The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate by Eugene Ehrlich
Authors: Eugene Ehrlich
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nouns .
gauche (gohsh) adjective
1. lacking in ease and grace of manner; awkward.
2. tactless.
Related words: gauchely adverb , gaucheness noun .
gaucherie ( GOH -sh e -REE) noun, plural gaucheries ( GOH -sh e -REEZ)
1. a gauche action.
2. gauche manners.
gelid (JEL-id) adjective
icy, ice-cold; chilly.
Related words: gelidity (j e -LID-i-tee) and gelidness (JEL-id-nis) both nouns , gelidly (JEL-id-lee) adverb .
genuflect (JEN-yuu- FLEKT ) verb
1. bend the knee and lower the body, especially in reverence.
2. show servility.
Related words: genuflection ( JEN -yuu-FLEK-sh e n) and genuflector (JEN-yuu- FLEK -t e r) both nouns .
gibbet (JIB-it) noun
a gallows; an upright post with an arm from which the bodies of executed criminals were formerly suspended.
gloaming (GLOH-ming) noun
the evening twilight; dusk.
glossolalia ( GLAW -s e -LAY-lee- e ) noun
the power of speaking in unknown languages as claimed by religious groups in ecstatic worship; the gift of tongues.
Related word: glossolalist (glaw-SOL- e -list) noun
gnosis (NOH-sis) noun
1. knowledge of spiritual mysteries.
2. mystical knowledge.
Related words: gnostic (NOS-tik) adjective and noun , gnostical (NOS-ti-k e l) adjective , gnostically adverb .
gourmand (guur-MAHND) noun
1. a lover of food.
2. a glutton.
Do not confuse gourmand with gourmet , which see.
Related words: gourmandize (GUUR-m e n- D I Z ) verb , gourmandise ( GUUR -m e n-DEEZ) and gourmandism (GUUR-m e n-diz- e m) both nouns .
gourmet (guur-MAY) noun
a connoisseur of good food and drink; an epicure; a gastronome.
Good writers and speakers do not use gourmet and gourmand as synonyms, even though many dictionaries bow to those who do not observe this distinction by supplying gourmet as one meaning of gourmand . It is important to be able to differentiate these two words, as even these same dictionaries implicitly do, since they stop short of supplying gourmand as one meaning of gourmet . Of course, their reason for doing so surely reflects the much less common use of gourmand , making it unlikely that writers will use gourmand mistakenly, if at all. As a careful writer, you ought to reserve gourmand for a person who can best be described as a glutton , gourmet for a person who can best be described as a connoisseur of good food and drink or epicure .
grabble (GRAB- e l) verb
1. feel or search with the hands; grope about.
2. sprawl on all fours; scramble for.
Related word: grabbler noun .
gracile (GRAS-il) adjective
slender, thin; gracefully slender.
Related words: gracility (gra-SIL-i-tee) and gracileness (GRAS-il-nis) both nouns .
grandiloquent (gran-DIL- e -kw e nt) adjective
1. using pompous language.
2. given to boastful talk.
Related words: grandiloquence noun , grandiloquently adverb .
gratuitous (gr e -TOO-i-t e s) adjective
1. given or done without good reason.
2. given or done without payment; free, unearned.
Related words: gratuitously adverb , gratuitousness noun .
grisette (gri-ZET) noun
a young French workingwoman, especially a seamstress or shop assistant.
Related word: grisettish adjective .
Grundyism (GRUN-dee- IZ - e m) noun
1. a narrow-minded adherence to conventionality, combining propriety and prudery in matters of personal behavior.
2. grundyism , an instance of such conventionalism.
Mrs. Grundy , a character created by English playwright Thomas Morton in his play Speed the Plough (1798), personifies the tyrannical constraints of conventional opinion in matters of propriety. Although Mrs. Grundy does not appear in the play, her presence is
gauche (gohsh) adjective
1. lacking in ease and grace of manner; awkward.
2. tactless.
Related words: gauchely adverb , gaucheness noun .
gaucherie ( GOH -sh e -REE) noun, plural gaucheries ( GOH -sh e -REEZ)
1. a gauche action.
2. gauche manners.
gelid (JEL-id) adjective
icy, ice-cold; chilly.
Related words: gelidity (j e -LID-i-tee) and gelidness (JEL-id-nis) both nouns , gelidly (JEL-id-lee) adverb .
genuflect (JEN-yuu- FLEKT ) verb
1. bend the knee and lower the body, especially in reverence.
2. show servility.
Related words: genuflection ( JEN -yuu-FLEK-sh e n) and genuflector (JEN-yuu- FLEK -t e r) both nouns .
gibbet (JIB-it) noun
a gallows; an upright post with an arm from which the bodies of executed criminals were formerly suspended.
gloaming (GLOH-ming) noun
the evening twilight; dusk.
glossolalia ( GLAW -s e -LAY-lee- e ) noun
the power of speaking in unknown languages as claimed by religious groups in ecstatic worship; the gift of tongues.
Related word: glossolalist (glaw-SOL- e -list) noun
gnosis (NOH-sis) noun
1. knowledge of spiritual mysteries.
2. mystical knowledge.
Related words: gnostic (NOS-tik) adjective and noun , gnostical (NOS-ti-k e l) adjective , gnostically adverb .
gourmand (guur-MAHND) noun
1. a lover of food.
2. a glutton.
Do not confuse gourmand with gourmet , which see.
Related words: gourmandize (GUUR-m e n- D I Z ) verb , gourmandise ( GUUR -m e n-DEEZ) and gourmandism (GUUR-m e n-diz- e m) both nouns .
gourmet (guur-MAY) noun
a connoisseur of good food and drink; an epicure; a gastronome.
Good writers and speakers do not use gourmet and gourmand as synonyms, even though many dictionaries bow to those who do not observe this distinction by supplying gourmet as one meaning of gourmand . It is important to be able to differentiate these two words, as even these same dictionaries implicitly do, since they stop short of supplying gourmand as one meaning of gourmet . Of course, their reason for doing so surely reflects the much less common use of gourmand , making it unlikely that writers will use gourmand mistakenly, if at all. As a careful writer, you ought to reserve gourmand for a person who can best be described as a glutton , gourmet for a person who can best be described as a connoisseur of good food and drink or epicure .
grabble (GRAB- e l) verb
1. feel or search with the hands; grope about.
2. sprawl on all fours; scramble for.
Related word: grabbler noun .
gracile (GRAS-il) adjective
slender, thin; gracefully slender.
Related words: gracility (gra-SIL-i-tee) and gracileness (GRAS-il-nis) both nouns .
grandiloquent (gran-DIL- e -kw e nt) adjective
1. using pompous language.
2. given to boastful talk.
Related words: grandiloquence noun , grandiloquently adverb .
gratuitous (gr e -TOO-i-t e s) adjective
1. given or done without good reason.
2. given or done without payment; free, unearned.
Related words: gratuitously adverb , gratuitousness noun .
grisette (gri-ZET) noun
a young French workingwoman, especially a seamstress or shop assistant.
Related word: grisettish adjective .
Grundyism (GRUN-dee- IZ - e m) noun
1. a narrow-minded adherence to conventionality, combining propriety and prudery in matters of personal behavior.
2. grundyism , an instance of such conventionalism.
Mrs. Grundy , a character created by English playwright Thomas Morton in his play Speed the Plough (1798), personifies the tyrannical constraints of conventional opinion in matters of propriety. Although Mrs. Grundy does not appear in the play, her presence is
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