Emily Dickinson Lexicon

amaze (-d, -s), v. [OE a, intensifier + maze; NW says: < Arab. 'to perplex or confuse'.]

1. Astonish; astound; stun; overcome with wonder; fill with awe; [possibly a verbal adj.] awestruck; surprised and delighted.
2. Confound; daze; puzzle; confuse; baffle; bewilder.

amazing, adj. [see amaze, v.] (webplay: wonder).

1. Remarkable; uncommon; extraordinary; complex; intricate.
2. Awesome; impressive; majestic; awe-inspiring; [fig.] blazing; radiant.

amber, adj. [see amber, n.] (webplay: burnstone, color, mountain, sea, spices).

1. Clear yellow; golden; [fig.] sunny; sunlit or moonlit; shiny with light.
2. Resin-colored; honey-colored; pollen-colored.

amber, n. [Fr. ambre < Arab. ambergris, orig. 'grey whale spermaceti', later also 'golden fossil resin'.] (webplay: color, mountain, sea, small, soil).

1. Solid yellow fossil resin; stone-like golden resin globule; translucent resinous gem, often found on the Baltic sea shores.
2. Sunlight; golden yellow light.
3. Glory; resplendence; heavenly light; [fig.] divine truth; splendor of resurrected beings.
4. Yellow color; golden hue; [fig.] sun; disk of light on the horizon at sunset.

ambition, n. [Fr. < L. ambī-re, go about, go around; NW explains that Roman candidates for office “went about” the city to solicit votes.] (webplay: eminence, honor).

Aspiration to acquire; drive to obtain; strong desire to possess; active search to attain.

amble (ambling), v. [Fr. < L. ambulā-re, to walk.]

Drift; move with ease; follow in a leisurely manner; shift from side to side.

ambuscade, n. [Fr. < It. < late L. 'lie in ambush'; see ambush, v. and bush, n.] (webplay: lie, lying).

Hideaway; safe place to hide; shelter of bushes and shrubs; secret spot from which to surprise someone in the woods.

ambush, n. [OFr < It. < late L. in + bosc-us, in the bushes, place in a wood; see ambuscade, n. and bush, n.] (webplay: surprise).

1. Hiding place; childhood game of “hide-and-go-seek”; concealment followed by revelation; appearance of a person who has been hiding; [fig.] sudden death.
2. Retirement; seclusion; privacy; secrecy; modesty; humility.

amen, adv. [or inter.; L./Fr. < Gk < Heb. ā-mēn, certainty, truth.] (webplay: prayer, trust).

Verily; truthfully; with certitude; so be it; it is true; may it be firmly established.

amenable, adj. [AngFr < amener, to bring forth < L. mināre, threaten, lead cattle with shouts.] (webplay: laws).

Answerable; liable; accountable; responsible; submissive; subject to in obedience; [word play on amen, inter.] faithful; religiously true; able to say “amen.”