Culture & History

donna C2

/ˈdɑː.nə/ an Italian title meaning lady, especially one applied to a woman of rank M S

dexter C2

/ˈdɛks.tɚ/ heraldry: on or toward the bearer's right side of a shield, which appears on the viewer's left M S

signora C2

/siːnˈjɔːrə/ an Italian title of respect or form of address for a woman, equivalent to Mrs. or madam M S

Hun C2

/hʌn/ a member of a nomadic confederation that entered Europe in late antiquity and reached its greatest power under Attila in the fifth century M S

eunuch C2

/ˈjuː.nək/ a man who has been castrated M S

leprechaun C2

/ˈlɛprəˌkɔn/ a small solitary supernatural being in Irish folklore, traditionally portrayed as a shoemaker who guards hidden treasure M S

tribune C2

/ˈtrɪbjuːn/ in ancient Rome, an elected official charged with protecting the interests and rights of the plebeians M S

Celtic C2

/ˈkɛltɪk/ of or relating to the Celts or their cultures and traditions M S

totem C2

/ˈtoʊtəm/ a natural being or object that serves as the emblem of a kinship group and may have a special spiritual relationship with it M S

courtesan C2

/ˈkɔɹtəzæn/ historical: a woman who had wealthy or powerful lovers or clients, often in exchange for financial support and with access to elite society M S

sarcophagus C2

/sɑːrˈkɑːfəɡəs/ a stone coffin, often carved or decorated and displayed above ground M S

crematorium C2

/ˌkriː.məˈtɔːr.i.əm/ a building or facility where dead bodies are cremated M S

chevalier C2

/ˌʃevəˈlɪr/ a knight or chivalrous, courtly gentleman, especially in a historical or literary context M S

archduke C2

/ˈɑːrtʃˌduːk/ a prince of the former ruling house of Austria, especially a son or male-line grandson of an emperor M S

creole C2

/ˈkriː.oʊl/ a natural language that developed in a contact community from elements of two or more languages and became a community's first language M S

vassal C2

/ˈvæsəl/ a person holding a fief M S

chevron C2

/ˈʃɛvrən/ a V-shaped or inverted-V-shaped mark, pattern, or structure M S

obelisk C2

/ˈɑbəlɪsk/ a tall, four-sided stone pillar that tapers to a pyramidal point, often erected as a monument M S

epitaph C2

/ˈɛpɪˌtæf/ an inscription on a grave or monument commemorating the person buried there M S

boer C2

/bɔːr/ historical: a Dutch-speaking settler or farmer in southern Africa, especially an ancestor of the Afrikaner population M S

tomahawk C2

/ˈtɑːməˌhɔːk/ a light axe or hatchet associated historically with Indigenous peoples of North America and later made in many specialized forms M S

curtsy C2

/ˈkɝtsi/ a formal gesture of greeting or respect made by bending the knees and lowering the body M S

Neolithic C2

/ˌniːoʊˈlɪθɪk/ the final major phase of the Stone Age, associated in many regions with farming, permanent settlements, and polished stone tools M S

fief C2

/fiːf/ historical: land, revenue, or another right held from a feudal superior in return for allegiance and service M S

satyr C2

/ˈseɪ.tɚ/ a male woodland spirit in ancient Greek mythology, associated with Dionysus and represented with both human and animal features M S

fairyland C2

/ˈfɛriˌlænd/ the imaginary or legendary realm inhabited by fairies M S

courtier C2

/ˈkɔːr.ti.ɚ/ a person who attends or serves a monarch at a royal court M S

agora C2

/ˈæɡərə/ the central public meeting place and marketplace of an ancient Greek city M S

surrealism C2

/sɝˈiːlɪzəm/ An early 20th-century art and literary movement that used dreamlike, fantastic images to express the unconscious mind. M S

boyar C2

/boʊˈjɑr/ a member of the high hereditary aristocracy of medieval and early modern Russia or another Eastern European state M S

marchese C2

/mɑːrˈkeɪ.zeɪ/ an Italian nobleman of the rank equivalent to a marquis or marquess M S

castellan C2

/ˈkæstələn/ the governor, keeper, or resident commander of a castle or fortified place M S

