The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate (20 page)

Related words:
fulsomely
adverb
,
fulsomeness
noun
.

galimatias
(
GAL
-
e
-MAY-shee-
e
s)
noun

confused or unintelligible talk.

gallimaufry
(
GAL
-
e
-MAW-free)
noun, plural
gallimaufries

a jumble or medley; a hodgepodge.

gambit
(GAM-bit)
noun

1. an opening move in chess in which a player intentionally sacrifices a pawn or other piece in order to gain an advantage.

2. a maneuver, especially in conversation, that is intended to secure an advantage.

gastronome
(GAS-tr
e
-
NOHM
)
noun

a connoisseur of good eating and drinking.

Related words:
gastronomic
(
GAS
-tr
e
-NOM-ik) and
gastronomical
both adjectives
,
gastronomically
adverb
,
gastronomist
(ga-STRON-
e
-mist) and
gastronomy
(ga-STRON-
e
-mee)
both nouns
.

gauche
(gohsh)
adjective

1. lacking in ease and grace of manner; awkward.

2. tactless.

Related words:
gauchely
adverb
,
gaucheness
noun
.

gaucherie
(
GOH
-sh
e
-REE)
noun, plural
gaucheries
(
GOH
-sh
e
-REEZ)

1. a gauche action.

2. gauche manners.

gelid
(JEL-id)
adjective

icy, ice-cold; chilly.

Related words:
gelidity
(j
e
-LID-i-tee) and
gelidness
(JEL-id-nis)
both nouns
,
gelidly
(JEL-id-lee)
adverb
.

genuflect
(JEN-yuu-
FLEKT
)
verb

1. bend the knee and lower the body, especially in reverence.

2. show servility.

Related words:
genuflection
(
JEN
-yuu-FLEK-sh
e
n) and
genuflector
(JEN-yuu-
FLEK
-t
e
r)
both nouns
.

gibbet
(JIB-it)
noun

a gallows; an upright post with an arm from which the bodies of executed criminals were formerly suspended.

gloaming
(GLOH-ming)
noun

the evening twilight; dusk.

glossolalia
(
GLAW
-s
e
-LAY-lee-
e
)
noun

the power of speaking in unknown languages as claimed by religious groups in ecstatic worship; the gift of tongues.

Related word:
glossolalist
(glaw-SOL-
e
-list)
noun

gnosis
(NOH-sis)
noun

1. knowledge of spiritual mysteries.

2. mystical knowledge.

Related words:
gnostic
(NOS-tik)
adjective
and
noun
,
gnostical
(NOS-ti-k
e
l)
adjective
,
gnostically
adverb
.

gourmand
(guur-MAHND)
noun

1. a lover of food.

2. a glutton.

Do not confuse
gourmand
with
gourmet
, which see.

Related words:
gourmandize
(GUUR-m
e
n-
D
I
Z
)
verb
,
gourmandise
(
GUUR
-m
e
n-DEEZ) and
gourmandism
(GUUR-m
e
n-diz-
e
m)
both nouns
.

gourmet
(guur-MAY)
noun

a connoisseur of good food and drink; an epicure; a gastronome.

Good writers and speakers do not use
gourmet
and
gourmand
as synonyms, even though many dictionaries bow to those who do not observe this distinction by supplying
gourmet
as one meaning of
gourmand
. It is important to be able to differentiate these two words, as even these same dictionaries implicitly do, since they stop short of supplying
gourmand
as one meaning of
gourmet
. Of course, their reason for doing so surely reflects the much less common use of
gourmand
, making it unlikely that writers will use
gourmand
mistakenly, if at all. As a careful writer, you ought to reserve
gourmand
for a person who can best be described as a
glutton
,
gourmet
for a person who can best be described as a
connoisseur of good food and drink
or
epicure
.

grabble
(GRAB-
e
l)
verb

1. feel or search with the hands; grope about.

2. sprawl on all fours; scramble for.

