Douglas Mazanec
@infoman707.bsky.social
word hunter, edge seeker, puzzle player, news addict
grimoire - n / (occult) a book of instructions in the use of alchemy or magic, especially one containing spells for summoning demons
January 9, 2026 at 1:17 AM
grimoire - n / (occult) a book of instructions in the use of alchemy or magic, especially one containing spells for summoning demons
bellarmine - n / a stoneware jug that has a bearded face or mask / [origin] supposed to represent Cardinal Bellarmine, a leader in the Roman Catholic Counter Reformation / [note] also referred to as a "graybeard" or "longbeard"
January 8, 2026 at 12:49 AM
bellarmine - n / a stoneware jug that has a bearded face or mask / [origin] supposed to represent Cardinal Bellarmine, a leader in the Roman Catholic Counter Reformation / [note] also referred to as a "graybeard" or "longbeard"
opisthograph - n / a text written on both sides of a papyrus or parchment / a slab inscribed on both the front and back / [origin] from Greek opistho- (posterior, rear) + graph (writing)
January 6, 2026 at 10:18 PM
opisthograph - n / a text written on both sides of a papyrus or parchment / a slab inscribed on both the front and back / [origin] from Greek opistho- (posterior, rear) + graph (writing)
soubrette - n / a saucy, coquettish, and intriguing lady's maid in comedies or comic opera; an actress or singer taking such a part / a flirtatious or frivolous young woman / [origin] from French soubrette, from Occitan soubreta (coy), feminine of soubret
January 6, 2026 at 1:00 AM
soubrette - n / a saucy, coquettish, and intriguing lady's maid in comedies or comic opera; an actress or singer taking such a part / a flirtatious or frivolous young woman / [origin] from French soubrette, from Occitan soubreta (coy), feminine of soubret
euhemerist - n / someone who believes that myths and legends are distorted accounts of real historical people and events, viewing gods and heroes as originally great humans who were later deified or exaggerated over time / [origin] a theory named after the Greek writer Euhemerus (4th century BC)
January 4, 2026 at 8:31 PM
euhemerist - n / someone who believes that myths and legends are distorted accounts of real historical people and events, viewing gods and heroes as originally great humans who were later deified or exaggerated over time / [origin] a theory named after the Greek writer Euhemerus (4th century BC)
herm - n / a statue consisting of a squared stone pillar with a carved head (usually a bearded Hermes) on top; used in ancient Greece as a boundary marker or signpost / [origin] after Hermes, the god of roads, boundaries, and more in Greek mythology
January 2, 2026 at 10:52 PM
herm - n / a statue consisting of a squared stone pillar with a carved head (usually a bearded Hermes) on top; used in ancient Greece as a boundary marker or signpost / [origin] after Hermes, the god of roads, boundaries, and more in Greek mythology
nock - n / (archery) the part of an arrow having a notch for the bowstring / either of the two grooves in a bow that hold the bowstring / [origin] from ME nokke, possibly from Swedish nock (notch) or Dutch nocke (tip, point)
January 2, 2026 at 10:47 PM
nock - n / (archery) the part of an arrow having a notch for the bowstring / either of the two grooves in a bow that hold the bowstring / [origin] from ME nokke, possibly from Swedish nock (notch) or Dutch nocke (tip, point)
butt - n / an archery or shooting target or range / a mound on or in front of which a target is set up for archery or shooting / [origin] from ME butt (in the archery sense), perhaps influenced by French butte ‘rising ground.’
January 2, 2026 at 10:46 PM
butt - n / an archery or shooting target or range / a mound on or in front of which a target is set up for archery or shooting / [origin] from ME butt (in the archery sense), perhaps influenced by French butte ‘rising ground.’
martlet - n / (Heraldry) a bird with no feet and tufts of feathers for legs, borne as a charge or as a mark of cadency for a fourth son / a mythical bird without feet that never roosts from the moment of its birth until its death fall; proposed to be constantly on the wing.
December 31, 2025 at 7:45 PM
martlet - n / (Heraldry) a bird with no feet and tufts of feathers for legs, borne as a charge or as a mark of cadency for a fourth son / a mythical bird without feet that never roosts from the moment of its birth until its death fall; proposed to be constantly on the wing.