pageantry C2

/ˈpædʒ.ən.tri/ elaborate, colorful ceremony and display, especially on a public or royal occasion M S

prehistory C2

/ˌpriːˈhɪstəri/ the period before written records exist for a society or region M S

flapper C2

/ˈflæpɚ/ a fashionable young woman of the 1920s who rejected older social conventions in her dress and behavior M S

basilisk C2

/ˈbæz.ə.lɪsk/ a mythical serpent or dragon said to kill by its breath or gaze M S

spittoon C2

/spɪˈtuːn/ A receptacle for spit (saliva); especially, one used by people using chewing tobacco or snuff. M S

megalithic C2

/ˌmɛɡəˈlɪθɪk/ relating to megaliths, the prehistoric people who erected them, or the period in which such large-stone monuments were built M S

bushman C2

/ˈbʊʃmən/ dated, often capitalized: a member of one of the San peoples of southern Africa; San or a specific community name is generally preferred M S

modernism C2

/ˈmɑːdɝˌnɪzəm/ A movement in art, architecture, and literature in the early 20th century that broke deliberately with older styles. M S

lich C2

/lɪtʃ/ archaic: a corpse or dead body, surviving especially in compounds such as lich-gate or lych-gate M S

proconsul C2

/proʊˈkɑːnsəl/ in ancient Rome, a former consul or other magistrate given consular authority to govern a province or command an army M S

marchesa C2

/mɑːrˈkeɪ.zə/ an Italian marchioness; a woman who holds or is married to the holder of the rank of marquis M S

praetor C2

/ˈpriːtər/ an annually elected magistrate of the Roman Republic, especially one responsible for administering justice M S

flambeau C2

/ˈflambəʊ/ A burning torch, especially one carried in procession. M S

praetorian C2

/priˈtɔriən/ of or relating to the Praetorian Guard, the imperial bodyguard of ancient Rome M S

waddy C2

/ˈwɒdi/ an Australian Aboriginal hardwood club used traditionally for hunting or fighting M S

serfdom C2

/ˈsɝfdəm/ the condition of being a serf, bound to work on a lord's land and subject to the lord's authority M S

paleolithic C2

/ˌpeɪ.li.oʊˈlɪθ.ɪk/ relating to the Old Stone Age, the earliest and longest period of human prehistory M S

seigneur C2

/seɪnˈjɝː/ historical: a feudal lord or nobleman in France or another French-speaking territory M S

catacomb C2

/ˈkætəkoʊm/ an underground network of passages and chambers with recesses for burying the dead M S

anachronism C2

/əˈnækrəˌnɪzəm/ a person, object, or detail placed in the wrong historical period M S

cortege C2

/ˈkɔːr.teʒ/ a formal or ceremonial procession, especially at a funeral, wedding, or royal occasion M S

snuffbox C2

/ˈsnʌfˌbɑːks/ a small, often ornamental box used for carrying powdered tobacco taken through the nose M S

Hottentot C2

/ˈhɑːtənˌtɑːt/ a dated and derogatory colonial name for a Khoikhoi or Khoekhoe person of southern Africa M S

fijian C2

/fiˈdʒiːən/ a person from Fiji or of Fijian descent M S

heraldry C2

/ˈher.əl.dri/ the system, art, and study of coats of arms, including their design, description, inheritance, and regulation M S

cupbearer C2

/ˈkʌpˌberər/ historical: a trusted court official who poured and served wine or another drink to a ruler M S

charnel C2

/ˈtʃɑɹnəl/ a place or repository where dead bodies or human bones are kept; a charnel house M S

Jacobin C2

/ˈdʒækəbɪn/ a member or supporter of the radical Jacobin Club during the French Revolution, or by extension a radical political reformer M S

cenotaph C2

/ˈsɛnəˌtæf/ a monument honoring a dead person or group whose remains are buried elsewhere or cannot be recovered M S

stripling C2

/ˈstrɪplɪŋ/ a juvenile between the onset of puberty and maturity M S

heraldic C2

/hɛˈrældɪk/ relating to heraldry, heralds, coats of arms, or their symbols and rules M S

escutcheon C2

/ɪˈskʌtʃən/ a shield-shaped surface on which a coat of arms is displayed, or the arms themselves M S

