So I've been given an ASCII heart  for my first post, and told that my second was the best post ever here - that's a lot of pressure for number three, man! Can I live up to it? I hope so!

Apodyopsis [A-po-dy-op-sis] Pronounciation [ah-poh-die-op-sis]
noun

The mental undressing of a person.

Not 100% certain on the etymology since I'm unable to locate any info on it outside of Merriam-Webster and sex-related sites, but if anyone can locate a decent etymology, I would love you for life! I'm guessing it's Greek. though.

Usage:
Louisa, with her callipygian form and sexy maquillage, was often the subject of much opprobrious behaviour from the males. She really didn't mind being the subject of apodyopsis while she wandered past with their meals - they'd soon be turned into kibble for Chairman Meow, Mechanofeline Overlord of New Jersey. A little skirt might make their fate seem less... squishy.

Altiloquence

[ al TILL -oh- kwentz ] –noun-


Dictionary.com entry for Altiloquence
Lofty speech; pompous language.


Not finding an exact entry for the origin of altiloquence,
I think it is completely of Latin origin because of
the two following entries which relate to today's word:

Online Etymology Dictionary entry for altitude c.1391, from L. altitudo (gen. altitudinis), from altus "high"

phrontistery.info page listing words about manners of speech referring to manners or styles of speaking,
words that use the suffix '-loquent', '-loquence', or '-loquy', from Latin loqui (to speak)

Have you ever had your enthusiasm and longstanding familiarity
with a topic mistaken for mere altiloquence? Me neither!


The alternative.

abscond [ab-skond]

verb
to depart in a sudden and secret manner, esp. to avoid capture and legal prosecution.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/abscond


"Your father the king would never approve our marriage!" Giacomo lamented to his lover, Princess Gwendolyn. "Then we must abscond tonight, before he can discover our secret love!" replied Gwendolyn, much in earnest.

apotheosis / uh-poth-ee-oh-sis, ap-uh-thee-uh-sis
noun

1. the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of a god.
2. the ideal example; epitome; quintessence.

Example: George Washington has been elevated to apotheosis from his own time all the way to today. There is even a painting called The Apotheosis of Washington.

Origin: 1570–80; < LL < Gk

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apotheosis

appellative-noun
1. a descriptive name or designation, as Bald in Charles the Bald.
2. a common noun.
–adjective
3. designative; descriptive.
4. tending toward or serving for the assigning of names: the appellative function of some primitive rites.
5. pertaining to a common noun.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/appellative

 

autochthonous \aw-TOK-thuh-nuhs\, adjective:

1. Aboriginal; indigenous; native.

2. Formed or originating in the place where found.

 

Autochthonous derives from Greek autochthon, "of or from the earth or land itself," from auto-, "self" + chthon, "earth." One that is autochthonous is an autochthon.

 

For cultures are not monoliths. They are fragmentary, patchworks of autochthonous and foreign elements.

-- Anthony Pagden, "Culture Wars", The New Republic, November 16, 1998

at·ra·bil·ious [a-truh-bil-yuhs]
–adjective
1. gloomy; morose; melancholy; morbid.
2. irritable; bad-tempered; splenetic.
Also, at·ra·bil·iar.

[Origin: 1645–55; < L ātra bīli(s) black bile + -ous]
Atrabilious. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Atrabilious (accessed: May 30, 2008).

Example:
Bob most certainly got out of bed on the wrong side this morning. He picked uninterestedly at his breakfast and cursed the other drivers on the way to work just because he didn't like the colors of their cars. He was an atrabilious grump. That settles it, he decided, next week he is going to move his collection of sharp objects away from the left side of his bed.

afflatus[uh-fley-tuhs]
[Origin: 1655–65; < L afflātus a breathing on, equiv. to af- af- + flā- (s. of flāre to blow) + -tus suffix of v. action]

Afflatus is from Latin afflatus, past participle of afflare, "to blow at or breath on," from ad- + flare, "to puff, to blow." Other words with the same root include deflate (de- "out of" + flare; inflate (in- "into" + flare); souffle', the "puffed up" dish (from French souffler, "to puff", from Latin sufflare, "to blow from below, hence "to blow up, to puff up," from sub-"below" + flare); and flatulent.

