Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Wondrous Words Wednesday


Kathy over at Bermudaonion's Weblog hosts Wondrous Words Wednesday. If you come across a word (or two) while reading that is new to you and would like to share your new knowledge, then hop over to Kathy's place and link up!

Here's what I've got this week from Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L Sayers:

Supererogation:
the act of performing more than is required by duty, obligation, or need (p, 193)

Context: After a brief statement that he intended, not merely to prove his noble client's innocence but (as a work of supererogat
ion) to make clear every detail of the tragedy, Sir Impey Biggs proceeded without further delay to call his witnesses.


Corbel:
is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry a weight (definition & image from Wikipedia); sometimes with the images of angels or gargoyles or the like.



Context: [Mr. Murbles] leaned back in his seat smirking like a very neat little grotesque from a Gothic corbel. (p. 195)


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

corbel is new to me!

Tea said...

Corbel is fascinating. We look up see the scrolled stones and other stones never think what are they named. I never heard of any of your words. That first word is a doozy. Thanks for stopping by.

bermudaonion said...

I see corbels all the time and had no idea they have a name. I'm going to have to try to impress people with that one!