As an antidote to all of the FEELINGS brought on by recent events, I've decided to resurrect my old hobby of blogging. I'm not sure that anyone reads blogs anymore. It's been 15 years since I've made a post on this vocabulary blog, but recent developments on social media are leading me to find different communication formats. 

I had selected a word for today, a word I thought would be a fitting restart to this blog, but a dear friend posted the following word on his social media today and I thought it much more appropriate. Thanks Tim!

NEFANDOUS

Pronunciation: (nuh-FAN-duhs)

Meaning

adjective: So wicked as to defy description: abominable, appalling.

Etymology:

From Latin nefandus (wicked), from ne- (not) + fandus (to be spoken), gerundive (verbal adjective) of fari (to speak). Earliest documented use: 1649.

Notes:

A synonym of today’s word is nefarious, but it’s from Latin fas (right, divine law) instead of fari (to speak).

Usage: 

“Does it not, then, fit such a man to a hair to call him nefandous? ... Better kiss an asp or a viper; then the risk is a bite and a pain which the doctor cures when you call him. But from the venom of your kiss, who could approach victims or altars? What god would listen to one’s prayer?”

Lucian (Translation: H.W. Fowler and F.G Fowler); The Works of Lucian of Samosata; Oxford University Press; 1905.

Stay tuned to increase your vocabulary. 

Clod

Websters 1828 Dictionary
Clod CLOD, n.
1. A hard lump of earth, of any kind; a mass of earth cohering.
2. A lump or mass of metal.
3. Turf; the ground.
4. That which is earthy, base and vile, as the body of man compared to his soul.
5. A dull, gross, stupid fellow; a dolt.
6. Any thing concreted.
CLOD, v.i. To collect into concretions, or a thick mass; to coagulate; as clodded gore.
[See Clot, which is more generally used.]
CLOD, v.t. To pelt with clods. clod


WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)
clod n 1: a compact mass; "a ball of mud caught him on the shoulder" [syn: ball, clod, glob, lump, clump, chunk] 2: an awkward stupid person [syn: lout, clod, stumblebum, goon, oaf, lubber, lummox, lump, gawk] clod

Viticulturist

WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)
viticulturist n 1: a cultivator of grape vine viticulturist

Chocoholic

chocoholic (chocoholics) A chocoholic is someone who eats a great deal of chocolate and finds it hard to stop themselves eating it. (INFORMAL) The Confectionery Warehouse is a chocoholic's dream. N-COUNT
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner\'s English Dictionary

Devout

Websters 1828 Dictionary
Devout DEVOUT, a. [L. See Devote.]
1. Yielding a solemn and reverential attention to God in religious exercises, particularly in prayer.
We must be constant and devout in the worship of God.
2. Pious; devoted to religion; religious.
Simeon was a just man and devout. Luke 2.
Devout men carried Stephen to his burial. Acts 8.
3. Expressing devotion or piety; as, with eyes devout.
4. Sincere; solemn; earnest; as, you have my devout wishes for your safety.
DEVOUT, n. A devotee. [Not used.] devout

WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)
devout adj 1: deeply religious; "a god-fearing and law-abiding people" H.L.Mencken [syn: devout, god-fearing] 2: earnest; "one's dearest wish"; "devout wishes for their success"; "heartfelt condolences" [syn: dear, devout, earnest, heartfelt] devout

Winnowed

Websters 1828 Dictionary
Winnowed WINNOWED, pp. Separated from the chaff by wind; sifted; examined. winnowed

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Winnew \Win"new\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Winnowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Winnowing.] [OE. windewen, winewen, AS. windwian; akin to Goth. winpjan (in comp.), winpi-skauro a fan, L. ventilare to fan, to winnow; cf. L. wannus a fan for winnowing, G. wanne, OHG. wanna. ????. See Wind moving air, and cf. Fan., n., Ventilate.] 1. To separate, and drive off, the chaff from by means of wind; to fan; as, to winnow grain. Ho winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing floor. --Ruth. iii. 2. 2. To sift, as for the purpose of separating falsehood from truth; to separate, as had from good. Winnow well this thought, and you shall find This light as chaff that flies before the wind. --Dryden. 3. To beat with wings, or as with wings.[Poetic] Now on the polar winds; then with quick fan Winnows the buxom air. --Milton.

Ingenious

Websters 1828 Dictionary
Ingenious INGE'NIOUS, a. [L. ingeniosus, from ingenium; in and genius, geno, gigno, to beget.
1. Possessed of genius, or the faculty of invention; hence, skillful or prompt to invent; having an aptitude to contrive, or to form new combinations of ideas; as an ingenious author; an ingenious mechanic.
The more ingenious men are, the more apt are they to trouble themselves.
2. Proceeding from genius or ingenuity; of curious design, structure or mechanism; as an ingenious performance of any kind; an ingenious scheme or plan; an ingenious model or machine; ingenious fabric; ingenious contrivance.
3. Witty; well formed; well adapted; as an ingenious reply.
4. Mental; intellectual. [Not used.] ingenious

Eventuation

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Eventuation \E*ven`tu*a"tion\, n. The act of eventuating or happening as a result; the outcome. --R. W. Hamilton.

Peruse

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Peruse \Pe*ruse"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Perused; p. pr. & vb. n. Perusing.] [Pref. per- + use.] 1. To observe; to examine with care. [R.] Myself I then perused, and limb by limb Surveyed. --Milton. 2. To read through; to read carefully. --Shak.

