I read an article on MSN's home page and found myself having to use a dictionary. This is not unusual for me. Are you familar with these words? Or should I pull out my stupid hat... again?
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crepuscular
Pronunciation: kri-'p&s-ky&-l&r
Function: adjective
1 : of, relating to, or resembling twilight : DIM
2 : active in the twilight
The subject of the article where I encountered this word was about horrible rental properties being looked at by a Katrina evacuee. This is the sentence:
“"We'll be contacting your previous landlord," they all promise, after showing us their crepuscular, paneled dwellings."
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epistle
Pronunciation: i-'pi-s&l
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, letter, Epistle, from Old French, from Latin epistula, epistola letter, from Greek epistolE message, letter, from epistellein to send to, from epi- + stellein to send
1 capitalized a : one of the letters adopted as books of the New Testament b : a liturgical lection usually from one of the New Testament Epistles
2 a : LETTER; especially : a formal or elegant letter b : a composition in the form of a letter
This word is from the same article as above. Here is the sentence:
“Instead I stood there clammily shaking hands and composing a sh**-eating epistle in my head to our former landlord.”
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Arcadian
Pronunciation: är-'kA-dE-&n
Function: adjective
Usage: often capitalized
1 : idyllically pastoral; especially : idyllically innocent, simple, or untroubled
2 a : of or relating to Arcadia or the Arcadians b : of or relating to Arcadian
“The poet's house is wonderful, the neighborhood is Arcadian, and the rent is comparable to what we would have paid for the stinky-rug place.”
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augury
Pronunciation: 'o-gy&-rE, -g&-
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -ries
1 : divination from auspices or omens; also : an instance of this
2 : OMEN, PORTENT
“A trailer seemed a good augury”.
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Where IS that stupid hat?
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