Portland Celebrity Spelling Bee III

76. dieffenbachia (dee fen BA ke a), noun, ( New Latin, from Ernst Dieffenbach died 1855 German naturalist), any of a genus (Dieffenbachia) of erect poisonous tropical American plants of the arum family having usually variegated leaves and often grown as houseplants. "Even if you don't have a green thumb, you should be able to keep dieffenbachia alive."

77. dirndl (DERN del), noun, ( short for German Dirndlkleid, from German dialect Dirndl girl + German Kleid dress), 1. a dress style with tight bodice, short sleeves, low neck, and gathered skirt; 2. a full skirt with a tight waistband. "Don't even consider wearing a dirndl prom dress; its proportions are all wrong for your body."

78. echinacea (e ki NA she a), noun, ( New Latin, genus name, from echin- + -acea (feminine of -aceus -aceous)), the dried rhizome, roots, or other parts of any of three purple coneflowers that are used primarily in dietary supplements and herbal remedies for the stimulating effect they are held to have on the immune system. "While the scientific evidence is scant, many swear by the preventive magic of the herb echinacea."

79. eczema (EG ze ma, ig SEE ma), noun, ( New Latin, from Greek ekzema, from ekzein to erupt, from ex- out + zein to boil), an inflammatory condition of the skin characterized by redness, itching, and oozing vesicular lesions which become scaly, crusted, or hardened. "As the eczema epidemic worsened, the sale of long-sleeved shirts and gloves skyrocketed."

80. elliptical (I LIP ti kel), adjective, ( Greek elleiptikos defective, marked by ellipsis, from elleipein), 1. of, relating to, or shaped like an ellipse; 2. of, relating to, or marked by ellipsis or an ellipsis; 3. of, relating to, or marked by extreme economy of speech or writing. "Many second graders, upon studying the solar system and how planets revolve around the Sun, discover that elliptical , rather than circular, describes the motion of the planets."

81. embouchure (AM bu shur), noun, (French, from (s')emboucher to flow into, from en- + bouche mouth), 1. the position and use of the lips, tongue, and teeth in playing a wind instrument; 2. the mouthpiece of a musical instrument. "He quit playing the trumpet when he was unable to get his embouchure together."

82. endometriosis (en do mee tree O sis), noun, (New Latin), the presence and growth of functioning endometrial tissue in places other than the uterus that often results in severe pain and infertility. "It is still debated whether endometriosis can be permanently aided by gene therapy."

83. fenestration (fen is TRA shun), noun, (Latin), the arrangement, proportioning, and design of windows and doors in a building; 2. an opening in a surface (wall or membrane); 3. the operation of cutting an opening in the bony labyrinth between the inner ear and tympanum to replace non-functional natural. "Those who build their own homes must consider the fenestration costs because windows are much more expensive than solid walls."

84. grandiloquence (gran DI luh kwents), noun, (probably from Middle French, from Latin grandiloquus using lofty language, from grandis + loqui to speak), a lofty, extravagantly colorful, pompous, or bombastic style, manner, or quality especially in language. "A good Oscar acceptance speech should be humble and avoid grandiloquence ."

85. ichneumon (ik NU men), noun, (Middle English, from Latin, from Greek ichneumoon, literally, tracker, from ichneuein to track, from ichnos footprint), a mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) of Africa, southern Europe, and southwestern Asia. "Dang," thought the zookeeper, gazing at the empty snake cage, "bet that pesky ichneumon got loose again last night."

86. ignescent (ig NE sent), adjective, (Latin ignescent-, ignescens, present participle of ignescere to catch fire, from ignis), volatile. "The atmosphere grew positively ignescent as the city council discussed raising the ticket price of a tram ride to thirty dollars."

87. impuissance (im PWI sents or im PYU a sents), noun, (Middle English, from Middle French, from in- + puissance puissance, power), WEAKNESS, POWERLESSNESS. "You'll never win the election if the voters sense your impuissance in raising your own children."

88. kaleidoscope (ku LI de scope), noun, (Greek kalos beautiful + eidos form + English -scope), an instrument containing loose bits of colored material (as glass or plastic) between two flat plates and two plane mirrors so placed that changes of position of the bits of material are reflected in an endless variety of patterns. "From the airplane, the campers' tents formed a kaleidoscope of shapes and colors."

89. laicize (LA uh size), verb, (Latin), 1. to reduce to lay status; 2. to put the direction of or open to the laity. "Before you laicize the teachers at the parochial school, be sure that your students' families understand your reasoning."

