Irene Posted December 3, 2016 Report Share Posted December 3, 2016 If you know/find any interesting or unusual words, please feel free to add them to the thread. Oxymoron (n.pl) ~ A phrase in which two words of contradictory meaning are used together for special effect. For example: Seriously funny Foolish wisdom Open secret Liquid gas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Serendipity (noun) ~ The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident. “A fortunate stroke of serendipity.” Source: Wikipedia Quote Serendipity means a "fortunate happenstance" or "pleasant surprise". It was coined by Horace Walpole in 1754. In a letter he wrote to a friend, Walpole explained an unexpected discovery he had made by reference to a Persian fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip. The princes, he told his correspondent, were "always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of". The notion of serendipity is a common occurrence throughout the history of scientific innovation such as Alexander Fleming's accidental discovery of penicillin in 1928, the invention of the microwave oven by Percy Spencer in 1945, and the invention of the Post-it note by Spencer Silver in 1968. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2016 absquatulate (verb) ~ Leave abruptly. Origin: Mid-19th century: blend (simulating a Latin form) of abscond, squattle ‘squat down’, and perambulate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2016 entomophagy (noun) ~ The practice of eating insects, especially by people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2016 floccinaucinihilipilification (noun) ~ The action or habit of estimating something as worthless Origin Mid-18th century: from Latin flocci, nauci, nihili, pili (words meaning at little value) + -fication. The Latin elements were listed in a well-known rule of the Eton Latin Grammar. More information and pronunciation HERE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2016 Triskaidekaphobia (noun) ~ Extreme superstition regarding number thirteen Origin: Early 20th century: from Greek treiskaideka thirteen + -phobia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2016 thalassic (adjective) ~ Relating to the sea Origin Mid 19th century: from French thalassique, from Greek thalassa sea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2016 Sesquipedalian (adjective) ~ (of a word) polysyllabic; long: ‘sesquipedalian surnames’ Characterized by long words; long-winded: ‘the sesquipedalian prose of scientific journals’ Origin Mid 17th century: from Latin sesquipedalis a foot and a half long, from sesqui + ped- foot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 spumoni (noun) (also spumone) ~ A kind of ice-cream dessert with different colours and flavours in layers. Origin: From Italian spumone, from spuma foam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 rhinoplasty (noun) ~ Plastic surgery performed on the nose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 rubricate (verb) historical ~ To add elaborate, typically red, capital letters or other decorations to (a manuscript): Rubrication was one of several steps in the medieval process of manuscript making. Practitioners of rubrication, so-called rubricators, were specialized scribes who received text from the manuscript's original scribe and supplemented it with additional text in red ink for emphasis. The term rubrication comes from the Latin rubrico, "to colour red". example: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted December 15, 2016 Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 borborygmus ˌbɔːbəˈrɪɡməs/ noun technical noun: borborygmus; plural noun: borborygmi a rumbling or gurgling noise made by the movement of fluid and gas in the intestines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted December 15, 2016 Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 tintinnabulation ˌtɪntɪnabjʊˈleɪʃ(ə)n noun noun: tintinnabulation; plural noun: tintinnabulations a ringing or tinkling sound. "the tiny tintinnabulation, faint as fairy bells" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 54 minutes ago, -pops- said: borborygmus a rumbling or gurgling noise made by the movement of fluid and gas in the intestines. I take Metformin to assist in the control of Diabetes and it has precisely that effect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 Omophagy (noun) ~ The eating of raw food, especially raw meat. Origin: Early 18th century: from Greek ōmophagia, from ōmos raw + -phagia (from phagein eat). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 Panpygoptosis the condition of having short legs found in Samuel Beckett’s novel Murphy and discussions of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Erythematotelangiectasia Having a red face caused by dilated blood capillaries close to the surface of the skin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Incunabulum ~ An early printed book, especially one printed before 1501. Origin From Latin incunabula (neuter plural) swaddling clothes, cradle, from in- into + cunae cradle. Books printed before 1501 are called incunabula; the word is derived from Latin for swaddling clothes and used to indicate that these books are the work of a technology still in its infancy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted December 18, 2016 Report Share Posted December 18, 2016 Inspissate The act of thickening or condensing, as by evaporation or absorption of fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2016 ecdysiast (noun) ~ A striptease performer Origin 1940, from Greek ekdysis "a stripping or casting off" (used scientifically with reference to serpents shedding skin or crustacea molting). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted December 18, 2016 Report Share Posted December 18, 2016 Plethysmography is used to measure changes in volume in different parts of the body. The test may be done to check for blood clots in the arms and legs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2016 Callipygian (adjective) ~ Having well-shaped buttocks Origin Late 18th century: from Greek kallipūgos (used to describe a famous statue of Venus), from kallos beauty + pūgē buttocks, + -ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted December 19, 2016 Report Share Posted December 19, 2016 anthropophagus One who eats human flesh - a cannibal Latin anthrōpophagus, from Greek anthrōpophagos, man-eating : anthrōpo-, anthropo- + -phagos, -phagous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted December 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2016 doryphore (noun) ~ A pedantic and annoyingly persistent critic ...As an example, I could name one... but I won't Origin 1950's (introduced by Sir Harold Nicolson): from French, literally Colorado beetle, from Greek doruphoros spear carrier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted December 20, 2016 Report Share Posted December 20, 2016 Dolichocephaly (derived from the ancient Greek, δολιχός meaning long) is a condition where the head is longer than would be expected, relative to its width. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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