1. defile 1 |dəˈfīl|

verb [with object]

sully, mar, or spoil: the land was defiled by a previous owner.

• desecrate or profane (something sacred): the tomb had been defiled and looted.

• archaic violate the chastity of (a woman).

DERIVATIVES

defiler |dəˈfīlər| noun

ORIGIN

late Middle English: alteration of obsolete defoul, from Old French defouler ‘trample down,’ influenced by obsolete befile ‘befoul, defile.’

defile 2 |dəˈfīlˈdēˌfīl|

noun

a steep-sided, narrow gorge or passage (originally one requiring troops to march in single file).

verb [no object] archaic

(of troops) march in single file: we emerged after defiling through the mountainsides.

ORIGIN

late 17th century: from French défilé (noun), défiler (verb), from dé ‘away from’ + file ‘column, file.’

2. perch 1 |pərCH|

noun

a thing on which a bird alights or roosts, typically a branch or a horizontal rod or bar in a birdcage.

• a place where someone or something rests or sits, especially a place that is high or precarious: Marian looked down from her perch in a beech tree above the road.

verb [no object]

(of a bird) alight or rest on something: a herring gull perched on the mast.

• (of a person) sit somewhere, especially on something high or narrow: Eve perched on the side of the armchair.

• (be perched) (of a building) be situated above or on the edge of something: the fortress is perched on a crag in the mountains.

• [with object] (perch someone/something on) set or balance someone or something on (something): Peter perched a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles on his nose.

PHRASES

knock someone off their perch

informal cause someone to lose a position of superiority or preeminence: will this knock London off its perch as Europe's leading financial center?

ORIGIN

late Middle English: the noun from perch3; the verb from Old French percher .

perch 2 |pərCH|

noun (plural same or perches)

an edible freshwater fish with a high spiny dorsal fin, dark vertical bars on the body, and orange lower fins.yellow perch

yellow perch

[Genus Perca, family Percidae (the perch family): three species, in particular P. fluviatilis of Europe (also called bass2), and the almost identical yellow perch (P. flavescens) of North America. The perch family also includes the pikeperches, ruffe, and darters.]

• used in names of other freshwater and marine fishes resembling or related to this, e.g., climbing perch, sea perch, surfperch.

ORIGIN

late Middle English: from Old French perche, via Latin from Greek perkē .

perch 3 |pərCH|

noun historical, chiefly British

a linear or square rod (see rod ( sense 3)) .

ORIGIN

Middle English (in the general sense ‘pole, stick’): from Old French perche, from Latin pertica ‘measuring rod, pole.’

3. fling |fliNG|

verb (past and past participle flung |fləNG| ) [with object]

throw or hurl forcefully: he picked up the debris and flung it away | figurative : I was flung into jail.

• move or push (something) suddenly or violently: he flung back the bedclothes | [with object] : Jennifer flung open a door.

• (fling oneself) throw oneself headlong: he flung himself down at her feet with a laugh.

• (fling oneself into) wholeheartedly engage in or begin on (an enterprise): the producer flung himself into an ugly battle with the studio.

• (fling something on/off) put on or take off clothes carelessly or rapidly.

• utter (words) forcefully: the words were flung at her like an accusation.

• [no object] go angrily or violently; rush: he flung away to his study, slamming the door behind him.

noun

1 a short period of enjoyment or wild behavior: one final fling before a tranquil retirement.

• a short, spontaneous sexual relationship: I had a fling with someone when I was at college.

2 short for Highland fling.

DERIVATIVES

flinger noun

ORIGIN

Middle English (in the sense ‘go violently’): perhaps related to Old Norse flengja ‘flog.’ Sense 1 of the noun is based on an earlier sense ‘reckless movement of the body’ and dates from the early 19th century.

4. ascribe |əˈskrīb|

verb [with object] (ascribe something to)

attribute something to (a cause): he ascribed Jane's short temper to her upset stomach.

• (usually be ascribed to) attribute (a text, quotation, or work of art) to a particular person or period: a quotation ascribed to Thomas Cooper.

