Next 10Pullulate, Amortize, Bon Vivant, Baroque, Cake, Credo, Eldritch, Flimflam, Zodiac, Netherworld
Pullulate [v. PULL-yuh-late]
To pullulate is to grow, sprout, or spring forth. This verb can describe the blossoming of a seed, plant, or animal. Near synonyms include bud, burgeon, and germinate. Livings things can also pullulate by breeding or increasing rapidly. To spring up abundantly or produce freely is to pullulate. This verb also means to swarm or teem. Example: "Her mind pullulated with big ideas after she won the lottery." Pullulate comes from the Latin pullutas, a past participle of the verb pullulare (to sprout), which is related to the Latin pullus (a sprout or young animal). Pullus has also produced the English words poultry and pullet (a young fowl).
Amortize [v. AM-ur-tize or uh-MOR-tize]
To amortize is to pay something off, normally a debt, by making regular payments over time. Near synonyms include settle, liquidate, and pay off. In accounting, to amortize an expense means to break it up into multiple smaller expenses over time, even if the actual payment was made all at once. Amortize literally means to destroy or kill, and has been used in English since the late 1300s. The Middle English amortisen came from the Old French amortiss, which was a variant on amortir (to kill, die). The French can be traced back to the Vulgar Latin amortire, which was a derivative of the Latin mort (death). A website that can calculate payments for amortizing a loan
Bon Vivant [n. BAWN vee-VAHN]
A bon vivant is a person who is devoted to the finer things in life, especially good food and drink. Example: "She enjoyed visiting her uncle the bon vivant, who always provided fine wine and plenty of rich foods." Bon vivant is a French phrase combining bon (good or favorable) and vivant (living, healthy, animated). Vivant is the present participle of the French verb vivre (to live). Near synonyms include epicure and gourmand.
Baroque [adj. buh-ROKE, ba-ROKE or ba-ROCK]
In the 17th century, Baroque was a style of artistic expression marked by its juxtaposition of contrasting elements. Painting, sculpture, architecture, and music described as Baroque often use complex forms and bold ornamentation. In its day, the baroque style was a much admired standard. Today, the word is often used to describe something that is ornamental to an extravagant or bizarre degree. Baroque can also be used to describe an irregularly shaped gem. This meaning is closest to the word's roots. In the 1700s, baroque was borrowed from the French, which in turn was derived from the Portuguese barroco (a pearl of irregular shape). Caravaggio was an Italian baroque painter, About Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens
Cake [n. KAKE]
These days, a cake is a sweet baked food usually containing flour, sugar, eggs, and flavoring. In the 13th century, however, cake was a flat, round loaf of bread. It wasn't until the 15th century that cake was associated with its modern definition. The word is from the Old Norse kaka, which is related to cookie (from the Dutch koekje), but not, as is sometimes believed, to the word cook. Cake can also mean a shaped or molded mass of food. Or a compressed mass of something else such as a cake of soap. This word can also be used as a verb describing the action of forming something into a cake.
Credo [n. KREE-doh or KRAE-doh]
Your credo is your system of beliefs or principles. Near synonyms include creed, tenet, belief, dogma, and doctrine. Example: "He espoused a simple credo at the office, telling his workers that 'there's no I in team.'" Credo is often capitalized when it is used to mean The Apostles' Creed (associated with a confession for those baptized in Christianity) or the Nicene Creed (used in the Lutheran and Episcopalian Churches). Credo is a Latin word, which translates to "I believe," the first two words of the Apostles' and Nicene creeds. Credo is derived from the Latin verb credere (to believe). Other English words that stem from the Latin credere include: * credible (capable of being believed) * credence (something that establishes a claim to belief) * credulous (wiling to believe or trust too readily) * credential (anything that provides basis for belief)
Eldritch [adj. EL-drich]
Eldritch means unearthly, frightful, or hideous. Example: "The cemetery had an eldritch atmosphere once the sun had set." Near synonyms include weird, spooky, eerie, and unnatural. Eldritch was first used in the 1500s. While this word's origins are unclear, there are two explanations that are commonly offered. The first is that eldritch is an Old English compound of el- (foreign, strange) and riche (kingdom, land). A second explanation sees the origins in the words elf and riche. Eldritch would have meant something from a fairyland and therefore supernatural.
Flimflam [n. or v. FLIM-flam]
A flimflam is a deception, trick, lie, or scam. Flimflam can also mean humbug or nonsense. To flimflam someone is to take advantage of them through a con or swindle. The origins of flimflam are unclear. It is likely a compound derived from repeating the same word, possibly of Scandinavian origin. It was first used in the English language between 1530 and 1540.
Zodiac [n. ZOE-dee-ak]
The zodiac is an area of the sky in which the sun, moon, and planets appear to move through 12 ancient constellations such as Libra, Capricorn, and Aries. The zodiac can also be a diagram representing the signs in 12 equal parts of 30 degrees each (as they each represent an equal twelfth of the year). These diagrams often contain symbols for each sign. Zodiac is a word that was first seen in Middle English as zodiaque sometime between 1350 and 1400. It was taken from the Latin zodiacus. The root is ultimately the Greek word zodiakos (circle of animals), which draws on the Greek kyklos (circle) and zoion (animal). An illustration of the circle of animals
Netherworld [n. NETH-ur-wurld]
The netherworld is the world of the dead, often thought of as a world lying beneath the earth's surface. Near synonyms include hell and Hades. A visit to the netherworld could also be an encounter with society's lower depths, the criminal underworld. Example: "His thorough knowledge of the netherworld made police suspect that the author was somehow connected with a crime family." Netherworld is a combination of nether (lying below) and world. While this noun first appeared in English in the 1600s, nether had been in use since before 900. The Middle English nethere developed from the Old English neothera, which was derived from nither (further down). This word is related to beneath (below) which was formed from the Old English be- and nither.
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