W vocabulary

Words beginning with W encountered online. Except, this category is lengthened by words drawn from books that do not start with W, not encountered online, except the recommendations for the books were encountered online and the books were purchased online. And these turned out to be rather strange books, rather strange sources for new words. Who would expect to encounter new vocabulary from cookbooks, rhetoric books, and books about ancient paintings? The folder for W words also has a file for 'words looked up in ASL' but that project was dropped because it took too much time, the list of ordinary English words is too long. It's ridiculous. There are some interesting and incredibly arcane words here along with a few so simple I probably looked them up just to see if I'm using them the right way, like "whinge" is a word that I've used all along and not 'whine' then finally looked it up to make sure that I shouldn't be using the word 'whine' instead. I've been a little bit defensive ever since Toni corrected me on my pronunciation of the word "monster," I honesty thought the word had a 'g' in there and I pronounced it "mongster" the whole time not knowing that's wrong. Strange to learn that so late as 30 years of age, but apparently sometimes I'm quite slow on the uptake. So ordinary words like "whinge" get looked up too. To make sure.

Online, I found that lawyers are especially fond of Latin phrases and for some reason German.

* weltanschauung: a comprehensive view of the world and human life

* weltschmerz: world pain world weariness

* Wendy: A large carpeted wedge used to display items for shooting

* went out on the lash: heavy drinking, drunken bender

* wet his beak: drink a beverage. To take one’s share from the financial proceeds of illicit activity.

* whinge: to cry in a fretful way





* white-label product: a product or service produced by one company that other companies rebrand to make it appear as if they made it.

* whither: to what place (whither will they go) 


* willendorf: statue of Willendorf, a small fat earth goddess

* windlass: tool used to raise paddle gear on canal locks, see Windlass ("lock key”), a wench that cranks cables with pullies

* wooby: security blanket, teddy bear, or any physical item (for children) or emotional feeling (for adults) that gives you that safe, fuzzy, warm aura.

* words from classical rhetoric Farnworth’s (all about types of repetition):

** anaphora:The speaker repeats the same words at the start of successive sentences

** conduplicatio: the use of the same words repeatedly with other words between each repetition

** diacope: A conduplicatio when there are just a few other words between the repeated ones

** epanalepis: same word or phrase used at the beginning and the end of of a sentence or set of sentences.

** epimone: the repetition of phrases
a. doublets
b. triplets
c. the refrain (longer phrases sort of like a chorus)
d. intermittent repetition of phrases
c. emphasized repetition

** epistrophe: also antistrophe, repetition of a word or phrase at the end of a series of sentences or clauses.  More subtle than anaphora because the repetition does not become evident until each time a sentence or clause ends. Sometimes epistrophe is easier to use and it tends to be convenient on different occasions because the  parts of speech that most naturally go at the end of an English sentence or clause aren't the same as the ones that come most naturally at the start.

1. Different actions, same objects

2. Same action, different doers or recipients

3. Changes in tense or mood

4. Things sharing the same quality

5. Same general condition, different details

6. Different acts done in the same way

7. Different conditions, identical outcome


** epizeuxis: the repetition of words consecutively

** euphony: agreeableness of sound; pleasing effect to the ear, especially a pleasant sounding or harmonious combination or succession of words: the majestic euphony of Milton's poetry.

** gudgeon: a circular fitting, often made of metal, which is affixed to a surface. It allows for the pivoting of another fixture. It is generally used with a pintle, which is a pin which pivots in the hole in the gudgeon. As such, a gudgeon is a simple bearing. A fish. Various cyprinid gudgeons are found in lakes and rivers throughout Europe. Most commonly gudgeon refers to Gobio gobio. This species is a rheophilic or schooling species that occurs in riverine habitats across continental Europe and the United Kingdom. G. gobio feeds on a variety of invertebrates. In Britain, a pest.

** impost:  Something, such as a tax or duty, that is imposed. Sports The weight a horse must carry in a handicap race., The uppermost part of a column or pillar supporting an arch.

** pulvis et umbra: a line from Horace. 'We are dust and shadows'.

** spoliation: the intentional or negligent withholding, hiding, altering, or destroying of evidence relevant to a legal proceeding.

** Symploce: Combines anaphora and epistrophe: words are repeated at the start of successive sentences or clauses, and other words are repeated at the end of them, often with just a small change in the middle.

