Douglas Mazanec
@infoman707.bsky.social
word hunter, edge seeker, puzzle player, news addict
xylography - n / the art of engraving in wood or woodcut, especially printing from such engravings prior to the 14th c. Western tradition / [origin] from French xylographie, from xylo- (wood) + -graphy (writing)
February 8, 2026 at 7:28 PM
xylography - n / the art of engraving in wood or woodcut, especially printing from such engravings prior to the 14th c. Western tradition / [origin] from French xylographie, from xylo- (wood) + -graphy (writing)
eximious - adj / excellent, distinguished, preeminent, outstanding / [origin] from Latin eximius (select, choice, set apart), from eximere (to take out, remove), from ex- (out of, from) + emo (buy, acquire, take)
February 6, 2026 at 4:36 PM
eximious - adj / excellent, distinguished, preeminent, outstanding / [origin] from Latin eximius (select, choice, set apart), from eximere (to take out, remove), from ex- (out of, from) + emo (buy, acquire, take)
cathexis - n / concentration of emotional energy on an object or idea, esp to an unhealthy degree / [origin] from Greek kathexis (holding, retention), from katekhein (to hold fast); kata- (intensive prefix) + ekhein (to hold)
February 6, 2026 at 4:02 PM
cathexis - n / concentration of emotional energy on an object or idea, esp to an unhealthy degree / [origin] from Greek kathexis (holding, retention), from katekhein (to hold fast); kata- (intensive prefix) + ekhein (to hold)
defalcation - n / misappropriation of money held by an official, trustee, or other fiduciary / the sum misappropriated / a failure to meet a promise or an expectation / (archaic) a lopping off / [origin] from Latin defalcationem, from defalcare, from de- + falx, falcem (sickle, scythe, pruning hook)
February 3, 2026 at 11:41 PM
defalcation - n / misappropriation of money held by an official, trustee, or other fiduciary / the sum misappropriated / a failure to meet a promise or an expectation / (archaic) a lopping off / [origin] from Latin defalcationem, from defalcare, from de- + falx, falcem (sickle, scythe, pruning hook)
lazaretto - n / an institution (such as a hospital) for those with contagious diseases, especially leprosy or plague / a building or a ship used to temporarily isolate sick people to prevent the spread of infectious disease; a quarantine
February 3, 2026 at 2:29 AM
lazaretto - n / an institution (such as a hospital) for those with contagious diseases, especially leprosy or plague / a building or a ship used to temporarily isolate sick people to prevent the spread of infectious disease; a quarantine
entail - n / (feudal law) a legal arrangement that locks land into a family line so it cannot be freely sold or divided / [origin] from ME entailen, entaillen, from en- (entry) + taile, taille (limitation)
February 1, 2026 at 8:45 PM
entail - n / (feudal law) a legal arrangement that locks land into a family line so it cannot be freely sold or divided / [origin] from ME entailen, entaillen, from en- (entry) + taile, taille (limitation)
mahzor - n / a Jewish prayer book designed for use on festivals and holy days / [origin] from Hebrew maḥăzōr (cycle) / [note] used by Jews on the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Specialized mahzorim are used on the three pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot.
January 31, 2026 at 10:08 PM
mahzor - n / a Jewish prayer book designed for use on festivals and holy days / [origin] from Hebrew maḥăzōr (cycle) / [note] used by Jews on the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Specialized mahzorim are used on the three pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot.
