Hallow

hal·low
To make or set apart as holy.
To respect or honor greatly; revere.

I chose this word because I was leading a study on the Lord's Prayer and I was curious as to what 'hallowed by thy name' really meant.

"Jesus was someone who was hallowed"

It can be used as an trasitive verb which is a verb that describes an action and takes a direct object: hallowed, hallows, hallowing.

"When I walked into Canterbury Cathedral for the first time, I got a sense I was on hallowed ground."

What a hallowing experience!

Maelstrom

maelstrom \MAYL-struhm\, noun:
1. A large, powerful, or destructive whirlpool.
2. Something resembling a maelstrom; a violent, disordered, or turbulent state of affairs.

"A maelstrom of political intrigue preceded the government's downfall."

Oh, dear, don't get into a maelstrom! It's only a car!

Alacrity

a·lac·ri·ty n.
Cheerful willingness; eagerness.
Speed or quickness; celerity.

"Robyn responded to Giles' request with alacrity."

There is also an adjective alacrituous.

"Giles was impressed by Robyn's alacritous response to his request."

Racoons and bears and penguins are all ala-critters

Alpenglow

alpenglow \AL-puhn-gloh\, noun:
A reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains.

The alpenglow is quite an interesting phenomenon because it is found inside the earth's atmosphere.

"We arose whilst it was still dark in order to ascend the mountain in order to catch a glimpse of the much lauded alpenglow."

Alpenglow or cornflakes?

Coryphee

coryphee Coryph'ee , n.
(Drama) A ballet dancer who performs in small ensembles

As I went to the ballet tonight to see an excellent performance of Madame Butterfly by the Northern Ballet Theatre, today's word is ballet-related. I was curious to find out what the coryphee in my programme were and they are actually in the ballet scheme of things some of the lowest ranking ballet dancers. After the coryphee, come the corps de ballet. Here is some interesting information about ballerinas.

"After several seasons as part of the corps de ballet, Jason and Karine were delighted to be promoted to coryphee which is a rank below soloist."

There is a related word coryphaeus.

"Karine was the coryphaeus for the large group of dancers."

Coryphee or tea, sir?

Bumbershoot

bumbershoot \BUM-ber-shoot\ n.
umbrella

"It was time for George to throw out that old bumbershoot when the rain poured through it."

Duchess and her kittens in The Aristocats were kidnapped and abandoned by the very naughty butler Edgar who accidently left his bumbershoot at the scene of the crime to be found by two hound dogs called Napoleon and Lafayette.

Stop! Don't bumbershoot!

Rubicund

rubicund \ROO-bih-kund\, adjective:
Inclining to redness; ruddy; red.

"My cheeks are often rubicund after a dash of rose wine."

Some synonyms of rubicund are rosy and ruddy.

Rubicundity is a noun.

"George's healthy rubicundity was one of his more likeable features."

Rubicunds are red, violets are blue..

Prestidigitation

prestidigitation \pres-tuh-dij-uh-TAY-shuhn\, noun:
Skill in or performance of tricks; sleight of hand.

"Luke's skilful prestidigitation delighted the wedding guests who were entertained by his magic tricks."

There is also is a word for some who has that skill prestidigitator

"Harry Houdini was a famous prestidigitator."

A prestidigitator is a tricky character.

Mrs. Grundy

Mrs. Grun-dy
n.
An extremely conventional or priggish person.

"Jean was so well-known for her straight-laced attitude that her colleagues called her an original Mrs. Grundy."

Don't grind your teeth, Mrs Grundy.

Aplomb

aplomb \uh-PLOM\, noun:
Assurance of manner or of action; self-possession; confidence; coolness.

"Despite the tense atmosphere in the courtroom, the witness gave her statement with calmness and aplomb."

Aplomb is also a ballet term.

Opposite of doubt, insecurity, mistrust, uncertainty, anxiety, and peturbity.

Aplomb pudding is very nice at Christmastime.

Ebullient

ebullient \ih-BUL-yuhnt\, adjective:
1. Overflowing with enthusiasm or excitement; high-spirited.
2. Boiling up or over.

"The children were ebullient about their trip to the zoo."

It also has a culinary connotation:
"Jennifer ran to turn down the pan of potatoes which were boiling ebulliently."

There is also a noun ebullience which is the same thing as ebulliency.

"The children's ebullience about their forthcoming trip to the zoo was immediately evident."

Some opposites of ebullient are downcast, glum, staid, stoic, dispirited, lethargic, and unmotivated.

Waiter, I'll have a portion of ebuillience, please.

Diadem

diadem \DY-uh-dem\, noun:
1. A crown.
2. An ornamental headband worn (as by Eastern monarchs) as a badge of royalty.
3. Regal power; sovereignty; empire; -- considered as symbolized by the crown.

transitive verb:
To adorn with a diadem; to crown.

A picture of a diadem.

"The highlight of the contest was seeing the winner being crowned with a sparkling diadem."

Diadem is the second brightest star in the constellation Coma Berenices. Coma Berenices is Latin for "Berenice's Hair".

"The diadem sparkled brilliantly in Berenice's hair."

It is also a garden spider!

"There was a diadem spinning its deadly web between the garden shed and the wall."

A diadem is a girl's best friend

Puissant

puissant \PWISS-uhnt; PYOO-uh-suhnt; pyoo-ISS-uhnt\, adjective:
Powerful; strong; mighty; as, a puissant prince or empire.

"Randolph's timely intervention in the dispute demonstrated that he was a puissant leader."

There is also a noun, puissance.

"Randolph, the empire builder, exuded puissance."

Poissons are French fish, silly!

Laudable

laudable \LAW-duh-bul\, adjective:
Worthy of praise; commendable.

"Her attempts to get her colleagues to knit jumpers for orphans were laudable."

There is also laud which can be a noun or a verb.

"We should laud her attempts to get her colleagues to knit jumpers for orphans."

And for completeness, here is an example of the eccleisiastical lauds.

"Father Jack was late for lauds because he had dropped a couple of stitches on one of the jumpers he was knitting for the orphans."

Definitely not: yes, m'laud.