ablation (en)

the surgical removal of body tissue OR the erosion of rock, typically by wind action

ablutions (en)

(noun) the washing of one's body or part of it (as in a religious rite) / (noun) the act or action of bathing / (noun) a building housing bathing and toilet facilities on a military base

aegis (en)

(noun, Greek mythology) protective mantle of Zeus given to Athena

aleatory (en)

(adjective) depending on an uncertain event or contingency as to both profit and loss / (adjective) relating to luck and especially to bad luck

alterity (en)

(noun) otherness / (noun) the quality or state of being radically alien to the conscious self or a particular cultural orientation

ambit (en)

(noun) the scope, extent, or bounds of something

anfractuous (en)

(adjective) full of windings and intricate turnings; tortuous

anodyne (en)

(noun) a painkilling drug or medicine

aporia (en)

(noun) an expression of real or pretended doubt or uncertainty especially for rhetorical effect / (noun) a logical impasse or contradiction / (noun) a radical contradiction in the import of a text or theory that is seen in deconstruction as inevitable

apotheosis (en)

the highest point in the development of something; culmination or climax

asperities (en)

(noun) rigor severity / (noun) roughness of surface; unevenness / (noun) a tiny projection from a surface / (noun) roughness of sound / (noun) roughness of manner or of temper; harshness

aubade (en)

(noun) a song or poem greeting the dawn / (noun) a morning love song / (noun) a song or poem of lovers parting at dawn / (noun) morning music

aureate (en)

(adjective) of a golden color or brilliance / (adjective) marked by grandiloquent and rhetorical style

aver (en)

(verb) to verify or prove to be true in pleading a cause / (verb) to allege or assert in pleading / (verb) to declare positively

cadenza (en)

(noun) a parenthetical flourish in an aria or other solo piece commonly just before a final or other important cadence / (noun) a technically brilliant sometimes improvised solo passage toward the close of a concerto / (noun) an exceptionally brilliant part of an artistic and especially a literary work

caesura (en)

(noun) a usually rhetorical break in the flow of sound in the middle of a line of verse / (noun) a break in the flow of sound in a verse caused by the ending of a word within a foot / (noun) break interruption / (noun) a pause marking a rhythmic point of division in a melody

catechism (en)

a summary of the principles of Christian religion in the form of questions and answers, used for the instruction of Christians

charnel (en)

(noun) a building or chamber in which bodies or bones are deposited

chiaroscuro (it)

(noun, Italian for light and dark) an oil painting technique developed during the Renaissance that uses strong tonal contrasts between light and dark to model three-dimensional forms

cinereous (en)

(adjective) gray tinged with black / (adjective) resembling or consisting of ashes

clarion (en)

(noun) a medieval trumpet with clear shrill tones / (noun) the sound of or as if of a clarion / (adjective) brilliantly clear / (adjective) loud and clear

coruscating (en)

(verb) to give off or reflect light in bright beams or flashes; sparkle / (verb) to be brilliant or showy in technique or style

dappled (en)

(adjective) marked with small spots or patches contrasting with the background

discarnate (en)

(adjective) having no physical body; incorporeal

elision (en)

(linguistics) the omission of a sound or syllable when speaking OR the act or an instance of omitting something