GRE word list

agnomen \ag-NOH-muhn\, noun

1. A nickname.

2. An additional, fourth name given to a person by the ancient Romans in allusion to some achievement or other circumstance, as “Africanus” in “Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus.”

He was thin in person and low in stature, with light sandy-colored hair, and small pale features, from which he derived his agnomen of Bean or white.

-- Sir Walter Scott, Waverley

Successful Roman generals were frequently given an agnomen celebrating the source of their victories.

-- Waldo E. Sweet, Lectiones Primae

Agnomen comes from the Latin tradition of adding a fourth nickname to someone's given name. Ag- is a variation of the prefix ad- meaning "to" or "near." Nomen means "name."

armamentarium \ahr-muh-muhn-TAIR-ee-uhm\, noun

1. A fruitful source of devices or materials available or used for an undertaking.

2. The aggregate of equipment, methods, and techniques available to one for carrying out one's duties.

You can almost hear the crash as my medical armamentarium smashes to the ground.

-- Emily R. Transue, M.D., On Call

In addition to the past lying available in his memory, he had always had a technical armamentarium second to none; even the hostile critics had granted him that.

-- Orson Scott Card, Masterpieces

Litvikov led the way over to his long conference table, which was covered in green felt and stocked with an

armamentarium of mineral-water bottles that the commissar never seemed to offer.

-- Robert Ludlum, The Tristan Betrayal

Armamentarium comes from the Latin root armament, which refers to equipment used by a military unit. The suffix -arium denotes a location or receptacle.

GRE Word of the Day

gull \guhl\, verb:

1. To deceive, trick, or cheat.

noun:

1. A person who is easily deceived or cheated; dupe.

What new commodities have you brought to gull us with?

-- Sir Walter Scott, The Waverly Novels

People always ended up trying to gull her. It happened sooner or later. Trent hadn't shown any likelihood of 

trying something like this. A pang of regret at her naivety lodged in her chest.

-- Lorelie Brown, Jazz Baby

Gull is of uncertain origin, but it may come from the now-obsolete word gull which meant "to guzzle."