[Word Powers] Daily Words - October

Transcend (tran-SEND) (verb): To go beyond, rise above or be more important or better than something, especially a limit. The best films are those which transcend national or cultural barriers.

Condescend (kon-duh-SEND) (verb): 1. To descend to the level of one considered inferior; lower oneself. I wonder if Michael will condescend to gambling? 2. To deal with people in a patronizingly superior manner. To treat someone as if you are better or more important than them. He explains things without condescending to his audience.

Temerity (te·mer·i·ty) (noun): Unreasonable, rash or foolhardy contempt of danger or opposition It is notorious temerity of the authorities in charge of the Titanic to venture into the Atlantic with far less lifeboats to accommodate all the people onboard, in case of an emergency.

Tenacious (tuh-ney-shuhs) (adjective): 1. Holding or tending to hold persistently to something, such as a point of view. 2. Holding together firmly; cohesive: a tenacious material. Marcus, the dog had such a tenacious grip on the bone that he refused Jack to snatch it from him.

Rivulet (RIV-yuh-lut) (Noun): A small stream or brook; a streamlet. There was a rivulet of scummy water heading for his highly polished black shoe

Hinterland (HIN-tur-land) (Noun): 1. A region situated inland from a coast. 2. A region remote from urban areas; backcountry. 3. A region situated beyond the major metropolitan or cultural centers. Cities did nothing for me. It was the hinterlands that made me.

Bequeath (bi-kweeth, -kweeth) (verb): To dispose of (personal property, esp. money) by last will: She bequeathed her half of the company to her niece. To hand down; pass on. Jon’s father bequeathed his entire estate to his mother.

Bereft (bi-reft) (adjective): 3. To deprive and make desolate, esp. by death (usually followed. by of): Illness bereaved them of their mother. 4. Obsolete. to take away by violence. His family was bereft of food and shelter following the tornado.

Surmise (ser-MAHYZ) (verb): 1. (verb) to think or infer without certain or strong evidence; to conjecture orguess. 2. (noun) a conjecture or guess. The police surmised that the robbers had fled the country.

Remit (ri-MIT) (verb): 1. To transmit or send (money, a check, etc.) to a person or place, usually in payment. He worked as a builder in Chicago and remitted half his monthly wage to his family in the Philippines. 2. To slacken, reduce or relax Jack’s prison sentence was remitted from five years to two.

Serein (se*re in) (noun): Fine rain falling from an apparently cloudless sky, typically observed after sunset. The phenomenon serein may be explained by the evaporation of cloud particles following the formation of rain droplets, or by the movement of cloud away from the overhead position as the rain approaches the ground.

Serene (su’reen) (adjective): 5. Not agitated; without losing self-possession. 6. Completely clear and fine. A quiet conscience makes one so serene. — Lord Byron (1788-1824), English poet. [INFO]: Serene is a new mobile phone produced as a joint venture between Samsung and Bang & Olufsen. It was released in the last quarter of 2005 in Europe. It is available in select stores throughout the world and costs $1275 (~€1000).Bang and Olufsen and Samsung are currently working on the successor, a touchscreen phone named the Serenata.

Numismatist (noo-miz-muh-tist) (Noun): 1. A specialist in numismatics. 2. A person who collects numismatic items, esp. coins. Numismatists even study civil engineering. After all, we pay for public transportation with tokens, tickets and cards

Philatelist (fi-lat-l-ee) (Noun): 1. The collecting of stamps and other postal matter as a hobby or an investment. 2. The study of postage stamps, revenue stamps, stamped envelopes, postmarks, postal cards, covers, and similar material relating to postal or fiscal history. Over 110 countries worldwide have a sort of society for philatelists.

Abstain (ab-STEYN) (verb): 1. To hold oneself back voluntarily, especially from something regarded as improper or unhealthy (usually followed by from) 2. To refrain from casting one's vote. He took a vow to abstain from alcohol and smoking.

Tenor (TEN-er) (noun): 1. In Music, a male singer with a high voice, or (especially in combinations) a musical instrument which has the same range of notes as the tenor singing voice. a tenor saxophone 2. The course of thought or meaning that runs through something written or spoken; purport; drift. The tenor of his one hour speech was time management.

Busker (BUS-kur) (Noun): A person who entertains (as by playing music) in public places. A busker who simultaneously plays the drums, cymbals, bells and a mouth organ.

Scion (SY-uhn) (Noun): A descendant; an inheritor; an heir Prince william, scion of a British royal family, never needs to earn his living.

Tendentious (ten-den-shuhs) (adjective): Having or showing a definite tendency, bias, or purpose: a tendentious novel. The local news channels are infamous for the tendentious opinion polls before the general elections.

