fetid \FET-id; FEE-tid\ (adjective) - Having an offensive smell; stinking.

"When Savigny returned to his fetid sty of a hutch, he found a veritable pandemonium, a huddle of men stringing their hammocks against every available hook on the beams." -- Arabella Edge, 'The God of Spring'

Fetid derives from Latin fetidus, from fetere, "to stink."

meticulous \muh-TIK-yuh-luhs\ (adjective) - Extremely or excessively careful about details.

"Starling was an efficient housekeeper, but not a meticulous one. Her side of the duplex was clean and she could find everything, but stuff tended to pile up..." -- Thomas Harris, 'Hannibal'

Meticulous ultimately derives from Latin meticulosus "fearful...Read more

wayworn \WAY-worn\ (adjective) - Wearied by traveling.

"And when three years had passed, Turin returned again to Menegroth; but he came from the wild, and was unkempt, and his gear and garments were wayworn." -- J.R.R. Tolkien, 'The Silmarillion'

Wayworn is way (from Old English weg) + worn (from Old English werian).

slugabed \SLUHG-uh-bed\ (noun) - One who stays in bed until a late hour; a sluggard.

""Don't you Auntie me, you slugabed! There's toads to be buried and stoops to be washed. Why are you never around when it's time for chores?" -- Michael Swanwick, 'King Dragon'

Slugabed is from slug, "sluggard" + abed, "in bed."

subaltern \suhb-OL-tuhrn; SUHB-uhl-tuhrn\ (adjective) - 1 : Ranked or ranged below; subordinate; inferior. 2 : (Chiefly British) Ranking as a junior officer; being below the rank of captain. 3 : (Logic) Asserting only a part of what is asserted in a related proposition.

(noun) - 1 : A person holding a subordinate position. 2 : (Chiefly British)...Read more

sublunary \suhb-LOO-nuh-ree\ (adjective) - Situated beneath the moon; hence, of or pertaining to this world; terrestrial; earthly.

"They acquire sublunary bodies, just as did the fallen Watchers when they joined with the daughters of men. Sublunary bodies meant they were stripping themselves of power." -- Faith Hunter, 'Host'

Sublunary is from...Read more

lackadaisical \lack-uh-DAY-zih-kuhl\ (adjective) - Lacking spirit or liveliness; showing lack of interest; languid; listless.

"Folk whose god is lazy and lackadaisical needs must do for themselves what that lazy, lackadaisical god will not do for them." -- Harry Turtledove, 'Between the Rivers'

Lackadaisical comes from the expression ...Read more

descant \DES-kant\ (noun) - 1 : (Music) (a) A melody or counterpoint sung above the plain song of the tenor. (b) The upper voice in part music. 2 : A discourse or discussion on a theme.

\DES-kant; des-KANT; dis-\ (intransitive verb) - 1 : (a) To sing or play a descant. (b) To sing. 2 : To comment freely; to discourse at length.

"Nay, now you ...Read more

robustious \roh-BUHS-chuhs\ (adjective) - 1 : Boisterous; vigorous. 2 : Coarse; rough; crude.

"O, it offends me t the soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of the groundlings, who for the most part are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb shows and noise." -- William ...Read more

doff \DOF\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To take off, as an article of clothing. 2 : To tip or remove (one's hat). 3 : To put aside; to rid oneself of.

"The Argo has a leak, a list, a leak, Warriors, doff your helmets! Fear neither bloody axe nor sword nor mace, Warriors, doff your helmets!" -- Robert Graves, 'The Golden Fleece'

Doff Middle English ...Read more

pugilist \PYOO-juh-list\ (noun) - One who fights with the fists; especially, a professional prize fighter; a boxer.

"Alf Watson, the pugilist, it appeared, when not engaged in knocking people out, spent his time in playing the flute to soothe his savage breast..." -- Edward Frederic Benson, 'Make Way for Lucia"

Pugilist comes from Latin pugil,...Read more

wayworn \WAY-worn\ (adjective) - Wearied by traveling.

"But Aragorn was grown to full stature of body and mind, and Galadriel bade him cast aside his wayworn raiment, and she clothed him in silver and white..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien, 'The Return of the King'

Wayworn is way (from Old English weg) + worn (from Old English werian).

meticulous \muh-TIK-yuh-luhs\ (adjective) - Extremely or excessively careful about details.

"Donald Ray was seldom meticulous about anything. It went against his nature to think too much about any one thing at any one time." -- William Brashler, 'City Dogs'

Meticulous ultimately derives from Latin meticulosus "fearful" (from metus, "fear"). ...Read more

parsimonious \par-suh-MOH-nee-uhs\ (adjective) - Sparing in expenditure; frugal to excess.

"Clubs were ruined, so said certain young parsimonious profligates, by providing comforts for old fogies who paid little or nothing but their subscriptions..." -- Anthony Trollope, 'The Way We Live Now'

Parsimonious is the adjective form of parsimony, ...Read more

accede \ak-SEED\ (intransitive verb) - 1 - To agree or assent; to give in to a request or demand. 2 - To become a party to an agreement, treaty, convention, etc. 3 - To attain an office or rank; to enter upon the duties of an office.

"He has but to raise a brow and all accede to his wishes; Gilles d' Argent alone rules Hawkwatch Castle." -- ...Read more

portend \por-TEND\ (verb) - To indicate (events, misfortunes, etc.) as in future; to foreshadow; to bode.

"What did all this portend, and what portended the swift hoisting-up of Monsieur Gabelle behind a servant on horseback..." -- Charles Dickens, 'A Tale of Two Cities'

Portend comes from Latin portendere, to indicate, to predict, from por- (...Read more

omnipresent \om-nuh-PREZ-uhnt\ (adjective) - Present in all places at the same time; ubiquitous.

"He cannot doubt concerning God hearing him, because God is Omnipresent. He cannot doubt, because he realizes God is Love." -- Elizabeth Delv King, 'The Lotus Path'

Omnipresent is from Medieval Latin omnipresens, from Latin omni-, "all" + praesens,...Read more

ineffable \in-EF-uh-buhl\ (adjective) - 1 - Incapable of being expressed in words; unspeakable; unutterable; indescribable. 2 - Not to be uttered; taboo.

"I have no objection to reinvention or coinage where necessary, but I wonder whether ineffable would have served Mr. Warren 's purpose..." -- William Safire, 'In Love With Norma Loquendi'

...Read more

mercurial \mur-KYUR-ee-uhl\ (adjective) - 1 - [Often capitalized] Of or pertaining to the god Mercury. 2 - [Often capitalized] Of or pertaining to the planet Mercury. 3 - Having the qualities of shrewdness, eloquence, or thievishness attributed to the god Mercury. 4 - Changeable in temperament or mood; temperamental; volatile. 5 - Of, pertaining...Read more

President Donald Trump deserves credit for having one talent that many previous presidents have lacked: pronouncing the word "nuclear" correctly.

Commanders in chief from Dwight Eisenhower to Jimmy Carter to George Bushes I and II reshuffled the syllables of "nuclear" more often than their cabinets. Their most common renderings were "noo-kyuh...Read more