V-Word Vocabulary Definitions
| vaccinia. | Cowpox. |
| vacuole. | Cellular cavity. |
| vade mecum. | Guidebook, handbook. |
| vadose. | Water in zone of aeration above ground water. |
| vagul. | Pertaining to the vagus nerve. |
| vagillity. | Tendency of an organism to become widely dispersed. |
| vagotonia. | Pathological overactivity of the vagus nerve. |
| vagotropic. | Affecting the vagus nerve. |
| vagus. | Tenth and last of cranial nerves, going to larynx, pharynx, vocal cords, ear, and abdominal and thoracic viscera. |
| vair. | Squirrel fur, much used in medieval times, to line and trim robes. |
| Valshnava. | Worships Vishnu. |
| Vaisya. | Hindu cast of herders and farmers, now merchants and businessmen. |
| Valenciennes. | Fine lace, floral pattern, originating in Valenciennes. |
| valerian. | Flower; roots used as sedative. |
| valet de chambre. | Man's valet. |
| valgus. | Knock-kneed person. |
| vallation. | Earth rampart; the process of erecting earth fortifications. |
| vallecula. | Shallow groove, depression, or furrow. |
| valonia. | Tanning and dyeing extract from acorns. |
| valorize. | To establish and maintain the price of commodity by governmental action. |
| valvate. | Valve-like parts; meeting at the edges, like petals. |
| valvulitis. | Inflammation of a valve, esp. a cardiac valve. |
| vambrace. | Armor protecting the forearm. |
| vamp. | Part of a shoe covering the instep and sometimes projecting over the sole; improvised musical accompaniment; to patch up rather than refurbish. |
| vamp. | Seductress. |
| vang. | Guy rope running from the peak of the gaff to the deck. |
| Vanir. | An early race of Norse gods who dwelt with Aesir in Asgard. |
| vara. | 89 to 101 cms. (Latino) Square vara. |
| varia. | A miscellany. |
| variola. | Smallpox. |
| variolate. | Pock-marked. |
| varioloid. | Mild smallpox in the vaccinated. |
| variometer. | Variable inductor used to measure terrestrial magnetism. |
| variorum. | Edition with scholarly notes made by others. |
| varix. | abnormally dilated and twisted vein. |
| Varuna. | Vedic god of skies and seas. |
| varus. | Abnormal position of leg or foot bone. |
| varve.. | A year's sediment; seasonal pair of annual layers; (like tree rings). |
| vascular bundle. | Plant tissue: phloem and xylem. |
| vascular plants. | Ferns and seed-bearing plant. |
| vasculum. | Plant specimen case. |
| vas deferens. | Carries sperm. |
| vasoactive. | Affecting blood vessels. |
| vatic. | Oracular, prophetic. |
| vaticinate. | Prophesy, foretell. |
| Vaudola. | The Waldenses (sect). |
| vaunt-courier. | Advance herald. |
| vavosor. | Feudal tenant directly under a baron or peer. |
| Veda. | Oldest sacred writings of Hinduism, including psalms, incantations, hymns, and formulas of worship, in four collections. |
| Vedanta. | Hindu philosophy that further develops Upinshads: that all reality is a single principle, Brahman, and teaches that the believer's goal is to transcend his/her own identity and to realize his/her unity with Brahman. |
| Vedda. | Small, dark-skinned, wavy-haired aborigines of Sri Lanka. |
| vedette. | Mounted sentinel stationed in advance of an outpost; small scouting boat. |
| Vedic. | Veda or Vedas, their language, and the culture from which they sprang. |
| veer. | To let out an anchor chain. |
| veery. | N. A. thrush. |
| veganism. | Extreme vegetarianism |
| vegetal. | Pertaining to plants or growth, as opposed to sexual reproduction. |
| veinstone. | Gangue. |
| velamen. | A membranous integument (covering); spongy outer covering of epiphytic plants (orchids) capable of absorbing moisture from the air. |
| velarize. | To articulate a sound by retracting the tongue toward the soft palate. |
