#566 genteel

genteel- affectedly proper or refined; excessively polite; respectable, polite, and well-bred; appropriate to polite or fashionable society

C16 from French gentil well-born

The area is home to several renowned lodges where one can chase gobblers in genteel southern luxury.

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#565 genre

genre- kind, category, or sort, especially of literary or artistic work; a category

C19 from French, from Old French gendre; gender

And what about those authors whose "genre" is hard to pin down but whose vision of the future is not sweetness and light, like Kurt Vonnegut (Player Piano, The Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle).

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#564 genocide

genocide- the policy of deliberately killing a nationality or ethnic group

C29 from geno, from Greek genos race + cide

Turkey strongly rejects the term genocide to describe the mass killings of Armenians back in 1915.

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#563 genial

genial- cheerful, easygoing, and warm in manner of behaviour; pleasantly warm, so as to give life growth, or health: the genial sunshine

C16 from Latin genialis relating to birth or marriage, from genius tutelary deity

A very extended landscape, however genial, is also sober in its effect on the mind.

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#562 gendarme

gendarme- a member of the police force in France or in countries formerly influenced or controlled by France; a sharp pinnacle of rock on a mountain ridge, especially in the Alps

C16 from French, from gens d'armes people of arms

A gendarme in one of the towns estimated that at least 100 Nigerian women were working there as prostitutes.

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#561 geld

geld- to castrate a horse or other animal; to deprive of virility or vitality; emasculate; weaken

C13 from Old Norse gelda, from geldr barren

- a tax on land levied in late Anglo-Saxon and Norman England

Old English gield service, tax; related to Old Norse gjald tribute, Old High German geltl retribution, income

Nevertheless, they stood in some degree of subjection to the lord, since the geld due to the State was paid through the lord as responsible to the sheriff for all who held land within the manor.

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#560 geek

geek- a sideshow performer who bites the heads off or eats live animals

C19 variant of Scottish geck fool, from Middle Low German geck

The term geek is characterized by extreme passion for, and expertise, in an unexpected specialization.

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#559 gazump

gazump- to raise the price of something, especially a house, after agreeing a price verbally with an intending buyer; to swindle or overcharge

gazumper- noun

State schools are trying to "gazump" each other as they fight to attract the best pupils, research suggests today.

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#558 gazpacho

gazpacho- a Spanish soup made from tomatoes, peppers, etc. and served cold

Eating poorly made gazpacho is a bit like eating mediocre salsa.

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#557 gaunt

gaunt- bony and emaciated in appearance; of places bleak or desolate

C15 Scandinavian, Norwegian dialect gand tall lean person

Our young-old faces, chiseled and gaunt from the fever and the heat and the sleepless nights, now stare back at us, lost and damned strangers, frozen in yellowing snapshots packed away in cardboard boxes with our medals and our ribbons.

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#556 gauche

gauche- lacking ease of manner; tactless

Old French gauchir to swerve, Old High German wankon to stagger

What the hell am I supposed to wear in Europe, since it's kind of gauche to run around in jeans and sneakers and t-shirts with the necks cut off?

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#555 gasconade

gasconade- boastful talk, bragging or bluster

C18 from French gasconnade, from gasconner to chatter

It was thus and from these beginnings that the casual acquaintance between us ripened into intimacy, and that I gradually came into a knowledge of the reserves behind The Major's buoyant optimism and occasional gasconnade.

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#554 garrulous

garrulous- given to constant and frivolous chatter; loquacious; talkative; wordy or diffuse;

C17 from Latin garrulus, from garrire to chatter

Miss Letitia presided over the table in garrulous majesty.

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#553 garret

garret- another word for attic

C14 from Old French garite, watchtower, from garir to protect, of Germanic origin

He still inhabited the upper room, which he calls a garret; it would not seem that the alteration in his status, assistant now and no longer apprentice, had increased his social conveniences.

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#552 garnish

garnish- to decorate; trim; to add something to food in order to improve its appearance

C14 from Old French garnir to adorn, equip, of Germanic origin, Old High German warnon to pay heed

The guy who first trained me to mix drinks called a garnish "garbage."

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#551 garlic

garlic- a hardy widely cultivated Asian alliaceous plant,

Old English garleac, from gar spear + leac leek

Add the rest of the tempering ingredients and saute until the garlic is aromatic and starting to brown.

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#550 gargoyle

gargoyle- a waterspout carved in the form of a grotesque face or creature and projecting from a roof gutter especially of a Gothic church

C15 from Old French gargouille gargoyle, throat

The origin of the word gargoyle and its use by the Church can be traced back to a 7th century dragon known in France as gargouille or Goji.

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#549 garbanzo

garbanzo- another name for chickpea

C18 from Spanish, from arvanco, probably of Germanic origin; compare Old High German araweiz pea

Chickpea flour, also called garbanzo flour, is available at health food stores and some supermarkets.

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#548 garb

garb- clothes, especially the distinctive attire of an occupation or profession; style of dress; fashion

C16 from Old French garbe graceful contour, from Old Italian garbo grace, probably of Germanic origin

She has straight black hair and dressed in Japanese garb.

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#547 gape

gape- to stare in wonder of amazement, especially with the mouth open

C13 from Old Norse gapa; related to Middle Dutch gapen, Danish gabe

The audience all turned to gape as the royal procession started.

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#546 gamut

gamut- entire range or scale, as of emotions; a musical scale especially in medieval theory one starting on the G on the bottom line of the bass staff

C15 from Medieval Latin, from gamma

Interpretations of that film run the gamut from a coming of age-story, to a healing of maternal bonds, to a scrutiny of the zeal behind technological advancement, and it goes on & on.

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#545 gambol

gambol- to skip or jump about in a playful manner; frolic; a playful antic; frolic

C16 from French gambade

Rows of brick garden apartments all backed onto a massive common garden: a shared backyard for children to play, dogs to gambol, and families to eat picnics together.

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#544 gambit

gambit- chess: an opening move in which a chessman, usually a pawn is sacrificed to to secure an advantageous position; an opening comment, manoeuvre

C17 from French, from Italian gambetto a tripping up, from gamba leg

The problem with the madman gambit is that you pretty much have to be a madman to do it.

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#543 galumph

galumph- informal, to leap or move about clumsily or joyfully

C19 coined by Lewis Carroll; probably a blend of gallop+triumph

Galumph is "to prance about in a self-satisfied manner," 1872, coined by Lewis Carroll in "Jabberwocky."

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#542 gala

gala- a celebration; festive occasion

C17 from French or Italian, from Old French gale pleasure, galer to make merry, probably of Germanic origin

The next fundraising gala is scheduled for October.

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#541 gaga

gaga- informal, senile; doting; slightly crazy

C20 from French, of imitative origin

Lady Gaga is fast becoming a cultural icon.

(This word was too timely for me to ignore.)

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#540 gaffe

gaffe- a social blunder, especially a tactless remark

C19 from French

If the definition of a gaffe is a politician accidentally telling the truth, this is absolutely, positively, one hundred percent gaffetastic.

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#539 gable

gable- the triangular upper part of a wall between the sloping ends of a pitched roof

C14 Old French gable, from Old Norse gafl; related to Old English geafol fork, Old High German gibil

One lord of Ulland had expressed his fancy on the eastern façade in gable and sculptured gargoyle; another his fear or his defiance in the squat and sturdy tower with its cautious slits in lieu of windows.

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#538 gabble

gabble- to utter words, etc. rapidly and indistinctly; jabber; of geese and other birds to utter rapid cackling noises

C17 from Middle Dutch gabbelen, of imitative origin

The gabble of excited adolescents overwhelmed the substitute teacher.

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#537 fustian

fustian- a hard-wearing fabric of cotton mixed with flax or wook with a slight nap; pompous or pretentious talk or writing; cheap, worthless; pompous; bombastic

C12 from Old French fustaigne, from Medieval Latin fustaneum, from Latin fustis cudgel

This unidentified artist specialized in depictions of Italian peasants wearing jackets, aprons and dresses made from what was then called "genes," fustian cotton named after its assumed city of origin in Genoa, Italy.

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#536 fusillade

fusillade- a simultaneous or rapid continual discharge of firearms; a sudden outburst as of criticism

C19 from French, from fusiller to shoot

The soldiers, part of Mexico's ongoing effort to curb narco-trafficking violence, were met with a fusillade of grenades and gunfire.

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#535 furbelow

furbelow- a flounce, ruffle, or other ornamental trim; showy ornamentation

C18 by folk etymology from French dialect farbella

“There wasn't a single frill, flower or furbelow in her house, and he suspected her mind was just as streamlined.”

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#534 funambulist

funambulist- a tightrope walker

C18 from Latin funambulis rope dancer, from funis rope +ambulare to walk

“It's an extraordinary quality bartenders have; a bar or, in this case, a lounge, can be quite adverse and hectic and easily become chaotic, yet bartenders - good bartenders, that is, go about the storm of hands and impatient glares and fidgets with a frightful calm, riding a teetering wire between cordiality of social obligation and quickness and precision of hand with the balance of a world-class funambulist.”

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#533 fulminate

fulminate- to make severe criticisms or denunciations; rail; to explode with noise and violence

C15 from Medieval Latin fulminare

Not sure if you're being funny or not, but for those playing at home I will simply note that in modern usage "fulminate" usually means "criticize acidly.

