The People in the Trees

Vocab:
timorous - showing or suffering from nervousness, fear, or a lack of
confidence (ety. latin timere - to be afraid)

cosseted - cared for and protected in an overindulgent way, spoiled

discomfit - 1. to make (someone) feel uneasy or embarrassed

2. to thwart the plans of
(ety. latin dis-conficere (to put together, see confection) to old
french
desconfit. See also French déconfiture (a failure, falling apart,
total
collapse) or déconfit (crestfallen, downcast). Second meaning
related to
archaic use, to defeat in battle)

placid - of a person, not easily upset or excited. of a place or water,

calm and peaceful with little movement.
(ety. from latin placere, to please. here in sense of 'pleasing', see
also
complacent, 'self-satisfied,' and complaisant, 'willing or eager to
please,
obliging')

stolid - having or showing little to no emotion; impassive

impassive - giving no sign of feeling or emotion

lumpen - from Marx's 1860 coinage of Lumpenproletariat (German),

referring to the part of the working class unlikely to ever achieve class
consciousness and thus uninterested in, not useful to, and possibly
even detrimental to revolution. The word lumpen in many languages
worldwide is used pejoratively to refer to lower social classes. English
usage may take this sense of 1. plebeian, as well as 2. relating to
dispossessed or displaced people who have been cut off from the
socioeconomic class with which they would normally be identified
(this definition focusing on Marx's forcible class definition), 3.
uninterested in revolutionary advancement (to use it in a Marxist
sense), or the more general usage of 4. boorish, stupid, unthinking
slurry - a thick, semi-liquid mixture of fine insoluble particles
suspended in water, originally meaning mud, now often referring to a
mixture with manure, cement, coal

burl - 1. a knot or bump in cloth or wool

2. a rounded knotty growth on a tree, often polished and used for
artisanal work for the wood's attractive marbled texture
(ety. from Latin burra, wool)

doleful - 1. mournful, sorrowful, full of grief; 2. causing grief or sorrow

(ety. from Latin dolere, to suffer or grieve. See dolor)

• not to be confused with baleful - 1. threatening or foreboding evil, 2.

deadly or pernicious (having a harmful effect, esp. in a gradual or
subtle way) in influence
(ety. from Old English bealu/balu, "evil, harm, injury, wickedness".
The word bale has a poetic/archaic meaning of "evil considered as a
destructive force". Pernicious from latin pernices, ruin, related to latin
necare, to kill0

inure/inured to - to cause to become accustomed or desensitized to

something unpleasant (etym. from Middle English in ure, in work or
practice, related to French œuvre)

disquisition – a long or elaborate essay or discussion on a particular

subject

whorl – a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles, often

used to describe a lock of curly hair, or the pattern of flower petals

profligate – 1. recklessly extravagant or wasteful in use of

resources
2. unrestrained by convention or morality
(similar to dissolute, licentious, debauched)
(etymologies: profligate from Latin profligatus, "dissolute" but literally
"overthrown, ruined" ; dissolute from dissolutus, "disconnected, loose";
licentious from licentia, "freedom"; debauched from French débaucher,
"to lead astray, esp. from work or duty")

valance – a piece of decorative drapery hung over curtain rods to

screen the rod and curtain fittings, can also refer to drapery hung from
a canopy bed. (ety. Old French avaler, "to go down or descend", from
val, valley; related to 'vail')

penumbra - the partially shaded outer fringe of a shadow (ety. Latin

paene + umbra, "almost shadow")

shirr (v) / shirred (adj) / shirring (n) - a decorative gathering of cloth,

drawn together along parallel stitching; often seen on curtains or
dresses

sodden – 1. soaked through with liquid, very heavy and wet ; 2. used in
reference to alcohol consumption e.g. whiskey-sodden ; 3. torpid,
sluggish (usage related to meaning of drunk) ; (ety. from Old English
soden, "boiled")

