Formosity

FORMOSITY (for·mos·i·ty \for-‘maw-sih-tee\), noun.
DEFINITION: a beauty.
EXAMPLE: Helen of Troy was such a formosity that her beauty was said to have launched a thousand ships.

Jingled

JINGLED (jin·gled \ˈjiŋ-gəld\), adjective.
DEFINITION: mildly drunk.
EXAMPLE: After downing two shots of liquid courage, Melvin felt jingled enough to approach the woman of his dreams.

Imprimis

IMPRIMIS (im·pri·mis \im-ˈprī-məs, -ˈprē-\), adverb.
DEFINITION: firstly.
EXAMPLE: Imprimis, Bob did not like vegetables; and secondly, he found he didn’t like vegetarians much either.

Kathisophobia

KATHISOPHOBIA (kath·i·so·pho·bia\ˌkath-i-sō-ˈfō-bē-ə\), noun.
DEFINITION: fear of sitting.
EXAMPLE: Surrounded by chairs, beanbags and comfy sofas, Billy succumbed to his kathisophobia and crumpled into a little ball on the floor.

Kinesophobia

KINESOPHOBIA (ki·ne·so·pho·bia\kə-ˌnē-sō-ˈfō-bē-ə, kī-\), noun.
DEFINITION: fear of movement.
EXAMPLE: Although she remained deathly afraid of merry-go-rounds, Sally found she could control her kinesophobia if she closed her eyes and stood very, very still.

Lustrum

LUSTRUM (lus·trum \ˈləs-trəm\), noun.
DEFINITION: a period of five years.
EXAMPLE: “I’m five and a half now, so after a lustrum I’ll be ten and a half!” exclaimed Billy.

Parastatal

PARASTATAL (par-uh-‘stay-tuhl), adjective.
DEFINITION: a government-owned organization.
EXAMPLE: The Chinese economy is dominated by several parastatal or quasi-government organizations.

Napier

NAPIER (na·pi·er \’nay-pee-uhr\), noun.
DEFINITION: one in charge of table linen in a royal household.
EXAMPLE: Although his handiwork was soiled at every meal, the napier took pride in keeping royal lips free of unwanted grease and bits of food. 

Bowyer

BOWYER (bow·yer \’bo-yuhr\), noun.
DEFINITION: One who makes, sells or uses bows.
EXAMPLE: Although the archer owned several bows crafted by renowned bowyers, he only took one into battle.

Logomaniac

LOGOMANIAC (lo-guh-‘may-nee-ak), noun.
DEFINITION: one who is obsessively interested in words.
EXAMPLE: Copywriting gave the logomaniac a relatively healthy outlet for his obsession with words.

Frankenfood

FRANKENFOOD (frank-en-food \‘frang-kuhn-food\), noun.
DEFINITION: genetically modified food.
EXAMPLE: Although frankenfood yields more productive crops in challenging climates, its long term effects on the human body remain unknown.

Lampoon

LAMPOON (lam·poon \lam-ˈpün\), verb.
DEFINITION: to make the subject of ridicule.
EXAMPLE: The artist lampooned the mayor’s fondness for alcohol in a biting political cartoon.

Tantara

TANTARA (tan·ta·ra \tan-ˈta-rə\), noun.
DEFINITION: the blare of a trumpet or horn.
EXAMPLE: A majestic tantara from the royal buglers announced the arrival of the king.

Smarmy

SMARMY (smar·my \ˈsmär-mē\), adjective.
DEFINITION: feigning politeness.
EXAMPLE: While the salesman’s shtick made old ladies swoon, he mostly came off as unctuous and smarmy.

Nimrod

NIMROD (Nim·rod \ˈnim-ˌräd\), noun.
DEFINITION: a stupid person.
EXAMPLE: “This used to be a great place to work, but a few strategically positioned nimrods ruined it very quickly,” she sighed.

Moxie

MOXIE (mox·ie \ˈmäk-sē\), noun.
DEFINITION: energy, determination.
EXAMPLE: Although she came from modest roots, her ambition and moxie took her to the very top of the corporate ladder.

Peripeteia

PERIPETEIA (peri·pe·teia \ˌper-ə-pə-ˈtē-ə\), noun.
DEFINITION: a sudden change of fortune.
EXAMPLE: Staring at the lottery ticket in his grimy hand, the hobo suddenly realized the magnitude of his peripeteia.

Palinode

PALINODE (pal·in·ode \ˈpa-lə-ˌnōd\), noun.
DEFINITION: a formal retraction.
EXAMPLE: The journalist was forced to print an apologetic palinode after he was found to have fabricated certain claims in his story.