#59 angishore

#59 angishore- a miserable person given to complaining

- from Irish Gaelic ainniseoir

-angishore - A man regarded as too lazy too fish; a worthless fellow, a sluggard, a rascal; idle mischievous child or person. from the Newfie Dictionary

Maybe this word needs to be restored in modern usage?

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#58 anemone

#58 anemone- woodland, white flowered plant

- C16 via Latin from Greek- windflower, from anemos wind

- also anemone fish, anemoscope- a device that shows the presence and direction of a wind, anemometry - technique of measuring wind speed and direction

In the legend of Venus and Adonis the anemone is the flower that sprang from the tears of the queen as she mourned the death of her loved one.

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#57 ancillary

#57 ancillary- (adjective)- subsidiary, auxiliary, supplementary

-C17 from Latin ancillaris- concerning maidservants

The research was not ancillary, but critical to the report.

Let's say that these ancillary issues can be kept off the table right now.

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#56 anchorite

#56 anchorite- a person who lives in seclusion, a religious recluse, hermit

- C15 from Medieval Latin anchorita, from Greek anakhoretes- to retire, withdraw

Vincent van Gogh said the he was somewhat of an anchorite who tried to keep true to his original character and prevent the fire of his soul from going out.

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#55 anarchy

#55 anarchy- general lawlessness and disorder especially when thought to result from an absence or failure of government; the absence of any guiding or uniting principle; disorder; chaos

-C16 from Medieval Latin anarchia, from Greek anarkhia, anarkhos without a ruler

- anarchic or anarchical- adjectives

Everywhere we see the signs of anarchy, and the need for some sound order and authority. ~ Matthew Arnold

As soon as liberty is complete it dies in anarchy. ~ Will Durant

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#54 anaclitic

#54 anaclitic- (adjective) from psychoanalysis- of or relating to relationships that are characterized by the strong dependence of one person on others or another

- from Greek anaklitos- for leaning upon , anaclisis (noun)

It was apparent that their anaclitic relationship resulted in mutual benefits for both.

In choosing her new friend did she make a narcissistic rather than an anaclitic choice?

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#53 anachronism

#53 anachronism- the representation of an event, person, or thing in a historical context in which it could not have occurred or existed; a person or thing that belongs or seems to belong to another time

-C17 from Latin anachronismus, from Greek anakhronismos- a mistake in chronology

- anachronistic (adjective)

- I wouldn't mind seeing opera die. Ever since I was a boy, I regarded opera as a ponderous anachronism, almost the equivalent of smoking. ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

- An example of an anachronism in painting is the depiction of Orpheus, a character from classical Greek mythology, holding a 16th century violin.

#52 amulet

#52 amulet- a trinket or piece of jewellery worn as a protection against evil, a charm

- C17 from Latin amuletum

To love is the great amulet that makes this world a garden. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

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#51 amrita or amreeta

#51 amrita or amreeta- Hindu myth- the ambrosia of the gods that bestows immortality, the immortality achieved by drinking amrita.

- from Sanskrit amrta- immortal

Amrita Pritam writes poetry.

Amrita is more valuable than gems and worldly luxury.

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#50 amorphous

#50 amorphous- (adjective) lacking a definite shape, formless, of no recognizable character or type

- from Greek amorphos- shapeless

At first sight they seemed amorphous -- hard to make out against the rocks and slanted dawn -- slithering down slopes of glittering dust.

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#49 amoretto

#49 amoretto- a small, naked boy representing a cupid

-C16 from Italian amore, from Latin amor- love

- also amorist- writer about love, amorous (adj) displaying love, desire

The traditional Cupid or amoretto is not to be confused with amaretto, the Italian sweet almond flavoured liqueur.

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#48 amity

#48 amity- friendship, cordiality

- C15 from French amite, from Latin amicitas, friendship, amicus friend

-His family received us with great amity, and offered us hospitality.

- We have nothing in our history or position to invite aggression; we have everything to beckon us to the cultivation of relations of peace and amity with all nations.~ Franklin Adams

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#47 amicable

#47 amicable (adjective)- friendliness

-C15 from Latin amicus- friend; related to amare- to love

Their separation seemed amicable, and with a certain mutual regret.

Their relations were perfectly amicable, but they could not live together.

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#46 amethyst

#46 amethyst- a purple or violet transparent variety of quartz used as a gemstone, purple variety of sapphire

-C13 Old French amatiste, from Latin amethystus, from Greek amethustos, literally: not drunken (the belief that the stone could prevent intoxication)

- I like the word etymology and the original meaning of the stone having special health properties. Also with the sound of the poem it has excellent poetic possibilities.

It's a very precious symbol, for Quimbleton explained to me that the amethyst is a talisman against drunkenness.

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#45 ameliorate

#45 ameliorate- (verb) to make or become better, improve

-C18 from French ameliorer, Latin melior

No one has ever attempted any measure to ameliorate their degraded condition.

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#44 ambrosia

#44 ambrosia- the food of the gods, said to bestow immortality, anything particularly delightful to taste or smell...