1. Corrections: reversals of direction
2. Parallel elaboration
3. Extended uses
  a. Changes of a noun
  b. Changes of a modifier
  c. Changes of a verb
4.  Independent statements followed by identical commentaries
5.  Lengthening
6. Abandonment

* words from Country Cooking of France

** agley: To squint. The word was popularised by Robert Burns in his poem of 1786: "The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men, Gang aft agley". It is often quoted and occasionally used in modern English.

** arachide oil: peanut oil

** assiette de charcuterie: sausage

** beurk: “yuck!”

** ça marche: How do you do? It goes.

** dans leur graisse: in their fat

** délice: Delight

** dentelle: Indented. A lace-like pattern applied to the edges of the cover of the inside border of a book bound in leather.  Unfoiled crystal glass, formed in a mold and hand cut. Popular from 1930s to 1950s. Ornamental, lace-like tooling.

** dindes: “turkeys”

** Glenlivet water: Welcome to Speyside Glenlivet, one of the purest premium mineral waters in the world, which we bottle at source from our own underground spring, located high in the beautiful and unspoiled mountainous Braes of Glenlivet.

** grignoter: “to nibble”

** knurled: a manufacturing process, typically conducted on a lathe, whereby a visually-attractive diamond-shaped (criss-cross) pattern is cut.  A glass band or bead wrapped around a larger project. 1. full of knots; gnarled 2. milled, as the head of a screw, or the edge of a coin; covered with a series of small ridges or grooves

** prise:  lever or wrestle out

** rognons: kidneys

** saki: Any of several small omnivorous arboreal monkeys of the genera Pithecia and Chiropotes of northern and central South America, having long legs and a long bushy nonprehensile tail.

** sauvages: wild

** tarte tartin: an upside-down apple tart in which the apples are caramelized in butter and sugar before the tart is baked.

** thon: tuna

* words from The Fat Duck

** coronation chicken: cold pre-cooked chicken with curry flavored mayonnaise sometimes with fresh herbs, almonds, raisins, and crème fraîche.

** rôti = roast

* gellan = Gellan gum, also known commercially as Phytagel or Gelrite, primarily used as a gelling agent, alternative to agar. It is able to withstand 120 °C heat, making it especially useful in culturing thermophilic organisms. One needs only approximately half the amount of gellan gum as agar to reach an equivalent gel strength, though the exact texture and quality depends on the concentration of divalent cations present. Gellan gum is used as gelling agent in plant cell culture on petri-dishes, as it provides a very clear gel, facilitating light microscopical analyses of the cells and tissues. Although advertised as being inert, experiments with the moss Physcomitrella patens have shown that choice of the gelling agent - agar or Gelrite - does influence phytohormone sensitivity of the plant cell culture. Used as a food thickener, emulsifier, and stabilizer. It has E number E418. It was an integral part of the now defunct Orbitz soft drink. It is used in soya milks to keep the soy protein suspended in the milk

** transglutaminase: 'meat glue' used to bond proteins together. Examples of foods made using meat glue include imitation crabmeat, fish balls, and Chicken McNuggets. It is produced by Streptomyces mobaraensis fermentation in commercial quantities or extracted from animal blood. It can be used as a binding agent to improve the texture of protein-rich foods such as surimi or ham. Transglutaminase is also used in molecular gastronomy to meld new textures with existing tastes. The best-known brand of culinary transglutaminase is Activa TG, made by Ajinomoto.
Transglutaminase can be used in these applications:
▪ Binding small chunks of meats into a big one ("portion control"), such as in sausages, hot dogs, restructured steaks
▪ Improving the texture of low-grade meat such as so-called "PSE meat" (pale, soft, and exudative meat, whose characteristics are attributed to stress and a rapid postmortem pH decline)
▪ Making milk and yogurt creamier
▪ Making noodles firmer
Besides these mainstream uses, transglutaminase has been used to create some unusual foods. British chef Heston Blumenthal is credited with the introduction of "meat glue" into modern cooking. Wylie Dufresne, chef of New York's avant-garde restaurant wd~50, was introduced to transglutaminase by Blumenthal, and invented a "pasta" made up of over 95% shrimp thanks to transglutaminase.

