Learning from The Decemberists

Rock’s most erudite lyricist. 10 new (old) words courtesy of The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy:

  1. Palanquin (The Infanta) – A covered seat on poles carried by bearers
  2. Dirigible (Sons & Daughters) – An airship
  3. Fontanelle (The Crane Wife 1 & 2) – any of the spaces closed by membranous structures between the uncompleted angles of the parietal bones and the neighboring bones of a fetal or young skull
  4. Tarlatan (The Gymnast, High Above The Ground) – Heavy cotton fabric
  5. Bombazine (The Soldiering Life) – A twilled fabric with silk warp and worsted filling
  6. Laudanum (The Legionnaire’s Lament)- An alcoholic herbal preparation containing approximately 10% powdered opium
  7. Tamarack (Eli, The Barrow Boy) – A type of larch
  8. Solanum (When The War Came) – Nighshade
  9. Bagatelle (The Legionnaire’s Lament) – A trifling matter
  10. Parallax (The Island) – The apparent difference in direction of a moving object when seen from two different viewpoints

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