Stippled

Websters 1828 Dictionary
Stippled STIPPLED, pp. Engraved with dots.

WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)
stippled adj 1: having a pattern of dots [syn: dotted, flecked, specked, speckled, stippled

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner\'s English Dictionary
stippled A surface that is stippled is covered with tiny spots. The room remains simple with bare, stippled green walls. ADJ

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Stipple \Stip"ple\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stippled; p. pr. & vb. n. Stippling.] [D. stippelen to make points, to spot, dot, from stippel, dim. of stip a dot, spot.] 1. To engrave by means of dots, in distinction from engraving in lines. The interlaying of small pieces can not altogether avoid a broken, stippled, spotty effect. --Milman. 2. To paint, as in water colors, by small, short touches which together produce an even or softly graded surface.

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
34 Moby Thesaurus words for "stippled": bespangled, blotched, blotchy, dotted, dotty, flea-bitten, flecked, fleckered, frecked, freckled, freckly, macular, maculate, maculated, patchy, peppered, pocked, pockmarked, pocky, pointille, pointillistic, polka-dot, punctated, spangled, specked, speckled, speckledy, speckly, splotched, splotchy, spotted, spotty, sprinkled, studded

Clairvoyance

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Clairvoyance \Clair*voy"ance\, n. [F.] A power, attributed to some persons while in a mesmeric state, of discering objects not perceptible by the senses in their normal condition.

Soule\'s Dictionary of English Synonyms
clairvoyance n. Seeing without eyes, seeing in a mesmeric state, trance-vision.

Vandyke Beard

WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)
vandyke beard n 1: a short pointed beard (named after the artist Anthony Vandyke) [syn: vandyke beard, vandyke]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Vandyke beard \Van*dyke" beard`\ A trim, pointed beard, such as those often seen in pictures by Vandyke.

Nosey-Parker

WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)
nosey-parker n 1: a person who meddles in the affairs of others [syn: busybody, nosy-parker, nosey-parker

Ultraconservative

WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)
ultraconservative adj 1: extremely conservative n 1: an extreme conservative; an opponent of progress or liberalism [syn: reactionary, ultraconservative, extreme right-winger]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
57 Moby Thesaurus words for "ultraconservative": Bircher, Bourbon, Tory, anarchistic, anarcho-syndicalist, backward, conservationist, conservatist, conservative, die-hard, diehard, extreme, extreme right-winger, extremist, extremistic, fogy, fogyish, hard hat, imperialist, laudator temporis acti, mildly radical, monarchist, mossback, nihilistic, nonprogressive, old fogy, old school, old-fashioned, old-fogyish, old-line, opposed to change, pink, preservative, radical, radical right, reactionarist, reactionary, reactionist, red, revolutionary, revolutionist, right, right of center, right wing, right-wing, right-winger, rightist, royalist, social Darwinist, standpat, standpatter, stick-in-the-mud, subversive, syndicalist, ultraist, ultraistic, unprogressive

Plummy

WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)
plummy adj 1: very desirable; "a plummy leading role" 2: (of a voice) affectedly mellow and rich; "the radio announcer's plummy voice"

Peculate

Websters 1828 Dictionary
Peculate PEC'ULATE, v.i. [L. peculatus, peculor, from peculium, private property, from pecus, cattle.]
1. To defraud the public of money or goods entrusted to one's care, by appropriating the property to one's own use; to defraud by embezzlement.
2. Among civilians, to steal.

Portmanteau

WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)
portmanteau n 1: a new word formed by joining two others and combining their meanings; "`smog' is a blend of `smoke' and `fog'"; "`motel' is a portmanteau word made by combining `motor' and `hotel'"; "`brunch' is a well-known portmanteau" [syn: blend, portmanteau word, portmanteau] 2: a large travelling bag made of stiff leather [syn: portmanteau, Gladstone, Gladstone bag]

English Etymology Dictionary
portmanteau 1584, from M.Fr. portemanteau "traveling bag," originally "court official who carried a prince's mantle," from porte, imperative of porter "to carry" + manteau "cloak." Portmanteau word "word blending the sound of two different words," is 1882, coined by Lewis Carroll for the sort of words he invented for "Jabberwocky."

Esculent

English Explanatory Dictionary
esculent ˈeskjulənt adj. & n. --adj. fit to eat; edible. --n. an edible substance. [L esculentus f. esca food]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Esculent \Es"cu*lent\, a. [L. esculentus, fr. escare to eat, fr. esca food, fr. edere to eat: cf. F. esculent. See Eat.] Suitable to be used by man for food; eatable; edible; as, esculent plants; esculent fish. Esculent grain for food. --Sir W. Jones. Esculent swallow (Zo["o]l.), the swallow which makes the edible bird's-nest. See Edible bird's-nest, under Edible.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Esculent \Es"cu*lent\, n. Anything that is fit for eating; that which may be safely eaten by man.

Baba Ghanoush

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003)
baba ghanoush or baba ghanouj noun Etymology: Arabic dialect bābaghanūj Date: 1977 an appetizer or spread made chiefly of eggplant, tahini, garlic, olive oil, and lemon

Baba Ghanoush

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003)
baba ghanoush or baba ghanouj noun Etymology: Arabic dialect bābaghanūj Date: 1977 an appetizer or spread made chiefly of eggplant, tahini, garlic, olive oil, and lemon