Category: words, words, words

Ambit (noun): "Boundary, limit, circle of influence."

Seen: In this New Yorker article about illegal logging.

Orotund (adjective):

1. Fullness, clearness of speech

2. Pompous or bombastic speech

Notes: One of those odd words that’s both a compliment and an insult depending on the meaning you choose. I wonder if my word guru knows any others. (via Anne Fadiman in this book).

Extant (adjective): "Still existing, not lost."

Seen: in the introduction to the 2003 Best American Essays volume, which I’m currently reading.

Worsted (noun): "Wool cloth, spun smooth. Often in men’s suits."

Seen: in, of all places, an Atlantic Monthly article about the Wall Street Journal. Thought about yesterday while buying a suit for my brother’s wedding.

Argot (noun): "The special vocabulary of a particular professional or social group."

Example: In the argot of my college friends, "Visage!" means "You have done poorly and I have done better at your expense."

Hueristic (adjective): Of or pertaining to investigation, learning and discovery. (via Kevin Kelly)

Insouciant (adj.): "Free from concern, carefree."

Notes: Pronounced "In-soo-see-uhnt," one of those pronunciations that makes about as much sense as  "phlegm" pronounced "flem" (which makes it sound Dutch)  instead of "Fleg-em" (meaning to impale someone  on a flagpole) which I like the sound of much better.

Sobriquet (noun): A nickname.

Use: One is unlikely to get elected to Congress if your sobriquet is "lunkhead."

Topos (noun): "A traditional theme or convention"

Seen: In this awesome book that I’ll be posting about directly.

Hermitage (noun): "A secluded place, a hideaway."

Heard: Jonathan Harris used the word in a talk he gave at TED which I listened to this morning. I’d been hearing it my whole life and never knew what it meant until I looked it up today.

Also: A world famous art museum in Russia (and location of the longest unbroken shot in the history of cinema, 90 minutes in the 2002 movie Russian Ark), a fancy hotel in Nashville, TN, and a little street right near the house where I grew up.