| antebellum |
in or of the period prior to a war, especially the American Civil War. |
| appellative |
a descriptive name or title, as "Terrible" in "Ivan the Terrible". |
| argot |
the vocabulary or jargon characteristic of a specific group or class, especially of criminals. |
| cognizant |
aware; informed (usually followed by "of"). |
| commodious |
comfortably spacious; roomy. |
| divergence |
the act of separating and moving or leading in different directions. |
| garble |
to mix up, distort, or confuse (a message, translation, or the like); cause to be disordered or unintelligible. |
| goad |
something that spurs a person to action; stimulus. |
| immiscible |
not able to be mixed or blended. |
| knurled |
having small ridges. |
| parlance |
manner of speaking or writing, especially word choice; vernacular. |
| prerogative |
an exclusive right or privilege derived from one's office, position, age, citizenship, birth, or the like. |
| sotto voce |
in a low voice or undertone, so as not to be overheard; softly (often used as a musical direction). |
| tort |
in law, any civil rather than criminal harm or injury that violates the implicit duty of each citizen not to harm others, and for which one may bring a civil suit and collect compensation. |
| woebegone |
displaying or full of distress. |