Easy

Inquisitive [in-kwiz-i-tiv] Late Latin

adj. given to inquiry, research or asking questions
Many inventions in history are the products of inquisitive minds.
Gourmand [goo r-mahnd, goo r-muh nd] late Middle English
n. a person who is fond of good eating, often to excess
Gourmands frequent our restaurant because of the good eats.

Extol [ik-stohl, -stol] Middle English

v. to praise highly; laud
The King usually extols those who have done great service to the land.

Artifice [ahr-tuh-fis] Anglo-French

n. a clever trick or stratagem
The whole story was just an artifice to win our sympathy.

Malinger [muh-ling-ger] French

v. to pretend illness, especially to avoid work
When the company finds out youve malingered, youll be sent off
immediately.

Quixotic [kwik-sot-ik] probably Spanish

adj. extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; impractical
Please dont offer any more quixotic suggestions.

Viand [vahy-uh nd] Middle English

n. article of food
Whats your viand for today? Oh? Its adobo.

Debonair [deb-uh-nair] Middle English

adj. courteous, gracious, and having a sophisticated charm
Girls are commonly drawn to debonair guys.

Powwow [pou-wou] Massuchusett

n. a ceremony, among North American Indians, usually accompanied by
magic, feasting and dancing
Back then, powwows were believed to be able to cure diseases.

Qualm [kwahm, kwawm] Uncertain

n. an uneasy feeling or pang of conscience as to conduct
I have qualms when Im about to go up stage.

Zither [zith-er, zith -] German

n. a musical string instrument
Fred thinks that there should be zither recitals in his hometown.

Hippopotamus [hip-uh-pot-uh-muh s] Greek

n. a large herbivorous mammal
Never call your girlfriend a hippopotamus.

Cacography [kuh-kog-ruh-fee]
n. bad handwriting
Gertrudes cacography is frequently ridiculed by his friends.

Miscellaneous [mis-uh-ley-nee-uh s] Latin

adj. consisting of members or elements of different kinds
Stop adding miscellaneous topics to our discussion.

Yaff [yaf] Scot. and North England

v. to bark; yelp
Your ex wont keep yaffing outside our window.

Bizarre [bih-zahr] French

adj. unusual in appearance, style or general character
Theres no stop to your bizarre behavior, is there?

Corral [kuh-ral] Spanish

n. an enclosure or pen for horses
The horses have escaped from the corral again.

Cygnet [sig-nit] late Middle English

n. a young swan
Cygnets grow up to become graceful swans.

Average

Xyst [zist] Greek

n. a covered portico, as a promenade
Come here! Lets take shelter under this xyst.

Jocund [jok-uh nd, joh-kuh nd] Latin

adj. cheerful; merry
The landlord was absolutely jocund when the rowdy tenant moved away.

Logorrhea [law-guh-ree-uh, log-uh-] 1900-1905

n. pathologically incoherent, repetitious speech
A common pothole of essay writing is logorrhea.

Tarradiddle / Taradiddle [tar-uh-did-l] uncertain

n. a small lie; fib
He made taraddidle when he asked if he was home yesterday.

Harangue [huh-rang] Gothic

n. a verbal attack
Debates are the arenas of pure and intense harangues.

Jejune [ji-joon] Latin

adj. without interest or significance; dull; insipid
The investors didnt accept the jejune proposal.

Panacea [pan-uh-see-uh] Greek

n. a remedy for all disease or ills
If only there was a true panacea to cancer

Zephyr [zef-er] Old English

n. a gentle, mild breez
A soft zephyr rattled our hair as we lied on the grass on that starry night.

Farouche [fa-roosh] French

adj. fierce
We has such a farouche party last night!!!

Kismet [kiz-mit, -met, kis-] Turkish

n. fate; destiny
Kismet might dictate our next path in life.

Misnomer [mis-noh-mer] late Middle English

n. a misapplied or inappropriate name or designation
Youth being a fountain of enjoyment and fun is nothing but a misnomer.

Harbinger [hahr-bin-jer] Old French

n. an omen; sign
Frost is a harbinger of winter.

Lyceum [lahy-see-uh m] Greek

n. an institution for popular education providing discussions, lectures,
concerts, etc.
Why dont we go to the lyceum later this evening?

Poultice [pohl-tis] Latin

n. a soft, moist mass of cloth, bread, meal, herbs applied hot as a
medicament to the body
Heres some poultice to soothe that wound.

Philter [fil-ter] French

n. a potion, charm, or drug supposed to cause the person taking it to fall in
love
Do I have to use a philter for you to fall in love with me?!

Pterodactyl [ter-uh-dak-til] New Latin

n. a flying reptile of the extinct order Pterosauria
Wouldnt it be cool if pterodactyl were still alive today?

Annihilate [uh-nahy-uh-leyt] Middle English

v. to reduce to utter ruin or nonexistence
Pompeii was just wholly annihilated after the volcano blew up.

Purl [purl] 1520-1530

v. to knit with a reverse stitch
Moms quite adept at purling.

Hard

Chevalier [shuh-val-yey] Middle French

n. a member of certain orders of honor or merit
John is a chevalier of the Legion of Honor.

Labyrinthine [lab-uh-rin-thin, -theen] 1740-1750

adj. of, relating to, or resembling a labyrinth
The labyrinthine hedges were a test of a sense of direction.

Halcyon [hal-see-uh n] Greek

adj. calm; peaceful; tranquil
Gone are the halcyon days when we were merrily playing house.

Effete [ih-feet] Latin

adj. unable to produce; sterile
A kick to the groin could make you effete.

Bibelot [bib-loh; French beebuh-loh] French

n. a small object of curiosity, beauty or rarity
Crows tend to snatch bibelots from unsuspecting men.

Empyrean [em-puh-ree-uh n] Late Latin

n. the highest heaven, supposed by the ancients to contain the pure element
of fire
I wait the day when angels of the empyrean fall upon men.

Quietus [kwahy-ee-tuh s] Medieval Latin

n. a finishing stroke; anything that effectually ends or settles
Having given a quietus to the argument, she left.

Lissome / lissom [lis-uh m] 1790-1800

adj. agile, nimble, or active
Lissome gymnasts are able to maintain their balance for long periods.

Inveigle [in-vey-guh l, -vee-] Anglo-French

v. to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery
Con-artists inveigle people to buy their wares.

Boulevardier [boo l-uh-vahr-deer, boo-luh-; French booluh-var-dyey]

French
n. a person who frequents the most fashionable Parisian locales
Modern boulevardiers use their money in the most luxurious of clothing
lines.

Kitsch [kich] German

n. something of tawdry design, appearance or content created to appeal to
popular or undiscriminating taste
The restaurant is decorated with 1950s furniture and kitsch from old TV
shows.

Hackneyed [hak-need] 1740-1750

adj. made commonplace or trite; stale; banal
The saying Time is gold. is so hackneyed that its main point has been
buried.

Clangor [klang-er, klang-ger] Latin

n. a loud, resonant sound; clang
The resonating clangor downstairs woke me up in an instant.

Quincunx [kwing-kuhngks, kwin-] Latin

n. an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at
each corner and one in the middle
The majesty has ordered that those trees be made into a quincunx.

Moiety [moi-i-tee] Latin

n. a half
Heres your moiety of the hefty sum.

Wisenheimer / Weisenheimer [wahy-zuh n-hahy-mer] Americanism

n. a wiseacre or smart aleck
Dont act like youre such a wisenheimer.

Pulchritude [puhl-kri-tood, -tyood] Latin

n. physical beauty; comeliness
I cant believe youre attracted to that ladys pulchritude!