Guarani C2

/ˌɡwɑːrəˈniː/ a member of any of several Indigenous Guarani peoples of South America M S

cestus C2

/ˈsɛstəs/ an ancient Greek or Roman fighting glove made of leather strips and sometimes weighted with metal M S

anglophile C2

/ˈæŋɡləˌfaɪl/ a person who strongly admires England or British culture and customs M S

blazon C2

/ˈbleɪzən/ to display, describe, or proclaim something conspicuously or publicly M S

suttee C2

/sʌˈtiː/ the historical practice among some Hindu communities in South Asia in which a widow died, or was killed, on her husband's funeral pyre, sometimes under coercion M S

seraglio C2

/səˈɹæljoʊ/ the secluded living quarters reserved for wives and concubines in a Muslim household; a harem M S

catafalque C2

/ˈkæt.ə.fɑːlk/ a raised, often decorated platform or framework on which a coffin rests during a funeral or lying in state M S

sixpenny C2

/ˈsɪks.pə.ni/ historical British: costing or worth sixpence; by extension, cheap or slight M S

mummery C2

/ˈmʌməɹi/ a ridiculous, showy, or insincere ceremony or performance M S

doyen C2

/ˈdɔɪ.ən/ a man who is the senior member of a group M S

citizeness C2

/ˈsɪtəzənəs/ a woman who is a citizen; now rare except in historical contexts M S

nabob C2

/ˈneɪbɑːb/ dated, often disparaging: a very wealthy, powerful, or self-important person M S

saltire C2

/ˈsælˌtaɪr/ heraldry: an X-shaped charge formed by a diagonal cross extending across a shield or flag M S

tumulus C2

/ˈtuːmjələs/ a mound of earth or stones raised over a grave, especially a prehistoric burial mound M S

dayak C2

/ˈdaɪæk/ a member of any of numerous Indigenous peoples of Borneo collectively known as the Dayak M S

handsel C2

/ˈhænsəl/ a gift or token given at the beginning of a new year, enterprise, or situation as a sign of good luck M S

festal C2

/ˈfɛs.təl/ relating to a feast or festival, or having a joyful ceremonial character M S

orientalist C2

/ˌɔːriˈentəlɪst/ historical or academic: a scholar of languages, literatures, histories, or cultures once grouped in Western scholarship as the Orient M S

dolmen C2

/ˈdoʊlmən/ a prehistoric megalithic tomb formed from a large horizontal capstone supported by two or more upright stones, often originally covered by a mound M S

annal C2

/ˈænəl/ a record of an event or of the events of one year in a historical chronicle, now most often used in the plural annals M S

gules C2

/ˈɡjuːlz/ heraldry: the color red, conventionally shown by vertical hatching in monochrome engraving M S

charnel house C2

/ˈtʃɑːr.nəl ˌhaʊs/ historical: a building, chamber, or vault in which human bodies or bones are deposited M S

couchant C2

/ˈkaʊtʃənt/ heraldry: lying down with the body resting on the legs and the head raised M S

Seicento C2

/seɪˈtʃɛn.toʊ/ the seventeenth century in Italian history and culture, especially in art, music, and literature M S

Guanche C2

/ˈɡwɑːntʃeɪ/ a member of the Indigenous people who inhabited Tenerife before the Castilian conquest, or, in broader historical use, a pre-Hispanic inhabitant of the Canary Islands M S

Guana C2

/ɡwɑːˈnɑː/ a member of the Guana or Guana-speaking Indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco and neighboring parts of South America M S

sepulture C2

/ˈsɛpəlˌtʃɚ/ the act or ceremony of burying a dead person M S

armorial C2

/ɑrˈmɔriəl/ relating to, bearing, or displaying heraldic arms M S

vassalage C2

/ˈvæsəlɪdʒ/ historical: the condition, obligations, or tenure of a vassal under a feudal lord M S

historicity C2

/ˌhɪstəˈrɪsəti/ the quality of being historically real or authentic rather than legendary or invented M S

fardel C2

/ˈfɑɹdəl/ archaic or literary: a bundle carried as a load; figuratively, a burden M S

tumbril C2

/ˈtʌmbɹɪl/ historical: a cart used to carry condemned prisoners to execution, especially to the guillotine during the French Revolution M S