voluble – talkative, marked by a ready flow of speech (from Latin

volvere, to roll)
[talkative words: voluble, marked by readily flowing speech ;
loquacious, talkative ; garrulous, chatty, often trivial or foolish in
nature ; prolix, tediously lengthy, using too many words]

dun - a dull, dusty grayish-brown color (ety. Germanic, probably related

to dusk)

supine - 1. lying face up ; 2. willing to be controlled by others, failing to

act or protest due to moral weakness or indolence/apathy/passivity

slake – to quench or satisfy thirst or, figuratively, desires ; unslakable,

unquenchable
(ety. from Old English slacian, to become less eager, related to slack)

scrim - a thick fabric used for heavy-duty lining ; in theater, a cloth

drop that is opaque when lit from the front and transparent when lit
from the back ; figuratively, something that has this
obscuring/concealing effect, e.g. a scrim of fog

copse - a small group or thicket of trees, (shortened from the British

word coppice, referring to an area where trees are periodically cut
back to stimulate growth for firewood)
keen (v.) – 1. to make an eerie wailing sound, reminiscent of a loud cry
of sorrow
2. to lament, mourn, or complain loudly
3. to wail in grief for a dead person (from original meaning,
an Irish funeral song characterized by wailing

truss (v.) – to bind or tie with ropes, or as if with ropes; to bind (a

person), generally with their arms at their sides and constrained from
movement; the method of tying the wings and legs of a bird before
cooking it

ululate - to loudly howl or wail as an expression of strong emotion,

typically grief; e.g. people in pain or mourning, but also animals esp.
coyotes and wolves

cleave – Two almost opposite meanings – 1. to divide by or as if by a

cutting blow; to split, esp. along a natural line or grain, and 2. to stick
fast to; to adhere firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly – are in
fact two words of different etymology, the first from the Germanic
klieben, 'to split', and the second from Germanic kleben, 'to stick.' The
past forms 'cleaved' and 'clove' can be used with both meanings, while
'cleft' is reserved for splitting and 'clave' for sticking.

passel – a large number or group of people or things; (ety. a dialectal

variation of 'parcel')

worry – alternate meaning (generally applied to dogs, sometimes

other carnivores) of 1. to harass by tearing, biting, snapping, especially
at the throat ; 2. to chase and attack ; 3. to shake or pull at with the
teeth; 4. to teat at, gnaw at, or drag around with the teeth ; giving way
to a secondary figurative meaning of 5. to pull, touch, or fiddle with
(something) repeatedly
(ety. this is the original meaning of the word, coming from the
Germanic Old
English word wyrgan, 'to strangle'. Sense of mental anxiety did not
arise until the
19th century)

hasp - a fastening device, typically with hinged metal strap and staple
fug - (British, informal) the stuffy, smoky, warm atmosphere of a poorly
ventilated room (for example, a smoky bar)

quorum – the smallest number of people who must be present at a

meeting in order for decisions to be made

circumspect – thinking carefully about possible risks before doing or

saying something; heedful of potential consequences
(ety. Latin circumspicere, 'to look around', from Latin circum 'around'
+ specere 'look' ; see 'inspect')

lambent / lambency – 1. (of light or fire) glowing, gleaming, or

flickering with a soft radiance; playing lightly on or over a surface ; 2.
(or epression, e.g. wit) marked by lightness or brilliance
(ety. Latin lambere, 'to lick')

puce - a dark red or purple-brown color (lit. the color of a flea). The
unexplained variant of 'puce green', meaning a pea-soup color, has
also caught on in English.

perseverate - to repeat an action, thought, or utterance after the

stimulus that prompted it has ceased. Generally medical.

