Wondrous Words Wednesday

Kathy, over at Bermudaonion's Weblog, she posts every Wednesday about new words she has found through her reading. She's been doing this for awhile now and I've loved learning the new words along with her. I think it's a wonderful idea and keep thinking I am going to participate. However, I haven't found any new words in my books until now. (I think that's more because of the books I've chosen to read rather than my vocabulary knowledge.)

My words come from Life Sentences by Laura Lippman (my review out tomorrow).

1. Pedant "It was one of his favorite words, his all-purpose condemnation. Pedant, pedantic, pedantry, pederast, the last of which he seemed to use interchangeably with pendant, although he clearly knew better."

Dictionary.com states that pedant means one who pays undue attention to book learning and formal rules.

2. Solipsistic "And they were very solitary enterprises. Solipsistic, even."

Solipsistic means the theory that the self is the only thing that can be known and verified.

3. Deshabille "Given the retirement community's village-like aspect, with garden apartments built around shared courtyards, he could be glimpsed by his neighbors in deshabille."

Deshabille means the state of being partially or very casually dressed. (I could figure this one out as the narrator at this point was quite embarrassed by his actions... LOL)

4. abstemious "I often have a drink with lunch. Americans can be too abstemious."

Abstemious means sparing or moderate in eating and drinking.


What new words did you learn this week while reading? I'd love to learn more new words along with you.

If you want to see what words other folks found this week, check out the Wondrous Words post today at Bermudaonion's Weblog.