From Calvin’s Commentary on Genesis 3:16:  

In order that the majesty of the judge may shine the more brightly, God uses no long disputation; whence also we may perceive of what avail are all our tergiversations with him.

Tergiversate (tər-jĭv’ər-sāt’)
verb
To evade or equivocate; to be deliberately ambiguous or confusing in order to mislead; constantly to change one’s opinion or attitude; to commit treason or apostasy.

From Latin, tergum “back,” versare “to turn.”

From Victor P. Hamilton’s Commentary on Genesis (NICOT):

At best, according to this school [of interpreters who see no direct Messianic prediction in Genesis 3:15], the story is an etiological myth that explains why tere is hostility between mankind and the serpent world.

Etiology or Aetioloty (ē’tē-ŏl’ə-jē)
Noun
The study of causes or origins; the assignment of a cause, origin, or reason for something.

From Greek, aitiologia “statement of cause,” from aitia “cause” + -logia “speaking.”

From Calvin’s Commentary on Amos 4:

Now since the end of punishment is to turn men to God and his service, it is evident, when no fruit follows, that the mind is hardened in evil. Hence the Prophet shows here, that the Israelites were not only guilty, but had also pertinaciously resisted God, for their vices could be corrected by no punishment.

Pertinacious (pûr’tn-ā’shəs)
adjective
Stubborn, obstinate; objectionably persistent, especially without any seeming benefit

From Middle French pertinacité, by way of Old French pertinace (”obstinate”); originally from Latin pertinacem (nominative, pertinax) “very firm, tenacious,” from per- “very” + tenax “tenacious.”

I’ve been trying to get into BBC’s new series Robin Hood. If you try and watch it on Saturday nights on BBC America (264 on DirecTV), be warned not to try and do anything else (surf, read, play an RTS game, or blog) while it’s on; it’s not like one of those absent-minded hour dramas on TV where you can follow what’s going on without really paying all that much attention (if you’re like me, you can catch a total of 15 minutes and even get the nuances of the storyline that lots of people won’t get glued to the box). You really do have to pay attention to it to get into it, because the dialogue and storylines are more sophisticated than what you’d find on many American shows.

Tonight, while watching the show, i heard a word i had come across before, but i thought it was interesting, and one that we don’t often come upon in everyday speech.

From BBC’s Robin Hood, episode 4, “Parent Hood”:

The forest is no place for a bairn.

Bairn (bârn)
noun
A child of any age; a son or a daughter.

From Old English bearn, related to beran (verb, to bear, carry, or give birth to a child). Not chiefly of Scottish derivation, even if used chiefly (if not exclusively) by the Scots today.

From time to time i’ve come across interesting words that i don’t often hear in everyday, modern conversation. When i came across one today in some reading i was doing, i got the idea of making a category devoted to bringing out those words and their definitions for the benefit of my (few) readers, and so i can have a record to look back at the words i found interesting.

The first one of those is from something i was reading in Calvin’s commentary (in English) on Amos 2:

“A strumpet will, indeed, readily admit a son and a father without any difference, for she has no shame; and no fear of God restrains abandoned women given up to filthiness.”

Strumpet (strŭm’pĭt)
noun
a prostitute, harlot; an adultress.

Possibility of three etymological sources (not necessarily mutually exclusive):

1. From Latin struprata, femanine participle of struprare, “to have illicit sexual relations with.” 
2. From Late Latin strumpum, “dishonor, violation.”
3. From Middle Dutch strompe, “a stocking,” or strompen, “to stride or stalk.”