The Castle of Otranto

by Horace Walpole

concatenation

Here's something I learned reading The Castle of Otranto. Concatenation means "a series of interconnected things or events." Or at least it used to, back when this was written.

antiquarian

I thought antiquarian meant geezer, but turns out it really means a "person who studies or collects anitiques."

poignarded

I keep trying to use this word to make it part of my vocabulary, but it rarely seems to come up. It means to have stabbed someone with a long, lightweight, acutely tapered sharp blade with a crossguard, worn by noblemen and knights back in the day. Discussion, anyone?