#365 draught

draught or U.S. draft- a current of air; an act of pulling a load; a portion of liquid to be drunk; beer, wine stored in bulk

C14 from Old Norse drahtr, of Germanic origin; related to draw

There is an interesting distinction between the two spellings of draught.

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#364 dram

dram- one sixteenth of an ounce; also called drachma; a small amount of an alcoholic drink

- C15 from Old French dragme, from Latin dragma, from Greek drakhme

Friar Laurence said to Romeo, "Here's a dram of poison, soon speeding gear to take you away."

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#363 Draconian

Draconian/draconian- of, or relating to Draco or his code of laws; harsh

The crisis is then used as an excuse to bring in draconian measures to close the door to the most needy and vulnerable.

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#362 dour

dour- sullen; hard or obstinate

C14 Latin durus- hard

The gray people, as a friend of mine called the dour-looking youths of the downtown arts crowd, stuffed into the room on old folding chairs and splintering benches, everyone stepping carefully amid broken floorboards and keeping one wary eye on the wires and pipes hanging from the ceiling.

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#361 doughty

doughty- adj. - hardy, resolute, doughtiness, noun; doughtily adverb

-Old English dohtig: related to Old High German toht worth, Middle Dutch duchtich strong, Greek tukhe luck

Whatever your taste in cover art, if doughty heroes and gargantuan monsters sounds like your kind of thing, why not give the book a try?

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#360 dossier

dossier- a collection of papers containing information on a particular subject or person

C19 from French: a file with a label on the back, from dos back, from Latin dorsum

Many private dossiers were exposed to the world at WikiLeaks.

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#359 dopamine

dopamine- a chemical found in the brain that acts as a neurotransmitter and is an intermediate compound in the synthesis of noradrenaline

Varying levels of dopamine and endorphins in the brain affect our moods and behaviour.

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#358 donnybrook

donnybrook- a rowdy brawl

C19 after Donnybrook Fair, an annual event until 1855 near Dublin

Unfortunately, I'm talking about a history of rowdiness (after all, we get the word "donnybrook" from the Irish.)

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#357 doily

doily, doyley, or doyly- a decorative mat of lace or lacelike paper, laid on or under plates

C18 named after Doily, a London draper

It's interesting that this decorative accent, so popular several generations ago is named after its inventor.

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#356 dogma

dogma- a religious doctrine or system of doctrines proclaimed by ecclesiastical authority as true; a belief, principle, or doctrine or a code of beliefs, principles, or doctrines: Marxist dogma

C17 via Latin from Greek: opinion, belief, from dokein to seem good

dogmatic- prone to make arrogant opinionated pronouncements; of, based on assumption rather than empirical observation

Conservatism as a philosophy is built around the idea that “The Truth” is already known, that their exists a specific and certain dogma that the population must conform to, and that it is responsibility of the authoritive conservative hierarchy to ensure that the public does obey.

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#355 doggerel

doggerel or dogrel- comic verse, usually irregular in measure; as modifier a doggerel rhythm; nonsense; drivel

C14 dogerel worthless, perhaps from dogge dog


Sir Thopas was a doughty swain,
White was his face as paindemain,
His lippes red as rose.
His rode is like scarlet in grain,
And I you tell in good certain
He had a seemly nose.

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#354 dodder

dodder (verb)- to move unsteadily; totter; to shake or tremble, as from age

C17 variant of earlier dadder; related to Norwegian dudra to tremble

dodderer noun; doddery adjective

I was part of a group of 12 or so geezers who get together the third week in November every year and dodder around with rifles.

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#353 docile

docile- easy to manage, control, or discipline; submissive; rare: ready to learn, easy to teach

C15 from Latin docilis easily taught, from docere to teach

It's interesting that the modern meaning of docile has lost its original more positive connotation.

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#352 diva

diva- a highly distinguished female singer; prima donna

C19 via Italian from Latin: a goddess, from divus divine

You can't be working in diva mode if you're not delivering on the diva promise.

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#351 diurnal

diurnal- happening during the day or daily; of flowers: open during the day and closed at night; of animals: active during the day

opposite nocturnal

C15 from Late Latin diurnalis, from Latin diurnus from dies day

A lot of mammals (nocturnal or diurnal) are evolved to mate around dusk (give or take a few hours).

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#350 dissonance

dissonance- a discordant combination of sounds; lack of agreement or consistency

also dissonant discordant; cacophonous; incongruous

C15 from Latin dissonare to be discordant, from dis +sonare to sound

Cognitive dissonance is a favorite pastime of people who preach about Evil.

