Words of the Day

I found these words on an index card while cleaning this past weekend. I finally looked them up and I've posted both the words and their meanings:

Perspicacity: Acuteness of perception, discernment, or understanding.

Occidentals: Natives or inhabitants of an Occidental country; a westerner.

Syllogism: A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion; for example, All humans are mortal, the major premise, I am a human, the minor premise, therefore, I am mortal, the conclusion.; reasoning from the general to the specific

Engender: To bring into existence; give rise to: “Every cloud engenders not a storm” (Shakespeare); to procreate; propagate.