• (usually be ascribed to) regard (a quality) as belonging to: tough-mindedness is a quality commonly ascribed to top bosses.

DERIVATIVES

ascribable |əˈskrībəbəl| adjective

ORIGIN

Middle English: from Latin ascribere, from ad- ‘to’ + scribere ‘write.’

5. scrap 1 |skrap|

noun

1 a small piece or amount of something, especially one that is left over after the greater part has been used: I scribbled her address on a scrap of paper | scraps of information.

• (scraps) bits of uneaten food left after a meal, especially when fed to animals: he filled Sammy's bowls with fresh water and scraps.

• used to emphasize the lack or smallness of something: there was not a scrap of aggression in him | every scrap of green land is up for grabs by development.

• informal a small person or animal, especially one regarded with affection or sympathy: poor little scrap, she's too hot in that coat.

• a particularly small thing of its kind: she was wearing a short black skirt and a tiny scrap of a top.

2 (also scrap metal) discarded metal for reprocessing: the steamer was eventually sold for scrap.

• [often as modifier] any waste articles or discarded material, especially that which can be put to another purpose: we're burning scrap lumber.

verb (scraps, scrapping, scrapped) [with object]

discard or remove from service (a retired, old, or inoperative vehicle, vessel, or machine), especially so as to convert it to scrap metal: the decision was made to scrap the entire fleet.

• abolish or cancel (something, especially a plan, policy, or law) that is now regarded as unnecessary, unwanted, or unsuitable: the station scrapped plans to televise the contest live.

ORIGIN

late Middle English (as a plural noun denoting fragments of uneaten food): from Old Norse skrap ‘scraps’; related to skrapa ‘to scrape.’ The verb dates from the late 19th century.

scrap 2 |skrap| informal

noun

a fight or quarrel, especially a minor or spontaneous one.

verb (scraps, scrapping, scrapped) [no object]

engage in a minor fight or quarrel.

• compete fiercely: the talk-show producers are scrapping for similar audiences.

DERIVATIVES

scrapper |ˈskrapər| noun

ORIGIN

late 17th century (as a noun in the sense ‘sinister plot, scheme’): perhaps from the noun scrape.

6. glean |ɡlēn|

verb [with object]

extract (information) from various sources: the information is gleaned from press clippings.

• collect gradually and bit by bit: objects gleaned from local markets.

• historical gather (leftover grain or other produce) after a harvest: (as noun gleaning) : the conditions of farm workers in the 1890s made gleaning essential.

DERIVATIVES

gleaner |ˈɡlēnər| noun

ORIGIN

late Middle English: from Old French glener, from late Latin glennare, probably of Celtic origin.

7. papyrus |pəˈpīrəs|

noun (plural papyri |-ˈpīrī| or papyruses)

1 a material prepared in ancient Egypt from the pithy stem of a water plant, used in sheets throughout the ancient Mediterranean world for writing or painting on and also for making rope, sandals, and boats.

• a document written on papyrus.

2 the tall aquatic sedge from which papyrus is obtained, native to central Africa and the Nile valley.

[Cyperus papyrus, family Cyperaceae.]

ORIGIN

late Middle English ( sense 2): via Latin from Greek papuros. Sense 1 dates from the early 18th century.

8. epoch |ˈepək|

noun

a period of time in history or a person's life, typically one marked by notable events or particular characteristics: the Victorian epoch.

• the beginning of a distinctive period in the history of someone or something: welfare reform was an epoch in the history of U.S. social policy.

• Geology a division of time that is a subdivision of a period and is itself subdivided into ages, corresponding to a series in chronostratigraphy: the Pliocene epoch.

• Astronomy an arbitrarily fixed date relative to which planetary or stellar measurements are expressed.

ORIGIN

early 17th century (in the Latin form epocha; originally in the general sense of a date from which succeeding years are numbered): from modern Latin epocha, from Greek epokhē ‘stoppage, fixed point of time,’ from epekhein ‘stop, take up a position,’ from epi ‘upon, near to’ + ekhein ‘stay, be in a certain state.’

