Page 158 - SBV (English)

532 Guide to Obscure English Words

Apropos—relevant
Arcanum—hidden matter, profound secret
Archetypal—pertaining to an original example or model of a thing or type
Archipelago—a large, often scattered, group of islands
Argot—a specialized language or idiom

Assay—to subject to testing
Assiduously—carefully and diligently
Assuagement—relief
Baksheesh—tip, donation
Beleaguered—attacked from all sides
Blackguard—a wholly unprincipled person, scoundrel

Blandishment—gentle flattery meant for obtaining something from a person
Brigandry—armed thievery
Brute—(adj) animal-like
Burgeon—to flourish
Cadence—balanced rhythmic flow (as in music)
Canonical—of an established law or principle (especially concerning religious or
scriptural matters)
Cant—hypocritically pious talk
Caprice—whim

Cashiered—removed from a post (usually for disciplinary reasons)
Catchpenny—cheap methods to attract interest
Cathonitheism—(presumably idiolectic for kathenotheism) worship of one god at
a time, worship of one god while considering worship of other gods equally
valid
Cavil—a trivial and annoying objection

Cede—to give under pressure
Cerebration—mental or intellectual activity
Charade—a deceptive but easily detected pretense
Charlatan—a fraud; one who makes an elaborate show of being accomplished in
a particular line
Cherubic—angelic