abdicate
(v) to formally relinquish power.
aureole
(n) a halo.
Bunburyist
(n) someone who uses illness as an excuse to avoid social obligations; coined by Oscar Wilde in "The Importance of Being Earnest" in reference to Bunbury, Algernon's fictitious sick friend.
circumflex
(n) a mark used in some languages to indicate the contraction, length, or tone of a vowel.
crepuscular
(adj) relating to twilight.
demiglace
(n) a flavorful relish or dressing on food.
deracination
(n) displacement.
dishabille
(adj) being only partly clothed.
filament
(n) a thinly spun thread or wire.
Gallic
(adj) French, or relating to France.
girandole
(n) an ornamental candleholder.
hepplewhite
(adj) A style of furniture from 18th-century England that is characterized by graceful lines.
joist
(n) a length of steel or wood supporting the floor or ceiling of a building.
lacunae
(n) unfilled spaces.
libidinal
(adj) related to sexual drive.
lissome
thin and graceful.
milleu
(n) environment or setting.
monomaniacal
(adj) having an obsession with a single topic or idea.
obelisk
(n) a tall, four-sided stone that rises to a pointed pyramid.
onerous
(adj) difficult or burdensome.
postlapsarian
(adj) occurring after the "fall of man" as described in Christianity.
qualmish
(adj) feeling faint or nauseated.
redolent
(adj) suggestive or reminiscent.
saturnalia
(n) an occasion of wild fun and merrymaking.
scabrous
(adj) rough to the touch, or covered with scales.
scutwork
(n) monotonous or menial tasks that are part of a larger, more complex project.
sluice
(v) to flood or drench with a flow of water.
tautology
(n) the repetition of the same thing in different words.
