martial \MAHR-shuhl\, adjective:
suitable or used for war; warlike
But he lay like a warrior taking his rest, With his martial cloak around him.
-- Charles Wolfe, The Burial of Sir John Moore
by 1420, from Latin martialis "of Mars or war," from Mars, Roman god of war
parry \PAR-ee\, verb, noun:
1. to ward off; turn aside (as a thrust or weapon)
2. the act of warding off
I am not saying the whole group's survival is at stake. But we have to act today if we are to parry the harder onslaught of our competitors tomorrow.
-- Bernd Pischetsrieder
by 1639, from French parez (which commonly would have been heard in fencing lessons), from parer "ward off," from Italian parare "to ward or defend a blow," from Latin parare "make ready, prepare." Non-fencing use is from 1717.
temerity \tuh-MER-uh-tee\, noun:
Unreasonable or foolhardy contempt of danger; rashness.
The elaborate caution with which the British commander now proceeded stands out in striking contrast with the temerity of his advance upon Bunker Hill in the preceding year.
-- John Fiske, "Washington's Great Campaign of 1776", The Atlantic, January 1889
When English merchants had the temerity to set up a trading post or 'factory' -- junior merchants were known as factors -- the Dutchmen defended their monopoly by massacring them.
-- Anthony Read and David Fisher, The Proudest Day
Drivers with the temerity to accelerate out of turns are likely to encounter torque steer, an unsettling glitch in control as the engine fights to take charge of the steering.
-- Peter Passell, "Mitsubishi Diamante: Back From Down Under", New York Times, February 23, 1997
Throughout the anti-trust trial its executives treated the courts and the US government with sneering contempt, coupled with a ratty annoyance that any public authority should have the temerity to interfere in its business.
-- John Naughton, "Gates must not win at monopoly", The Observer, October 28, 2001
Temerity comes from Latin temeritas, from temere, blindly, rashly.
acute \uh-KYOOT\, adjective:
1. acting keenly on the senses; sharp
2. quick in discernment; drawing fine distinctions
3. of an angle, less than 90 degrees
4. happening quickly, briefly, and severely
I find the pain of a little censure, even when it is unfounded, is more acute than the pleasure of much praise.
-- Thomas Jefferson
by 1570, from Latin acutus "sharp, pointed." Medical sense of "fever or disease that comes and goes quickly" (rather than a chronic one) first recorded 1667.
sanguine \SANG-gwin\, adjective, noun;
Also used as a noun, red iron-oxide crayon used in making drawings:
1. cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident
2. reddish; ruddy
3. (in old physiology) having blood as the predominating humor and consequently being ruddy-faced, cheerful, etc.
4. blood-red; red
5. Heraldry. a reddish-purple tincture.
6. a red iron-oxide crayon used in making drawings
I had now arrived at my seventeenth year, and had attained my full height, a fraction over six feet. I was well endowed with youthful energy, and was of an extremely sanguine temperament.
-- Henry Bessemer
by 1319, "type of red cloth," from Old French sanguin (feminine form, sanguine), from Latin sanguineus "of blood," also "bloody, bloodthirsty," from sanguis "blood." Meaning "blood-red" is recorded from 1382. Meaning "cheerful, hopeful, confident" first attested 1509, since these qualities were thought in medieval physiology to spring from an excess of blood as one of the four humors.
lampoon \lam-POON\, noun, verb:
1. a composition that imitates or misrepresents someone's style, usually in a humorous way
2. a light, good-humored satire
3. ridicule with satire
Attendees typically lampoon US presidents with grotesque puppets and caricatures.
-- LA Times
by 1645, from French lampon, of unknown origin, said by French etymologists to be from lampons "let us drink," popular refrain for scurrilous 17th century songs, from lamper "to drink, guzzle," a nasalized form of laper "to lap." The verb is first attested by 1657.
pedant \PED-nt\, noun:
a person who makes a show of detailed knowledge, esp. relying on books; also, a narrow-minded teacher or scholar
All too often, science fiction provokes the pedant in professional scientists, for whom a beautiful story can be ruined by a single petty error.
-- Jerry A. Coyne, The Truth Is Way Out There, New York Times, October 10, 1999
Yet Eyton is no little pedant; he confesses frankly that for a boy of 9 he does not know much Greek, though his Latin is adequate.
-- Robertson Davies, Speaking Of Books, New York Times, February 14, 1962
c 1586, "schoolmaster," from Middle French pédant, from Italian pedante "teacher, schoolmaster," apparently an alteration of Late Latin paedagogantem, from paedagogare. Meaning "person who trumpets minor points of learning" first recorded 1593.
