learn a new word each week

The simplest definition of a zoonosis is a disease that can be transmitted from other vertebrate animals to humans. A slightly more technical definition is a disease that normally exists in other animals, but also infects humans.

Lucullan \loo-KUHL-uhn\, adjective

rich; magnificent and luxurious

by 1857, from Latin Lucullanus for Licinius Lucullus, a Roman general famous for his wealth and the luxury of his banquets

hegemonic (hegde uh mah nick)
adjective

ruling or dominant in a political or social context

hegemony (heh gem uh ni)
noun

The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others.

Well, if things go wrong we’ll all be bugger meat. So trust me now, Anderson, and don’t bring the whole damn hegemony down on my neck.

synonyms:
leadership, dominance, dominion, supremacy, authority, mastery, control, power, sway, rule, sovereignty.

japanese translation:
主導権
しゅどうけん – shu.dou.ken
-hegemony, leadership, initiative

circumlocution \sir-kuhm-loh-KYOO-shuhn\, noun

The use of many words to express an idea that might be expressed by few; indirect or roundabout language.

Circumlocution comes from Latin circumlocutio, circumlocution-, from circum, “around” + loquor, loqui, “to speak.”

As in the recent political debates have been filled with a frustrating amount of circumlocation.

donnybrook /dä-nē-ˌbru̇k/, noun

an inordinately wild fight or contentious dispute; brawl; free-for-all

[Origin: 1850–55; after Donnybrook (Fair)]

a fair which until 1855 was held annually at Donnybrook, County Dublin, Ireland, and which was famous for rioting and dissipation

So I’ll add this to ruckus, melee, ballyhoo and brouhaha for types of trouble I like to incite.

veracious (ve rae shes)
adjective

1. speaking or representing the truth.
2. habitually truthful.

Great, rambling queer old places they are, with galleries, and passages, and staircases, wide enough and antiquated enough to furnish materials for a hundred ghost stories, supposing we should ever be reduced to the lamentable necessity of inventing any, and that the world should exist long enough to exhaust the innumerable veracious legends connected with old London Bridge, and its adjacent neighbourhood on the Surrey side.

synonyms:
true, accurate, correct, factual, faithful, reliable; unvarnished, unembellished, unidealized; veridical.

antonyms:
inaccurate, untrue.

japanese translation:
ただしい – ta.da.shii
- honest, truthful.

numismatics \noo-miz-MAT-iks; mis; nyoo-\, noun

The collection and study of money (and coins in particular).

I’ve thought about engaging in numismatics, but I haven’t the time for any new hobbies right now.

I love words for collecting different kinds of things; a love of specialization is inherently a love of nerdiness.

frubbly \FROO-blee\, adjective:

The opposite of jealous, the feeling(s) of pleasure one experiences when one’ partner takes another.

Coined by either the Kerista Commune in San Francisco or the ZEGG Community in Germany, see also compersion.

I love this word. It’s fun to say, it has a nice meaning and it’s very useful.

comity \KOM-uh-tee\, noun:

A state of mutual harmony, friendship, and respect, especially between or among nations or people; civility.

Comity is from Latin comitas, from comis, “courteous.”

I like this word. I’d like to think my friends and I exist in a near-utopian state of comity.

petulant (pe ch ələnt)
adjective

1. childishly sulky or bad-tempered.
2. disrespectful in speech or behavior.

That through the utmost depths of poverty and affliction she had toiled, never turning aside for an instant from her task, never wearied by the petulant gloom of a sick man sustained by no consoling recollections of the past or hopes of the future; never repining for the comforts she had rejected, or bewailing the hard lot she had voluntarily incurred.

synonyms:
irritable, peevish, pettish, techy, testy, tetchy, scratchy, nettlesome, peckish, cranky, fractious.

bad tempered, querulous, fretful, cross, sulky, snappish, crotchety, touchy, grumpy, disgruntled, crabby;

antonyms:
genial, affable, cordial, friendly, amiable, easygoing, approachable, good-natured, cheerful, cheery; companionable, comradely, sociable, convivial;

japanese translation:
ふくれる – fu.ku.re.ru
- to be cross, or sulky