I love learning! I recently finished re-reading "Foucault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco. While I thought the book lacked the brilliant plot and dialogue of "In the Name of the Rose" (another brilliant Eco book), I was delighted by all the words I had to look-up while reading this book. Here is a list of fun words I read and their definitions from Google.
- isochronal - equal in duration or interval
- ogive - a Gothic arch
- chthonian - dwelling beneath the surface of the earth
- macumba - Brazilian religious cult using socery, ritual dance, and fetish
- catoptric - relating to a mirror, reflector, or reflection
- alembic - distilling apparatus; rounded necked flask
- eolopile - a device that, when heated, spins, spewing steam
- athanor - a furnace that feeds itself to maintain a consistent temperature
- homunculus - a very small humanoid creature
- notarikon - method for deriving a word using each of its initial or final letters to stand for another word, forming a sentence or idea from the words
- plerome - central core of primary meristem of a plant
- ogdoad - eight
- apothegm - a concise saying or aphorism
- hypallage - a transposition of the natural relations of two elements in a proposition
- zeugma - figure of speech in which one word applies to two other words in two different senses
- labile - easily changed ; having emotions that are easily aroused or freely expressed
- catafalque - decorated wooden framework supporting the coffin of a distinguished person during a funeral
- simoom - a desert wind that often carries dust/sand
- oriflamme - banner or standard ; a principle around which people rally
- syncretism - the practice of combining different beliefs while melding practices of various schools of thought
- austral - having to do with the south
- askesis - severe self-discipline
- couchette - railroad car with seats that turn into sleeping berths
- conventicle - secret or unlawful religious meeting
- telluric - of the earth or the soil
- philosopheme - a philosophical statement, theorem, or axiom
- rocaille - 18th century artistic style of decoration defined by elaborate ornamentation with pebbles, shells, or little beads
- cicatrix - scar of a healed wound, or on the bank of a tree
- menhir - tall upright stone erected in prehistoric times in Europe
- anamnesis - remembering things from a supposed previous existence
- grimoire - a book of spells
- hieratic - concerning priests
- sclerotic - being rigid or unresponsive, not able to adapt
- ithyphallic - having an erect penis
- auscultation - listening to sounds from the heart or lungs
- terraqueous - having both land and water
- tenebrous - dark, shadowy, or obscure
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