Unusual words

A

Adduce

To cite, to allege.

Ado

Trouble, fuss.

Aftertale

Slander, defamation; or, a postscript.

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.

Asthenia

Weakness.

Ateknia

Childlessness.

B

Bygone

Something that happened in the past.

C

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.