William Gaddis (en)

an American novelist; one of the first and most important American postmodern writers

winnow (en)

(verb) blow a current of air through (grain) in order to remove the chaff; remove (people or things) from a group until only the best ones are left

winsome (en)

(adjective) generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence / (adjective) cheerful lighthearted

Wirtschaftswunder (de)

an economic miracle, especially the economic recovery of the Federal Republic of West Germany after the Second World War

Wissahickon (en)

tributary of the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania

wonted (en)

(adjective) usual or ordinary especially by reason of established habit / (verb) accustom habituate / (verb) to have the habit of doing something

world-systems theory (en)

multidisciplinary, macro-scale approach to world history and social change which emphasizes the world-system (and not nation states) as the primary (but not exclusive) unit of social analysis; pioneered by Immanuel Wallerstein in 1974

wraith (en)

a ghost or ghostlike image of someone, especially one seen shortly before or after their death; or, a wisp or faint trace of something

writ large (en)

clear and obvious, in a stark or exaggerated form

Yalta Conference (en)

held from February 4 to 11 in Yalta, USSR, 1945; FDR, Churchill and Stalin met to discuss Europe's postwar reorganization

yield curve (en)

a curve on a graph in which the yield of fixed-interest securities is plotted against the length of time they have to run to maturity

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

zeliglike (en)

a chameleonlike person who is unusually ubiquitous (from Woody Allen film "Zelig")

zero-coupon bond (en)

a bond that is issued at a deep discount to its face value but pays no interest

zeugma (en)

(noun) the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words usually in such a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one (as in “opened the door and her heart to the homeless boy”)

zhdanovshchina (en)

literally the “era of Zhdanov,” is the name given to the post-1945 purge conducted in the soviet union against intellectuals, artists, and writers, condemned for their supposed “bourgeois” sympathies

Zollverein (de)

(German Customs Union) a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories; formally established Jan 1 1834; by 1866, included most German states; lasted until the end of WWI

zoot suit (en)

a men's suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders

Émile Durkheim (en)

a French sociologist (1858-1917) who formally established the academic discipline and—with Karl Marx and Max Weber—is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science