| alluvium |
sand, soil, gravel, or the like deposited by moving water, as along a river bed. |
| bellicose |
easily incited to quarrel or fight; belligerent. |
| benign |
causing little or no harm. |
| castellated |
constructed with turrets and battlements like a castle. |
| cognomen |
a last name; surname. |
| glut |
a greater supply or amount than is needed. |
| guttural |
articulated in the back of the mouth; velar. |
| incumbent |
currently holding an office or position. |
| insularity |
the condition of being closed to new ideas or outside influences; narrow-mindedness. |
| oligarchy |
a government or state in which only a relatively few people or members of a family have real power. |
| peroration |
the concluding part of a speech in which there is a summing up of the principal points. |
| pliant |
easily flexed; supple. |
| purvey |
to supply or provide (especially food, drink, or other provisions). |
| scabrous |
characterized by a rough or scaly surface, as the leaf of a plant. |
| shyster |
a person, usually a lawyer, who uses underhanded, unethical methods. |