** chignon: bun, opknot

** ballottine: meat that has been rolled into a circular shape and filled with a stuffing of ingredients that enhance the flavor of the meat being prepared. Beef, pork, veal, turkey, chicken, and fish are common meats that are boned, cut and formed, or pounded into thin, flexible pieces that are rolled and tied to keep the filling secure as it cooks inside the meat. As an example, Ballotine de poulet would be poultry stuffed with a filling. Common stuffings may include a mousse prepared with herbs, ground meat such as sausage mixed with spices, or complimentary meats such as bacon, pork, pancetta, ham, and veal that are cooked within other meats.
Almost always served warm, a Ballotine may be confused with galantine which is similarly rolled and stuffed, but is served cold rather than warm. Galantine is traditionally prepared and wrapped within a cheese cloth or baking paper covering. It is then poached in a base stock, refrigerated and served cold by slicing off pieces or the rolled meat.

* words from Egyptian Wall Painting:

** apotropaic: having the power to prevent evil or bad luck,  objects such as amulets and talismans or other symbols intended to "ward off evil" or "avert or combat evil."


** bucrania: Latin word for the skull of an ox. Often decked with fillets; a common sculptural motif for metopes and friezes, often combined with garlands. Decorative reliefs of the skulls or heads of cattle or oxen. At times linked by swags of vegetal motifs such as on the Ara Pacis.

** cosmmogony: any theory concerning the coming into existence or origin of the universe, or about how reality came to be. The study of the origin, and sometimes the development, of the universe or the solar system, in astrophysics, religion, and other fields; Any specific theory, model, myth, or other account of the origin of the universe; The creation of the universe


** diachronic: the study of a phenomenon (especially language) as it changes through time; "diachronic linguistics"

** hypostasis: The suppression of a gene by the effect of an unrelated gene. The accumulation of blood in an organ. Any of the three persons of the Godhead constituting the Trinity especially the person of Christ in which divine and human natures are united. (metaphysics) essential nature or underlying reality.

** intaglio:  a printing process that uses an etched or engraved plate; the plate is smeared with ink and wiped clean, then the ink left in …  when used in the context of jewellery, refers to incised (negative) image-making, and is the opposite of cameo. It is used in making engraved seals, where it leaves a raised design on the material being stamped, especially wax. It is also used in some pendants.


** mimesis: the imitative representation of nature and human behavior in art and literature. Any disease that shows symptoms characteristic of another disease. The representation of another person's words in a speech. Biological mimicry occurs when a group of organisms, the mimics, have evolved to share common perceived characteristics with another group, the models, through the selective action of a signal-receiver or dupe. Collectively this is known as a mimicry complex.

** ontogeny: growth: (biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism ...  describes the origin and the development of an organism from the fertilized egg to its mature form.

** scansion: analysis of verse into metrical patterns. a way to mark the metrical patterns of a line of poetry. In classical poetry, these patterns are based on the different lengths of each vowel sound, and in English poetry, they are based on the different stresses placed on each syllable.

** socle: a short plinth used to support a pedestal or sculpture. In the field of archaeology, this term is used to refer to a wall base, frequently of stone, that supports the upper part of the wall, which is made of a different material, frequently mud brick.[citation needed] This was a typical building practice for ancient Greece, resulting in the frequent preservation of the plans of ancient buildings only in their stone-built lower walls, as at the city of Olynthos.

** trousseau:the personal outfit of a bride; clothes and accessories and linens. A bundle; The clothes and linen etc. that a bride collects for her wedding and married life

* words from The Art of Conversation:

** graffitits: Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in roué.

** roué: a debauched man, esp. an elderly one. ORIGIN early 19th cent.: French, literally ‘broken on a wheel,’ referring to the instrument of torture thought to be deserved by such a person.

** de trop: Excessive or superfluous

** sawu bona:  Zulu greeting, means "I see you" and the response "Ngikhona" means "I am here".  Inherent in the Zulu greeting and our grateful response, is the sense that until you saw me, I didn't exist. By recognizing me, you brought me into existence. A Zulu folk saying clarifies this, "Umuntu ngumuntu nagabantu", meaning "A person is a person because of other people".

** emotica:  The grisly trade of emotica.  Erotica, exotica emotica

** descanting: To sing a variation or accomplishment. To comment freely; to discourse with fullness and particularity; to discourse at large. A virtuous man should be pleased to find people descanting on his actions. Yodel: sing by changing register; sing by yodeling. Talk at great length about something of one's interest. A decorative musical accompaniment (often improvised) added above a basic melody. Descant or discant can refer to several different things in music, depending on the period in question; etymologically, the word means a voice (cantus) above or removed from others.

* wrong-foot: (in a game) play so as to catch an opponent off balance. Put (someone) in a difficult or embarrassing situation by saying or doing something that they do not expect.