Showing posts with label jessica gross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jessica gross. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Wondrous Words Wednesday (19)



Welcome back, wordy friends!

Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by BermudaOnion each week. It's an opportunity to share new words you've encountered in your reading, or highlight words that you particularly enjoy.

Here are three of my favorites new-to-me words from some of my recent reads. All definitions from Dictionary.com.


1. ziggurat. "As we skirt the vast orange ziggurat of Sainsbury's, a man behind the wheel of a huge lorry waves his arms angrily, as if to sweep us out of his line of vision."  (from The Uninvited by Liz Jensen)

noun
(among   the   ancient   Babylonians   and   Assyrians)   a   temple   of   Sumerian   origin   in   the   form   of   a   pyramidal  tower,   consisting   of   a   number   of   stories   and   having   about   the   outside   a   broad   ascent   winding   round   the  structure,   presenting   the   appearance   of   a   series   of  terraces .

I believe the author was trying to convey how maze-like and confusing the area was.

2. internecine. "The internecine commenter strife fails to make me feel any better about the post, so I turn back to my final duties for the day."  (from Sad Desk Salad by Jessica Grose)

adjective
1. of or pertaining to conflict or struggle within a group: an internecine feud among proxy holders.
2. mutually destructive.
3. characterized by great slaughter; deadly.

The character was referring to a battle going on between commenters on her blog post.

3. duiker. "Over her shoulder was slung a rough bag, made from the hide of a duiker."  (from White Dog Fell From The Sky by Eleanor Morse)

noun
any of several small African antelopes of the  Cephalophus, Sylvicapra,   and related genera, the males and often the females having short, spikelike horns: some are endangered.

There's your African zoology lesson for the day!

What are your new words this week?

 
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