It is always a good thing to expand our etymological horizons.  Here are a few chosen words that we may have heard but don’t use too often – and therefore aren’t sure of their exact meaning:

Propinquity.  This noun is defined as a state of nearness, of being close in kinship as well as in proximity: West Point cadets share an unusual propinquity during their four years together.

Argot.  An informal style of speaking, a specialized jargon among a certain group of people.  There are, for example, generational argots, military argots, or argots among different classes or ethnic groups: The word “perp”, short for perpetrator, is typical argot for law enforcement.

Imbroglio.  A deeply confused and chaotic situation: The argument at the seaside resort quickly dissolved into an imbroglio.

Mellifluous.  An adjective that describes a pleasant sound.  The word originates from the French word “miel”, meaning “honey”:  The mellifluous bell chimes caused us to stop for several minutes to listen.

Abrogate.  A verb that means to cancel, repeal, or annul:  It took an expensive team of lawyers to abrogate the agreement.

Latibule.  A noun that denotes a safe hiding place: It’s not a good idea anymore to use the refrigerator as your latibule for extra cash.

Chimerical.  An adjective that is used to describe something imaginary, unreal, or wildly foolish (the noun form is chimera ): Many of us believe that the legend of the Loch Ness monster is chimerical nonsense.

Palliate.  A verb that denotes disguising the gravity of a situation, to cause a terrible occurrence to seem less horrifying than it is (the adjective derived from this word is palliative ): No one, however gifted with euphemisms, could palliate the terrible losses at Gettysburg.

Tendentious.  An adjective that describes an idea or thought, usually in writing, that is deliberately biased: It is sometimes difficult to write an essay on the Civil War without showing some tendentious leanings.

Truncate.  A verb that means to cut off or shorten, (usually not meant literally although it can be):  He gave a truncated version of events but mentioned most of the highlights.

Equanimity.   A noun that is defined as a steady calmness.  The captain led his men through the Wheatfuield with equanimity.

Obdurate.  An adjective that denotes someone who is unyielding in opinion or feeling to any influence seeking change, even if evidence proves the contrary.  She is the most obdurate person I have ever met: She refuses to yield to any proof on the subject.

Meretricious.  An adjective describing a person or idea that is superficially attractive appearing to be genuine, but is false and malevolent: Jezebel, the ancient Queen of Israel, was one of the most meretricious rulers of all time.

Griffonage.  A noun defining illegible handwriting. Please pardon my frantic griffonage -- I was in a hurry to get the word out.

Inculcate.  A verb that is defined as teaching by constant repetition to emphasize its importance: West Point, until the mid-1830s, thoroughly worked to inculcate the fine points of Napoleonic Tactics.

Don’t worry about any inculcation here, but pass the word!