| velate. | Covered by a velum or veil. |
| velum. | Thin membrane (veil of a mushroom); 2. soft palate; 3. ciliated swimming organ. |
| veliger. | Larval mollusk, with a ciliated velum. |
| velleity. | Lowest level of volition. Wish unaccompanied by action. |
| veloce. | Mus.: "rapidly". |
| velour. | 1. Closely napped, velvet-like fabric; 2. felt. |
| velouté. | White sauce made with butter, flour, and chicken or veal stock. |
| velure. | 1. Velvet; 2. Velvet-like fabric. |
| velutinous. | Velvety, covered with dense, soft, silky hairs. |
| velvet plant. | Mullein. |
| vena cava. | The two veins that enter into (inferior) return blood to (superior) the right atrium of the heart. |
| venatic. | 1. Pertaining to hunting; 2. Hunting for a livelihood. |
| venation. | Arrangement of veins. |
| vendue. | Public sale, auction. |
| venery. | 1. Pursuit of sexual activity; 2. Intercourse. |
| venery. | Act, art, or sport of hunting. |
| venesection. | Phlebotomy. |
| venge. | To avenge. |
| venire. | 1. Writ to sheriff to summon prospective jurors; 2. Panel from which jurors are selected. |
| Venn diagram. | Circles and squares: set theory. |
| venogram. | Venal x-ray. |
| ventage. | Vent. |
| ventail. | Back of medieval helmet, fitting over neck. |
| venter. | 1. Abdomen; 2. Uterus; 3. Wide, swelling portion of a muscle; Swollen structure; law: The womb as the source of offspring. |
| Venus's girdle. | Ribbon-shaped marine animal. |
| Venus'-hair. | Maidenhair fern of moist, warm regions. |
| Venus's-looking-glass. | Flower |
| veratrine. | Alkaloid mixture used as counterirritant. |
| vebena. | Showy plants. |
| verd antique. | Dull-green veined serpentine marble; 2. Verdigris. |
| verderer. | Royal forester. |
| verdin. | Small, grayish S. W. bird. Yellowish head and throat. |
| verditer. | Copper carbonate. |
| verge. | 1. Enclosing boundary; 2. Space so enclosed; 3. Edge of tiling that projects over a roof gable; 4. Rod or wand carried as an emblem of authority; 5. Rod held by feudal tenant swearing fealty to his lord; 6. Spindle of a balance wheel; Male organ of an invertebrate. |
| verge. | To slope. |
| verger. | 1. Person who carries the verge. 2. Someone in charge of church's interior. |
| veridical. | Veracious. |
| verjuice. | Acidic juice of unripe fruit. |
| vermeil. | 1. Vermilion. Gilded metal such as bronze, silver, or copper. |
| ventricose. | Inflated, swollen, or distended. |
| ventriculous. | Gizzard, insect's stomach. |
| vermiculate. | 1. To adorn with wormlike wavy or winding lines; 2. Having a wormlike motion; 3. Sinuous, tortuous; Infested with worms. |
| vermiculation. | 1. worm-eaten; 2. Intestine, peristalsis; 3. Wormlike markings. |
| vermination. | 1. Worm infestation; 2. Worm breeding. |
| vernalization. | Subjecting seeds to low temperatures to hasten plant development. |
| vernation. | The arrangement of folded leaves in a bud. |
| Verner's Law. | Proto-Germanic non-initial voiceless fricatives in voiced environments become voiced when the previous syllable was unvoiced in Proto-Indo-European. |
| veronal. | Type of barbital.(sedative). |
| veronica. | Plant. |
| veronica. | 1. Jesus' face on handkerchief offered him St. Veronica on way to Calvary. 2. Representation of Jesus' face on any other textile (Shroud of Turin). |
| veronica. | Bullfighting maneuver: matador stands still and waves cape in front of the bull. |
| veruca.. | Wart-like projection on toad's back or on leaves. |
| verrucose.. | Warty. |
| versed cosine. | 1 - sin q . |
| versed sine. | 1 - cos q |
| versicle. | 1. Short verse. 2. Liturgical response. |
| versicolor. | 1. Variety of colors; 2. Iridescent. |
