Baruch Spinoza (en)

Dutch philosopher of Sephardi/Portuguese origin; in Ethics, laid groundwork for the 18th-century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, including modern conceptions of the self and the universe

Battle of Thermopylae (en)

fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece; the subject of the movie 300

ecumenicism (en)

(noun) the principle or aim of promoting unity among the world's Christian churches.

eschatology (en)

the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind

ex cathedra (la)

(adverb or adjective) by virtue of or in the exercise of one's office or position; Latin for "from the chair"; related to the concept of papal infallibility

gofer (en)

(noun) an employee whose duties include running errands; lackey

hoplite (en)

(noun) a heavily armed infantry soldier of ancient Greece

ineluctable (en)

unable to be resisted or avoided; inescapable

jejune (en)

(adjective) lacking nutritive value / devoid of significance or interest; dull / naive, simplistic, and superficial

keister (en)

(North American) buttocks

lee (en)

the sheltered side; the side away from the wind

lissome (en)

(adjective) easily flexed / (adjective) lithe / (adjective) nimble

mathematical platonism (en)

the metaphysical view that there are abstract mathematical objects whose existence is independent of us and our language, thought, and practices

monad (en)

(noun) an elementary individual substance which reflects the order of the world and from which material properties are derived (coined by Leibniz)

multifarious (en)

having many varied parts or aspects; multifaceted

prolix (en)

using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy

sampan (en)

(noun) a flat-bottomed skiff used in eastern Asia and usually propelled by two short oars

scad (en)

(noun) a large number or quantity

teleological (en)

the philosophical attempt to describe things in terms of their apparent intrinsic purpose, directive principle, or goal, irrespective of human use or opinion

vituperation (en)

(noun) sustained and bitter railing and condemnation; vituperative utterance / (noun) an act or instance of vituperating

zaibatsu (en)

(noun) a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period until the end of World War II