Welcome to my personal dictionary. I am a word-lover, and here I wish to share the richness of the English language in it's most creative forms. Here are some of the coolest words I've come across. They come from everywhere: books, movies, TV, everyday conversation, the internet....I update this whenever I get new words, and try to name sources- and occasionally quotations- when I can. Some are in the dictionary, some are not. :-)
Right now, this dictionary has a lot of X-Files words, which is all I've had time to define so far. I've just finished reading Contact, though, which was loaded! There are some here already, but I'll be adding a many more of them as soon as I get the chance.
addendum - (n.) Something added or to be added, especially a supplement to a book; textual matter that is added onto a publication, usually at the end.
agnostic - (n.) One who believes that there can be no proof of the existence of God but does not deny the possibility that God exists.
“’How can a thoroughgoing conscientious scientist be an agnostic if you can even imagine a world without God?’” (Palmer Joss, Contact, p. 168)
anger ball - (n.) a metaphor for an unnecessarily angry person, most commonly used in argument. (movie: Playing By Heart, Miramax Films)
behest - (n.) an urgent request.
"I want to believe....that that which is born still lives and cannot be buried in the cold earth, but only waits to be born again at God's behest, where in ancient starlight we lay, reposed." -Mulder, voice-over, The X-Files. Episode: "Closure"
bridling - “‘To be thought of as simply a beautiful woman was bridling, unthinkable.’” -Phillip Padgett, The X-Files, episode: “Milagro”
colloquium - (n.) a usually academic meeting at which specialists deliver addresses on a topic or on related topics and then answer questions relating to them
“He had come to Argus to give the weekly scientific colloquium.” (Contact)
compensatory - Serving for compensation; making amends.
“‘Yet the compensatory respect she commanded only deepened the yearnings of her heart... to let it open, to let someone in.’” -Phillip Padgett, The X-Files, episode: “Milagro”
condign - (adj.) Deserved; adequate
“‘She had a condign certainty the killer was a male... and now, as she held the cold metal at her fingertips she imagined him doing the same trying to picture his face.’” -Phillip Padgett, (narration) The X-Files, episode: “Milagro”
errant - (adj.) Wandering outside the established limits.
“‘Even now, as she pushed an errant strand of titian hair behind her ear she worried her partner would know instinctively what she could only guess.’” -Phillip Padgett, The X-Files, episode: “Milagro”
equivocal - (adj.) 1. Open to two or more interpretations and often intended to mislead; ambiguous. 2. Of uncertain significance. 3. Of a doubtful or uncertain nature.
“‘Was there a message contained in its equivocal symbolism?’” -Phillip Padgett, (narration) The X-Files, episode: “Milagro”
extragalactic - (adj.) Located or originating beyond the Milky Way; outside or beyond a galaxy. (book: Contact, by Carl Sagan)
golconda - (n.) A source of great riches, such as a mine
“‘Her prompt mind ran through the golconda of possibilities-- was this trinket from the killer?’” -Phillip Padgett, (narration) The X-Files, episode “Milagro”
lilt - (v.) To speak, sing, or play with liveliness or rhythm.
phantasm - 1.) Something apparently seen but having no physical reality; a phantom or an apparition. Also called phantasma. 2.) An illusory mental image. 3.) Also called phantasma. In Platonic philosophy, objective reality as perceived and distorted by the five senses. (Mulder, The X-Files Episode: "Postmodern Prometheus")
plethora - (n.) A superabundance; an excess.
repose - 1.) The act of resting or the state of being at rest. 2.) Freedom from worry; peace of mind. 3.) Calmness; tranquillity. (The X-Files)
titian - (adj.) A brownish orange. [After Titian (from his frequent use of the color in his paintings.)]
“‘Even now, as she pushed an errant strand of titian hair behind her ear she worried her partner would know instinctively what she could only guess.’” -Phillip Padgett, The X-Files, episode: “Milagro”
ubiquitous - (adj.) Being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time; omnipresent
unabashed(ly) - (adj.) 1.) Not disconcerted or embarrassed; poised. 2.) Not concealed or disguised; obvious.
"How 'bout unabashedly bawling our eyes out?" -song: "Thank U," by Alanis Morrisette
