The Lousypoet

vicinity \vuh-SIN-uh-tee\ noun
1 : the quality or state of being near : proximity
*2 : a surrounding area or district : neighborhood
3 : an approximate amount, extent, or degree

Example sentence:
There are several wonderful little stores in the vicinity of our new house.

Did you know?
“Vicinity” has its origins in the idea of neighborliness — it was borrowed into English in the 16th century from Middle French “vicinite,” which in turn derives from the Latin adjective “vicinus,” meaning “neighboring.” “Vicinus” itself can be traced back to the noun “vicus,” meaning “row of houses” or “village,” and ultimately all the way back to the same ancient word that gave Gothic, Old Church Slavic, and Greek words for “house.” Other descendants of “vicinus” in English include “vicinal” (“local” or “of, relating to, or substituted in adjacent sites in a molecule”) and “vicinage,” a synonym of “vicinity” in the sense of “a neighboring or surrounding district.”

piebald \PYE-bawld\ adjective
1 : of different colors; especially : spotted or blotched with black and white
*2 : composed of incongruous parts

Example sentence:
“From the waist down they affect a piebald, garage-sale look: old sweatpants, one-piece Cooperalls, hockey shorts and stockings of assorted colors and vintages.” (Charles McGrath, New England Monthly, February 1989)

Did you know?
To many people, the noisy black and white birds that go by the scientific name Pica pica — better known as magpies — are nothing but pests. But the Latin root that was adopted for their name isn’t a linguistic nuisance; it played an important role in the development of “piebald.” The “pie” of “piebald” (“pie” is another name for a magpie) derives from “pica,” which is Latin for “magpie.” The other part of “piebald” comes from the word “bald,” which can mean “marked with white”; it can also be found in “skewbald,” an adjective used to describe animals marked with patches of white and any other color but black.

hoick \HOIK\ verb
: to move or pull abruptly : yank

Example sentence:
When she noticed that her toddler’s nose was running, Stacy quickly hoicked out a tissue from her purse.

Did you know?
Etymologists suspect that “hoick” is an alteration of the verb “hike,” which is itself akin to “hitch.” “Hike” entered the language during the first decade of the 19th century, whereas “hoick” appeared near that century’s close. The word “hoick” can be used for any type of abrupt pulling movement but is commonly used for the sudden pulling back on the joystick of an airplane; a rough, jerky movement when rowing; and a jerky, elevated shot in cricket. In fox hunting, the word “hoicks” is used to call attention to a hound that has picked up the scent and to bring the pack together.

slake \SLAYK\ verb
*1 : satisfy, quench
2 : to cause (as lime) to heat and crumble by treatment with water : hydrate

Example sentence:
“What an unspeakable luxury it was to slake that thirst with the pure and limpid ice-water of the glacier!” (Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad)

Did you know?
“Slake” is no slacker when it comes to obsolete and archaic meanings. Shakespearean scholars may know that in the Bard’s day “slake” meant “to subside or abate” (“No flood by raining slaketh….” — The Rape of Lucrece) or “to lessen the force of ” (“It could not slake mine ire, nor ease my heart.” — Henry VI, Part 3). The most erudite word enthusiasts may also be aware of earlier meanings of “slake,” such as “to slacken one’s efforts” or “to cause to be relaxed or loose.” These early meanings recall the word’s Old English ancestor “sleac,” which not only meant “slack” but is also the source of that modern term.

dyed-in-the-wool \dyde-in-thuh-WOOL\ adjective
: thoroughgoing, uncompromising

Example sentence:
Having heard that Gloria’s father was a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, Stewart told him about the time he met Ronald Reagan.

Did you know?
Early yarn makers would dye wool before spinning it into yarn to make the fibers retain their color longer. In 16th-century England, that make-it-last coloring practice provoked writers to draw a comparison between the dyeing of wool and the way children could, if taught early, be influenced in ways that would adhere throughout their lives. In the 19th-century U.S., the wool-dyeing practice put eloquent Federalist orator Daniel Webster in mind of a certain type of Democrat whose attitudes were as unyielding as the dye in unspun wool. Of course, Democrats were soon using the term against their opponents, too, but over time the partisanship of the expression faded and it is now a general term for anyone or anything that seems unlikely or unwilling to change.

sobriquet \SOH-brih-kay\ noun
: a descriptive name or epithet : nickname

Example sentence:
Baseball players have long been known by colorful sobriquets such as “The Georgia Peach” (Ty Cobb) and “The Splendid Splinter” (Ted Williams).

