Protagonist

Protagonist Protagonist [pro·tag·o·nist] n. The main figure or one of the most prominent figures in a real situation. The leading character or a major character in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text. “The unnamed protagonist was the hit of the film.”

epitome

epitome

  \ ih-PIT-uh-mee \  , noun;

1.

a person or thing that is typical of or possesses to a high degree the features of a whole class: He isthe epitome of goodness.

2.

a condensed account, especially of a literary work; abstract.

Quotes:

He used to say, the school itself initiated him a greatway (I remember that was his very expression); forgreat schools are little societies, where a boy of anyobservation may see in epitome  what he willafterwards find in the world at large.

-- Henry Fielding, The Adventures of Joseph Andrews, 1742

But far beyond all other creatures of the herd is thegoat, the epitome  of all that in an animal is worthliving for; full of frolic when a baby, and knowingnothing but to jump off small eminences, and to crymamma; conceited and pugnacious in youth; and inmaturity solemn to a degree that is at timesexasperating.

-- Oswald Parry, Six Months in a Syrian Monastery ,1895

Origin:

Epitome  came to English in the 1500s from the Greek meaning "abridgment" or "surface incision."

Amorous

Amorous [am·o·rous] adj. Showing, feeling, or relating to sexual desire. “She did not appreciate his amorous advances.”

lingua franca

lingua franca

  \ LING-gwuh FRANG-kuh \  , noun;

1.

any language that is widely used as a means of communication among speakers of other languages.

2.

(initial capital letter) the Italian-Provençal jargon (with elements of Spanish, French, Greek, Arabic,and Turkish) formerly widely used in eastern Mediterranean ports.

Quotes:

...though Ukrainian may be the official language,Russian is the lingua franca . Crimea may be politicallypart of Ukraine, but it identifies with Russiaemotionally and psychologically.

-- Cathy Newman, "After Ukraine Crisis, Why CrimeaMatters," National Geographic , 2014

As the guys drank up, with only Jason abstaining, theconversation skipped from fishing to lacrosse tofriends in common, the easy lingua franca  of youngmen from the prep-school dominion.

-- Tad Friend, "Thicker Than Water," The New Yorker, 2014

Origin:

This term comes from the Italian literally meaning"Frankish tongue." It's existed in English since the 1600s.

Sartorial

Sartorial

Sartorial [sar·to·ri·al] adj. Of or relating to tailoring, clothes, or style of dress. “Sartorial taste; “Sartorial elegance.”

columbine

columbine \KOL-uhm-bahyn, -bin\, adjective:

1. dovelike; dove-colored.
2. of a dove.

For it is not possible to join serpentine wisdom with columbine innocency, except men know exactly all the conditions of the serpent: his baseness and going upon his belly, his volubility and lubricity, his envy and sting, and the rest; that is, all forms and natures of evil …
-- Francis Bacon, The Advancement of Learning, 1605

Com forth now with thyne eyen columbyn. / How fairer been thy brestes than is wyn.
-- Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Merchant’s Tale,” The Canterbury Tales, 1387–1400

Columbine is derived from the Latin columba meaning "dove." The columbine flower was so named because of its resemblance to a cluster of doves.

razz

razz \raz\, verb:

1. Slang. to deride; make fun of; tease.

noun:
1. raspberry; any sign or expression of dislike or derision.

They razz each other over every play, throw stuff across the room, and laugh deep belly laughs over cutting remarks.
-- Elsa Kok Colopy, 99 Ways to Fight Worry and Stress, 2009

He wouldn't have razzed just me. He would have razzed my Abstract Expressionist pals, too, Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko and Terry Kitchen and so on …
-- Kurt Vonnegut, Bluebeard: A Novel, 1987

Razz is a shortened variant of raspberry, a colloquialism for a rude sound used to express mockery or contempt. It entered English in the early to mid-1900s.