adjective
overfull; turgid; inflated: a plethoric, pompous speech.
The rare adjective plethoric means 鈥渙verfull, inflated; marked by plethora (a morbid condition due to an excess of red blood cells).鈥 And just as plethora does not mean 鈥渁bundance鈥 but 鈥渙verabundance,鈥 so plethoric means 鈥渙verabundant.鈥 Plethoric comes via the Late Latin medical term 辫濒脓迟丑艒谤颈肠耻蝉, 辫濒脓迟艒谤颈肠耻蝉, from Greek 辫濒脓迟丑艒谤颈办贸蝉 鈥減lethoric,鈥 a derivative of the noun 辫濒脓迟丑艒谤补 鈥渇ullness, satiety, excess of blood or another humor.鈥 Plethoric in its medical sense entered English at the end of the 14th century; its extended sense 鈥渋nflated, turgid, excessive鈥 in the 17th.
… my very astute friend Daniels pulled out a plethoric purse and began to display the marked gold with which it was plentifully supplied.
The “blue book,” he says, “creates an atmosphere of formality and redundancy in which the drab, Latinate, plethoric, euphemistic style of law reviews and judicial opinions flourishes ….”
adjective
like or characteristic of Abraham Lincoln: a Lincolnesque compassion.
The uncommon adjective Lincolnesque can be used to refer to President Lincoln鈥檚 physical features, in particular his homely face with its deep furrows and his beard, or to qualities of his character and intellect. The adjectival suffix –esque 鈥渋n the style or manner of鈥 comes from French, from Italian –esco, from Vulgar Latin –iscus. The suffix –iscus is a borrowing from Germanic –iska-, source of German –isch, English –ish, and akin to Slavic –ski (-sky). The proper name Lincoln comes from the city of Lincoln, the county seat of Lincolnshire, England. The Latin name for the city is Lindum Colonia, from the Celtic noun lindo 鈥減ool, lake鈥 (Welsh llyn); Colonia here means specifically a retirement community for veterans (in this case the Legio IX Hispana 鈥9th Legion鈥擲panish,鈥 which was stationed in the area from a.d. 43 on). Lincolnesque entered English in the first half of the 20th century.
… Captain America, the embodiment of a kind of Lincolnesque optimism, poses a direct question for me: Why would anyone believe in The Dream?
Given Mr. Obama鈥檚 particular fondness for Lincolnesque oratory, it鈥檚 surprising that he hasn鈥檛 adopted one of Lincoln鈥檚 favorite habits: quoting Shakespeare.
adjective
conveying or producing sound.
The adjective soniferous 鈥渃onveying or producing sound鈥 is Latinate but not Latin. The first two syllables, soni-, are a combining form of the Latin noun sonus 鈥渟ound.鈥 The second two syllables, –ferous 鈥渂earing, producing,鈥 make a hybrid suffix from the Latin suffix –fer 鈥渃arrying, bearing鈥 (as in aquifer) and the English suffix –ous 鈥減ossessing, full of,鈥 which comes via Old French –ous, –eus, –eux from Latin –艒蝉耻蝉. Soniferous entered English in the early 18th century.
Since World War II biologists have learned much more about the characteristic sounds of many soniferous marine animals.
There is even an entire family of fishes, the Haemulidae or 鈥済runts,鈥 whose common name reflects their soniferous tendencies.