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#349 dissension

dissension- disagreement, especially when leading to a quarrel; also dissent

C13 from Latin dissensio, from dissentire to dissent

Those who used to love to say that dissent is the highest form of patriotism have been assiduously working to assure that dissent from the agenda they have been weaving will be considered the lowest form of stupidity.

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#348 disparage

disparage- to speak contemptuously of; belittle; to damage the reputation of

C14 from Old French desparagier,from dis+ parare equality, from Latin par equal

also disparity- inequality or difference

Far be it from me to disparage anyone or any group because I don't happen to believe in their creeds or mythology.

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#347 discreet

discreet- careful to avoid social embarrassment or distress, especially by keeping confidnences secret; tactful

C14 from Old French discret, from Medieval Latin discretus to discern

Some areas for the ladies to consider: hair cut, color, makeup, shoes, purses, clothing, jewelry and certain discreet cultural factors.

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#346 disconsolate

disconsolate- adjective sad beyond comfort; inconsolable; disappointed; dejected

C14 from Medieval Latin disconsolatus; from dis+ consolatus comforted

He would have gone moping about for years in disconsolate solitude, silent and sullen as a ghost.

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#345 dis

dis- prefix indicating reversal: disconnect, disembark,
indicating negation: dissimilar, distrust, disgrace
indicating removal or release: disembowel, disburden

- from Latin dis- apart

I include the prefix dis because the prefix is used in hundreds of words in the dictionary: disarray, disconcert, disarmament...

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#344 dire

dire- adjective, also direful; disastrous; fearful; desperate; urgent; foreboding disaster

C16 from Latin dirus, related to Greek deos fear

The earth tremors and smoking volcano alerted the villagers of dire events.

Are our attention spans in dire need of some remediation?

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#343 diorama

diorama- a miniature three-dimensional scene, in which models of figures are seen against a background; picture made up of illuminated translucent curtains, viewed through an aperture

C19 from French, from Greek dia- through+Greek horama view

I have vivid memories of making several dioramas in art class with a shoe box and colourful craft papers.

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#342 dionysion/ Dionysion

dionysion- of or relating to Dionysus; relating to the set of creative qualities that encompasses spontaneity, irrationality the rejection of discipline; wild orgiastic

And on the other hand, one sees a complex of social and economic conditions which worked in countless irresistible ways against the rise of that dionysian spirit, that joyful acquiescence in life, that philosophy which offers to Puritanism, today as in times past, its chief and perhaps only effective antagonism.

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#341 dilettante

dilettante- a person whose interest in a subject is superficial rather than professional; a person who loves the arts

C18 from Italian from dilettare to delight, from Latin delectare

He claims a degree in journalism and holds himself out as some kind of dilettante on the subject, although there's no evidence he's ever written a single noteworthy article.

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#340 diffident

diffident- lacking self confidence; timid; shy

C15 from Latin diffidere to distrust, from dis not+fidere to trust diffidence, diffidently

He is a skilled and loyal swordsman, but his naïve, diffident nature has time and again caused him to be let go by the lord whom he has worked.

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#339 didactic

didactic- intended to instruct, morally instructive, improving

C17 from Greek didaktikos skilled in teaching

Teens are such an open audience, and the world of YA literature has evolved in the past years, so the age of thinking about teen novels as needing to be limited or didactic is definitely over.

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#338 dichotomy

dichotomy- division into two parts or classicication, especially when they are sharply distinguished or opposed: such as the dichotomy between eastern and western cultures

C17 from Greek dichotomia

Arguably, this dichotomy is a deeply unhealthy attitude, a neurosis situating self entirely in the superego and demonising the libido as a base and bestial “animal nature” that must be mastered, rather than the natural self-correcting impulses of a homeostatic system designed to maintain a dynamic equilibrium.

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#337 diatribe

diatribe- a bitter or violent criticism or attack; denunciation

C16 from Latin diatriba learned debate, from Greek diatribe discourse, pastime, from diatribein to while away

This diatribe is about companies with lousy customer service.

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#336 Diaspora

Diaspora- the dispersion of the Jews after the Babylonian and Roman conquests of Palestine; the Jewish communities outside Israel; often not capitalized diaspora a dispersion or spreading, as of people originally belonging to one nation or having a common culture

C19 from Greek: a scattering, from diaspeirein to disperse

The safey of the Jew in diaspora has varied from place to place at any given time, and from time to time within any given place.

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#335 diaphonous

diaphonous- (usually of fabric such as silk) fine and transparent

C17 from Medieval Latin diaphanus, from Greek diaphanes transparent

I have no clue how many people are here, but it is a picture-perfect summer evening, breezy and bathed in diaphanous (I've always loved that word) light.

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