faience
His face had its usual look: it was a round plate of white faïence[....] --We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin, translated by Bernard Guilbert Guerney in 1960; p. 87 of the...
Archive for February 21, 2006
distaff
I always had a vague idea that "distaff" referred to a woman specifically in the role of wife. Turns out it just means female more generally, or specifically maternal. MW11...