- C16 via Latin from Greek- ambrotos, also ambrosial (adj)

He lifted the terra-cotta vessel to his cracked lips. The small flow of the precious liquid was like the ambrosia of the gods.

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#43 ambience or ambiance

#43 ambience or ambiance- the atmosphere of a place

-C19 from French ambiance- surrounding

What with the bright lighting and the high ceiling, the ambiance was about as unromantic as she could imagine.

Excited I glowed...
When with my uncles and aunts.
Feeling such a radiance,
In a sheltered ambiance... Lawrence S. Pertillar, from poem entitled 'Ambiance.'

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#42 altruism

#42 altruism- the principle or practice of unselfish concern for the welfare of others; the philosophical doctrine that right action is that which produces the greatest benefit to others

- C19 from French altruisme, from Italian altrui, Latin alteri

- altruist, altruistic, altruistically

Her enthusiasm for altruism, her zeal for humanity, lends a delightful feature to her books.

Building a reputation for altruism, will gain you respect.

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#41 Alternation

#41 alternation- successive change from one condition or action to another

- from prefix alter- to make different, change

- from C14 Old French alterer, Latin alterare - to change

This prefix forms so many words like: alteration, alterative (adj), altercate (verb), alter ego, alternate (verb), alternation...

The path of least resistance and least trouble is a mental rut already made. It requires troublesome work to undertake the alternation of old beliefs. ~John Dewey

#40 alpha/ alphabet

alpha- first letter of the Greek alphabet, omega the last

alpha and omega- the first and last, a phrase used in Revelation 1:8 to signify God's eternity

alphabet- set of letters used in writing system; alphabetical (adjective), alphabetize(verb)

- Latin- alphabetum, Greek alphabetos

With the full force of the Holy Roman Empire behind it, the alphabet was an easy winner.

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#39 alopecia

alopecia- loss of hair, baldness

-C14 from Latin/Greek- alopekia- mange in foxes alopex- fox

Hair loss or alopecia is a common problem among people all around the world.

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#38 allusion

allusion- a passing, indirect reference, an oblique or obscure mention;allude (verb)

-C16 from Latin alludere- to sport with

-I often talked to my students about biblical, mythological, historical, literary allusions in writing.

-He thinks the allusion here is to some mythological legend on Odin's adventures.

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#37 allocution

allocution- a formal or authoritative speech or address, especially one that advises, informs, or exhorts

-C17 from Latin allocutio, alloqui (to address), loqui (to speak)

"I think I want to plead guilty and give full allocution," she said quietly.

You were there when Madoff walked in, when he gave his plea allocution.

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#36 allegory

allegory- a poem, play, picture, etc. used to symbolize a deeper moral or spiritual meaning; use of such symbolism to illustrate truth or a moral; anything used as a symbol or emblem

-also:allegorical (adjective), allegorize (verb)

-C14 from Old French allegorie, from Latin allegoria, from Greek allegorein- to speak figuratively

John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and Herman Melville's Moby Dick are allegories.

'The true type of the allegory is the Odyssey, which we read without suspicion as pure poem, and then find a new pleasure in divining its double meaning, as if we somehow got a better bargain of our author than he meant to give us.'

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#35 algebra

algebra- a branch of mathematics in which arithmetical operations and relationships are generalized by using alphabetic symbols to represent unknown numbers of members of specified sets of numbers

-C14 from Medieval Latin, from Arabic aljabr - the bone-setting, reunification, mathematical reduction

I personally find connections to other languages fascinating including the Arabic here.

Remember all those rationals and irrationals,
the ones we got confused?
I still get them wrong and I am not very amused.
Digits and decimals, too many D's
But wait until we start on those x,y, and z's....~'Algebra One,' Daphne Needham

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#34 alchemy

alchemy- the pseudoscientific predecessor of chemistry that sought a method of transmuting base metals into gold, an elixir to prolong life indefinitely, a panacea or universal remedy

- C14 Old French- alkamye, Latin- alchimia, Arabic- alkimiya, Late Greek-khemeia- the art of transmutation

I love this word for its rich etymology. What a revealing lesson of word development over the ages for students!

Leaders must invoke an alchemy of great vision. ~ Henry A. Kissinger

None but a poet can write a tragedy. For tragedy is nothing less than pain transmuted into exaltation by the alchemy of poetry. ~ Edith Hamilton

#33 alcazar

alcazar- palaces built in Spain by the Moors

-C17 from Arabic al-qasr- the castle

This is a great Scrabble word with an interesting word etymology, and poetic possibilities...

Landing at Barcelona, Francis was taken to Madrid and lodged in the alcazar, under the most vigilant guard.

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#32 albacore

albacore- tuna, from warm regions of Atlantic and Pacific, very long pectoral fins and valued food fish

-C16 Portuguese albacor, from Arabic albakrah- young camel

Interesting word etymology! The hump of the camel like a pectoral fin?

He did caution about avoiding shark, albacore, swordfish, king mackerel and tile fish, as they can contain high levels of mercury.

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