Vocabulary 6

scuttlebutt - Navy slang for a water fountain, also used in place of 'gossip' because saiors would all hang around the scuttlebut and exchange rumours and chat.

bulwark - An embankment built around a space for defensive purposes, as in "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, a bulwark never failing."

hubris - Overbearing pride or presumption, arrogance. For example, a theif who signed the inside of a vault after he robbed it would be committing an act of hubris.

dearth - A scarcity. During a period between food deliveries to the army, there would be a dearth of provisions. (antonym: surfeit?)

deference - Great respect. A courtier would bow to his king with great deference.

emulate - To strive to match or equal, by imitation. I try to emulate my favorite singer by eating locally and buying secondhand clothes like he does.

imitate - To appear like, in behavior or physical appearance. Although I emulate Davvey Havok in his lifestyle, I do not attempt to imitate his distinctive style of dress.

mimic - To imitate something, usually for humorous purposes. My Dad likes to mimic the voice of Walter Cronkite at the dinner table to make my mother and I laugh.

endemic - Describing something that is found where it originated. This usually refers to a disease particular to a specific locale.

aborigine - An indigenous person or native.

inchoate - Only partly in existence, imperfectly formed. The most common example of an inchoate offense is conspiracy.

precursor - Something that precedes or indicates the approach of something else. Fever and vomiting are common precursors to the onset of a deadly case of H1N1.

volatile - Fickle, marked by erratic changeableness in affections or attachments. It was the thi week of the month and as always, her emotions were volitile and mercurial.