Did you know?
This synonym of “nickname” has the same meaning in modern French as it does in English. In Middle French, however, its earlier incarnation “soubriquet” referred to both a nickname and a tap under the chin. Centuries later, the connection between these two meanings isn’t clear, but what is clear is that the “nickname” meaning of “sobriquet” was well established in French by the time English speakers borrowed the term in the mid-17th century — and was the only meaning that was adopted. In current English, the spelling “sobriquet” is most common, but “soubriquet” is also an accepted variant.

ideate \EYE-dee-ayt\ verb
*1 : to form an idea or conception of
2 : to form an idea

Example sentence:
Joshua first ideated his vision of a water garden for his backyard after he went on a sightseeing tour of water fountains in Kansas City.

Did you know?
Like “idea” and “ideal,” “ideate” comes from the Greek verb “idein,” which means “to see.” The sight-thought connection came courtesy of Plato, the Greek philosopher who based his theory of the ideal on the concept of seeing, claiming that a true philosopher can see the essential nature of things and can recognize their ideal form or state. Early uses of “idea,” “ideal,” and “ideate” in English were associated with Platonic philosophy; “idea” meant “an archetype” or “a standard of perfection,” “ideal” meant “existing as an archetype,” and “ideate” referred to forming Platonic ideas. But though “ideate” is tied to ancient philosophy, the word itself is a modern concoction, relatively speaking. It first appeared in English only about 400 years ago.

lickerish \LIK-uh-rish\ adjective
1 : greedy, desirous
*2 : lecherous

Example sentence:
“Fiend,” cried the undaunted maiden, slapping the face of her lickerish captor.

Did you know?
In Anglo-French, the verb “lecher” has two meanings, “to lick” and “to live in debauchery.” From that verb came the English adjective “lickerous” in the 14th century. By the mid-17th century “lickerous” had fallen into disuse, leaving us with the variant “lickerish.” “Lickerish” was originally cooked up as word to describe both a person who is fond of good food and the tempting food itself. The lexical temptation to extend these appetitive meanings of “lickerish” was very soon satisfied, and the word became a synonym of “greedy” and “desirous.” Its use was then extended to describe people and things having or suggesting lustful desires, a use in line with the “to live in debauchery” meaning of its French ancestor.

superjacent \soo-per-JAY-sunt\ adjective
: lying above or upon : overlying

Example sentence:
“Foreign states enjoy the right of overflight in the airspace superjacent to a coastal state’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone….” (James C. Hsiung, The New York Times, April 14, 2001)

Did you know?
You’re probably familiar with “adjacent,” and if you guessed that it’s a relative of “superjacent,” you’re right. Both derive from the Latin verb “jacere,” meaning “to lie.” “Adjacent,” which is both the more popular and the earlier word (it first appeared in print in the 15th century, while “superjacent” turned up in 1610), comes from “jacere” and the prefix “ad-,” meaning “near.” “Superjacent,” on the other hand, was formed by combining “jacere” with the prefix “super-,” meaning “over,” “above,” or “on top of.” In case you were wondering, “jacere” descendants are also available for other possible configurations — “subjacent” means “lying below,” and “circumjacent” means “lying near on all sides” or “surrounding.”

withy \WITH-ee (the TH is as in “the”)\ noun
1 : willow; especially : any of various willows whose pliable twigs are used for furniture and basketry
*2 : a flexible slender twig or branch

Example sentence:
The withies must be soaked in water for about a week before they will be ready to be woven into baskets.

Did you know?
“Withy” is a word with several synonyms. In its broadest use, it is simply another word for “willow,” but it can also be used for a particular category of willows which are also known by the name “osier.” Additionally, the word “withe” can be substituted for the “flexible slender twig or branch” sense of “withy.” “Osier” entered English from Anglo-French in the 14th century, whereas “willow,” “withy,” and “withe” all have their origins in Old English. “Willow” comes from the Old English “welig,” a word that can be found in writing going back to the middle of the 8th century, and “withy” and “withe” come from “withig,” a word that is known to have been used at least as far back as the 10th century.