| versine. | Versed sine. |
| verse libre. | Free verse. |
| verso. | Left-hand page of a book, the reverse side of a leaf; the obverse side of a coin or medal. |
| verst. | Russian mile (2/3rds of a mile). |
| vert. | 1. Vegetation that can serve as cover for a deer; 2. The right to cut vert; 3. The color green (heraldry). |
| verticil | Whorl. |
| vertillaster. | An inflorescence resembling a whorl but arising from axils of opposite leaves. |
| verticillate. | Resembling a whorl. |
| vervain. | Flower. |
| vervet. | Small, long-tailed African monkey. |
| vesica. | Bladder, esp. urinary bladder. |
| vestiray. | Pertaining to clothes; A dressing room, cloakroom, or vestry. |
| vestry. | 1. Church storage and dressing room; 2. Church meeting room; 3. In Anglican and Episcopal churches, administration committee or meeting or meeting place. |
| vesture. | 1. Clothing. 2. Something that covers or cloaks. "Hills in a vesture of mist." |
| vesuvius. | Match for lighting cigars. |
| vet. | To expertly examine. |
| vetchling. | Small vetch. |
| vetiver. | Grass whose roots are used in perfumery. |
| vetivert. | Essential oil of the vetiver. |
| vexillary | 1. A standard bearer; 2. Member of the oldest class of army veterans who served under a special standard in Rome |
| .vexillum | Enlarged upper petal, web-like part of a feather. |
| viatic. | Pertaining to a road. |
| viaticum. | 1. Supplies for a journey; 2. Eucharist given to the dying or the mortally endangered. |
| vibraculum. | Whip-like filament on a bryozoan. |
| vibratile. | Vibration. |
| vibrio. | S-shaped or comma-shaped bacilli causing cholera (from their vibratory motion). |
| vibrissa. | Stiff hair or hair-like projection; nose hair, cat whisker, beak feather. |
| vibronic. | Changes in molecular energy states due to vibration. |
| viburnum. | Shrub, small white flowers. |
| vicar. | 1. Salaried priest who doesn't receive tithes. 2. Episcopal: clergyman in charge of a chapel; 3. Anglican : acting in place of rector or bishop; 4. representative. |
| vicar apostolic. | 1. Bishop administering a region that is not yet a diocese; 2. A titular bishop appointed to administer a vacant see in which the succession of bishops has been interrupted; 3. Bishop or archbishop appointed by the Pope to act in his stead. |
| vicar forane. | A bishop-appointed priest who exercises limited diocesan jurisdiction. |
| vicenary. | Consisting of or pertaining to; 2. Notation system based on 20. |
| vicennia.l | Every 20 years. |
| vicereine. | Viceroy's wife or lady viceroy. |
| vichysoisse. | Potato soup with leeks, onions, chicken stock, served cold. |
| victoria. | 1. Low, light, four-wheeled carriage for two with folding top and driver's seat in front; 2. Touring car with folding top covering only the rear seat. |
| viola. | Violets and pansies. |
| violaceous. | Violet-colored; violets. |
| viola da braccio. | Like a viol, approximately the same range as a viol. |
| viola da gamba. | 1. Bass of the viol family, with cello's range; 2. organ stop of 8-foot pitch. |
| viola d'amore. | Tenor of viol family, with 7 stopped strings and 7 sympathetic strings, producing a characteristic silvery tone. |
| violoncello. | Cello. |
| violone. | 16-foot organ stop, yielding tones like those of a cello. |
| viomycin. | Used in treatment of TB. |
| viperous. | 1. Venomous, malicious; 2. Suggestive of viper family. |
| viper's bugloss. | Flower. |
| viraginity. | Masculine mentality, psychology in a woman. |
| virago. | 1. Noisy, domineering woman; 2. Strong and courageous woman. |
| virely. | French verse and song forms. Each stanza has two themes, the end rhyme of one stanza serving as the first rhyme of the next stanza. |
