Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Bermudaonion's Weblog where we share words we’ve encountered in our reading. Feel free to join in the fun (please do!) Be sure to leave a link to your post over at Bermudaonion's Weblog.
The following words are from Arlington Park by Rachel Cusk :
She, Juliet, aged thirty-six, mother of two, a teacher at Arlington Park High School for Girls - a person regarded in her youth as somewhat exceptional, a scholarship student and at one time Head Girl - had been slightly obnoxious to their hosts, the Milfords: Matthew Milford, the vilely wealthy owner of an office supplies company in Cheltenham, and his horse-faced, attenuated, raddled wife, Louisa.
1. Attenuated
: weak; diminishing
2. Raddled
: being in a state of confusion : lacking composure
: Broken down; worn
In they came, farouche in their ballet slippers.
3. Farouche: (adj.) (French)
: fierce
: sullenly unsociable or shy; socially inept
These words are from The City & The City by China Miéville
It is a heavily crosshatched street - clutch by clutch of architecture broken by alterity, even in a few spots house by house.
1. Alterity
: The state or quality of being other; a being otherwise.
The local buildings are taller by a floor or three than the others, so Besz juts up semi-regularly and the roofscape is almost a machicolation.
2. Machicolation (noun, Architecture)
: (esp in medieval castles) a projecting gallery or parapet supported on corbels having openings through which missiles could be dropped
: any such opening
The convenor, a wiry, pony-tailed man, who went by Zyet, “Bean“ would not give us their names.
3. Convenor
: a person who convenes or chairs a meeting, committee, etc, especially one who is specifically elected to do so.
Posts
Great words,thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletehttp://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2012/09/waiting-on-wednesday.html
I've heard raddled before but always thought it was spelled with t's instead of d's. All the other words are new to me, but convenor makes perfect sense.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read The City, The City! Great words today. Mieville is an extremely talented author.
ReplyDeleteYou found some interesting words this week, I only knew attenuated.
ReplyDeleteAre my books too easy?? I've never seen these word. All are interesting. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI recall that I had to look up alterity when I read that book, too.
ReplyDeleteI always thought it was spelled RATTLED.
I love words.