90. luminescence (lu me NE sents), noun, (International Scientific Vocabulary lumin- + -escence), the low-temperature emission of light (as by a chemical or physiological process); also: light produced by luminescence. "The luminescence of some sea creatures living miles under the ocean continues to interest and mystify marine biologists."

91. mammillary (MA ma ler e), adjective, (Latin mammilla breast, nipple, diminutive of mamma),1. of, relating to, or resembling the breasts; 2. studded with breast-shaped protuberances. "The early image of singer Madonna most oft published featured her unusually mammillary upper torso garment."

92. mellifluous (me LI fle was), adjective, (Middle English mellyfluous, from Late Latin mellifluus, from Latin mell-, mel honey + fluere to flow; akin to Gothic milith honey, Greek melit-, meli), 1. having a smooth rich flow; 2. filled with something (as honey) that sweetens. "The journalist gazed admiringly at his latest column, especially enjoying the mellifluous flow of the perfectly-chosen words as they virtually danced across each sentence."

93. paillette ( pie YET or pay YET), noun, (French, from paille straw), 1. a small shiny object (as a spangle) applied in clusters as a decorative trimming (as on women's clothing); 2. a trimming made of paillettes. "No one except an artist who specializes in enamel painting would recognize this piece of metal as a paillette."

94. paraphernalia (per a fer NAL ya), noun, (Medieval Latin, ultimately from Greek parapherna bride's property beyond her dowry, from para- + phernee dowry, from pherein to bear), 1 : the separate real or personal property of a married woman that she can dispose of by will and sometimes according to common law during her life; 2. personal belongings; 3. articles of equipment. "Gather your paraphernalia and be here in 10 minutes," shouted the boss."

95. phylactery (fe LAC tuh ree), noun, (Middle English philaterie, from Medieval Latin philaterium, alteration of Late Latin phylacterium, from Greek phylakteerion amulet, phylactery, from phylassein to guard, from phylak-, phylax guard), either of two small square leather boxes containing slips inscribed with scriptural passages and traditionally worn on the left arm and on the head by observant Jewish men and especially adherents of Orthodox Judaism during morning weekday prayers, "After attaining manhood at his Bar Mitzvah, the teen could now put on his phylactery during morning prayers."

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED

96. bouillabaisse (bu ya BASE or bu ya BAS), noun, ( French), a highly seasoned fish stew made with at least two kinds of fish. "Yes, this is a bouillabaisse ," responded the snooty French waiter to the inquisitive American diner. "

97. daguerreotype (de GE ro tip, de GE ro tipe), noun, ( French daguerréotype, from L. J. M. Daguerre + French -o- + type), an early photograph produced on a silver or a silver-covered copper plate; also : the process of producing such photographs. "In this age of digital cameras, true lovers of the art of photography still admire the daguerreotype of days past. "

98. fauteuil (fo TOEY or FO til), noun, ( French, from Old French faudestuel, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German faltistuol folding chair), ARMCHAIR; especially : an upholstered chair with open arms. "Who needs a bark-o-lounger," the elderly gentleman thought as he settled in to his comfortable, plush fauteuil ."

99. flibbertigibbet (fli ber tee JI bit), noun, (Middle English flepergebet), a silly flighty person. "Given the choice, the network publicist, for unexplained reasons, always went with "ditz" rather than " flibbertigibbet " to describe the latest sitcom blonde."

100. gingivectomy (jin ji VEK tuh mee), noun, (Greek), surgical removal of a portion of the gingiva, or gum. "Wow," thought the unfortunate halitosis victim, "think of all the money I could save with a simple gingivectomy !"

101. inchoate (in KO at or IN ko wate), adjective, (Latin inchoatus, past participle of inchoare to start work on, perhaps from in- + cohum part of a yoke to which the beam of a plow is fitted), being only partly in existence or operation : INCIPIENT; especially : imperfectly formed or formulated : FORMLESS, INCOHERENT. "I have misty , inchoate suspicions that all is not well with the nation" -- J. M. Perry

102. insalubrious (in suh LU bree us), adjective, (Latin insalubris, from in- + salubris healthful), not conducive to health : UNWHOLESOME. "The children shouted in protest to grampa's explanation that he wouldn't make a lunch stop at McDonald's because fast food is insalubrious."

103. intercolumniation (in ter kah lem ne A shun), noun, (Latin intercolumnium space between two columns, from inter- + columna column), 1. the clear space between the columns of a series; 2. the system of spacing of the columns of a colonnade. "Architecture students worldwide are invariably impressed by the Greeks' precision in designing massive stone buildings, especially the uniformity of their intercolumniation."