| viremia. | Viral particles in the blood. |
| vireo. | Grayish or greenish small birds. |
| virgate. | 1. Rod-shaped; 2. Early English land measure (~30 acres). |
| virginal. | Small, legless, 16th and 17th C. harp. |
| Virginia fence. | A worm fence. |
| virgin's bower. | Flower. |
| virgulate. | Virgate. |
| virgule. | / |
| viricide. | Virus killer. |
| virid. | Bright green. |
| viridescent. | Green or slightly green. |
| viridian. | Bluish-green pigment. |
| viridity. | Verdancy, greenness. |
| virtu. | 1. Fondness for fine objects; 2. A fine object (objet d'art). |
| viscacha. | Gregarious burrowing S. A. rodents related to chinchilla. |
| Vishnu. | Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva .. |
| vis major. | Overwhelming force of nature having unavoidable consequences that can sometimes exempt one from the obligations of a contract. |
| vitamer. | One of two or more compounds that can fulfill the function of a vitamin. |
| vitellin. | Egg protein. |
| viteline. | 1. Associated with egg yolk; 2. Having egg yolk color; 3. An egg yolk. |
| vitellus. | An egg yolk. |
| viticulture. | Grape cultivation. |
| vitiligo. | Whitish, non-pigmented area surrounded by hyper pigment areas. |
| vitrectomy. | The surgical removal of the vitreous humor from the eyeball. |
| vitreous humor. | Clear, gelatinous matter between retina and lens. |
| vitrescent. | Tending to turn into glass; like glass; 2. Capable of being turned into glass. |
| vitta. | 1. Streak or band of color; 2. Oil tube in carrots or parsley. |
| vivace. | In a lively manner. |
| vivandięre. | A woman who accompanies troops to sell them food, supplies, and liquor. |
| viva voce. | Oral, by word of mouth. |
| viverine. | Civets and mongooses. |
| voile. | Sheer fabric used for making dresses and curtains. |
| voir dire. | Preliminary examination determining the suitability of witnesses or jurors. |
| voix celeste. | Organ stop producing gentle tremolo. |
| volant. | 1. Flying, or capable of flying; 2. Agile, moving nimbly. |
| Volapük. | Artificial English-based international language. |
| volar. | Pertaining to the sole of the foot or the palm of the hand. |
| volauvent. | Light pastry shell filled with huge ragout (meat & vegetable stew) of meat or fish.. |
| vole. | Rodents resembling rats or mice but with relatively short tails. |
| vole. | A grand slam. |
| volitant. | Volant. |
| volplane. | To glide. |
| volte-face. | About-face. |
| volutin. | Basophilic granular substance thought to be nucleic acid. |
| volution. | 1. To spiral, to turn or twist about an axis; 2. A spiral shell whorl. |
| volva. | Cup-like structure around the base of the stalk of certain fungi. |
| volvox. | Flagellate protozoans that form hollow, spherical, multi-cellular colonies. |
| volvulus. | Obstruction in intestine caused by abnormal twisting. |
| vomica. | Abnormal, pus-containing cavity in the lung caused by tissue deterioration. |
| vomituration. | Forceful but futile attempts to vomit. |
| vorlage. | Skier leans forward from the ankles without lifting heels. |
| vorticella. | Bell-shaped, ciliated stalked protozoans. |
| votive Mass. | Special Mass. |
| voussoir. | Wedge-shaped stones tha form the curved part of an arch. |
| vox humana. | Organ stop that produces human-sounding tone. |
| voyageur. | Transports supplies between remote N. W. stations. |
| vrouw. | Dutch frau. |
| V-particle. | |
| Vulcan. | Greek Hephaestus - god of fire and craftsmanship |
| vulgate. | 1. Vernacular, common speech; 2. Widely accepted text; St. Jerome's 4th C. Latin translation of the Bible. |
| vulpine. | Pertaining to a fox |