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#532 fulgent

fulgent- shining, brilliantly; resplendent; gleaming

C15 from Latin fulgere to shine, flash

Uncharacteristically, he summoned his imagination instead, painting an ecstatic vision of the village under a fulgent canopy of stars and a crescent moon.

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#531 fugue

fugue- a musical form consisting essentially of a theme repeated a fifth above or a fourth below the continuing first statement; in psychiatry a dreamlike altered state of consciousness, lasting from a few hours to several days, duing which a person loses his memory for his previous lifeand often wanders away from home

C16 from French, from Italian fuga, from Latin: a running away, flight

And knowing what a fugue is can make you fall in love with Bach.

The reasons for his fugue are mysterious, and they need to stay that way for at least half of the novel.

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#530 frump

frump- a woman who is dowdy, drab, or unattractive

C16 (in the sense: to be sullen; C19 dowdy woman): from Middle Dutch verrompelen to wrinkle, rumple

Okay, like everyone else, I too was staggered that such a seemingly trained voice should come out the mouth of a woman who's been dubbed a 'frump.'

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#529 frugal

frugal- practising economy; living without waste; thrifty; not costly; meagre

C16 from Latin frugalis, from frugi useful, temperate, from frux fruit

Another answer when pressured to not be frugal is to say we choose to spend our money on different things and blank is just not a priority for us.

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#528 froufrou

froufrou- a swishing sound, as made by a long silk dress; elaborate dress or ornamentation

C19 from French of imitative origin

Like many froufrou fashionistas, my bedroom is an extension of my wardrobe, and therefore has to be interesting, welcoming, and a little bit funky.

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#527 frivolous

frivolous- not serious or sensible in content, attitude, or behavious; silly: a frivolous remark

C15 from Latin frivolus silly, worthless

She said she resigned her governorship because she ran up $500,000 in debt defending herself against what she called frivolous claims.

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#526 frippery

frippery- ornate or showy clothing or adornment; showiness; ostentation; unimportant considerations; trifles; trivia

- C16 from Old French freperie, from frepe frill, rag, old garment, from Medieval Latin faluppa a straw,

Cars like the Subaru Impreza WRX and Mazda's hatchbacks are loved for their rough-and-tumble rally personalities, not for interior frippery or extra design cues.

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#525 fresco

fresco- a very durable method of wall painting using watercolours on wet plaster or less properly, dry plaster with a less durable result; a painting done this way

C16 from Italian; fresh plaster, coolness, from fresco fresh, cool

He explained the general rules of color composition in fresco, enamel, and pastel painting, showing how to use his wheel and chart together as a tool to select the appropriate color combinations for each technique.

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#524 frenzy

frenzy- a violent mental derangement; wild excitement or agitation, distraction

-C14 from Old French frenesie, from Greek, phren mind

If falsifying data to stir the public into a frenzy is your idea of “profit motive” then my friend you are a sad individual.

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#523 fray

fray- a noisy quarrel; a fight or brawl; archaic word for fight

C14 from French frayer to rub, from Latin fricare

One of the most prominent voices to jump into the fray is popular right-wing radio host.

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#522 fractious

fractious- irritable; unruly

C18 from fraction discord

fractiously, fractiousness

The country was filled with fractious groups which made consensus difficult.

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#521 foudroyant

foudroyant- adj.- (of a disease) occurring suddenly and with great severity; (Rare: stunning, dazzling, or overwhelming)

C19 from French, from foudroyer to strike with lightning, from Old French foudre lightning, from Latin fulgur

The reclusive actress was charming and foudroyant as she took the reporters' questions.

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#520 fossick

fossick- verb- to search for gold or precious stones in abandoned workings, river, etc.; to rummage or search for something

C19 Australian, probably from English dialect fussock to bustle about

fossicker- noun

I just fossick around reading whatever interests me.

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#519 fortuitous

fortuitous- happening by chance, especially by a lucky chance; unplanned; accidental

C17 from Latin fortuitus happening by chance, from forte by chance, from fors chance, luck

More probably the resemblance which may be traced in this respect between the religions of the East and West is no more than what we commonly, though incorrectly, call a fortuitous coincidence, the effect of similar causes acting alike on the similar constitution of the human mind in different countries and under different skies.

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#518 fornication

fornication- voluntary sexual intercourse outside marriage; Bible: sexual immorality in general, especially adultery

C16 from Late Latin fornicari, from Latin fornix vault, brothel situated therein

Fornication: but that was in another country; And besides, the wench is dead. Christopher Marlowe

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#517 foreboding

foreboding- a feeling of impending evil, disaster,; an omen or portent; presaging something

With much foreboding from the other characters as to how the disaster has altered the healthy course of her mind, she commits herself to the path of revenge and vows to regain their inheritance from her bitter uncle or his invalid son.