rupestral - adj / relating to rocks / composed of rock, inscribed on rocks / [origin] from Latin rupestris, rupestrian, from rupes (rock) + -estris, as in terrestris (terrestrial)
rupestrian - adj / (of art) done on rock or cave walls
rupestrian - adj / (of art) done on rock or cave walls
January 31, 2026 at 12:00 AM
rupestral - adj / relating to rocks / composed of rock, inscribed on rocks / [origin] from Latin rupestris, rupestrian, from rupes (rock) + -estris, as in terrestris (terrestrial)
rupestrian - adj / (of art) done on rock or cave walls
rupestrian - adj / (of art) done on rock or cave walls
theodicy - n / the branch of theology that defends God's goodness in the face of evil / a work or discourse justifying the ways of God / the branch of writing that tries to explain how a perfect god would nonetheless make our lives so painful and permit evil
January 28, 2026 at 4:50 PM
theodicy - n / the branch of theology that defends God's goodness in the face of evil / a work or discourse justifying the ways of God / the branch of writing that tries to explain how a perfect god would nonetheless make our lives so painful and permit evil
plage - n / a sandy bathing beach at a seashore resort / (Astronomy) a luminous area on the sun caused by light-emitting clouds of hydrogen or calcium, often in the vicinity of a sunspot / [origin] from French plage (beach, luminous surface), from Latin plagia, from Greek plagios (oblique)
January 27, 2026 at 6:04 PM
plage - n / a sandy bathing beach at a seashore resort / (Astronomy) a luminous area on the sun caused by light-emitting clouds of hydrogen or calcium, often in the vicinity of a sunspot / [origin] from French plage (beach, luminous surface), from Latin plagia, from Greek plagios (oblique)
praya - n / beach, strand, waterfront / [origin] from Spanish playa (beach), from Latin plagia
January 27, 2026 at 6:02 PM
praya - n / beach, strand, waterfront / [origin] from Spanish playa (beach), from Latin plagia
famulus - n / a private secretary or other close servant, an attendant, especially of a magician or occult scholar / [origin] from German famulus (assistant to a professor), from Latin famulus (servant, slave)
January 27, 2026 at 12:19 AM
famulus - n / a private secretary or other close servant, an attendant, especially of a magician or occult scholar / [origin] from German famulus (assistant to a professor), from Latin famulus (servant, slave)
sprag - n / (Scottish) a lively young man / a person with an arrogant, swaggering manner / a pointed stake or steel bar let down from a halted vehicle (such as a wagon) to prevent it from rolling down hills or grades / a young salmon of the first year; a smolt
January 25, 2026 at 4:57 PM
sprag - n / (Scottish) a lively young man / a person with an arrogant, swaggering manner / a pointed stake or steel bar let down from a halted vehicle (such as a wagon) to prevent it from rolling down hills or grades / a young salmon of the first year; a smolt
morganatic - adj / of or pertaining to a legal marriage between a man of royal or noble birth and a woman of lower rank, in which the wife has no claim on the husband's possessions or titles / [origin] from French morganatique, from the Latin phrase 'matrimonium ad morganaticam'
January 25, 2026 at 12:44 AM
morganatic - adj / of or pertaining to a legal marriage between a man of royal or noble birth and a woman of lower rank, in which the wife has no claim on the husband's possessions or titles / [origin] from French morganatique, from the Latin phrase 'matrimonium ad morganaticam'
irrupt - v / enter forcibly or suddenly / to break or burst in; invade / (Of a bird or other animal) migrate into an area in abnormally large numbers / [origin] from Latin irruptio (attack, assault, irruption)
January 23, 2026 at 2:36 AM
irrupt - v / enter forcibly or suddenly / to break or burst in; invade / (Of a bird or other animal) migrate into an area in abnormally large numbers / [origin] from Latin irruptio (attack, assault, irruption)
krummholz - n / a forest of stunted, windblown trees near the timber line on a mountain / dense low matted bushes at the tree-line / [origin] from German, from krumm (crooked, warped, bent, devious) + holz (wood)
January 21, 2026 at 10:05 PM
krummholz - n / a forest of stunted, windblown trees near the timber line on a mountain / dense low matted bushes at the tree-line / [origin] from German, from krumm (crooked, warped, bent, devious) + holz (wood)
fabian strategy - adj / a cautious, slow strategy to wear down the enemy / avoiding direct confrontation; cautious; delaying / [origin] after Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus Verruscossus (280-203 BCE), who defeated Hannibal in the Second Punic War by avoiding direct confrontation