Related word:
grabbler
noun
.

gracile
(GRAS-il)
adjective

slender, thin; gracefully slender.

Related words:
gracility
(gra-SIL-i-tee) and
gracileness
(GRAS-il-nis)
both nouns
.

grandiloquent
(gran-DIL-
e
-kw
e
nt)
adjective

1. using pompous language.

2. given to boastful talk.

Related words:
grandiloquence
noun
,
grandiloquently
adverb
.

gratuitous
(gr
e
-TOO-i-t
e
s)
adjective

1. given or done without good reason.

2. given or done without payment; free, unearned.

Related words:
gratuitously
adverb
,
gratuitousness
noun
.

grisette
(gri-ZET)
noun

a young French workingwoman, especially a seamstress or shop assistant.

Related word:
grisettish
adjective
.

Grundyism
(GRUN-dee-
IZ
-
e
m)
noun

1. a narrow-minded adherence to conventionality, combining propriety and prudery in matters of personal behavior.

2.
grundyism
, an instance of such conventionalism.

Mrs. Grundy
, a character created by English playwright Thomas Morton in his play
Speed the Plough
(1798), personifies the tyrannical constraints of conventional opinion in matters of propriety. Although Mrs. Grundy does not appear in the play, her presence is strongly felt when her name repeatedly comes up in the question “What will Mrs. Grundy say?” The modern counter-part of this question is our own “What will the neighbors say?”

Related words:
Grundyist
and
Grundyite
(GRUN-dee-
I
T
)
both nouns
.

gudgeon
(GUJ-
e
n)
noun

1. a small freshwater fish used as bait.

2. a credulous person.

3. a dupe.

habitué
(h
e
-BICH-oo-
AY
)
noun, plural
habitués

one who visits a place regularly.

hagiography
(
HAG
-ee-OG-r
e
-fee)
noun, plural
hagiographies

the writing and study of the lives of saints.

Related words:
hagiographer
(
HAG
-ee-OG-r
e
-f
e
r)
noun
,
hagiographic
(
HAG
-ee-
e
-GRAF-ik) and
hagiographical
both adjectives
.

halcyon
(HAL-see-
e
n)
adjective
, less frequently given as
halcyonian
(
HAL
-see-OH-nee-
e
n) and
halcyonic
(
HAL
-see-ON-ik)

1. calm and peaceful.

2. happy and prosperous.

harbinger
(HAHR-bin-j
e
r)
noun

a person, event, or thing that announces the approach of another; a forerunner; an omen.

harridan
(HAR-i-d
e
n)
noun

a bad-tempered old woman; a shrew.

haruspex
(h
e
-RUS-peks)
noun, plural
haruspices
(h
e
-RUS-p
e
-
SEEZ
)

in ancient Rome, a priest who practiced divination, especially by examining the entrails of dead animals; a soothsayer.

Related words:
haruspicy
(h
e
-RUS-p
e
-see) and
haruspication
(h
e
-
RUS
-pi-KAY-sh
e
n)
both nouns
,
haruspical
(h
e
-RUS-pi-k
e
l)
adjective
.

hauteur
(hoh-TUR)
noun

1. haughtiness of manner.

2. arrogance.

healthful
(HELTH-f
e
l)
adjective

1. conducive to good health.

2. beneficial; salutary.

Do not confuse
healthful
with
healthy
, which see.

Related words:
healthfully
adverb
,
healthfulness
noun
.

healthy
(HEL-thee)
adjective

1. having or showing good health.

2. prosperous or sound.

In discussing climate, diet, and other factors affecting health, our best writers and speakers employ
healthful
in the sense of
conducive to good health
. In describing a person, situation, business etc. showing health, our best writers employ
healthy
in the sense of
having or showing good health
or, as appropriate,
prosperous or sound
. So widespread is the confusion of
healthy
with
healthful
that—you guessed it—permissive lexicographers sprinkle holy water on this example of poor usage by treating the two words as synonyms. There is little hope of reversing this trend, but you will do yourself no harm by continuing to maintain the separate meanings of
healthful
and
healthy
. In doing so, you will mark yourself as a careful writer by continuing to have a
healthy
respect for the English language and do yourself a lot of good by following
healthful
practices in your daily life.

