A personal lexicon of unusual, archaic, scientific, and otherwise interesting words encountered in reading. Browse other letters from the Dictionary catalog.
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| earmuff | |
| earth (layers) | inner core, outer core, transition zone, lower mantle, upper mantle, crust. |
| eaves-trough | gutter |
| ebb | flow back, decline. |
| eclectic | adj. selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles; made up of or combining what seems to be the best elements from a variety of sources; n. |
| ecliptic | the intersection plane of the earth’s orbit with the celestial sphere, along which the sun appears to move as viewed from the earth; a great circle inscribed on a terrestrial globe representing the apparent motion of the sun in relation to the earth during a year. |
| eclogue | a pastoral poem, usually in the form of a dialogue between shepherds |
| educe | to draw or bring out; elicit; to assume or work out from given facts; deduce |
| effete | depleted of force, vitality or effectiveness; exhausted; marked by self-indulgence, triviality or decadence; overrefined, effeminate; no longer productive, infertile. |
| effluvium (pl. effluvia) | the odorous fumes given off by waste or decaying matter; an impalpable emanation; an aura. |
| effulgence | radiant splendor, brilliance. |
| effusive | unrestrained or excessive in emotional expression; gushy; profuse, overflowing |
| egad | used as a mild exclamation |
| eglantine (sweetbrier) | rose having prickly stems, fragrant leaves, bright pink flowers and scarlet hips. |
| egregious | conspicuously bad or offensive |
| eidetic | of, relating to, or marked by extraordinarily detailed and vivid recall of visual images. |
| eigenvalues | |
| eke | to supplement with great effort; to get with great effort or strain; to make (a supply) last by practicing strict economy |
| Eleatic | (Philosophy) of or characteristic of the school of philosophy founded by Xenophanes and Parmenides and holding the belief that immutable being is the only knowable reality and that change is the subject of mere opinion |
| electromagnetic radiation | radiation consisting of an electric and a magnetic disturbance which travels in a vacuum at the speed of light. |
| elide | to suppress or alter by elision. |
| elision | omission of a final or initial sound or a word; esp. the omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable in a verse to achieve a uniform rhythm. |
| elm | deciduous trees having arching or curving branches used as shade trees. |
| encomium | warm, glowing praise; a formal expression of praise; a tribute |
| endolithic | |
| enigma | something obscure or hard to understand. |
| enigmatic | obscure, cryptic, mystifying, puzzling. |
| ennui | boredom. |
| ensconce | to settle securely and comfortably |
| entreaty | an earnest request or petition; a plea |
| entrechat | a jump in ballet during which the dancer crosses the legs a number of times, alternately back and forth |
| entrée | right or privilege of admission, esp. at court; dish served between fish and meat courses; main dish of meal |
| eo ipso | “by the very act”? |
| epicure | n. a person with refined taste esp. in food and wine. A person devoted to sensuous pleasure and luxurious living. |
| Epicurean | adj. Devoted to the pursuit of pleasure; fond of good food, comfort, and ease. N. |
| epigenesis | the theory that an individual is developed by successive differentiation of an unstructured egg. |
| epigram | a short, witty poem expressing a single thought or observation |
| epigrammatic | |
| epiphany | a sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something; a comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization |
| epistemic | of, relating to, or involving knowledge; cognitive |
| epistemology | the study of the origin, nature and limits of human knowledge. |
| epistolary | of or associated with letters or the writing of letters |
| epitope | part of antigen attacked by specific antibody. One antigen has various epitopes |
| equable | uniform, even, free from unpleasant extremes. |
| equinox | either of two times of year when the sun appears directly overhead at the equator and day and night are everywhere of equal length that occur about March 21 and September 23. |
| equity | justness, impartiality; value of a property or an interest in it in excess of claims made against it. |
| ere | prep. previous to; before; conj. rather than, before |
| ergo | consequently, hence, therefore |
| ersatz | adj. a substitute, usually an inferior one, syn. artificial, synthetic, simulated |
| erstwhile | adv. formerly; adj. former. |
| escalade | the act of scaling a fortified wall or rampart |
| esculent | edible |
| esplanade | a flat, open stretch of pavement or grass, esp. one designed as a promenade along a shore |
| esprit de corps | n. a common spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group |
| ethology | study of animal behaviour, esp. as it occurs in a natural environment. |
| ethos | the disposition, character of fundamental values peculiar to a person, people, culture or movement. |
| etude | a composition featuring a point of technique but performed because of its artistic merit. |
| etymons | an earlier form of a word in the same language or in an ancestor language; a word or morpheme from which compounds and derivatives are formed. |
| eu- | true |
| eudemon | good or benevolent spirit |
| eudemonism | a system of ethics that evaluates action in terms of their capacity to produce happiness |
| eulogy | high praise. |
| eupepsia | good digestion |
| eupeptic | conducive to good digestion; cheerful, happy |
| ex nihilo | from nothing nothing is produced; out of nothing |
| ex post facto | formulated, enacted or operating retroactively (law) |
| Excalibur | in Arthurian legend, the sword belonging to King Arthur |
| excogitate | to consider or think (something) out carefully and thoroughly |
| execrable | adj. hateful; extremely inferior; very bad |
| execration | n. the act of cursing; a curse; something that is cursed or loathed |
| exegesis | critical explanation or analysis, esp of a text |
| exigencies | urgent requirements; pressing needs |
| exigency | the state or quality of requiring much effort or immediate action; a pressing or urgent situation |
| expiate | to make amends; atone. |
| exposition | a setting forth of meaning or intent; a statement or rhetorical discourse intended to give information about or an explanation of difficult material |
| expostulate | to reason earnestly with someone in an effort to dissuade or correct; remonstrate |
| extant | existent; not lost or destroyed. |
| extemporize | improvise. |
| extenuate | to lessen or attempt to lessen the magnitude or seriousness of, esp. by providing partial excuses |
| extenuate | to lessen the seriousness of. |
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