paterfamilias \pay-tuhr-fuh-MIL-ee-uhs; pat-uhr-; pah-\ (noun) plural patresfamilias \pay-treez-; pat-reez-; pah-treez-\ - The male head of a household or the father of a family.

"Here within these hallowed portals the ...Read More

aubade \oh-BAHD\ (noun) - A song or poem greeting the dawn; also, a composition suggestive of morning.

"She sang the first aubade welcoming the sun, then turned westward and moved into the second one, the song which sang ...Read More

doula \DOO-luh\ (noun) - A woman who assists during childbirth labor and provides support to the mother, her child and the family after childbirth.

"Our daughters are grown and on their own. Penny is a doula and midwife ...Read More

apocryphal \uh-POK-ruh-fuhl\ (adjective) - 1 : (Bible) Pertaining to the Apocrypha. 2 : Not canonical. Hence: Of doubtful authority or authenticity; equivocal; fictitious; spurious; false.

"But Gary was obsessed with the ...Read More

subaltern \suhb-OL-tuhrn; SUHB-uhl-tuhrn\ (adjective) - 1 : Ranked or ranged below; subordinate; inferior. 2 : (Chiefly British) Ranking as a junior officer; being below the rank of captain. 3 : (Logic) Asserting only a ...Read More

mollify \MOL-uh-fy\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To pacify; to soothe or calm in temper or disposition. 2 : To reduce in intensity; to temper. 3 : To soften; to reduce the rigidity of.

"...Doubtless she had poisoned my beer ...Read More