A personal lexicon of unusual, archaic, scientific, and otherwise interesting words encountered in reading. Browse other letters from the Dictionary catalog.
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| nary a | not one. |
| natal | of, relating to, or accompanying birth; of or relating to the time or place of one’s birth |
| natant | floating or swimming in water. |
| natter | intr.v. to talk idly; chatter |
| nave | the central part of a church running lengthwise. |
| ne plus ultra | |
| necromancy | the practice of supposedly communicating with the spirits of the dead in order to predict the future. |
| nemesis | a source of harm or ruin; retributive justice in its execution or outcome; an opponent that cannot be beaten or overcome; one that inflicts retribution or vengeance |
| Nestorian | of or relating to the doctrine of Nestorius, declared heretical, that two distinct persons, divine and human, existed within Jesus |
| nether | located beneath or below; lower or under |
| nickelodeon | early morning movie treater charging a nickel; jukebox |
| nitpick | intr.v. to be concerned with or find fault with insignificant details |
| nit-picking | fault-finding in petty manner |
| nix | n. nothing; adv. not so; no; tr.v. to forbid, refuse, or veto |
| noetic | of, relating to, originating in, or apprehended by the intellect |
| noggin | the human head |
| noisome | adj. offensive to the point of arousing disgust; foul; harmful or dangerous |
| noisome | harmful, bad smelling |
| nolo contendere | a plea made by the defendant in a criminal action that is substantially but not technically an admission of guilt and subjects the defendant to punishment but permits denial of the alleged facts in other proceedings. “I do not wish to contend” |
| nonce | n. the present or particular occasion |
| nonpareil | adj. having no equal; peerless. n. a person or thing that has no equal; a paragon |
| nonsequitur | inference that does not follow from the given premises. |
| nostrum | a questionable medicine or remedy. |
| noumenal | an object that can be intuited only by the intellect and not perceived by the senses. |
| nous | reason and knowledge as opposed to sense perception; good sense, shrewdness |
| nouveau riche | one who has recently become rich, esp. one who flaunts newly acquired wealth |
| nubile | ready for marriage; sexually mature and attractive. |
| nudibranch | sea slug |
| nuzzle | tr.v. (+ intr.v.) to rub or push against gently with or as if with the nose or snout; to root or move with the snout; intr.v. to nestle together. |
| nymphomaniac | excessive sexual desire in a female |
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