where his alembics simmered, jerking his head at me to follow. – page 290.

Acolyte: (n.) an altar attendant in public worship.

I blinked several times before I was able to locate Raymond, crouched cautiously at the foot of his ossuary like the resident acolyte. – page 291.

Laconically: (adv.) using few words; expressing much in few words; concise: a laconic reply.

“Och, aye,” the little clansman answered laconically. – page 318.

Gendarmerie: (n.) Slang A group of police officers.

I hardly thought a footpad or other miscreant would be staggering down an alleyway shouting for the gendarmerie, though in my present state of shock, almost nothing would have surprised me. – page 322

Saturnine: (adj.) sluggish in temperament; gloomy; taciturn.

My hand went to the crystal at my neck, and I stroked it ostentatiously as the Comte, with no sign of perturbation on his saturnine features, dug into the trout with almonds. – page 328

Peregrinations: (n.) travel from one place to another, esp. on foot.

Jamie made a move as though to join His Lordship in his random peregrinations about the cottage, but was restrained by my grip on his collar. – page 631

Abattoir: (n.) a slaughterhouse.

The triage station of any field hospital always bears a strong resemblance to an abattoir, and this was no exception. – page 644

Serried: (adj.) pressed together or compacted

In fact, a shout from the nearby Highlanders drew my attention at this point, and I looked up to see Red Jamie himself, strolling across the grass, waving absently to the men as he scanned the serried rocks behind the palace. – page 692

Definitions came from dictionary.com.

4 comments:

Margot at Joyfully Retired said...

Lots of unfamiliar words there. The only one I knew was acolyte and only because my children all served as acolytes when they were young.

Lisa notes... said...

I like when certain folks can be laconic. :-) Thanks for sharing your list.

bermudaonion said...

Wow, you found some great words! I knew gendarmerie from our time in France - I would go out of my way to avoid them! Thanks for participating!

Pamela said...

I KNEW ONE! I KNEW ONE! ha ha ha.