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Little known english words
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 5:21 pm
by Set
Your nerdiness is showing.
I've got a little game for ye. Post one word, an english word, that pretty much no one has ever heard of before along with its definition. An actual word mind you, not a made up one. I'll start.
loquacious, adj.
Very talkative.
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 5:39 pm
by outwarddoodles
Actually, I've heard that one before; it was on my vaocabulary test last year in school, I believe. That or I heard it on Dictionary.com.
fatidic:
of, relating to, or characterized by prophecy.
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:46 pm
by Scott Gardener
efficacy- effectiveness of a drug. This term is unrelated to its strength (how many milligrams it takes to bring an effect) or its safety or side-effect profile. It's a statement of how effective the drug is at doing what it's intended. An efficacious antihypertensive will lower blood pressure a lot.
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:44 am
by Hearth
Soar
(Don't know if it's really unused, but still) Glide high up.
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 4:31 am
by vrikasatma
Spondulicks:
Money, cash.
I sub to A.Word.A.Day, I got a whole file folder of this stuff...
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:28 am
by Hearth
Brunt.
I only wish I'd know what this means....
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:56 am
by Renorei
A ton of people have heard this one, but many don't know the actual definition...which makes it all the more delightful to call them this in an insulting way and they simply have no idea.
Dingleberry
fecal matter stuck in small round clumps to the hair or fur around the anus
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:58 am
by Fenrir
I was playing bolderdash rescently and came across this word
GRAPHOLAGNIA n: fascination with observing porn
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 1:55 pm
by Set
resplendent, adj.
Brightly glowing with light or color
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:19 pm
by Renorei
Set wrote:resplendent, adj.
Brightly glowing with light or color
Hey! That word was used in Kate and Leopold, and I never knew what it meant before now.
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 4:14 pm
by vrikasatma
I just picked up "Charlie & the Great Glass Elevator"...the sequel to "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory"...he had a word in there, <i>"lixivated."</i> As in, "We're all going to be lixivated!"
I tried looking it up and apparently it's one of Roald Dahl's nonsense made-up words that either doesn't have a definition per se or only he knew what it meant...and the definition died with him...
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 4:49 pm
by Kzinistzerg
nocent- harmful or bad (recall innocent?)
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:35 pm
by Ink
[spoiler]Eightball
3.5 grams of cocaine.
*Shrugs* The average person never understands this when me and my friends start making bad jokes.[/spoiler]
Fizgig
(fiz'-gig) n. 1: a fishgig. 2: a giddy, flirting girl. 3: a kind of firework, made of damp powder, which gives a hissing or fizzing noise when ignited.
Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:03 pm
by Set
Ever wonder where the band Evanescence got their name from? Well...
evanesce, v.
To dissipate or disappear like vapor
Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 12:17 am
by Silverclaw
Lament
an expression of grief or sorrow: an expression of regret or disappointment: music poetry a song or poem of mourning
Melancholy
feeling or making somebody feel a thoughtful or gentle sadness: thoughtful or gentle sadness: gloomy character
I like 'em
Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:11 pm
by Herpscott
Prevaricate
def: (v) to not be honest or lead one away from truth by being ambiguous
Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 10:59 pm
by vrikasatma
parrhesia (puh-REEZ-i-uh) noun
1. Boldness of speech.
2. The practice of asking forgiveness before speaking in this manner.
[From New Latin, from Greek, from para- (beyond) + rhesis (speech).]
Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 4:26 pm
by Syzygy
Stratagem
A military maneuver designed to deceive or surprise an enemy.
Obloquy
Strong and public condemnation.
Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 7:32 pm
by Scott Gardener
Obstipation: severe constipation, bad enough to warrant hospitalization
Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 8:14 pm
by Kzinistzerg
what a wonderful topic...
anterior: front end
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 2:46 pm
by Syzygy
Discombobulate:
To throw into a state of confusion.
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:29 pm
by Kzinistzerg
Nice name. astronomy!
convoluted:
complex, involved
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 9:12 pm
by Scott Gardener
I use a number of these words! (Well, "anterior," obviously, since it's a medical term. But I also use "convoluted," and not just at work.)
egregious: (adjective) conspicuous, in a negative sense. It used to be more complimentary, implying sophistication.
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 10:39 pm
by vrikasatma
Come on, people, I know ALL these words! You can do better than that!
cark (kark) verb tr., intr.
To worry.
noun
A worry or care.
[From Middle English carken (to load or burden), from Norman French
carquier, from Latin carricare. Ultimately from Indo-European root
kers- (to run) that's also the source of car, career, carpenter, occur,
discharge, and caricature. Why caricature? Because a caricature
is a loaded or distorted picture of someone.]
"Crows in hundreds carking desolately from the blasted white skeletons
of dead trees."
Colleen McCullough; The Thorn Birds; HarperCollins Publishers; 1977.
Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 11:53 pm
by Scott Gardener
Oh, here's one you might not have heard of. "Lycanthrope." From "lykos," Greek for... Oh, wait. Never mind.