A few fun words that were new to me this week:
landau, n A horse-drawn four-wheeled enclosed carriage with a removable front cover and a back cover that can be raised and lowered
page 117, The Raven Saint by M.L. Tyndall
“That he had sent his landau as soon as Nicole’s note had arrived in his hands was indisputable, but it still did little to stop Grace’s nerves from tightening into knots at the thought of going to an unknown man’s home.”
ague, n [archaic] Malaria or some other illness involving fever and shivering
page 160, The Raven Saint by M.L. Tyndall
“‘He has the ague, I believe.’”
binnacle, n A built-in housing for a ship’s compass
page 203, The Raven Saint by M.L. Tyndall
“Together, they spread it atop the binnacle, held it down against the buffeting wind, and examined it for several minutes.”
cordovan, n A kind of soft leather made originally from goatskin and now from horsehide
page 259, The Raven Saint by M.L. Tyndall
“To the left of his long black breeches tucked into his cordovan boots, hung the rapier that rarely left his side.”
More great words on my Words from my reading page.
Review of the book cited here:
The Raven Saint by M.L. Tyndall
What new words have you found lately?
Maybe I’m wrong. I immediately thought of Charleston, S.C. and New Orleans when I read the “landau.” Love the Binnacle. I bet they could use one of those in all those blizzards up the East coast.
http://readwithtea.blogspot.com/2010/02/wondrous-words.html
When I was a kid people used to talk about the ague all the time. I never hear that anymore. It’s funny to me but, when I read the word, I had an instant picture of one of my great aunts.
I don’t recall hearing or reading any of these words before. Interesting words though. I’m learning something new everyday. Thanks for sharing!
I always thought cordovan was a color of leather. Maybe goatskin is a different color.