Here are the meanings of the least-found words that were used in (mostly) recent Times articles.

1. plena — a Puerto Rican style of street-corner music that often narrates stories about community life:

The title of this song translates as “To Move Your Feet,” and the horns-driven band gives it an unbeatable salsa groove rooted in Puerto Rican plena.— Bush Tetras’ Defiant Return, and 10 More New Songs (May 5, 2023)

2. villanelle — a 19-line poem with repeating rhymes, such as “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”:

The villanelle (Italian for “rustic”) is a pastoral song whose recurring lines and interlocking rhyme scheme create the ideal vehicle for Adam Giannelli’s paean to the past — Poem: On a Line by Proust (Sept. 13, 2018)

3. lollop — to move in a bounding or ungainly way:

In movies like this, rational adult behavior is counter to requirements; instead, we have a lolloping white rabbit, which materializes on Sarah’s porch and violently resists expulsion. — ‘Run Rabbit Run’ Review: No Child of Mine (June 28, 2023)

4. palapa — a thatched-roof shelter with open sides, common in Mexico:

Guests enter the house through a blond-stained teak door, which leads to a kitchen and living area that blends seamlessly with an expansive, palapa-style terrace — A Hilltop Hideaway in the Scottish Highlands (Jan. 13, 2023)

5. appellee — the party in a case who is defending against an appeal:

In the grandiloquent language of the law, the Most Junior Junior Assistant had stated that the appellant’s case was so utterly frivolous, so completely lacking in merit, that there was no need for the appellee to respond. — What Thurgood Marshall Taught Me (July 14, 2021)

6. dooryard — a yard near the door of a house:

First, though, he will join a band of Viking raiders, whose plunder of a town somewhere around Russia provides Amleth — and Eggers — a chance to show off their chops. Literally, in Amleth’s case, as he hacks, stabs and cudgels his way over ramparts and through muddy dooryards and alleyways. — ‘The Northman’ Review: Danish Premodern (April 21, 2022)

7. vanillin — the main part of vanilla extract:

The treat is so beloved that Somerville is home to an annual What the Fluff? festival, where tens of thousands of people celebrate every possible use of the concoction, a mixture of corn syrup, sugar, egg white and vanillin. — Attention, New Englanders: Fluffernutter Is Now a Word (Nov. 3, 2021)

8. napoleon — a flaky pastry filled with cream or custard:

Not much would suggest, in other words, a portal to some of New York City’s most ethereal croissants, exquisite napoleons and a ruinously buttery rarity called a gâteau Breton. — At Cannelle Patisserie, Serving a Wide Mix of Cultures (April 5, 2012)

9. paean — a song or work filled with praise:

Unlike Mr. Stewart, Mr. Gutfeld has never done standup, does not call himself a comedian and spent much of his early career publishing paeans to male obnoxiousness in men’s magazines. — How Fox News (Yes, Fox News) Managed to Beat ‘The Tonight Show’ (June 27, 2023)

10. leonine — resembling a lion:

Encountering again the fuzz and warmth of Mandela’s leonine tones, Stengel realized something: He had a podcast on his hands. — In ‘Mandela: The Lost Tapes,’ a Veteran Journalist Finds Himself (Nov. 30, 2022)

And the list of the week’s easiest words: