Term

Borrowing

Importing a word from one language to another; an imported word

Term

Cognates

Pairs of words developed separately from a shared ancestor word

term

Mnemonic

A device to aid the memory.

Ad hoc

Adjective

fashioned from whatever is immediately available

Ad Hominem

Adjective

appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect

Ad Infinitum

Adverb, Adjective

without end or limit

Ad Nauseam

Adverb

to a sickening or excessive degree

Antebellum

Adjective

existing before a war

Ardently

Adverb

Done in an impassioned way.

Avocation

Noun

customary employment

Belie

Verb

to give a false impression of

Bellicose

Adjective

favoring or inclined to start quarrels or wars

Bereft

Adjective

deprived or robbed of the possession or use of something

Berserk

Noun

one whose actions are recklessly defiant

Bona Fide

Adjective

made in good faith without fraud or deceit

Churlish

Adjective

marked by a lack of civility or graciousness

Culpable

Adjective

meriting condemnation or blame

De Facto

Adverb

in reality

Deleterious

Adjective

harmful often in a subtle or unexpected way

Dictatorial

Adjective

arrogantly overbearing toward others

Ebullient

Adjective

showing liveliness and enthusiasm

Epiphany

Noun

an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure

Evanescent

Adjective

tending to vanish like vapor

Facitious

Adjective

joking or jesting often inappropriately

Genocide

Noun

the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group

Gregarious

Adjective

tending to associate with others of one's kind

Heterogeneous

Adjective

consisting of dissimilar or diverse ingredients or constituents

Homogenous

Adjective

of the same or a similar kind or nature

Hubris

Noun

exaggerated pride or self-confidence

Hypotenuse

Noun

the side of a right-angled triangle that is opposite the right angle

Impeach

Verb

to bring an accusation against

Ipse Dixit

Noun

an assertion made but not proved

Ipso Facto

Adverb

as an inevitable result

Loquacious

Adjective

full of excessive talk

Mea Culpa

Noun

a formal acknowledgment of personal fault or error

Modus Operandi

Noun

a method of procedure

Non Sequitur

Noun

an inference that does not follow from the premises

Nonsectarian

Adjective

not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group

Oligarchy

Noun

a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes

Parabola

Noun

something bowl-shaped

Polymer

Noun

a chemical compound or mixture of compounds formed by polymerization

Pseudonym

Noun

a fictitious name

quid pro quo

Noun

something given or received for something else

Quotidian

Adjective

occurring every day

Sanguine

Adjective

marked by sturdiness, high color, and cheerfulness

Soliliquy

Noun

1 : the act of talking to oneself
2 : a dramatic monologue that represents a series of unspoken reflections

Status Quo

Noun

the existing state of affairs

Stereotype

Noun

a conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception or image.

Supercilious

Adjective

coolly and patronizingly haughty

Transient

Adjective

passing through or by a place with only a brief stay or sojourn 

Vortex

Noun

something that resembles a whirlpool

Xenophobe

Noun

one unduly fearful of what is foreign and especially of people of foreign origin

Yeoman

Noun

an attendant or officer in a royal or noble household

Term

Acronym

A word formed from first (or other) letters of words in a phrase

Term

To Anglicize

To make a borrowed word sound more like English

Term

Blend

A word formed by joining parts cut from other words

Term

Clipping

Cutting off part of a word or word phrase to make a new word

Term

Coinage

Creating a new word; a made up word

Term

Eponym

A proper name which is the source of a new word.

Term

Word Web

An interrelated pattern of words formed from a common base

Abjure

Verb

to renounce upon oath

Adroit

Adjective

having or showing skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness in handling situations

Aficionado

Noun

a person who likes, knows about, and appreciates a usually fervently pursued interest or activity

Alchemical

Adjective

Of or relating to process of transforming something common into something special

Angst

Noun

a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity

Avant-Garde

Noun

One who develops new or experimental concepts especially in the arts

Baksheesh

Noun

Payment (as a tip or bribe) to expedite service

Banal

Adjective

lacking originality, freshness, or novelty

Biology

Noun

a branch of knowledge that deals with living organisms and vital processes

Carte Blance

Noun

full discretionary power

Caveat

Noun

an explanation to prevent misinterpretation

Chromosome

Noun

DNA containing structures that contain all or most of the genes of the organism

Coup D'etat

Noun

the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group

Debacle

Noun

a complete failure

Deja Vu

Noun

a feeling that one has seen or heard something before

Diletantte

Noun

a person having a superficial interest in an art or a branch of knowledge

Elicit

Verb

to draw forth or bring out

Ersantz

Adjective

being a usually artificial and inferior substitute or imitation

Euro

Noun

Shortened form of European and the general currency for countries in the European Union

Extricate

Verb

 to free or remove from an entanglement or difficulty

Fait Accompli

Noun

a thing accomplished and presumably irreversible

Faux Pas

Noun

a social blunder

Filibuster

Noun

the use of extreme dilatory tactics in an attempt to delay or prevent action especially in a legislative assembly

Gauche

Adjective

lacking social experience or grace

Incommunicado

Adjective

without means of communication

joie de vivre

Noun

keen or buoyant enjoyment of life

Juggernaut

Noun

a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path

Junta

Noun

a council or committee for political or governmental purposes

Machiavellian

Adjective

marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith

Mitosis

Noun

a process that takes place in the nucleus of a dividing cell

Moiety

Noun

one of two equal parts

Philistine

Noun

a person who is guided by materialism and is usually disdainful of intellectual or artistic values

Quasar

Noun

any of a class of celestial objects that resemble stars but whose large redshift and apparent brightness imply extreme distance and huge energy output

Quixotic

Adjective

foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals

Raison D'etre

Noun

reason or justification for existence

Regime

Noun

a regular pattern of occurrence or action

Rendevouz

Noun

a place appointed for assembling or meeting

Savoir Faire

Noun

capacity for appropriate action

Sequester

Verb

to set apart

Taboo

Adjective

banned on grounds of morality or taste

Tete-a-Tete

Noun

a private conversation between two persons

Tortuous

Adjective

marked by repeated twists, bends, or turns

Verboten

Adjective

prohibited by dictate

Virtuoso

Noun

one who excels in the technique of an art

vis-a-vis

Preposition

in relation to, as compared with

Zeitgeist

Noun

the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era