anadromous - adj / (zoology) a fish born in fresh water, which heads downriver to the sea, where it spends most of its life, and then goes back to fresh water to spawn. Salmon, smelt, and sturgeon are common examples / [origin] from Greek anadromos (running up, a river) < ana (up) + dromos (running)
December 29, 2025 at 6:59 PM
anadromous - adj / (zoology) a fish born in fresh water, which heads downriver to the sea, where it spends most of its life, and then goes back to fresh water to spawn. Salmon, smelt, and sturgeon are common examples / [origin] from Greek anadromos (running up, a river) < ana (up) + dromos (running)
apophasis - n / (Rhetoric) denial of one's intention to speak of a subject that is at the same time named or insinuated, as “I shall not mention Caesar's avarice.” / (Theology) knowledge or description of God through negative statements about qualities and characteristics that God does not possess
December 28, 2025 at 11:38 PM
apophasis - n / (Rhetoric) denial of one's intention to speak of a subject that is at the same time named or insinuated, as “I shall not mention Caesar's avarice.” / (Theology) knowledge or description of God through negative statements about qualities and characteristics that God does not possess
pawl - n / a pivoted catch designed to fall into a notch on a ratchet wheel so as to allow movement in only one direction / [origin] a modification of Dutch pal (catch, mechanism)
December 28, 2025 at 11:35 PM
pawl - n / a pivoted catch designed to fall into a notch on a ratchet wheel so as to allow movement in only one direction / [origin] a modification of Dutch pal (catch, mechanism)
rundled - adj / rounded, circular / [origin] from rundle
December 26, 2025 at 9:29 PM
rundled - adj / rounded, circular / [origin] from rundle
katana - n / a type of Japanese longsword (or nihontō) having a curved, single-edged blade, a circular or squared guard, and a long grip to accommodate two hands / [note] historically used by samurai and ninja of feudal Japan / [origin] from Japanese katana, literally “sword"
December 25, 2025 at 1:52 AM
katana - n / a type of Japanese longsword (or nihontō) having a curved, single-edged blade, a circular or squared guard, and a long grip to accommodate two hands / [note] historically used by samurai and ninja of feudal Japan / [origin] from Japanese katana, literally “sword"
reeve - v / to thread a rope through a ring or other aperture, esp in a block // n / a steward; bailiff; official / a local agent of an Anglo-Saxon king / a Medieval English manor officer responsible for overseeing the discharge of feudal obligations / [origin] from OE gerefa (king’s officer)
December 22, 2025 at 11:15 PM
reeve - v / to thread a rope through a ring or other aperture, esp in a block // n / a steward; bailiff; official / a local agent of an Anglo-Saxon king / a Medieval English manor officer responsible for overseeing the discharge of feudal obligations / [origin] from OE gerefa (king’s officer)
fulgurate - v / to emit flashes of lightning; to give off light in flashes / (Medicine) to destroy abnormal tissue by electric current / [origin] from Latin fulgurāre, fulgurāt-, from fulgur (lightning)
December 22, 2025 at 1:12 AM
fulgurate - v / to emit flashes of lightning; to give off light in flashes / (Medicine) to destroy abnormal tissue by electric current / [origin] from Latin fulgurāre, fulgurāt-, from fulgur (lightning)
bosky - adj / having abundant trees or shrubs / of or relating to a woods / places thick with trees, where the air smells of bark and rain, and green stretches in every direction / [origin] from ME busk or bosk (shrub)
December 19, 2025 at 4:18 PM
bosky - adj / having abundant trees or shrubs / of or relating to a woods / places thick with trees, where the air smells of bark and rain, and green stretches in every direction / [origin] from ME busk or bosk (shrub)
falx - n / a metal implement suitable for a pruning-hook, found among ancient remains / a sickle-shaped part or structure / a weapon with a curved blade with a sharp inside edge / (Zoology) in echinoderms, a rotula / one of the mouth-parts of a sea-urchin. / [origin] from Latix falx (sickle)
December 19, 2025 at 4:15 PM
falx - n / a metal implement suitable for a pruning-hook, found among ancient remains / a sickle-shaped part or structure / a weapon with a curved blade with a sharp inside edge / (Zoology) in echinoderms, a rotula / one of the mouth-parts of a sea-urchin. / [origin] from Latix falx (sickle)
janiform - adj / having two faces, sides, or contrasting aspects / [origin] after Janus, the Roman god of doors, gates, and transitions, who is was depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions
December 15, 2025 at 11:05 PM
janiform - adj / having two faces, sides, or contrasting aspects / [origin] after Janus, the Roman god of doors, gates, and transitions, who is was depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions
freshet - n / A flood or overflowing of a river caused by heavy rains or melted snow; the time of year when this occurs.
December 15, 2025 at 11:04 PM
freshet - n / A flood or overflowing of a river caused by heavy rains or melted snow; the time of year when this occurs.
curule - adj / of or pertaining to a chariot / of or pertaining to a kind of chair appropriate to Roman magistrates and dignitaries; pertaining to, having, or conferring, the right to sit in the curule chair; hence, official / of the highest rank
December 15, 2025 at 11:03 PM
curule - adj / of or pertaining to a chariot / of or pertaining to a kind of chair appropriate to Roman magistrates and dignitaries; pertaining to, having, or conferring, the right to sit in the curule chair; hence, official / of the highest rank
mottainai - n / expressing profound regret or disapproval over discarding or wasting something that could still serve a purpose / [origin] from Japanese
December 12, 2025 at 6:42 PM
mottainai - n / expressing profound regret or disapproval over discarding or wasting something that could still serve a purpose / [origin] from Japanese
rimaye - n / (geology) a crevasse at the upper end of a mountain glacier / from French rimaye (split, glacier crevasse), from Latin rimari (crack, split, open, search)
December 11, 2025 at 4:23 PM
rimaye - n / (geology) a crevasse at the upper end of a mountain glacier / from French rimaye (split, glacier crevasse), from Latin rimari (crack, split, open, search)
kintsugi - n / the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by joining pieces back together and filling cracks with lacquer dusted with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, thereby highlighting the flaws in the mended object
December 11, 2025 at 1:21 AM
kintsugi - n / the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by joining pieces back together and filling cracks with lacquer dusted with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, thereby highlighting the flaws in the mended object
nuncio - n / a papal legate of the highest rank permanently accredited to a civil government, who is accorded a rank equivalent to an accredited ambassador / by extension, one who bears a message; a messenger / [origin] from Latin nuntius (messenger, message)
December 9, 2025 at 11:23 PM
nuncio - n / a papal legate of the highest rank permanently accredited to a civil government, who is accorded a rank equivalent to an accredited ambassador / by extension, one who bears a message; a messenger / [origin] from Latin nuntius (messenger, message)