I have missed out on Wondrous Words the last few weeks – I hate it when Real Life disrupts my online pursuits. Luckily, I just finished with The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh, which provided a ton of new words. So, prepare to learn a little about mortuary science as well as precise definitions of some more old-fashioned English words…

1. “I was always the most defatigable of hacks.”

Easily tired or wearied; capable of being fatigued

2. “…his way was narrow but it was dignified and umbrageous and it led to limitless distances.”

Shady: filled with shade; “the shady side of the street”

3. “Normal disposal is by inhumement, entombment, inurnment or immurement…”

Inhumement: Burial, the act of placing a person or object into the ground

Inurnment: The placing of cremated remains in an urn.

Immurement: To entomb in walls. (This also has a darker definition, referring to the execution of a prisoner by walling them up in a building – think The Cask of Amontillado.)

4. “There was no catafalque.”

A decorated bier on which a coffin rests in state during a funeral.

5. “They don’t sing an orison like birds.”

Prayer; reverent petition to a deity.

6. “Funerals a specialty; Panegyrics in prose or poetry.”

A formal speech or opus publicly praising someone.

I do love the specialized vocabulary you pick up with each book you read. That’s one of the reasons I love this meme – I am always finding new words and it’s a good reminder to look them up, rather than just depending on context.

What new words did YOU learn this week?