104. involucre (IN vuh lu ker), noun , (French, from New Latin involucrum), one or more whorls of bracts situated below and close to a flower, flower cluster, or fruit. "All of the botanical prints focused on the involucre of tropical plants and flowers."

105. irreconcilable (I re ken SI la bul), adjective, (Latin), impossible to reconcile. "Differences between Shia and Sunni in Iraq make their positions almost irreconcilable."

106. lanuginous (la NU je nus, la NYU je nus), adjective, (Latin lanuginosus, from lanugin-, lanugo), covered with down or fine soft hair : DOWNY. "The newborn's head was lanuginous , and his parents could not stop running their hands over its downy surface."

107. laryngectomy (la run JEK to mee), noun, (Greek), surgical removal of all or part of the larynx. "One of the least exciting slice-and-dice procedures on Gray's Anatomy last week was a laryngectomy ."

108. myrmecology (mir me KO lo jee), noun, (International Scientific Vocabulary), the scientific study of ants. "After the publication of Wilson's book on Ants, hordes rushed to study myrmecology.

109. omphaloskepsis (amp fa lo SKEP sis), noun, (New Latin, from Greek omphalos + skepsis examination), contemplation of one's navel as an aid to meditation. "Wow, I wonder if that's omphaloskepsis ," wondered the new mom as her precocious two year-old spent extensive periods of time exploring her belly-button."

110. passementerie (pas MEN te ree), noun, (French, from passement ornamental braid, from passer), an ornamental edging or trimming (as tassels) made of braid, cord, gimp, beading, or metallic thread. "The grey gown would have been drab were it not for the silvery passementerie which adorned it."

111. perspicacious (per spi KA shus), adjective, (Latin perspicac-, perspicax, from perspicere), of acute mental vision or discernment : KEEN. "Your perspicacious observation of the crime scene truly helped the detectives solve the case ."

112. staphylococcus (sta fe lo KA kus), noun, (New Latin, from Greek staphylee bunch of grapes + New Latin -coccus), any of a genus (Staphylococcus) of nonmotile gram-positive spherical bacteria that occur singly, in pairs or tetrads, or in irregular clusters and include causative agents of various diseases (as skin infections, food poisoning, and endocarditis). "Let's see," pondered the hypochondriac, should I spend today worrying about avian bird flu, or the flesh-eating staphylococcus ?"

DIFFICULT

113. gallimaufry (ga luh MAU free), noun, (Middle French galimafree stew) HODGEPODGE. "A gallimaufry of options confronted the new President."

114. labyrinthine (la ba RIN theen or la ba RIN thine), adjective, (Greek), 1. of, relating to, or resembling a labyrinth : INTRICATE, INVOLVED; 2: Of, relating to, affecting, or originating in the internal ear. "To get to the shrine, the worshippers had to follow a labyrinthine path through the town."

115. mesothelioma (me zah thee lee O ma), noun, (New Latin), a usually malignant tumor derived from mesothelial tissue (as that lining the peritoneum or pleura). "Animal tests failed because asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma have latency periods from 20-40 years."

116. orecchiette (o ra kee EH tah), noun, (Italian, plural of orecchietta, diminutive of orecchia ear, from Latin auricula), small oval pasta. "This is really delicious," the diner commented. "Is it risotto, or orecchiette ?"

117. ornithischian (or ni THIS kee an), noun, (New Latin Ornithischia, from ornith- + ischium), any of an order (Ornithischia) of herbivorous dinosaurs (as a stegosaurus) that have the pubis of the pelvis rotated backward to a position parallel and close to the ischium. "The budding paleontologist spent many sleepless nights pondering exactly why ornithischians like the stegosaurus would want their pubis parallel and close to their ischium."

118. pseudepigraphy (su de PI gra fee), noun, (Greek pseudepigraphos), the ascription of false names of authors to works. "Religious scholars will dismiss this newly-found tract as mere pseudepigraphy . "

119. rhadamanthine (ra da mant than or ra da mant thine), adjective, (Greek, Rhadamanthus), rigorously strict or just. "Severe rhadamanthine judges are not melted by abject pleas."

120. ventriloquism (ven TRI le kwi zem), noun, (Late Latin ventriloquus ventriloquist, from Latin ventr-, venter + loqui to speak; from the belief that the voice is produced from the ventriloquist's stomach), the production of the voice in such a way that the sound seems to come from a source other than the vocal organs of the speaker. " Ventriloquism allows one person to speak with two voices."

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