Tempestuous (tem-pes-choo-uhs) (adjective): 1. characterized by violent emotions or behavior; "a stormy argument"; "a stormy marriage" 2. tumultuous; turbulent: a tempestuous period in history. The tempestuous Mediterranean sea has drowned many lives over the past one year.

Nadir (ney-der)(Noun): 1. Astronomy. A point on the celestial sphere directly below the observer, diametrically opposite the zenith. 2. An extreme state of adversity; the lowest point of anything The nadir of their fortunes.
Zenith (zen-ith) (Noun): 1.The point on the celestial sphere that is directly above the observer. 2.The upper region of the sky. 3.The highest point above the observer's horizon attained by a celestial body. The zenith of his career.

Accost uh-kawst, uh-kost)(Verb): 1. To confront boldly 2. To approach, esp. with a greeting, question, or remark. Though Vipin was normally quite calm, when the waiter spilled soup on him for the fourth time, he stood up and accosted the man.

Acumen (uh-kyoo-muhn, ak-yuh) (Noun): keen insight; shrewdness: remarkable acumen in business matters. Because of his mathematical acumen, Larry was able to figure problems in minutes that other students took hours.

Tonic (TON-ik) (verb): 1. (noun) An agent, such as a medication, that restores or increases body tone. 2. (adj) Invigorating physically, mentally, or morally. Promoting health. His cheerful greeting was a real tonic.

Baritone (also barytone) (BAR-i-tohn) (noun): 1. In Music, a. A male singer or voice with a range higher than a bass and lower than a tenor. b. An instrument that sounds within this range. c. A vocal or instrumental part written in this range. 2. A valved brass instrument similar to but larger than the euphonium. She played the baritone in the marching band.

Trenchant (tren-chuhnt) (adjective): 1. Incisive or keen, as language or a person; caustic; cutting: trenchant wit. 2. Clearly or sharply defined; clear-cut; distinct. John Gunther Dean’s trenchant views on American foreign policy, Israel and Lebanon won him enmity in high places.

Truculent (truhk-yuh-luhnt) (adjective): 1. Fierce; cruel; savagely brutal. 2. Brutally harsh; vitriolic; scathing: his truculent criticism of her work Hitler’s reputation as a truculent dictator far precedes any.

Civilization (sivull’zeyshun) (noun): 1. A society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations). 2. The social process whereby societies achieve an advanced stage of development and organization. à "Civilization is the lamb's skin in which barbarism masquerades." - Thomas B. Aldrich à The Indus Valley Civilization (Mature period 2600–1900 BCE), abbreviated IVC, was an ancient civilization that flourished in the Indus River basin. Primarily centered in Pakistan (Sindh and Punjab provinces) and India (Gujarat and Rajasthan), it extends westward into the Balochistan province of Pakistan. [More Info] : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilization / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization / http://www.answers.com/topic/civilization
Dynasty (dinustee) (noun): 1. A sequence of powerful leaders in the same family 2. A family or group that maintains power for several generations. à The first Mughal King, Babur, established the Mughal dynasty in the Indian Subcontinent. àA ruler in a dynasty is sometimes referred to as a dynast. [More Info] : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynasty / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_dynasty
Doctrine (DOK-trin) (noun): 1 A principle or body of principles presented for acceptance or belief, as by a religious, political, scientific, or philosophic group; dogma. 2 A rule or principle of law, especially when established by precedent. The Monroe Doctrine is a U.S. doctrine which, on December 2, 1823, stated that European powers were no longer to colonize or interfere with the affairs of the newly independent states of the Americas.
Embargo (em-BAHR-goh) (noun): 1. An order of a government prohibiting the movement of merchant ships into or out of its ports. 2. A restraint or hindrance; prohibition. The US, the biggest oil supplier for Japan at the time, imposed the oil embargo on Japan in July, 1941, for its attack on China. It helped the Japanese to make up their minds to fight against the Americans and was followed by attack on Pearl Harbor.

Chamberlain (cheym-ber-lin) (noun): 1. An official charged with the management of the living quarters of a sovereign or member of the nobility. 2. An official who receives rents and revenues, as of a municipal corporation; treasurer. The Finance Director of the City of London is called Chamberlain.

Serf (surf) (noun): A person in a condition of servitude, required to render services to a lord, commonly attached to the lord's land and transferred with it from one owner to another; A slave The serf's house was a place actually owned by the king or noble because it was part of the manor, on the king's land, and the king owned all the land.

Emaciate (i'meyshee`eyt) (verb): Extremely thin, especially because of starvation or illness, thin, withered Gautama, practiced austerities (The trait of great self-denial) for six years in the area of the Niranjana river near Bodhgaya. He became weak and emaciated.

Emancipate (i'mansu`peyt) (verb): Free somebody from restrictions or conventions, liberated Give equal rights to; of women and minorities Finally understanding that this (austerities) could not lead to emancipation, Gautama abandoned his austerities by taking some milk.