Word Spice — Answers

Here are the answers to today’s questions.

Dictionary.
Image Encyclopædia Britannica

Identify the five words defined below.


One

This nine-letter noun means ‘a tiny trace or spark of a specified quality or feeling’. What is the word?

Answer: Scintilla.

scintilla | sɪnˈtɪlə | noun [in singular] a tiny trace or spark of a specified quality or feeling: a scintilla of doubt. 
— ORIGIN late 17th century: from Latin.
Oxford English Dictionary 


Two

A twelve-letter noun used in law, mainly in Scotland, meaning ‘the preliminary examination of witnesses, especially to decide whether there is ground for a trial’. What is the word?

Answer: Precognition.

See usage 2 below.

precognition | ˌpriːkɒɡˈnɪʃn | noun 1 [mass noun] foreknowledge of an event, especially as a form of extrasensory perception. 2 Law, mainly Scottish English the preliminary examination of witnesses, especially to decide whether there is ground for a trial. 
— ORIGIN late Middle English: from late Latin praecognitio(n-), based on Latin cognoscere ‘know’.
Oxford English Dictionary 


Three

This four-letter noun, the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet, means ‘an extremely small amount’. Can you guess what it is?

Answer: Iota.

iota | ʌɪˈəʊtə | noun 1 the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet (Ι, ι), transliterated as ‘i’.  [followed by Latin genitive] Astronomy (Iota) the ninth star in a constellation: Iota Piscium. 2 [in singular, usually with negative] an extremely small amount: nothing she said seemed to make an iota of difference.
— ORIGIN from Greek iōta. iota (sense 2 of the noun) arose because iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet: compare with jot.
Oxford English Dictionary 


Four

This is a fourteen-letter noun meaning ‘a person who enjoys or is skilled at solving crosswords’. Can you identify the word?

Answer: Cruciverbalist.

cruciverbalist | ˌkruːsɪˈvəːbəlɪst | noun a person who enjoys or is skilled at solving crosswords. 
— ORIGIN 1970s: from Latin cruxcruci– ‘cross’ and verbalist.
Oxford English Dictionary 


Five

This ten-letter noun means ‘the formal art and practice of horsemanship and horse riding’. What is the word?

Answer: Equitation.

equitation | ˌɛkwɪˈteɪʃn | noun [mass noun] formal the art and practice of horsemanship and horse riding. 
— ORIGIN mid 16th century: from French équitation or Latin equitatio(n-), from equitare ‘ride a horse’, from equesequit– ‘horseman’ (from equus ‘horse’).
Oxford English Dictionary 


Word Spice

The post title was a bit of a clue. The first letter of each answer spells ‘spice’ when taken in order.


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