Dictionary dump (unformatted): a/an : “A was modified from the Egyptian hieroglyph representing the eagle. In Hebrew it was an ox, and in Greek it was a “symbol of a bad AUGURY in the sacrifices.” The distinction between a/an happened around the 1300s. aardvark : South African “earth pig” aaron’s serpent : “something so powerful as to swallow up minor powers (Exod. vi, 10-12). Thus, Prussia was the Aaron’s serpent that swallowed up the lesser German States between 1866 and 1870.” For context, Aaron was “the patriarch of the Jewish priesthood,” and “possibly connected with haaron, ‘the ark.’” abandonment : ties into atheism and “God is Dead” from Nietzche; the feeling of a once-religious society suddenly without a father; abandoned. “Concept central to atheistic EXISTENTIALISM. According to … Sartre, God does not exist and life therefore has no intrinsic purpose or meaning. Man has been ‘abandoned’ in the universe and must create his own morality and code of values without the assistance of any divine being.” abbadon : “the angel of the bottomless pit (rev. ix, 11), from Heb. abad, he perished. Milton used the name for the pit itself: ‘in hall her gates Abbadon rues, Thy bold attempt.’ Paradise Regained, IV, 624.” abdals : “the name given by Moslems to certain mysterious persons whose identity is known only to God and through whom the world is able to continue in existence. When one dies another is secretly appointed by God to fill the vacant place.” abduction : Latin, abductus; “to lead away” abject (adj.) : miserable (wretched, thrown away, cast off) abjure : to reject solemnly. ablution (n) : a washing; in Cantebury Tales, means “the cleansing of impurities”—this makes me think it’s more about ritual washing than practical dirt cleaning. abney’s effect : from Sir William Abney (1843-1920); “the phenomenon … when a large area is suddenly illuminated, the light seems to appear first in the centre of the patch (rather than appearing all at once) and then spreads outwards towards the edges. When the light is extinguished, the edges disappear first and the centre last.” abstraction : abs = without, tract = grip, tion = a state; “a state of no grip.” Something is abstract when there’s nothing figurative or recognizable for the mind to grip onto. “The sense of an abstract idea appeared in 1644, in Milton’s Of Education.” abstruse : hard to understand; ab=before, trudere=thrust,push,enter; it’s a kind of confusion where you can’t even find the entry point to begin conceptualizing it. Some types of confusion give you clear elements that are confusing from a lack of cohesion. But abstrusity is about being impenetrable. absurd : not just “irrational”… the meaning of “surd” is revealing … “borrowed from latin “surdus” (deaf, unheard, silent, dull, out of tune, senseless) … it’s as if absurdity is the kind of insane behavior you would expect from a creature with it’s senses … Also relates to “alogos,” the opposite of “the logos,” meaning, absurdity is deviation from the diving patterns of the universe. abundance : this word has a positive connotation, but it’s Latin equivalent, abundare, translates to “overflow,” creating the image that something is bursting out of it’s intended container. Consider how when something is overflowing (knowledge, entertainment, friends), we tend to value each unit less. accede : to agree to a demand (cede = yield). accord : to be one one heart. accoutremaniac : one who obsessively organizes. accumulate : “to heap up in mass.” accuse : from the Latin word causari, meaning, “to give as cause”; while this is usually cast in a negative light, it could be seen as the act of inferring the hidden works behind unknown phenomenon. acolyte : not just an altar boy or assistant, but the Greek word akolouthos infers it’s about someone who is on your side along the uncertain road, path, or journey. Someone helping cast light on the path ahead. alpha privative : The Greek prefix where “a” is used to mean “taking away, depriving.” It’s similar to a-, an- in Sanskrit, in- in Latin, and un- in English. Examples: ahistorical, atemporal, anemia (without blood), amorphous (without form), anonymous (without name). baroque : typically referred to a style in art or music, but also references “baroque thinking” a writing style full of elaborate arguments, historical references, and polysyllabic words; 1600-1750s; ornamentations, complex involution, motion; exaggerated poses; a reaction against the proportion and balance of the Renaissance; busy; around the time of the microscope and the telescope, leading to a feeling of wonder, mysteriousness, and spirituality. bathetic : when something of high quality descends into triviality. beastiary : “an allegorical story in which the principal characters are animals; often employs anthropomorphism, a form of personification. Also referred to as an apologue, beast epic, or beast fable. belletrist : “fine letters,” (French), a writer known for light non-fiction (addressed to friends?) more regarded for its style than for its substance. chapbook : “popular ballads, stories, poetry, and other forms of literature published in pamphlets or small book form and sold by peddler known as chapmen from the 16th-18th century.” cognate : from cognatus, “of common descent.” Used to describe words that come from the same root. coterie : “a group of friends or writers with similar literary interests.” didactic : “poetry or prose meant to be instructive, to teach a lesson.” (contrasting Oscar Wilde’s notion of “art for art’s sake). hagiography : “originally, an idealized religious biography of a saint or martyr; now refers to any biography that idealizes or idolizes the subject of the biography; from “written by inspiration (Greek).” koonselroman : actually spelled (Kunstlerroman); “a type of narrative that traces the development of an artist either from childhood or from artistic immaturity; from “artist novel” (German). Ex: ‘A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’ [James Joyce].” kowtow (n.) : “an act of slavish submission. (1804) … [the] Chinese custom of touching the ground with [your] forehead to show respect or submission … borrowing from ‘k’o’t’ou,’ literally, ‘knock the head.’” Related to the words “fawn” and “truckle.” polemic : “a detailed attacked against a person or institution; from ‘pertaining to war’ (Greek).” prosody : the musicality of language (pros=toward, ode=song/poem). roman a these : “a novel with a message of social importance; from ‘thesis novel’ (French).”

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