9. barbarism |ˈbärbəˌrizəm|

noun

1 absence of culture and civilization: the collapse of civilization and the return to barbarism.

• a word or expression that is badly formed according to traditional philological rules, for example a word formed from elements of different languages, such as breathalyzer (English and Greek) or television (Greek and Latin).

2 extreme cruelty or brutality: she called the execution an act of barbarism | barbarisms from the country's past.

ORIGIN

late Middle English: from Old French barbarisme, via Latin from Greek barbarismos, from barbarizein ‘speak like a foreigner,’ from barbaros ‘foreign.’

10. havoc |ˈhavək|

noun

widespread destruction: the hurricane ripped through Florida, causing havoc.

• great confusion or disorder: schoolchildren wreaking havoc in the classroom.

verb (havocs, havocking, havocked) [with object] archaic

lay waste to; devastate.

PHRASES

play havoc with

completely disrupt; cause serious damage to: shift work plays havoc with the body clock.

ORIGIN

late Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French havok, alteration of Old French havot, of unknown origin. The word was originally used in the phrase cry havoc (Old French crier havot)‘to give an army the order havoc,’ which was the signal for plundering.

11. pun 1 |pən|

noun

a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings: the pigs were a squeal (if you'll forgive the pun).

verb (puns, punning, punned) [no object]

make a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word: his first puzzle punned on composers, with answers like “Handel with care” and “Haydn go seek” | (as adjective punning) : a punning riddle.

DERIVATIVES

punningly |ˈpəniNGlē| adverb.

punster |ˈpənstər| noun

ORIGIN

mid 17th century: perhaps an abbreviation of obsolete pundigrion, as a fanciful alteration of punctilio.

pun 2 |pʌn|

verb (puns, punning, punned) [with object] British

consolidate (earth or rubble) by pounding it.

DERIVATIVES

punner |ˈpʌnə| noun

ORIGIN

mid 16th century: dialect variant of pound2.

12. revolt |rəˈvōlt|

verb

1 [no object] rise in rebellion: the insurgents revolted and had to be suppressed.

• refuse to acknowledge someone or something as having authority: voters may revolt when they realize the cost of the measures.

• (as adjective revolted) archaic having rebelled or revolted: the revolted Bretons.

2 [with object] cause to feel disgust: he was revolted by the stench that greeted him.

• [no object] archaic feel strong disgust.

noun

an attempt to put an end to the authority of a person or body by rebelling: a countrywide revolt against the central government | the peasants rose in revolt.

• a refusal to continue to obey or conform: a revolt over tax increases.

ORIGIN

mid 16th century: from French révolte (noun), révolter (verb), from Italian rivoltare, based on Latin revolvere ‘roll back’ (see revolve) .

13. sovereign |ˈsäv(ə)rən|

noun

1 a supreme ruler, especially a monarch.

2 a former British gold coin worth one pound sterling, now only minted for commemorative purposes.

adjective

possessing supreme or ultimate power: in modern democracies the people's will is in theory sovereign.

• [attributive] (of a nation or its affairs) acting or done independently and without outside interference: a sovereign, democratic republic | accusations of interference in sovereign affairs.

• [attributive] archaic or literary possessing royal power and status: our most sovereign lord the King.

• [attributive] dated very good or effective: a sovereign remedy for all ills.

DERIVATIVES

sovereignly adverb

ORIGIN

Middle English: from Old French soverain, based on Latin super ‘above.’ The change in the ending was due to association with reign.

pontiff |ˈpän(t)əf| (also sovereign or supreme pontiff)

noun

the Pope.

ORIGIN

late 17th century: from French pontife, from Latin pontifex (see pontifex) .

14. strew |stro͞o|

verb (past participle strewn |stro͞on| or strewed) [with object] (usually be strewn)

scatter or spread (things) untidily over a surface or area: a small room with newspapers strewn all over the floor.

