Wondrous Words Wednesday

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading.  If you want to play along, grab the button, and join the fun!  (Don’t forget to leave a link in the comments if you’re participating.)  All of my words this week came from my nifty Word-a-Day calendar.

1. crapulous– “Most of the guests were still crapulous form the previous night’s bacchic revelry.”

Crapulous is derived from the Latin word crapula, which means intoxication and in this case, crapulous means sick from excessive indulgence in liquor.  This word fits its meaning very well, if you ask me.

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2. saltation – “Tanzanians staged traditional dances like frisk dancing, folk saltation and fire dancing, initiating the city relay.”

Saltation has several meanings, but in this case, it means a jump.

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3. litotes– “I’m not unfamiliar with the reasons for their separation,” Keith told Liz, knowing full well that she would see through the litotes and start questioning him.”

Litote is a noun that means an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative or the contrary, for example, calling a job well done “not bad.”

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Have you come across any new words lately?