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Here are the definitions of some uncommon words.

ad valorem
  In proportion to the value:

akouphone
  Table model hearing aid sold around 1900.

auriferous
  Containing gold.

balustrades
  Rail and the row of posts that support it.

between Scylla and Charybdis
  Between two perilous alternatives, which cannot be passed without
  falling victim to one or the other.

biograph
  Moving-picture machine.

brevet
  Promoting a military officer to a higher rank without an increase of
  pay and with limited exercise of the higher rank, often granted as an
  honor immediately before retirement.

Caryatids
  Sculptured female figure used as a column.

catafalque
  Raised structure on which a deceased person lies or is carried in
  state. A hearse.

Charybdis
  Daughter of Gaea and Poseidon, a monster mentioned in Homer and later
  identified with the whirlpool Charybdis, in the Strait of Messina off
  the NE coast of Sicily. See: between Scylla and Charybdis.

climacteric
  Period of decrease of reproductive capacity; any critical period; a
  year of important changes in health and fortune.

cloture
  Closing a debate and causing an immediate vote to be taken on the
  question.

Cobden Club
  A gentlemen's club in West London founded in the 1870s and named after
  Richard Cobden. The club offers "art and entertainment for the working
  man".

derogation
  Detract, as from authority, estimation, etc.; stray in character or
  conduct; degenerate; disparage or belittle.

enginery
  Machinery consisting of engines collectively.

Ethnology
  Branch of anthropology that analyzes cultures, (formerly) a branch of
  anthropology dealing with the origin, distribution, and distinguishing
  characteristics of the races of humankind.

excogitated
  Think out; devise; invent; study intently to comprehend fully.

execrable
  Utterly detestable; abominable; abhorrent; very bad:

ex proprio vigore
  By its own strength; of its own force.

fyke net
  Long bag net distended by hoops; fish can pass easily in, without
  being able to exit.

gonfalons
  Banner suspended from a crosspiece, especially for an ecclesiastical
  procession or as the ensign of a medieval Italian republic.

graphophone
  Phonograph for recording and reproducing sounds on wax records.

hegira
  Journey to a more desirable or congenial place.

hustings
  Temporary platform where candidates for the British Parliament stood
  when nominated and from which they addressed the electors; any place
  where political campaign speeches are made; political campaign trail.

imbroglios
  Complicated or bitter misunderstanding; confused heap.

mare clausum
  Body of navigable water under the sole jurisdiction of a nation.

memoriter
  By heart; by memory.

modus vivendi
  Manner of living; way of life; lifestyle. Temporary arrangement
  pending a settlement of matters in debate.

mugwumpery
  Republican who refused to support the party nominee, James G. Blaine,
  in the presidential campaign of 1884. Uncommitted person; a person who
  is neutral on a controversial issue.

muniment
  Title deed or a charter, defending rights.

mutoscope
  Simple form of moving-picture machine; a series of views are printed
  on paper and mounted around the periphery of a wheel. The rotation of
  the wheel brings them sequentially into view and the blended effect
  renders apparent motion.

Nestor
  Oldest and wisest of the Greeks in the Trojan War and a king of Pylos.

obloquy
  Censure, blame, or abusive language; discredit, disgrace, denunciation.

outre-mer
  French: Overseas.

pergolas
  Arbor or a passageway of columns supporting a roof or trelliswork of
  climbing plants.

Plaisance
  Place laid out as a pleasure garden or promenade.

pelagic
  Pertaining to the oceans; living near the surface of the ocean, far
  from land.

pendency
  Pending, undecided, as a lawsuit awaiting settlement.

peristyle
  Colonnade surrounding a building or an open space.

porphyry
  Purplish-red rock containing small crystals of feldspar.

quadrennium
  Four years.

quadriga
  Two-wheeled chariot drawn by four horses abreast.

rapprochement
  Establishment of harmonious relations.

recreant
  Coward, craven, unfaithful, disloyal, apostate, traitor, renegade.

recrudescence
  Recurrence of symptoms after a period of improvement.

redoubtable
  To be feared; formidable; commanding respect, reverence.

reprobated, reprobation
  Depraved, unprincipled, wicked; beyond hope of salvation.

Scylla
  Female sea monster who lived in a cave opposite Charybdis and devoured
  sailors. See: between Scylla and Charybdis.

truckling
  Submit tamely; grovel, bow, concede, kowtow.

unwonted
  Usual; rare.

[End Transcriber's Notes]