arcanum \ar-KAY-nuhm\ (noun) plural arcana \-nuh\ - 1 : A secret; a mystery. 2 : Specialized or mysterious knowledge, language, or information that is not accessible to the average person (generally used in the plural).

"Millford was gifted in the utilization of the arcana of computer languages and thus was in high demand in a variety of ...Read more

clamber \KLAM-buhr; KLAM-uhr\ (intransitive verb) - To climb with difficulty, or on all fours; to scramble.

(noun) - The act of clambering.

"See them clamber, these quick monkeys! They clamber away, one atop the other, and so drag themselves into the mud and the abyss." -- Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, 'Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All ...Read more

tarry \TAR-ee\ (verb intr.) - 1 : To delay or be late in going, coming, or doing. 2 : To wait. 3 : To remain or stay temporarily, as in a place; sojourn. (verb tr.) To wait for; await. (noun) A temporary stay; a sojourn. (adjective) Of, resembling, or covered with tar.

"Never one to tarry, Kate was always the first to arrive at any social ...Read more

velleity \veh-LEE-uh-tee; vuh-\ (noun) - 1 : The lowest degree of desire; imperfect or incomplete volition. 2 : A slight wish or inclination.

"While most of his friends thought that his desire to become a singer of popular music was little more than a velleity, in Ted's mind it was a burning desire, superceding all others."

Velleity is derived...Read more

sciolist \SAI-uh-list\ (noun) - One who engages in pretentious display of superficial knowledge.

"Jason's ignorance of the progress which the marketing department had up to that time made was only equalled by his insolence toward its members in comparison with whom he was the merest sciolist."

From Late Latin sciolus (smatterer), ...Read more

propinquity \pruh-PING-kwih-tee\ (noun) - 1 : Nearness in place; proximity. 2 : Nearness in time. 3 : Nearness of relation; kinship.

"Janice was stunned by the propinquity of her best friend winning the lottery, having never previously even had an acquaintance who'd won so much as a sweepstakes."

Propinquity derives from Latin propinquitas, ...Read more

pococurante \po-ko-koo-RAN-tee, -kyoo-\ (adjective) - Indifferent, apathetic, nonchalant.

"James' only claim to fame was a single pococurante addition to the company's rules and regulations yet this, along with his esteemed name, was enough to guarantee him a cushy position in upper management for life."

From Italian, poco little + curante, ...Read more

zugzwang \TSOOK-tsvahng\ (noun) - A position where one is forced to make an undesirable move.

"Alan's company suddenly found itself in zugzwang, where every move it made worsened its position against an invisible opponent."

From German Zugzwang, Zug (move) + Zwang (compulsion, obligation).

cappuccino \kae-peh-CHI-no\ (noun) - Espresso coffee served with milk.

"Jeff was the sort who liked to start his day with cappuccino, though on the way to work, it was probably better to have a biscotto with it than 'Death by Chocolate.'"

Italian cappuccino referring to the Capuchin monks of the Order of St. Francis (of Assisi), so called ...Read more

hallucinate \heh-LU-seh-neyt\ (verb) - To be deceived by delusions as a result of mental illness or a narcotic; to suffer a wildly distorted dream of something nonexistent but perceived as real.

"Courtney hallucinates more boyfriends than she actually goes out with."

From Latin "hallucinatus," past participle of hallucinari "to dream, ...Read more

ratiocination \rash-ee-ah-suh-NAY-shun; rash-ee-oh-\ (noun) - The process of reasoning.

"Such were the intensity of Henry's thought processes that one imagined that they could almost hear the ratiocination as it proceeded."

Ratiocination is from Latin rationcinatio, from ratiocinari, "to compute, to calculate, to reason," from ratio, "...Read more

gubernatorial \GOO-ber-nuh-TOR-ee-uhl\ (adjective) - Of or pertaining to a governor.

"Jed was convinced that the gubernatorial race was going to be as much of a snoozer as usual, and was surprised when the dirt one candidate threw at the other actually stuck, causing his downfall."

Gubernatorial is from Latin gubernator, "governor," from ...Read more

propitiate \pro-PISH-ee-ayt\ (transitive verb) - To render favorably inclined; to appease; to conciliate (one offended).

"Azorka, a black house-dog, probably conscious of his guilt in barking for nothing and anxious to propitiate us, approached us, diffidently wagging his tail." -- Anton Chekhov, "Lights"

Propitiate derives from Latin ...Read more

senescent \si-NES-uhnt\ (adjective) - Growing old; aging.

"The senescent director of the new WWII epic was described as being anything but by the stars of the movie, as he was wont to jump from boat to boat carrying the heavy camera himself to get the shots he desired."

Latin senescens, senescent-, present participle of senescere, to grow old,...Read more

blackguard \BLAG-uhrd\ (noun) - 1 : A rude or unscrupulous person; a scoundrel. 2 : A person who uses foul or abusive language.

(adjective) - 1 : Scurrilous; abusive; low; worthless; vicious; as, "blackguard language."

(transitive verb) - 1 : To revile or abuse in scurrilous language.

"In spite of his fine manners and rich clothing Ross was, ...Read more

indigence \IN-dih-juhn(t)s\ (noun) - A state of extreme poverty or destitution.

"Such was the band's indigence that all they could afford was 'loser's lunch', a meal which consisted of baloney on hand, as they could not afford even bread."

Indigence comes from Latin indigentia, "neediness," from indigens, indigent- present participle of ...Read more

iota \eye-OH-tuh\ (noun) - 1 : The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding to the English i. 2 : A very small quantity or degree; a jot; a bit.

"A brilliant negotiator, James had not moderated his demands one iota in seven years."

Iota is the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet. The word jot also derives from iota.

genuflection \jen-yeh-FLEK-shehn\ (noun) - 1 : Bowing on one knee as a sign of respect; 2 : kow-towing, groveling.

"Rathbone's genuflection around the president in the board room gets on everyone's nerves."

Today's word comes from Late Latin genuflectere "to bow" based on genu "knee" + flectere "to bend." The latter stem is related to our ...Read more

tergiversate \tehr-GI-vehr-seyt\ (verb) - Abandon a cause or reverse one's position on something.

"When President Bush the Elder said 'Read my lips: no new taxes,' he later tergiversated on the issue."

Latin tergiversatus, past participle of tergiversor "to turn one's back" hence "to decline or refuse" from tergum "back" + ...Read more

(Author's warning No. 1: If you're reading this column while eating breakfast, you might want to move on to the comics page.)

Watching contestants on reality TV swallow fat, writhing yellow grubs raises several icky entomological questions, including: Are the production assistants who round up and corral the grubs called "grub wranglers"?

...Read more