Interesting idea: I'll go ahead and start it off, but each day at least one person should post and define a word that isn't used too often. Might be dumb but thought I'd throw it out there.
Vocabulary expansion.
Yegg- noun- safecracker; also : robber
By the way, I am kind of cheating. I subscribe to the Webster word of the day in my email =/
Or, better yet, if you come across a word that you don't know or maybe other's wouldn't know, post it!
churrigueresque: Of or relating to a style of baroque architecture of Spain and its Latin-American colonies, characterized by elaborate and extravagant decoration
My 20th C. Lit. professor used this word to described elaborate, vaulted novel structure.
wood pussy -
a skunk.
I try to mark in a critique when I have to look up a word. I'm pretty good at guessing the meaning through context, but there have been some that really had me stumped. Of course, I can't think of any right now.
So, I'll go with my current favorite word that I found on litreactor: apophenia.
Apophenia. I like that word. A verb then? Or a noun? Like, "a state of apophenia"?
Wood pussy = awesome.
Churrigueresque. Also awesome. How the hell is that pronounced? Churry-goo-resk?
Shuh-rugue-er-essk - ˌtʃʊərɪgəˈrɛsk
Masticate--to grind or chew food with teeth.
That's my favorite word that sounds dirty but it's not.
Parochial- adjective- 1: of or relating to a church parish
2: limited in range or scope (as to a narrow area or region) : provincial, narrow
This is actually one of my favorite words and I don't know why. Maybe because there are so many parochial people out there.
The word Parochial really makes me want to go home and watch Father Ted.
I actually like using it as "you're so parochial", as in narrow minded. Boo ya.
impricate: to invoke evil upon; curse.
One of my favorite words... "I'm alive and well, despite my ex-wife's fondest imprecations."
Intercalate- verb- to insert (as a day) into a calendar
or
to insert between or among existing elements or layers
Is that like...when you add the cream filling to the donuts?
Hmm... is more like when you add a donut to a dozen donuts so you don't come short of the royal decree.
It has more to do with adding things into a series or increasing the size or scope of a group.
Blue Falcon: Military slang for buddy fucker or one who sells out their friends to enhance their own career. Also known as a Bravo Foxtrot.
Use: That guy is a true blue falcon, watch yourself.
FMF: Acronym - Military slang for member of the Fuck My Friends club. Equivalent to a Blue Falcon, but more widely known among the unit. May also associate oneself with other known Blue Falcons. Could also be a member of the actual FMF (Fleet Marine Force). Careful with use if you don't know how or to whom you are speaking.
Use: When did you join the FMF you bastard?
OFP: Acronym - Military slang for person who is on their Own Fucking Program. A person who does what he likes with no regard to friends or laws.
Use: That dudes OFP, I wouldn't bother too much with him.
What about a guy who literally fucks your friends?
Slubberdegullion:
A filthy, slobbering person; a sloven, a villain, a fiend, a louse.
A worthless person.
A drunk, and/or an alcoholic
Adumbrate: To give a sketchy outline; to prefigure indistinctly. From the Latin Adumbratus, "shadowed in outline."
Sagacious: Having or showing a keen discernment, sound judgment, and farsightedness. From the Latin Sagax, "of quick perception," related to Sagus, "prophetic," Sagire "perceive keenly," from the Proto-Indo-European root Sag-, "to seek."
I need help.
I am looking for a word, which I'm pretty sure I know to exist, that is psychological terminology for, basically, a perverse sympathetic reaction to a piece of art.
Thanks for those definitions Ren. I can't wait to here if someone figures out the perverse sympathetic reaction to a work of art question. I love to know that word.
Word of the year for me after reading Infinite Jest:
Fantod(s)- a state or attack of uneasiness or unreasonableness.
ex: That guy over there in the corner staring at me is giving me the howling fantods.
or even better: That Miley Cyrus performance the other night gave me raging fantods.
Renfield: are you referring to Stendhal Syndrome?
Vonnegut, thank you, I think that is a variation of the word I was thinking of. I've since forgotten why I needed to know it. I do however have some more interesting wordturns to offer:
Eyetooth: canine tooth of the upper jaw, so called for its position immediately under or near to the eye.
This came up on Facebook earlier today, so I thought I'd add it here, too.
contronym - a word whose different meanings are antonyms. Like buckle (to fasten together vs. break apart), garnish (to add to vs. take away from), temper (strengthen vs. soften), sanction (permit vs. boycott), rent (sell usage vs. buy usage), etc.
This is one of my favorite not-very-common words.
Reticent: 1. reserved; unwilling to communicate very much, talk freely, or reveal all the facts about something; 2. reluctant; unwilling to do something
http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/27-delightful-obsolete-words-its-high-...
22 is my favourite...I'm just dying for the appropriate place in fiction to use that one!
I never realised 27 was an obscure word...someone taught me the same example phrase a few years ago and I use it quite often.
Two of my favorite obscure words,
Vigisimus: of or having to do with the twentieth place or value. I didn't check the spelling in case I'm off by a letter or two. It's a Latin root and looks right. It was on some goofy word test I took once.
The other may or may not be a real word at all, Fadick used as in Fadick communication. Those automattic responses we give to people without really meaning anything when we give them. This was presented in a class I took by the teacher. I have never been able to find anything to corroborate his definition and I've never really been sure he didn't just make it up himself. Again the spelling is just a guess.
