Unusual words

A

Adduce

To cite, to allege.

Ado

Trouble, fuss.

Aftertale

Slander, defamation; or, a postscript.

Alpenglow

A reddish glow near the horizon when the sun is just below the opposite horizon.

Alpha privative

The prefix “a-” or “an-” used to indicate negation.

Ambage

A winding, roundabout path.

Anaphora

A literary device in which a word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of multiple sentences, for emphasis.

Apricate

To bask in the sun.

Apricity

The warmth of the sun in winter.

Apsis

Perihelion and/or aphelion.

Asthenia

Weakness.

Ateknia

Childlessness.

B

Bygone

Something that happened in the past.

C

Canard

Bullshit

Cognosce

To examine; to judge; to diagnose; to determine.

Collogue

To converse privately.

D

Damoiseau

Masculine form of “damsel”.

Damozel / Damoiselle

Damsel.

Deliquesce

To melt or fade away.

Dudgeon

A dagger with a wooden hilt.

E

Eke

To increase.

Epistrophe

A literary device in which a word or phrase is repeated at the end of multiple sentences, for emphasis.

Epizeuxis

A literary device in which a word or phrase is repeated in quick succession, for emphasis, emphasis, emphasis!

Esperance

Hope, hopefulness.

F

Farsickness

Wanderlust

Fettle

A mood or mental state, implicitly negative.

Frangible

Easily broken.

K

Kith

Friends, acquaintances

H

Hither

To here.

I

Immemorial

Ancient beyond memory.

N

Nepenthe

(Fictional) A drug to cure sadness; a drug of forgetfulness.

Nocent

Causing injury; harmful; guilty.

Nowise

Not at all; in no way.

Nycthemeron

A night and day; a period of 24 hours.

O

Offing

The forseeable future.

P

Pamplemousse

European French: A pomelo.

Quebecois French: A grapefruit.

R

Relict

A widow or widower.

Riddance

The act of being rid of something.

S

Sard

To copulate.

Shebang

A temporary shelter or lean-to.

Shrive

To confess and receive absolution; to receive a confession and prescribe absolution.

Sophont

A sci-fi term for an intelligent being on par with humans.

Subtrahend

A quantity that is subtracted from another.

Swive

To swivel, to screw, to copulate.

T

Tarnation

Thither

To there.

Turpitude

Depravity.

W

Wedlock

The state of being married.

Wreak

To inflict; revenge, punishment, payback.

V

Virduity

The state of being a widow or widower.

Y

Yore

A long time past.