a ring or cap, usually of metal, put around the end of a post, cane, or the like, to prevent splitting.

a dish of rice and black beans baked with various kinds of meat and sausage.

a deep natural well or sinkhole, especially in Central America, formed by the collapse of surface limestone that exposes groundwater underneath.

an act or instance of fighting a shadow or an imaginary enemy.

a feat requiring unusual strength, skill, or ingenuity.

the arc of the horizon measured clockwise from the south point, in astronomy, or from the north point, in navigation, to the point where a vertical circle through a given heavenly body intersects the horizon.

to ascertain the number of; count.

semiarid country; scrubland.

consisting of or abounding in woods or trees; wooded; woody.

a person who loves or collects books, especially as examples of fine or unusual printing, binding, or the like.

gradually increasing in speed.

derived from the name of a mother or other female ancestor.

a song or lamentation for the dead; dirge.

a crescent-shaped sand dune with the convex side in the direction of the wind.

one of two marks « or » used in French, Italian, and Russian printing to enclose quotations.

the science of viniculture.

clad in a toga.

an irrigation ditch.

one of a pair of metal stands, usually of iron or brass, for holding logs in a fireplace.

to make frank acknowledgment or affirmation of; declare or assert with positiveness.

being in the shape of a heart; heart-shaped.

said (used with nouns, and with first- and third-person pronouns, and always placed before the subject).

a rooflike shelter of canvas or other material extending over a doorway, from the top of a window, over a deck, etc., in order to provide protection, as from the sun.

anything that puzzles.

a spirit or personified natural power that works mischief, especially to children.

a word or phrase that is a seemingly logical alteration of another word or phrase that sounds similar and has been misheard or misinterpreted.

unchecked freedom or ease; unrestraint; looseness.

a fossil footprint.

of or proceeding from the earth or soil.

to assert or affirm with confidence; declare in a positive or peremptory manner.

work, especially hard work.

the raised part of a sundial that casts the shadow; a style.

a state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety; tranquillity.

a hoofed mammal.

a small, three-masted vessel of the Mediterranean, formerly much used by corsairs, now employed to some extent in commerce.

a mound or hill in which fairies live.

covered with a frostlike bloom or powdery secretion, as a plant surface.

a whimsical or fanciful ornament or contrivance; gimmick.

stubbornly perverse or rebellious; willfully and obstinately disobedient.

a tentlike dwelling of the Mongol and Turkic peoples of central Asia, consisting of a cylindrical wall of poles in a lattice arrangement with a conical roof of poles, both covered by felt or skins.

fond of or adapted to luxury or indulgence in sensual pleasures; having luxurious tastes or habits, especially in eating and drinking.

a long, narrow indentation of the seacoast.

unselfishly concerned for or devoted to the welfare of others.

tending to a violet color.

to be a pioneer in (a particular subject, technique, etc.).

pertaining to or resembling a crow.

large; powerful; impressive.

to chant; intone.

a type of novel concerned with the education, development, and maturing of a young protagonist.