I’ve been reading Cormac McCarthy’s Suttree. Never in my life have I had to look up so many words when reading something. Here’s a list of the Suttree words I looked up in getting through chapters two through six (about 76 pages of text). The words from chapter one can be found at the bottom of another post. [n.1]
Chapter 2
Moiled – (moil) To work hard; to whirl or churn ceaselessly; twist.
Concatenate – To link together; unite in a chain.
Revetment – A facing of masonry or the like, esp. for protecting an embankment.
Brogans – Heavy, sturdy work shoes.
Nates – Buttocks, rump.
Limn – To represent in drawing/painting; to describe.
Chapter 3
Adenoidal – Pertaining to the adenoids (lymph glands near the pharynx), having enlarged, esp. to a degree that interferes with breathing.
Leptosome – A person of asthenic build; slight; weak; thin.
Bewenned – (be-wenned) Wen = harmless cyst, fatty secretion of a sebaceous gland.
Chapter 4
Anneloid – (annelid) Worms or wormlike animals of the phylum Annelida.
Marcid – Withered, shrunken, wasted away.
Accretion – Natural growth or extension by gradual external addition.
Barbican – An outwork of a fortified place; a defensive outpost.
Lazaret – Same as lazaretto = Hospital for those with contagious diseases, esp. leprosy; a quarantine ship.
Comestibles – Edibles.
Excrescence – (1) An abnormal outgrowth; (2) A normal outgrowth (hair, horns).
Electuary – A pasty mass composed of a medicine, usually in powder form, mixed with a palatable medium (e.g., honey, syrup), esp. for animals.
Decocted – (decoct) To extract the flavor/essence by boiling. [n.2]
Beeves – Plural of beef (!).
Abbatoir – (s/b abattoir?) Slaughterhouse.
Cambrelled – (cambrel) British for gambrel; hock of an animal, esp. a horse; gambrel stick = a device for suspending slaughtered animals.
Blueflocced – ? (Floc = a tuft like mass; floccus = a small tuft of wooly hairs)
Piscean – Person born under the Pisces sign; of/pertaining to the sign (here it probably means fish, or fishlike).
Placoid – Plate like, as scales.
Jowter – A mounted peddler of fish.
Kneecrooks – (made-up compound word) knee + bends.
Dolorous – Full of, expressing, or causing pain or sorrow.
Slaverous – ? (slaver = Dealer/owner of slaves; slobber, drool) (Here it probably means drooling).
Mummes – A person who wears a mask or costume while merrymaking; an actor.
Shriving – (shrive) Impose penance; grant absolution; hear confessions; confess.
Chancel – The space about an alter, usually enclosed and restricted to church officials.
Glaucous – Of a pail grayish or bluish green.
Sedge – Any of numerous grass-like plants of the family cyperaceae, having solid stems, leaves in three vertical rows of spikelets of inconspicuous flowers.
Relict – Organism or species of an earlier time surviving in an environment that has undergone considerable change; widow.
Ebonfaced – Ebony faced.
Wapsy – Waspy (having many wasps?).
Batboard – (batting = fabric, cotton, often used as stuffing) Here it’s likely a compound—board made of batting.
Jakes – Latrines, privies.
Serried – Pressed together, crowded, esp. in rows.
Brisket – Chest of an animal (the cut of meat was clearly not what was intended here).
Scupper – Opening on a ship deck or roof to let water run out.
Caustic – (as a noun) A caustic material or substance; a hydroxide of a light metal.
Adumbrate – To give a sketchy outline of; foreshadow; disclose partially or guardedly.
Chapter 5
Ermine – Of or pertaining to weasels.
Shako – A stiff, cylindrical military dress hat with a metal plate in front, a short visor, and a plume.
Baize – Cotton or woolen material napped to imitate felt and used chiefly as a cover for gaming tables, often bright-green.
Chapter 6
Kudzu – An Asian vine of the legume family used for forage and erosion control; a serious weed in the S.E. United States.
Creepers – A creeping plant/vine.
Datura – Any of a genus of widely distributed strong scented herbs, shrubs, trees, of the nightshade family.
Phlox – Any of a genus of American annual or perennial herbs that have red, purple, white, or variegated flowers.
Suppurating – (suppurate) To form or discharge pus.
Midden – Dunghill; refuse heap.
Talus – A slope formed esp. by the accumulation of rock debris; the debris at the base of a cliff.
Sleech – Thick river mud/sludge/slime.
Vitreous – Relating to/resembling glass; glassy; made from glass.
Chrysalis – A pupa, esp. of a moth or butterfly, enclosed in a firm case or cocoon.
Whelk – Type of marine snail; inflamed swelling (pimple or pustule).
Apostate – One who has abandoned one’s religious faith, political party, cause, etc.
Birdlime – A sticky substance that is smeared on branches or twigs to capture small birds.
Warfarined – (warfarin) A white crystalline compound (C19, H16, O4) used as a rodenticide and as an anticoagulant.
Pneuma – The soul or vital spirit.
Niello – Any of several black metallic alloys used to fill an incised design on the surface of another metal; such a decorated surface; the art or process.
Slattern – An untidy, dirty woman.
Hipshot – Having the hip dislocated; hence having a hip lower than the other.
Winksome - ?
Dogstar – Sirius (but that doesn’t seem to be what he means here).
Ordurous – Of or pertaining to ordure (dung, feces); filthy.
Sussurous – (s/b susurrous?) Whispering; rustling.
Dishabille – Partially or very casually dressed; casual or lounge attire.
Cordite – A smokeless explosive powder.
Tawed – (taw) To convert (skin) into white leather by mineral tanning, as with alum and salt.
Note 1: The definitions are mostly my abbreviated versions I noted when I looked each word up.
Note 2: I can’t hear or see the word “essence” without thinking of the scariest movie of all time—Dark Crystal. Watch this, if you dare. It is extremely disturbing. I can’t believe people let kids watch this:
