Welcome to Another Exciting Article on 'Very Strange English Words'. This Vocabulary Series has all it takes to give you a powerful command of words and the English Language in General.
Knowing these words will make you stand out when you communicate because you wouldn't be sounding like everyone else.
Enjoy!
F R I V O L
Definition:
to act frivolously
Degree of Usefulness:
Go ahead, have fun with it. Bonus word: a person who frivols is a frivoler (which may also be spelled as frivoller).
A Smell-Feast
Definition:
one given to finding out and getting invited to good feasts; a parasite, sponger
Degree of Usefulness:
A good insult is always invited to the party.
An Example:
I am a smelfeaste bellygod,
idle and full of slouthe
A greedie gut, and at a worde,
a servaunte to my tothe.
— Thomas Drant, _A Medicinable Morall, 1566
S I A L O Q U E N T
Definition:
“that spits much in his speech”
(Thomas Blount, Glossographia, 1656)
Degree of Usefulness:
Sialoquent is yet another word that appears to have originated in the minds of 17th-century lexicographers, and never seen natural use. For good (and gross) reason.
M U R M U R A T I O N
Definition:
the utterance of low continuous sounds or complaining noises
Degree of Usefulness:
Useful for as long as there are Monday mornings and email inboxes.
R E D A M E
Definition:
“to love in return”
(Webster’s New International Dictionary, 2nd Ed., 1934)
Degree of Usefulness:
This lovely word was defined in our Second New International Dictionary in 1934, but removed from subsequent editions. This is not because people stopped loving each other in return, but because redame was no longer in common use. Your move.
O P S I M A T H
Definition:
a person who begins to learn late in life
Degree of Usefulness:
We'll figure it out and get back to you, eventually.
An Example:
An opsimath is a man who discovers, as he makes out his will, that he must also make provision for his Harris tweeds.
The Sydney Morning Herald, 15 Apr. 1957
P E S S I M U M
Definition:
the least favorable environmental condition under which an organism can survive
Degree of Usefulness:
This is, admittedly, mainly found used in scientific and technical contexts, but that does not mean it cannot have applicability in everyday settings, such as the point at which your job is almost intolerable, but not quite bad enough that you quit.
U C A L E G O N
Definition:
“A next-door neighbor, or a neighbor whose house is on fire” (Webster’s New International Dictionary, 2nd Ed., 1934)
Degree of Usefulness:
Ucalegon was the neighbor of Priam (the king of Troy when that city was famously sacked). Spoiler alert for those who have not yet read the Iliad: neither Priam nor Ucalegon has a happy ending.
M A N U D U C T I V E
Definition:
leading by or as if by the hand
Degree of Usefulness:
The Latin manus ("hand") serves as a root for many words in English, ranging from the common (manual & emancipation) to the somewhat obscure (mansuete, meaning "tame," & manutenency, meaning "support"). But enough handholding; figure its usefulness out for yourself.
C O N J U B I L A N T
Definition:
shouting together with joy
Degree of Usefulness:
We hope you find it very useful!
An Example:
They stand, these halls of Zion,
Conjubilant with song,
And bright with many an angel,
And many a martyr throng.
— Littell’s Living Age (Boston, MA), 19 Jul 1856
C A C O Z E A L O U S
Definition:
“ill affected, or badly imitating”
(Edmund Phillips, The New World of English Words, 1658)
Degree of Usefulness:
It's fun to say, at least.
An Example:
But we must remark, that neither then nor for a long time after was the Invocation of Saints practised in the Church; but on the contrary, this superstitious Brat hatcht by (the cacozealous fervour of) a few private Persons, was condemned (as illegitimate) by the Doctors of that age, who teach that the Saints are indeed advanced to true honour and rest in glory, but yet ought not to be by us magnified beyond what is convenient.
— Jonas Porrée, A history of antient ceremonies, 1669
N A S T I F Y
Definition:
“To make nasty; to spoil”
(Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd Ed.)
Degree of Usefulness:
Nasty has been in English use since at least the 14th century); Nastify, on the other hand, is a fairly recent addition, with use dating only since the 19th century. It just had to go and ruin things.
