Annual (adj): Yearly, describing an event that is repeated at the same time each year.

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So, how was last year? 52 weeks ago I wrote a New Year’s Aspirations post setting out some things I would like to do in 2011. How did I get on?

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Apotropaic (adj): A Greek word meaning protective, often applied to talismans against the Evil Eye.

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Lassitude (n): A feeling of flagging or being weary, either mentally or physically.

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Albion (n): A traditional personification of England, also the oldest known name for the country, derived from the Greek language.

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Treasure (n): Something valuable or precious that has been set aside or hoarded, and even hidden or buried.

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Shape (n): A geometrical figure, its outlines and contours.

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Aperture (n): An opening, especially one that admits light. Particularly associated with photography.

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Winter (n): The season of the year associated with short days, cold weather and dormancy among some plants and animals.

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Venus (proper noun): Roman goddess of romantic love and sexual attraction. Here, rather fetchingly, her statue graces the entrance to Hertfordshire's Register Office.

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Plant (n): Specialised machinery that helps achieve an industrial or manufacturing task.

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Corsetry (n): The trade of corset-making or corset-fitting, a corset being a structural undergarment, largely for women, worn to achieve a desired body shape.

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Complexity (n): Describes something with a convoluted nature or structure, a quality of something that is advanced or complicated.

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Sunrise (n): The point each day when the sun appears over the horizon, the witnessing of which is a once-a-year event on this blog.

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Eventide (n): A somewhat archaic word for the onset of evening.

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Mirth (n): Humour, amusement, hilarity or high spirits.

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Luotkku (n): Loose snow; one of hundreds of highly descriptive words the circumpolar, reindeer-herding Saami people have for the substance.

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Cultivation (n): The practice of growing plants for a purpose, or to develop and improve them.

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Kernel (n): The seed within a fruiting body such as a berry.

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Sombre (adj): Subdued, low-key, serious or grave.

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