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#516 foray

foray- a short raid or incursion; a first attempt or new undertaking; to raid or ravage a town, district

C14 from forrayen to pillage, from Old French forreier, from fuerre fodder

Her first literary foray is a story about making a new life and her subsequent fictions sustain a bare minimum of grief-stricken life.

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#515 foppery

foppery- the clothes, affectations, obsessions of or befitting a fop

fop- a man who is excessively concerned with fashion and elegance

C15 from German foppen to trick

I can tell you without a doubt … I’d allow myself to be staked out on top of a fire ant pile for three days before I’d have appeared at this sycophantic exercise in foppery, irrelevance and pathetic grandstanding.

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#514 foment

foment- to encourage or instigate; stir up

C15 from Latin fomentare, fomentum a poultice, ultimately from fovere to foster

Countries that fear modernity, that cling to dogma, that exclude women, that foment ethnic divisions—they cannot seem to make progress and join the modern world.

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#513 foible

foible- a slight peculiarity or minor weakness; diosyncrasy;

C17 from French feeble

He thinks his only foible is spending too long daydreaming.

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#512 flummox

flummox- to perplex or bewilder

C19 of unknown origin

Once again, in terms of political theater, the president has managed to flummox both critics and angels alike.

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#511 flummery

flummery- informal meaningless flattery; nonsense

chiefly British a cold pudding of oatmeal

C17 from Welsh llymru

That speech was flummery, full of humbug.

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#510 flotsam

flotsam- wreckage from a ship found floating, as opposed to jetsam which has been thrown out

C16 from Anglo-French floteson, from floter to float

And I’d argue that his ability to nose out a story and piece it together from all the flotsam and jetsam is just what we’ve been missing in national journalism.

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#509 flora

flora- all the plant life of a given place or time; a descriptive list of such plants, often including a key for identification

C18 from New Latin, from Latin Flora goddess of flowers, from flos flower

The flora is distinct from that on adjacent uplands.

fauna- all the animal life

from Late Latin Fauna, a goddess, sister of Faunus

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#508 flippant

flippant- marked by inappropriate levity; frivolous or offhand; impertinent; saucy

C17 from flip

flippancy, flippantly

There are levels to him that rise and fall as his emotions do, yet underneath the flippant is a deep guy with a good heart.

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#507 flimflam

flimflam- nonsense; rubbish; foolishness; a deception; trick; swindle

-C16 Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse flim mockery; Norwegian flire to giggle

But plenty rely on our collective naiveté, distraction, shortsightedness and high stress levels when pushing their flimflam.

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#506 flibbertigibbet

flibbertigibbet- an irresponsible, silly, or gossipy person

C15 of uncertain origin

Shakespeare apparently saw a devilish aspect to a gossipy chatterer; he used "flibbertigibbet".

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#505 flaunt

flaunt- to display (possessions, oneself) ostentatiously; show off; to wave or cause to wave freely; flutter

- C16 Scandinavian, Norwegian flanta to wander about

To flaunt is to make an ostentatious or defiant display: She flaunted her beauty.

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#504 flatter

flatter- to praise insincerely, especially in order to win favour or reward; to show to advantage; to make to appear more attractive than in reality; to play upon or gratify the vanity of a person

C13 Old French flater to lick, fawn upon

This success flattered himself to believe he was a champion.

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#503 flamboyant

flamboyant- elaborate or extravagant; florid; showy; rich or brilliant in colour; resplendent

C19 from French: flaming, from flamboyer to flame

But there are many reasons I don't bother with regular book reviews, even as I indulge in flamboyant movie coverage.

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#502 flair

flair- natural ability; talent; aptitude; instinctive discernment; perceptiveness; stylishness or elegance

C19 from French, literally: sense of smell from Old French: scent, from Latin fragrare to smell sweet

Investigative flair is seen as a sign of eccentricity.

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#501 flagon

flagon- a large bottle of wine, cider...; a vessel having a handle, spout, and narrow neck

C15 from Old French flascon, from Late Latin flasco, probably of Germanic origin- flask

That was when the youth appeared, with a flagon of wine and three cups.

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#500 flagellate

flagellate- to whip; scourge; flog

C16 from Latin flagellare to whip,

flagellant

Conservatives gleefully seized upon this to once again flagellate academia for its liberal bias.

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#499 firmament

firmament- the expanse of the sky; heavens

C13 from Late Latin firmamentum sky (considered as fixed upon the earth), from Latin: prop, support, from firmare to make firm

It's interesting that the medieval concept of the sky as static and fixed is seen with the etymology of firmament.

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