Hello Readers!
I’m sorry for my small disappearance. October has been a rough month. Two surgeries and catching up in
school. Thankfully, I'm feeling
much better and am almost caught up in school.
There are so many good words in The Exorcist! There were
initially 50-ish words I wanted to explore, but I’ve chosen
33 to define. I’ve broken them up
into two sections of about 16 words.
The examples are sentences from the book, unless noted otherwise. Also, almost all of the definitions are taken from dictionary.com--in most cases verbatim. You can go to the site to hear and see pronunciation.
assuage, balustrade, belie, breviary, brogue, cassock,
catting, circumlocutions, debenture, droshky, ersatz, esplanade, excoriating,
fey, garrulous, inchoate
(
See the definitions of words 1-16 after the jump.
“...but then pointed out
soothingly, in an effort to assuage
her feelings, that "perhaps" she had seen something after all...” p
35
(verb) (a) to make milder or less severe;
relieve; ease; mitigate
(b) to appease; satisfy; allay; relieve
(c) to soothe, calm, or mollify
“Chris and Sharon were
leaning, heads lowered, against the balustrade by the suitcase.” p. 131
(noun)
An ornamental rail with its supporting set of balusters.
“In a pensive mood, he had
carefully fashioned them into a collage in the shape of a rose, as if to belie the ugly conclusion to which they had led him...” p. 335
(verb) (a) to show to be false;
contradict
(b) to misrepresent
(c) to act unworthily according to the standards of (a
tradition, one’s ancestry, one’s faith, etc.)
(d) to lie about
“He picked up his breviary and stepped out to the courtyard...” p. 105
(noun) In the
Roman Catholic church, a book containing all the daily psalms, hymns, prayers,
lessons, etc.
“’Said a couple of masses for
her, Damien. And one for you,’ he wheezed with the barest trace of brogue.” p. 105
(noun) (a) an Irish accent in
the pronunciation of English.
(b)
any strong regional accent
“He reeled to the bathroom;
showered; shaved; dressed in a cassock.”
p. 101
(noun) (a) a long, close-fitting garment worn
by members of the clergy or others participating in church services
(b)
a member of the clergy
- catting
“Catting in lithe through a door off the pantry. Commanding. Deferential.” p. 16
*I’m actually not entirely
sure, and am open to suggestions.
I would assume it to mean “cat-like”. Definition #17 on dictionary.com says it is Brittish slang
for “to vomit." You can see what dictionary.com has to say about it here.
“... Their circumlocutions could never be challenged.” p. 39
(noun) a roundabout or
indirect way of speaking; the use of more words than necessary to express an
idea.
“The third, and the most
important, of Chris's concerns was the failure of two financial ventures: a
purchase of convertible debentures
through the use of prepaid interest;...” p. 66
(noun) a certificate acknowledging a debt.
“The Arab watched his
dwindling form as he crossed a narrow street at an angle, almost colliding with
a swiftly moving droshky.” p. 7
(noun) a light, low,
four-wheeled, open vehicle used mainly in Russia, in which the passengers sit
astride or sideways on a long, narrow bench.
“The ersatz text,
though containing some strikeovers and various typographical errors, was in
basically fluent and intelligible Latin…” p. 106
(adjective) serving as a substitute; synthetic; artificial.
“They were standing on the esplanade that fronted the administration building and were
knotted in the center of actors…” p. 19
(noun) an open, level space, especially one serving for
public walks or drives.
“They turned to the door as an excoriating stream of obscenities apparently drove Karl out of
Regan’s bedroom.” p. 275
(verb) to denounce or berate severely; flay verbally
- fey
“He was young and diminutive, with fey eyes behind steel-rimmed spectacles.” p. 71
This is another one that I’m open to suggestions. I initially thought it meant “light”—as
in “light colored eyes,” but that did not come up on dictionary.com. I think the second definition for the
World English Dictionary of “attuned to the supernatural; clairvoyant;
visionary” could apply to this context.
(adjective)
“Yes, of course.
I’m so garrulous. You’re busy. Forgive me.” p.
160
(adjective) (a)
excessively talkative in a rambling, roundabout manner, especially about
trivial matters.
(b) wordy or
diffuse
“Nearing the ruins, he slowed his pace, for with every step
the inchoate presentiment took firmer,
more horrible form.” p. 7
(adj.) (a) not yet completed or fully
developed; rudimentary
(b)
just begun; incipient
(c)
not organized; lacking order
Next time: Words 17-33. Curious about the word "promulgating"? So am I :)
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