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Interesting words

22 replies

CruCru · 30/01/2020 12:12

Today I read the word “batrachoid” (it means toad-like) and was rather taken with it. It’s been ages since I learned any new words. Can we have a thread about interesting words we’ve discovered?

OP posts:
GiveBetteDavisHerEyesBack · 30/01/2020 17:01

nudiustertian

Of or relating to the day before yesterday

Obsolete, apparently, but I think we should bring it back!

GiveBetteDavisHerEyesBack · 30/01/2020 17:02

Zeugma is a fun one!

a figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses (e.g. John and his driving licence expired last week ).

Charley50 · 30/01/2020 17:10

Not as rare as the words above, but I jokingly told a colleague she had besmirched my character the other day. We were both impressed at my vocabulary.

hibiscuswater · 30/01/2020 17:14

Ktenology - the science of putting people to death. I've never heard of it and didn't know of many (any!) words starting with kt but it was the answer to a crossword clue yesterday.

GiveBetteDavisHerEyesBack · 30/01/2020 17:15

Ooh, besmirch is an excellent word. I would never manage to think of it in the moment, it would be a shower argument word for me. Grin

Orangecatfish · 30/01/2020 17:32

At school, the headteacher used to call every scrimshankers. It appears to mean one that shirks work. Considering how well the school did on the tables, I’m not sure if it was deserved.

Orangecatfish · 30/01/2020 17:33
  • everyone
DGRossetti · 30/01/2020 17:57

Strigine means "owl like" (cf bovine, canine, feline etc)

I like the lesser known "-ine" words ... vulpine, lupine, ranine ...

Charley50 · 30/01/2020 18:47

😂 Thanks GiveBetteDavis.. I've never used it before, or even thought it; it came from nowhere!

bsc · 30/01/2020 18:56

@GiveBetteDavisHerEyesBack you need L'esprit d'escalier for that shower thing! It means thinking of the perfect retort after one has left the argument!

GiveBetteDavisHerEyesBack · 30/01/2020 19:29

@bsc, that is beautiful, thank you!

KurriKurri · 30/01/2020 19:35

I was chatting to a friend yesterday and somehow the conversation came round to her saying that something was defunct, then she mused 'what is the opposite of defunct ?' I offered 'funct' which we both really liked and have decided to try and insert into everyday usage Grin

(actually the opposite of defunct is probably something like functional or functioning ? - but that's much duller)

iklboo · 30/01/2020 19:38

Not obscure as such but I like 'happenstance' meaning by chance or coincidence. I don't think it gets used enough.

RubaiyatOfAnyone · 30/01/2020 20:30

I recently learned “azimuth” to describe one of the angles in a globe, and i’ve always been fond of “benthic” to describe the deepest level of the sea. It’s so satisfying to say.

I always thought that if i was ever famous and deserved an autobiography i would call it “Marcescent” which means “withering, without dropping off” Grin

Word Nerds of the world unite! We have nothing to lose but our thesauruses...thesaurii...thesauripodes...hang on, i’ll be right back...

punknarwhal · 30/01/2020 20:34

I'd love to linger on this thread but I need to clear up some tittynopes from my toast.

MontanaSky · 30/01/2020 20:39

Lackadaisical is one of my favourite interesting words - it means lacking determination and enthusiasm.

I've always liked it since a teacher used it in a drama lesson.

Msfoxy17 · 30/01/2020 20:43

I learnt the word 'collywobbles' today.. It's an informal word meaning stomach pain or queasiness, or extreme anxiety. An attack of the collywobbles..
I had to look it up to see if was an actual word after watching a toddler programme called 'Moon and Me' and having a whole discussion with my husband about it.
Not exactly refined like some of the above but I like it...!

DGRossetti · 30/01/2020 21:01

azimuth

Good Arab word we had to nick to make sense of their geometry ....

Orangecatfish · 30/01/2020 21:35

Antidisestablishmentarianism. A word that my huge dictionary lacks, but I believe it means to be in favour of the establishment.

TheChosenTwo · 31/01/2020 04:59

Nothing to add but I agree that it’s been a long time since I learnt any new words and there’s quite a few on here I’ve never heard of! I love words Grin

hibiscuswater · 31/01/2020 05:18

Yes, it's against the breakup of the establishment. A good word for today.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 31/01/2020 06:56

I like rapscallion - a mischievous person
And gruntled, opposite of disgruntled, as immortalised by P G Wodehouse.

Had to look up refulgent the other day - shining brightly. Though it doesn’t sound like that IMO - sounds more like smelling rather nasty.

I also really like ugsome, archaic form of ugly, which I learned of ages ago in Bill Bryson’s brilliant ‘Mother Tongue’.

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