O B J E C T E E
Definition:
one that is objected to
Degree of Usefulness:
Well, you're reading this on the internet, aren't you?
D E B A C C H A T E
Definition:
“to revile one after the manner of drunkards” (Henry Cockeram, English Dictionarie, 1623)
Degree of Usefulness:
Debacchate and bacchanal ("drunken revelry") share a root: Bacchus, the Latin name for the Greek god of wine. That said, there's a reason this one never really caught on.
R E C O G I T A T E
Definition:
to think over again
Degree of Usefulness:
We could all probably benefit from this word here and there.
An Example:
And the same shall wee also doe, as often as with sorrow and griefe wee discusse and recogitate our sinnes.
— Richard Middleton, The Heavenly Progresse, 1617
POT - VALIANT
Definition:
bold or courageous under the influence of alcoholic drink
Degree of Usefulness:
A fancy way of saying you have liquid courage, pot-valiant is useful for describing those occasions when over-imbibing convinces one that hopping onto a mechanical bull is a good idea.
P E C C A B I L I T Y
Definition:
capability of sinning
Degree of Usefulness:
Peccability is less known than its cousin, impeccable ("flawless"); however, it is a lot more fun to hang out with.
A P A T H E I A
Definition:
freedom or release from emotion or excitement
Degree of Usefulness:
Seems like it could be pretty relaxing to try out.
An Example:
Thus in Clifford—the degree of apatheia one enjoys throughout is surprising.
—The British Critic (London, Eng.), Jan. 1842
ACNESTIS
Definition:
“The part of the back (or backbone) between the shoulder blades and the loins which an animal cannot reach to scratch” (Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed.)
Degree of Usefulness:
Acnestis is an exceedingly rare word, although it describes a part of the body we are all familiar with. You'll want it when you really need to scratch that itch.
ROUTINEER
Definition:
one that adheres to or insists on routine
Degree of Usefulness:
Put this one on your to-do list.
An Example:
Though the French have done their best to have a sufficient number of clocks and watches for their own use, yet they are so little routineers in the manufacturing way, that they have not been able to furnish themselves with all that is wanted in Horlogery, which occasions a great quantity of movements finished and unfinished to be imported from Switzerland and Geneva every year.
— The Gentleman’s Magazine (London, Eng.), 1 Apr. 1792
ALL-OVERISH
Definition:
1.vaguely uneasy 2.slightly indisposed
Degree of Usefulness:
A lovely and little-used word for those moments where you're feeling a bit off, or just not quite all there. Or when you wake up and immediately check Twitter.
P E R P O T A T I O N
Definition:
“ordinarie drunkenesse”
(Henry Cockeram, English Dictionarie, 1623)
Degree of Usefulness:
Most 17th-century lexicographers provided very brief definitions, and Henry Cockeram was no exception. He did not specify exactly how drunk one had to be for it to be considered ordinary, or whether he himself was drunk when he composed this entry.
SAEVA INDIGNATIO
Definition:
“‘Savage indignation’, a feeling of contemptuous rage at human folly.”
(Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed.)
Degree of Usefulness:
A word for everyone who has felt this way about the world and not known how to express it. In other words, a word for everyone.
B A C K F R I E N D
Definition:
a seeming friend who is secretly an enemy
Degree of Usefulness:
Frenemy is a little played-out at this point anyway.
An Example:
Fusion never needed the assistance of “back-friends,” as Sir Walter Scott once termed them; and the attempts to amalgamate elements which lack all principle of cohesion will in the long run prove injurious to its cause.
— The New York Times, 30 Oct. 1903
P E R N O C T A T E
Definition:
to stay up or out all night
Degree of Usefulness:
You should perhaps know that this word is most often used in the sense of "to pass the night in vigil or prayer," and not so much in the sense of "to pass the night in debauchery at a club." Take that as you will.
But wait, there's more!
If you enjoyed this list, get ready for the sequel here.
Thank you for Reading!
CREDITS:
- MERRIAM WEBSTER DICTIONARY
- OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY
- and others mentioned within text.
Post a Comment