Wondrous Words Wednesday 36

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Kathy at the Bermuda Onion where you "can share new words that you’ve encountered or spotlight words you love. Feel free to get creative!"

I am still brain-dead from my trip and what few cells I have firing are being used by paperwork and the Cybils books.

Let's see ... I have a few random words for this week though.

... so Kim applied herself as best she could to arts such as reading and legerdemain which could not be conveniently practiced while marching in the rain.

legerdemain \ˌle-jər-də-ˈmān\
 1: sleight of hand
 2: a display of skill or adroitness
 3: skilful use of one’s hands when performing conjuring tricks.

Origin: Middle English, from Middle French leger de main light of hand

First Known Use: 15th century

Hocus pocus juinor. The Anatomy of Legerdemain. OR, The Art of Jugling set forth in his proper colours, fully, plainly, and exactly, so that an ignorant person may thereby learn the full perfection of the same, after a little practise. Unto each trick is added the figure where it is needed full for instruction. Præstat nihili quam nihil facere.

First published in 1634.

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... she knew from experience that once he took a notion, he was as stubborn as a costermonger defending his route through the market. 

costermonger \-ˌməŋ-gər, -ˌmäŋ-\
British dated

:  a hawker of fruit or vegetables

:  a person who sells goods, especially fruit and vegetables, from a handcart in the street.
Origin costard + monger

First Known Use: 1514

1510s, "itinerant apple-seller" from coster (apple) + monger (seller). Sense extended from "apple-seller" to any salesman who plied his wares from a street-cart. Contemptuous use is from Shakespeare ("2 Henry IV"), but reason is unclear.

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A young domovyk ...

 

A domovoi or domovoy (Russian: домово́й; IPA: [dəmɐˈvoj]; literally, "[he] from the house") is a house spirit in Slavic folklore. Traditionally, every house is said to have its domovoi. It does not do evil unless angered by a family’s poor keep of the household, profane language or neglect. The domovoi is seen as the home's guardian, and he sometimes helps with household chores and field work. Some even treat them as part of the family, albeit an unseen one, and leave them gifts such as milk and biscuits in the kitchen overnight.

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I call it ratiocination.  

ratiocination  \-ˌō-sə-ˈnā-shən, -ˌnä-\
1:  the process of exact thinking :  reasoning

2:  a reasoned train of thought 

First Known Use: circa 1530


Happy Wednesday. 
 

Oh - BTW, if you haven't read it - I thought that Jackaby by William Ritter was quite fun.