affianced: betrothed, bound to be married
amphigory: a nonsense verse; a rigmarole, with apparent meaning, which on further attention proves to be meaningless
apothegm: pithy bit of wisdom or maxim
arrant: consummate, thoroughgoing, complete
asperity: hardship, rigor, tribulation
athwart: From side to side; crosswise
benthos: The collection of organisms living on or in the bottom of a body of water; the bottom of a body of water
catawampus: Out of alignment, crooked, cater-corner; fierce, destructive
chanson: a song (especially in French)
debark: to unload freight; to disembark
defilade: to arrange (fortifications) so as to protect the lines from frontal or enfilading fire and the interior from fire from above or behind (see enfilade)
diapason: full, rich outpouring of melodious sound; tuning fork
dromomaniac: someone with the uncontrollable urge to walk or wander.
enfilade: volley of gunfire from a flanking position (see defilade)
ephemeron: a collectible
escalade: the act of climbing a wall as a siege tactic
esthesis: an elementary awareness of stimulation
estivate: to go dormant in the summer
faience: glazed earthenware decorated with opaque colors
hebdomad: a group of seven
hebetude: lethargy, torpor, or dullness
hegira: an exodus or migration
helicon: a large brass instrument resting on the shoulder
hemostat: clamp for stopping bleeding
holdfast: The part of an aquatic plant that anchors it to something
howdah: majestic perch atop an elephant
incus: anvil in the middle ear
intestate: One who dies without a legal will.
isobar: a line on a weather map connecting points of equal atmospheric pressure.
lucubrate: write or study, especially by night.
luster: a glass pendant in a chandelier
mantic: of or relating to the faculty of divination: prophetic.
moire: fabric with a rippled pattern
natant: swimming or floating
neonate: a newborn infant, esp. less than 1 month old
nesselrode: kind of pie similar to tutti-fruti
nugatory: of little or no consequence
nunatak: Rocky peak sticking out of a glacier
paludiculture: wet agriculture and forestry on peatlands
pronoiac: A person who feels that the world around them conspires to do them good (opposite of paranoiac)
risible: laugh inducing, ludicrous
saturnine: slow and gloomy; when relating to appearance, dark in coloring; moody or mysterious
tantivy: at a full gallop
taphonomy: the study of how organisms decay and become fossilized or preserved in the paleontological record.
teander: Feature of a sinuous river
volant: Flying or capable of flying; Moving quickly or nimbly; agile; depicted with the wings extended as in flying.
volte-face: total reversal of stance