Lost Words: Letter "A"

acrasial	adj	1851 -1851
ill-regulated; ill-tempered
The acrasial judge was known for her rants against younger lawyers.
addecimate	v	1612 -1755
to tithe
They addecimated regularly but were not otherwise known for their charity.
adimpleate	v	1657 -1657
to fill up
The new technique adimpleates the cans with milk through injection.
adnascentia	npl	1706 -1731
root-like branches that sprout into the earth from a plant's stem
Every winter, the adnascentia would shift around, destroying the lawn's even texture.
aeipathy	n	1847 -1853
continued passion; an unyielding disease
Her aeipathy for stamp collecting bordered at times on the pathological.
affictitious	adj	1656 -1656
feigned; counterfeit
The forger was caught despite his masterfully-crafted affictitious signatures.
affuage	n	1753 -1847
right to cut wood in a forest for family fire
The family's right of affuage ensured they would have enough wood for winter.
agonarch	n	1656 -1656
judge of a contest or activity
Our competition will require six agonarchs to ensure fairness.
agonyclite	n	1710 -1710
member of a heretical sect that stood rather than kneeled while praying
Agonyclites must have had hardy feet to endure their services.
airgonaut	n	1784 -1784
one who journeys through the air
Balloonists, skydivers and other airgonauts are all a little mad, if you ask me.
alabandical	adj	1656 -1775
barbarous; stupefied from drink
His behaviour after the party was positively alabandical.
albedineity	n	1652 -1652
whiteness
The monotonous albedineity of the snow-covered field was blinding.
alogotrophy	n	1753 -1853
excessive nutrition of part of body resulting in deformity
Was he born with that huge head, or is it the result of alogotrophy?
amandation	n	1656 -1755
act of sending away or dismissing
His rude amandation of his guests earned him a reputation for curtness.
amarulence	n	1731 -1755
bitterness; spite
After losing her job to a less qualified man, she was full of amarulence.
amorevolous	adj	1670 -1670
affectionate; loving
Our father, though amorevolous, could be a strict taskmaster at times.
antipelargy	n	1656 -1731
reciprocal or mutual kindness; love and care of children for their parents
Having never received any antipelargy, they wrote their daughter out of the will.
apanthropinization	n	1880 -1880
withdrawal from human concerns or the human world
His life as a hermit in the woods was characterized by apanthropinization.
aporrhoea	n	1646 -1880
a bodily emanation; an effluvium
The evening's revelries were followed by an unfortunate episode of aporrhoea.
aquabib	n	1731 -1883
water-drinker
I was never much of an aquabib, and always preferred harder libations.
archigrapher	n	1656 -1656
principal or head secretary or clerk
The archigrapher efficiently designated transcription duties to her underlings.
archiloquy	n	1656- 1656
first part of a speech
We stopped paying attention during his talk due to his monotonous archiloquy.
aretaloger	n	1623 -1656
braggart; one who boasts about his own accomplishments
While he seemed nice at first, he turned out to be a loudmouthed aretaloger.
artigrapher	n	1753 -1753
writer or composer of a grammar; a grammarian
Today's prescriptivists are no better than the artigraphers of the Renaissance.
ascoliasm	n	1706 -1753
boys' game of beating each other with gloves or leather while hopping
If you think bullies are bad today, look at brutal games of the past like ascoliasm.
assectation	n	1656 -1656
act of following after something else
She stood in the on-deck circle, her assectation virtually guaranteed.
austerulous	adj	1731 -1731
somewhat or slightly harsh
The austerulous monks were rarely lenient with their pupils.
autexousious	adj	1678 -1678
exercising or possessing free will
If we are truly autexousious, then why do we so often feel powerless?
auturgy	n	1651 -1656
self-action; independent activity
The film director's legendary auturgy frustrated editors and producers alike.
avunculize	v	1662 -1662
to act as an uncle; to behave like an uncle
I often avunculize to my younger friends, which no doubt annoys them.