Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Wondrous Words Wednesday - September 23, 2009

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Kathy aka Bermuda Onion where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. Feel free to join in the fun.

All of this week's words come from CLEOPATRA'S DAUGHTER by Michelle Moran:

cuirass - The king's face was beautiful in its three-hundred-year repose, his arms against the muscled cuirass were still pink with flesh and strikingly large. (p.25)

Cuirass: Also called corselet. defensive armor for the torso comprising a breastplate and backplate, originally made of leather.

fornices - Julia giggled. "The fornices. And they're always crowded, night or day." (p. 144)

Fornices: Archways or vaults. Roman prostitutes' habit of soliciting in archways leaves its trace in the word "fornicate."

gryphon - "Do I look like a gryphon in this thing?" he asked.

Gryphon: Also called griffin. a fabled monster, usually having the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.

caryatid - He ran his hand lovingly lover a caryatid, pausing to rest it on the figure's marble cheek.

Caryatid: a sculptured female figure used as a column.

Did you learn any new words this week?
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8 comments:

  1. bermudaonionSeptember 23, 2009 at 7:24 AM

    I about fell out of my chair when I saw your comment this morning! Just kidding. I'll have to come back to this post when I read Cleopatra's Daughter because those words are all new to me too. Thanks for participating today!!

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  2. Jo-JoSeptember 23, 2009 at 9:32 AM

    These are some great words Julie...I'm going to have to try to remember these when I read this book.

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  3. Margot at Joyfully RetiredSeptember 23, 2009 at 9:51 AM

    I liked how gryphon was used in the book. People have always wondered about their appearance. Lots of new words in one book - makes it fun.

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  4. LisaSeptember 23, 2009 at 10:46 AM

    These are terrific words - and now I know where the word fornicate comes from! You know I can pull that out at a party sometime.

    My words are here.

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  5. gautami tripathySeptember 23, 2009 at 11:03 AM

    Now I know what to expect when I read The Cleopatra's Daughter.

    Wondrous Words Wednesdays

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  6. Jenn M.September 23, 2009 at 1:45 PM

    I can honestly say I could not have defined any of these words on the spot. I've never even heard of a few of them.

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  7. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2009 at 2:49 PM

    My daughter loves gryphons.

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  8. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2009 at 4:14 PM

    I love griffins; more reason to read this book.

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