January 20, 2026 at 4:53 PM
fabian strategy - adj / a cautious, slow strategy to wear down the enemy / avoiding direct confrontation; cautious; delaying / [origin] after Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus Verruscossus (280-203 BCE), who defeated Hannibal in the Second Punic War by avoiding direct confrontation
apocope - n / a-POC-a-pee / (phonetics) the loss or omission of the last vowel in a word, together with any consonants that follow it / (loosely) the loss or omission of a sound or syllable from the end of a word / [origin] from Latin apocopē, from Greek apokopḗ (cut off) / [ex] photo for photograph
January 18, 2026 at 11:25 PM
apocope - n / a-POC-a-pee / (phonetics) the loss or omission of the last vowel in a word, together with any consonants that follow it / (loosely) the loss or omission of a sound or syllable from the end of a word / [origin] from Latin apocopē, from Greek apokopḗ (cut off) / [ex] photo for photograph
frondeur - n / a political rebel; a rioter / [origin] from French, literally ‘slinger’, someone who took part in the Frond, a 17th c revolt in which rebels were compared to schoolboys using slings when the teacher wasn’t looking, using slings to smash the windows of their opponents
January 18, 2026 at 11:22 PM
frondeur - n / a political rebel; a rioter / [origin] from French, literally ‘slinger’, someone who took part in the Frond, a 17th c revolt in which rebels were compared to schoolboys using slings when the teacher wasn’t looking, using slings to smash the windows of their opponents
roadstead - n / a partly sheltered stretch of water near the shore where ships can anchor / a partly-sheltered anchorage outside a harbor / [origin] from OE rad (riding, journey on horseback) + stede (place) / [note] also called roads (as in Hampton Roads, Va)
January 16, 2026 at 7:34 PM
roadstead - n / a partly sheltered stretch of water near the shore where ships can anchor / a partly-sheltered anchorage outside a harbor / [origin] from OE rad (riding, journey on horseback) + stede (place) / [note] also called roads (as in Hampton Roads, Va)
sone - n / a unit of loudness, the subjective perception of sound pressure / a subjective unit of loudness equal to that experienced by a normal person hearing a 1 kHz tone at 40 dB / [origin] from Latin sonus (sound)
January 15, 2026 at 1:28 AM
sone - n / a unit of loudness, the subjective perception of sound pressure / a subjective unit of loudness equal to that experienced by a normal person hearing a 1 kHz tone at 40 dB / [origin] from Latin sonus (sound)
tholus - n / a circular tomb of beehive shape approached by a horizontal passage in the side of a hill / a domed structure or cupola; specifically, at Athens, the round chamber or rotunda of a public building connected with the prytaneum, in which the prytanes dined
January 14, 2026 at 12:19 AM
tholus - n / a circular tomb of beehive shape approached by a horizontal passage in the side of a hill / a domed structure or cupola; specifically, at Athens, the round chamber or rotunda of a public building connected with the prytaneum, in which the prytanes dined
marotte - n / a fool's bauble / a grotesque scepter carried by a jester / a puppet attached to a wooden stick, with a jester's head / a wooden head used to model headgear / [origin] from French, diminutive of Marie
January 12, 2026 at 4:34 PM
marotte - n / a fool's bauble / a grotesque scepter carried by a jester / a puppet attached to a wooden stick, with a jester's head / a wooden head used to model headgear / [origin] from French, diminutive of Marie
ratoon - n / a shoot sprouting from the root of a plant, especially sugar cane, after it has been cropped / a rattan cane / [origin] unclear; perhaps from Spanish retoño/retoñar (sprout; to sprout again in the fall), from re- + otoño (fall, autumn) / or from Latin retonsus (to cut down)
January 10, 2026 at 11:28 PM
ratoon - n / a shoot sprouting from the root of a plant, especially sugar cane, after it has been cropped / a rattan cane / [origin] unclear; perhaps from Spanish retoño/retoñar (sprout; to sprout again in the fall), from re- + otoño (fall, autumn) / or from Latin retonsus (to cut down)
etesian - adj / periodical; annual; occurring at stated times of the year / [origin] from a Greek root meaning 'year' / [note] applied to winds which annually blow from the north over the Mediterranean, esp. the eastern part, for an irregular period during July and August
January 9, 2026 at 11:21 PM
etesian - adj / periodical; annual; occurring at stated times of the year / [origin] from a Greek root meaning 'year' / [note] applied to winds which annually blow from the north over the Mediterranean, esp. the eastern part, for an irregular period during July and August