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Num
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Difficult words
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Date
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Source
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Meanings
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1.
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a priori
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January 3, 2012
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arguing from general principle to
expected effect.
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2.
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agami
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crane-like bird of S America: 'the
trumpeter'
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3.
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antenna
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sensitive outgrowth on head of insect,
crustacean, etc.; Radio aerial, especially complex
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4.
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anther
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pollen-bearing
organ of flower. antheral, a.
antherozoid, n. male
sexual element in lower plants; spermatozoid
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5.
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banal
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trivial; trite. banality
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6.
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banderilla
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dart stuck into bull at bull-fight. banderillero,
n. bull-fighter wielding this
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7.
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banshee
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female spirit, especially of Ireland,
whose wailing foretells death.
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8.
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cachalot
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sperm whale.
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9.
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cachet
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prestige; distinctive mark or quality;
seal.
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10.
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cachinnate
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laugh harshly and loudly. cachinnation,
cachinato
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11.
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dapifer
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bearer of meat to table; steward.
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12.
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dealate
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rob or divest of wings.
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decarch
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member of decarchy; commander over ten
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eclectic
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selecting, especially the best from a
number of sources
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edema
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swelling due to accumulation of watery
fluid in a body cavity or in the spaces within connective tissue
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elaterid
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elateroid
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fanion
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small marking flag.
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fasti
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record; register; calendars of ancient
Rome
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favus
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contagious parasitive skin desease.
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ganister
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kind of flinty rock used for road faces
and lining furnaces
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gastritis
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inflammation of stomach.
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gastritis
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inflammation of stomach.
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haematoma
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swelling containing blood; bruise.
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haemophilia
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condition marked by uncontrollable
bleeding from smallest cuts
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immunology
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study of immunity. immunological
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impetigo
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pustulous skin disease
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imprimis
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in the first place'
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jibe
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gibe
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junta
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It is increasingly common to hear the
pronunciation
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kilometre
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the pattern of centimetre and millimetre
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kindliness
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kindly changes to an i
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leopard
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latter
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former
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manikin
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margarine
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Most British people say [marge-er-reen]
with a soft g with the sound of j in jam. A few people
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Negro
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black
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nephew
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cousin
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ordinarily
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The standard British pronunciation has
the stress on the first syllable
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object
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The noun or other word that is the
recipient of the action of the verb in a sentence.
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paradigm
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The beginning is pronounced the same as
the beginning of paratrooper, and the end is pronounced [dime].
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paragraph
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The first sentence makes very clear
what the topic is
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quantum leap
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In physics, quantum refers to a
very small amount of energy, momentum, etc, but in general use quantum
leap is often used for a sudden dramatic increase or advance, implying a
very large movement
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quotation marks
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These are punctuation marks ('') which
are also known as quotes, inverted commas, or speech marks
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reason
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Reason is usually followed by that
or why: The reason that (or why) we left was that no one
spoke to us. You can also omit both: the reason we left. If reason
is followed by a phrase without a verb, use for: the reason for our
departure.
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relative clause
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Relative clauses are clauses which
modify what they are attached to – that is to say, they affect its meaning in
some way. Most relative clauses modify a noun. In this way they act rather
like adjectives – in fact adjectival clause is another name for them.
There are two types of these: restrictive relative clauses (also called
defining relative clauses) and non-restrictive relative clauses (also called
non-defining relative clauses).
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secretary
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The standard British pronunciation has
only three syllables [seck-ruh-tree]. The US pronunciation has four [seck-ruh-ter-ry].
Note that the pronunciation [seck-ertree] is considered wrong.
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sieve
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Both the noun and the verb are
pronounced [siv]. [Seev] is not standard.
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thankfully
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The use of thankfully to mean
'fortunately', 'let us be thankful (that)', is still disliked by many people,
although it is becoming accepted. In this sense it is separated from the rest
of the sentence by a comma.
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trauma
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Two pronunciations are standard in
Britain, [tror-mer], the most usual, and standard in medical English,
and [trow-mer].
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