1. A breath or blast of wind.

2. A divine impartation of knowledge; supernatural impulse; inspiration.


"Aristophanes must have eclipsed them...by the exhibition of some diviner faculty, some higher spiritual afflatus."
--John Addington Symonds, Studies of the Greek Poets

"The miraculous spring that nourished Homer's afflatus seems out of reach of today's writers, whose desprate yearning for inspiration only indicates the coming of an age of exhaustion."
--Benzi Zhang "Paradox of Origin(ality), Studies in Short Fiction, March 22, 1995

asperityThe cause of her anger did not warrant such asperity.</i>
2. hardship; difficulty; rigor: the asperities of polar weather.
3. roughness of surface; unevenness.
4. something rough or harsh.

c.1230, asprete "harshness of feelings," a fig. use, from O.Fr. asperete, from L. asperitas "roughness," from asper "rough," of unknown origin.

(i totally fucked that up when i first posted this,sorry)

aplomb

[F à plomb according to the plummet, i.e., straight up and down, vertical position]

1. imperturbable self-possession, poise, or assurance.
2. the perpendicular, or vertical, position.
composure, equanimity, imperturbability.

"He was the guy you could send to any story, at any time and he handled it capably, calmly, credibly and with total aplomb"

Abhor/ab-hawr\, adjective

1.to regard with extreme repugnance or aversion; detest utterly; loathe; abominate.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/abhor

"You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing?" - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

abscond - intransitive verb (āb-skŏnd')
To leave quickly and secretly and hide oneself, often to avoid arrest or prosecution.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/abscond

[Latin abscondere, to hide : abs-, ab-, away; see ab-1 + condere, to put; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]


My deepest apologies for forgetting last Tuesday. Linear algebra final ate my brain.

assiduous-adjective  [uh-sij-oo-uhs]   
1. constant; unremitting: assiduous reading.
2. constant in application or effort; working diligently at a task; persevering; industrious; attentive: an assiduous student.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/assiduous

Though many may have found her assiduous desire to help a good thing, after awhile, it merely became obnoxious to have her always in the middle of things.

abrogate-verb [ab-ruh-geyt]
1. to abolish by formal or official means; annul by an authoritative act; repeal: to abrogate a law.
2. to put aside; put an end to.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/abrogate

He strongly supported abrogating the death penalty, as he considered it inhumane and morally wrong.

aggrandize-adjective  /əˈgrændaɪz, ˈægrənˌdaɪz/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-gran-dahyz, ag-ruhn-dahyz]
1. to widen in scope; increase in size or intensity; enlarge; extend.
2. to make great or greater in power, wealth, rank, or honor.
3. to make (something) appear greater

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aggrandize

The king, while attempting to aggrandize his kingdom, lost the war and so lost his entire kingdom.

alacrity-noun  [uh-lak-ri-tee]
1. cheerful readiness, promptness, or willingness: We accepted the invitation with alacrity.
2. liveliness; briskness.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/alacrity

Such was his alacrity that scarcely had they asked for volunteers for the committee when he was named him as the head of it.

anodyne-noun [an-uh-dahyn]
1. a medicine that relieves or allays pain.
2. anything that relieves distress or pain: The music was an anodyne to his grief.

adjective
3. relieving pain.
4. soothing to the mind or feelings.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anodyne

The children's screaming was anything but an anodyne to her headache, and, in fact, it made her head hurt more.

aggress-verb   /əˈgrɛs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-gres]
1. to commit the first act of hostility or offense; attack first.
2. to begin to quarrel.
3. to behave aggressively toward; attack (often fol. by upon): wild animals aggressing their prey.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aggress

They aggressed as soon as his speech was over, disagreeing about the finer points of what he had said.

antediluvian-adjective  [an-tee-di-loo-vee-uhn]
very old, old-fashioned, or out of date; antiquated; primitive: antediluvian ideas.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/antediluvian

Though his daughter said that his ideas were antediluvian, he still insisted that her boyfriend call her, and not the other way around.

aver-verb /əˈvɜr/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-vur]
to assert or affirm with confidence; declare in a positive or peremptory manner.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aver

No matter how many people told her otherwise, the small child averred relentlessly that there was a Santa Clause.