Cormac McCarthy's incredible vocabulary

Whenever I read a book, I jot down unusual or interesting words for eventual transfer to an ever-growing reference list. Blood Meridian yielded an unusually large number of such words - awap, dramhouse, halms, osnaburg, sprent, tailorwise, scantlin, felloes, duledge, jacal, cantle, sotol, trapdyke, chine, quena, pauldron, legflung, sark, scoria, vadose, waney, ratchel, parfleche, stob, madstone, squail, carreta, gastine, whinstone, sleared, windtrap, caesura, scrag, sopilotes, azotea, rebozo, viga, almagre, spancel, fusil, pyrolatrous, malandered, ilex, clackdish, rimpled, sallygate, cuartel, trailspade, speculant, limber-team, rowel, pritchel, merestone, legbail, vidette, nopal, lanneret, ossature, querent, starsprent, slank, mochila, cresset, skiffle, ruddled, malpais, surbated, tainture, apishamore, swapt, scappled, discalced, skelter, balefire, ristra, pulque, conducta, paloquet, criada, scurf, solpuga, vinegarroon, mygale spider, scrog, poblano, preterite, vidette, keelson, alameda, guisado, peloncillo, baldric, lemniscate, tiswin, demiculverin, pugmill, tonto, jornada, malabarista, shacto, cassinette, balden, morral, skelp, lazarous, archimandrite, thaumaturge, fard, helve, thrapple, salient, mansuete, manciple, replivine, pampooties, skift, uncottered, pitera, matraca.

For me to encounter over 100 new words in a 300-page novel is a startling experience. The story is set on both sides of the American-Mexican border, so many of the words may be Spanish or corruptions of Spanish. Some will undoubtedly be regional dialect or the cant of outlaws and cowboys. Still, it's an impressive list.

I certainly don't mean to discourage anyone from reading the book. It's not a difficult read (admittedly for some people it's a difficult read for content re violence, but it's not difficult re reading level). I'm simply in awe of the author's vocabulary.