empyreal/empyrean – belonging to or deriving from (the highest)

heaven; relating to the sky or heavens; sublime; inspiring awe
n. (the) empyrean – heaven, in particular the highest part of
heaven; in medieval cosmology, the highest heavenly sphere, usually
consisting of fire or light; poetically, the visible heavens; the sky
(ety,. Greek empyros, "fiery', en + pyr, 'in fire')

sublimate - psychological - to divert or modify (an instinctual impulse)

into a culturally higher or more sociably acceptable activity
(ety. latin sublimis 'uplifted, high, borne aloft, lofty, eminent,
distinguished', from sub- (here the common meaning of 'under' taking
the meaning of 'from below' and thus 'up to') and limen 'limit,
threshold'; see 'sublime')

querulous - habitually complaining, esp. in an annoyed way

ablution (usually plural) - the act of action of bathing, especially the
washing of one's body or part of it as part of religious ritual.
(ety. latin ab- (off) + luere (to wash, related to lavere)

deleterious (dele pronounced like delegate) - harmful or damaging,

often in a subtle or unexpected way.
(ety. from Medieval Latin via Greek deleterios, 'noxious' / not related to
'delete' from Latin delere 'to destroy)

denude (of) - to deprive of something important, strip something away,

lay bare. Typically used for deforestation - 'denuded of trees'

cadge - to get by begging, to ask for and get for free (generally
something to which one is not strictly entitled). 'cadge a meal'

antechamber - a small room or entranceway leading to a larger room.

similar to 'foyer'

echolalia - 1. psychiatry: meaningless, pathological repetition of

another person's sounds or spoken words. 2. the repetition of sounds
and words by an infant or child learning to talk

fertile, fecund, prolific - all implying capability or tendency to produce

offspring or new growth. Fertile connotes potential to reproduce or
assist growth (as in soil), Fecund is very similar with more of a
connotation of having lived up to this potential, Prolific (from Latin
proles, 'offspring') focuses more on abundance and rapidity of
reproduction or growth.

fugue - Psych. a state a consciousness in which one loses awareness

of identity, often flees from their typical environment, and later has no
memory of actions performed seemingly in full awareness. (ety. like
the musical fugue, from Latin 'uga, "flight," related to fugere, "to flee.")

tarmac - mixture of tar and crushed stones used for paving, or an area
such as a runway surfaced with this material (ety. shortened from
'tarmacadam,' from tar + last name of Scottish civil engineer John
McAdam, inventor of gravel paving process)
rime - hoarfrost/frost

mauve - a moderate, pale purple

ensconce - to firmly settle, place, or hide (someone or something) - a

sick person may ensconce themself in their room.

logy - dull or heavy in motion or thought

penury - extreme poverty; destitution

louver(ed)- parallel slats in a door or window to let in air and block out
rain, sun, or for privacy

scurrilous - making or spreading scandalous claims about someone

with the intention of damaging their reputation; generally maliciously
and often without regard for the truth (although falsehood is not
necessary or assumed, as in slander)
(Ety. from Latin scurra, 'buffoon', thus reflecting more on the nature of
the accuser than the accused)

dumbwaiter - a small elevator used to carry food or goods from one

floor of a building or another

deracinated/déraciné - uprooted or displaced from one's geographical

or social environment

highboy - a tall chest of drawers on four legs, from English high and
French bois

indolent - wanting to avoid work or exertion, slow and lazy; of a

disease, causing little or no pain; of an ulcer, slow to progress,
develop, or heal
(Ety. Latin in + dolere 'to suffer or give pain', lit. painless)

cretin - originally an 18th century French Alpine term, referring to

those left mentally handicapped and physically deformed by thyroid
deficiency; the word derives from a dialectal variant of "Christian,"
probably as a reminder of these people's humanity
 (related: 'moron' comes from Greek moros/moron, 'fool', but was
introduced to Ensligh in the early 20th century as a proposed medical
term for adults with a mental age of 8-12. 'Idiot' comes from the the
Greek idios, 'own, private' (see idiosyncrasy/idiomatic), referring to a
'private person, layman, uneducated person')

sallow - generally of face or complexion: unhealthy looking; of a pale,

dirty yellowish, greenish, or grayish color