For several months I have indulged myself reading 19th C romantic novels...because the format for them demands a happy ending. Sometimes I develop a list of twenty or more words I do not understand (though I can guess at the meaning by the context though, compulsive soul that I am, I force myself to confirm that I have guessed accurately. My double volume, minuscule-print, OED (Oxford English Dictionary)has been so little used since searches have usually been on the computer/Internet. I need a ladder to reach the OED. However, I am currently being driven to yank it down because our modern dictionaries do not have most of these words; a loss for the language.
Whether the author's sources vary from mine, words are either misspelled or have changed. This makes it even more difficult to trace definitions. Pride and Prejudice sequel authors who, properly, try to write in the language of the times, give me the most look-ups. Words like alt, amanuensis, chary, concupiscence, ensorcell, fubsy (a definition of me), impuissance....and, no, I am not going to give you all the definitions. However, I can let you know that there is a great free dictionary on these words if you check out http://dictionary.reference.com/. Good luck if you care enough to work hard at understanding the world and words.
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