(pie-AK-yuh-luh-tiv) was coined by T.S. Eliot for his poem “Mr. Eliot’s Sunday Morning Service.” Derived from the Latin for “appease, purify, expiate,” it refers to atonement or reparation – e.g., for a sin or crime.
From the poem:
Nebulous (adjective) – Nebulous (NEB-yuh-lus) can mean hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused. As I used it in today’s essay: “When you think of investing as something as nebulous as putting money into stocks…
Repartee (noun) – Repartee (re-per-TEE or re-per-TAY) is a quick, witty reply or a conversation made up of such replies. As used by Louis Theroux: “It’s difficult to describe the weirdness of speaking to a man…
Epidemiology (ep-ih-dee-mee-AHL-uh-jee) is the branch of medicine that deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health.
Something that is insuperable (in-SOO-puh-ruh-bul) cannot be surmounted or overcome. As used by J.R.R. Tolkien: “The original ‘Hobbit’ was never intended to have a sequel – Bilbo ‘remained very happy to the…
A balletomane (bah-LET-uh-mane) is a ballet enthusiast. Example from A Feather on the Breath of Godby Sigrid Nunez: “Balletomanes tend to be critical, their hates are as strong as their loves, and at…