#311 decolletage

decolletage- a low-cut neck line or a woman's garment with a low neck

C19 from French decollete

A young woman with downcast eyes hastened across a balcony in Venice, a black veil artfully draped over her hair and shoulders to reveal her pale, comely face and low decolletage.

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#310 decadence

decadence- deterioration, especially of morality or culture; decay; degeneration;

C16 from French, from Medieval Latin decadentia literally: a falling away

The Empire is currently in the early stages of decadence, which is the most agreeable time to inhabit: peace and pleasure, and the society not yet rotted so far that chaos sets in.

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#309 debonair

debonair- especially of a man- suave and refined, carefree, courteous and cheerful; affable

C13 from Old French debonaire, from de bon aire having a good disposition

Ricardo Montalbán, a Mexican-born actor who starred in Hollywood dramas and candy-colored musicals in the 1940s and '50s was perhaps best known as the debonair host of the TV drama Fantasy Island.

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#308 debauch

debauch- to lead into a life of depraved self indulgence; an instance or period of extreme dissipation

C16 from Old French desbaucher to corrupt, literally to shape (timber) roughly, from bauch beam, of Germanic origin

Far to the right and the left loomed up great black crags and beneath them there reared castles and towers of stone, of strange architecture -- it was as if giants from some other planet had thrown them up in a wild and chaotic debauch of creation.

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#307 debacle

debacle- a sudden disastrous collapse or defeat especially one involving a disorderly retreat; rout

C19 from French debacle, from Old French desbacler to unbolt, ultimately from Latin baculum rod, staff

All he wanted was to get in and out undetected, and leave the word of warning he had to deliver, for the sake of whatever fragile chance of reconciliation and peace remained alive after the debacle of Coventry.

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#306 de

de- prefix forming verbs and verbal derivatives; removal of or from something

deforest, dethrone, decode, decompose, desegregate, ...

'De' words cover many pages in the dictionary!

The prefix 'de' illustrates well that knowing the meaning of a prefix helps to unlock the meaning of many words.

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#305 daunt

daunt- verb- to intimidate; to dishearten

C13 from Old French danter to conquer, from Latin domitare to tame

daunting- adjective, also opposite dauntless- fearless, intrepid, dauntlessness

The prospect of going to my boss about the complaint won't daunt me.

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