• (usually be strewn with) cover (a surface or area) with untidily scattered things: the table was strewn with books and papers | [as adjective, in combination] (strewn) : boulder-strewn slopes.

• be scattered or spread untidily over (a surface or area): leaves strewed the path.

DERIVATIVES

strewer noun

ORIGIN

Old English stre(o)wian, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch strooien,German streuen, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin sternere ‘lay flat.’

15. lapse |laps|

noun

1 a temporary failure of concentration, memory, or judgment: a lapse of concentration in the second set cost her the match.

• a weak or careless decline from previously high standards: tracing his lapse into petty crime.

• Law the termination of a right or privilege through disuse or failure to follow appropriate procedures.

2 an interval or passage of time: there was a considerable lapse of time between the two events.

verb [no object]

1 (of a right, privilege, or agreement) become invalid because it is not used, claimed, or renewed; expire: my membership to the gym has lapsed.

• (of a state or activity) fail to be maintained; come to an end: if your diet has lapsed it's time you revived it.

• (of an adherent to a particular religion or doctrine) cease to follow the rules and practices of that religion or doctrine.

2 (lapse into) pass gradually into (an inferior state or condition): the country has lapsed into chaos.

• revert to (a previous or more familiar style of speaking or behavior): the girls lapsed into French.

ORIGIN

late Middle English: from Latin lapsus, from labi ‘to glide, slip, or fall’; the verb reinforced by Latin lapsare ‘to slip or stumble.’

16. compile |kəmˈpīl|

verb [with object]

1 produce (something, especially a list, report, or book) by assembling information collected from other sources: the local authority must compile a list of taxpayers.

• collect (information) in order to produce something: the figures were compiled from a survey of 2,000 schoolchildren.

• accumulate (a specified score): the 49ers have compiled a league-leading 14–2 record.

2 Computing (of a computer) convert (a program) into a machine-code or lower-level form in which the program can be executed.

ORIGIN

Middle English: from Old French compiler or its apparent source, Latin compilare ‘plunder or plagiarize.’

17. usurp |yo͞oˈsərp|

verb [with object]

take (a position of power or importance) illegally or by force: Richard usurped the throne.

• take the place of (someone in a position of power) illegally: supplant: the Hanoverian dynasty had usurped the Stuarts.

• [no object] (usurp on/upon) archaic encroach or infringe upon (someone's rights): the Church had usurped upon the domain of the state.

DERIVATIVES

usurpation |ˌyo͞osərˈpāSH(ə)nyo͞ozərˈpāSH(ə)n| noun

ORIGIN

Middle English (in the sense ‘appropriate (a right) wrongfully’): from Old French usurper, from Latin usurpare ‘seize for use.’

18. slay 1 |slā|

verb (past slew |slo͞o| ; past participle slain |slān| ) [with object] archaic, literary

kill (a person or animal) in a violent way: St. George slew the dragon.

• chiefly North American murder (someone) (used chiefly in journalism): a man was slain with a shotgun.

• informal greatly impress or amuse (someone): you slay me, you really do.

ORIGIN

Old English slēan ‘strike, kill,’ of Germanic origin; related to Dutch slaan and German schlagen .

slay 2 |slā|

noun

variant spelling of sley.

sley |slā| (also slay)

noun

a tool used in weaving to force the weft into place.

ORIGIN

Old English slege; related to slay1.

19. foe |fō|

noun

an enemy or opponent: join forces against the common foe.

ORIGIN

Old English fāh ‘hostile’ and gefā ‘enemy’; related to feud.

FoE

abbreviation

Friends of the Earth.

Friends of the Earth |ˌfrendz əv T͟Hē ˈərTH| (abbreviation FoE)

an international pressure group established in 1971 to campaign for a better awareness of and response to environmental problems.

20. asunder |əˈsəndər|

adverb archaic or literary

apart; divided: those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder.

• into pieces: the desk burst asunder.

ORIGIN

Old English on sundran ‘in or into a separate place’; compare with sunder.