Related words:
healthily
adverb
,
healthiness
noun
.

hebdomedal
(heb-DOM-
e
-d
e
l)
adjective

weekly.

Related word:
hebdomadally
adverb
.

hebetude
(HEB-i-
TOOD
)
noun

dullness, obtuseness; lethargy.

Related words:
hebetate
(HEB-i-
TAYT
)
verb
,
hebetudinous
(
HEB
-i-TOO-d
e
-n
e
s)
adjective
.

hector
(HEK-t
e
r)
verb

1. intimidate by bullying; bully.

2. treat with insolence.

hegemony
(hi-JEM-
e
-nee)
noun, plural
hegemonies

1. dominance of leadership, especially by one nation over another.

2. leadership, predominance.

Related words:
hegemonic
(
HEJ
-
e
-MON-ik) and
hegemonical
both adjectives
,
hegemonism
(hi-JEM-
e
-
NIZ
-
e
m) and
hegemonist
(hi-JEM-
e
-nist)
both nouns
.

hegira
(hi-J
I
-r
e
)
noun
, also given as
hejira
, with the same pronunciation, and as
hijra
(HIJ-r
e
)

1. a journey undertaken to escape danger or to enjoy a more congenial place.

2.
Hijra
, the flight of Muhammad to Medina in
A.D.
622.

heinous
(HAY-n
e
s)
adjective

very wicked, odious; outrageous; totally reprehensible.

Related words:
heinously
adverb
,
heinousness
noun
.

henotheism
(HEN-
e
-thee-
IZ
-
e
m)
noun

the belief in one god as the deity of one's family or tribe without disbelieving in the existence of other gods.

Related words:
henotheist
(HEN-
e
-
THEE
-ist)
noun
,
henotheistic
(
HEN
-
e
-thee-IS-tik)
adjective
.

hermeneutics
(
HUR
-m
e
-NOO-tiks)
noun

the art or science of interpretation, especially of Scripture.

Related words:
hermeneutic
and
hermeneutical
both adjectives
.

heteroclite
(HET-
e
r-
e
-
KL
I
T
)
adjective
, also given as
heteroclitic
(
HET
-
e
r-
e
-KLIT-ik) and
heteroclitical

1. abnormal or irregular.

2. (
noun
) a person or thing that deviates from what is considered normal.

heterodox
(HET-
e
r-
e
-
DOKS
)
adjective

not in accordance with accepted doctrines or opinions; unorthodox.

Related words:
heterodoxly
adverb
,
heterodoxy
noun
.

heuristic
(hyuu-RIS-tik)
adjective

1. serving to discover.

2. pertaining to a trial-and-error method of computer problem solving.

Related word:
heuristically
adverb
.

hircine
(HUR-s
I
n)
adjective

1. goatlike.

2. lustful.

historic
(hi-STOR-ik)
adjective

1. well-known or important in history.

2. making history, momentous.

Do not confuse
historic
with
historical
, which see.

historical
(hi-STOR-i-k
e
l)
adjective

1. belonging to or dealing with history or past events.

2. concerned with history.

Despite the willingness of some lexicographers to accept
historic
as a synonym for
historical
, the two words carry separate and useful meanings worth preserving. Consider that publication of a
historical
novel—
one that deals with past events
, whether factual or not—can intrigue us or leave us flat, but it seldom can achieve celebrity worthy of a place in history. On the other hand, a
historic
event—
one that has made history
—finds a place in history regardless of whether a novel is published that is based on the event. Again, a
historical
novel can achieve widespread readership even though it may not be based on a
historic
event, indeed even if it is based on an event that is actually the product of a novelist's imagination. Thus, you are advised to use this pair of adjectives as suggested here.
Historic
events may or may not become subjects of
historical
fiction.