Interesting words you learned today

slcboston · May 28, 2008

Maybe it's a sign of my otherwise limited vocabulary, but I've come across a number of words that I think are somewhat neat, which prior to today (or yesterday) I did not know.

I'm hoping I'm not the only one here with an interest in new and unusual vocabulary, so I thought I'd throw one out here and see what happens.

My word for the day:

gallinule

Mr Flibble · May 28, 2008

Not today, but my favourite word is Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.

Today I learned that sardonic comes from a plant that grows in Sardinia, and the Greeks believed that if eaten it makes you grimace with pain before you die horribly, hence a bitter sardonic grin

yesterday, I learned odalisque and the difference between looting and pillaging.

Stormhawk · May 28, 2008

"L'esprit d'escalier" - the wit of the staircase, all those clever things you think of after the fact.

slcboston · May 28, 2008

Stormhawk said:
"L'esprit d'escalier" - the wit of the staircase, all those clever things you think of after the fact.

I didn't even know there was a term for that...

Phaeal · May 28, 2008

Corymb - a flat-topped flower cluster in which the stalks grow upward from various points of the main stem to approximately the same height. Queen Anne's Lace, perhaps.

Round John Virgin · May 28, 2008

One of my favorite words--though I didn't just learn it today--is borborygmus. This is the noise made by a stomach growling or, less euphemistically, by gas moving through the intestines. Since the sound of the word is similar to the sound of the--um--intestinal gas, it's a good example of onomatopoeia (another favorite!).

Most recently (yesterday) I learned that all my life I've been misconstruing the word careen, thinking it just meant flying along like a bat out of hell, at the margin of control. Actually it's an old nautical term from the days of wooden sailing ships. It meant causing the ship to lean far to one side, often by deliberately beaching it at low tide. The purpose of careening was to expose the side of the lower hull and keel for cleaning or repairs. Today it generally means leaning or rocking from side to side, usually while moving along at high speed. My thanks to The History Channel International for straightening that out (pardon the pun).

Madison · May 28, 2008

"Boilerplate"

I'm job shadowing a bunch of reporters at a big newspaper right now, so I've been learning a lot of reporter jargon. A boilerplate is a story a reporter will prepare as a rough draft in anticipation of breaking news, so that when the news breaks it won't all be hectic typing. Obviously it's anticipated breaking news, but no one knows when it will break, so reporters have to be ready with a boilerplate.

C.bronco · May 28, 2008

A new non-word: "staycation." You are too broke to go anywhere, so you stay at home doing things like painting the house and mulching. That's what I do.

StoryG27 · May 28, 2008

I learned that "hilarious" is now pronounced "hilaaaaarious" if you are a super cool pre-teen girl. I'm not.

IceCreamEmpress · May 28, 2008

Round John Virgin said:
Most recently (yesterday) I learned that all my life I've been misconstruing the word careen, thinking it just meant flying along like a bat out of hell, at the margin of control.

That's actually an eggcorn for "career". It's one of those things like "jerry-rigged", which is an eggcorn from "jury-rigged" and "jerry-built". Nautical metaphors are very susceptible to eggcorning for some reason.

I learned a new word from this thread ("corymb") but nowhere else today. Sigh. Still three hours and change left in my time zone, though.

Will Lavender · May 28, 2008

Eggcorn.

TerzaRima · May 28, 2008

The difference between incubus and succubus--it's gender. This is the kind of thing I have occupying valuable brainspace which should be used to remember things like where I left my cell phone.

WittyandorIronic · May 29, 2008

Ha! I just bugged everyone at work with my new words last night. Using my new play toy visuwords I learned meronym, holonym, hyponym, and hypernym. I always understood the grammatical concepts, I just never knew there were words for them.

brainstrains · May 29, 2008

Callipygian is the best word ever. Having nicely shaped buttocks.

Mr Flibble · May 29, 2008

I was trying to find a word to describe my mate, something to wind him up with that he wouldn't know.

He's a monorchis

The other one got stabbed off.

tehuti88 · May 29, 2008

I didn't learn it today, but recently I learned of relatives of the feeling of "déjà vu":

Jamais vu--being in a familiar situation yet not recognizing it

Presque vu--having something on the "tip of your tongue" but not being able to remember it

And while looking these up to get the spellings right I also found the "staircase wit" (L'esprit de l'escalier) referred to above, and these others:

Déjà vécu--same as déjà vu, only involving more of the senses

Déjà senti--something "already felt" (a mental happening more than a sensory one, I guess)

Déjà visité--the feeling of having visited a certain place already

So...I guess I learned those terms today. Huh.

IceCreamEmpress · May 29, 2008

IdiotsRUs said:
I was trying to find a word to describe my mate, something to wind him up with that he wouldn't know.

He's a monorchis

I believe Himmler had something simmler

slcboston · Jun 17, 2008

resurrecting (which itself is a pretty cool word) here to bring you:

mansuetude: which is a really fancy way of saying meekness

HorsebackWriter · Jun 17, 2008

Great thread. I too love learning new words.

My word today was: Dilatory, which means putting things off, and prone to procrastination.

If you love learning new words, you might be interested in Dictionary.com -- you can subscribe to the Word of the Day sent in email. I love it!

Em

Diana W. · Jun 17, 2008

brainstrains said:
Callipygian is the best word ever. Having nicely shaped buttocks.

That's a great word to know!

slcboston · Jun 17, 2008

Mumut said:
when the wax is melted down a bit and there is more burnt wick than needed, the flame is sooty and this is called guttering.

*adds to the list*

Blondchen · Jun 17, 2008

Hobosexual.

Adjective. The opposite of metrosexual; one who cares little for one's own appearance.
Examples: Michael Moore, Peter Jackson.
First documented hobosexual - John the Baptist.

slcboston · Jun 19, 2008

litotes

Simple concept with a really confusing definition: understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary

In other words, when some says they "weren't bad" when in truth, they rocked.

Faolmor · Jun 19, 2008

Philtrum

That little vertical groove, centred, between your upper lip and your nose.

slcboston · Jul 1, 2008

trichotillomania

the compulsive pulling of your hair

Interesting words you learned today

Pasture-ized

They've been very bad, Mr Flibble

Angry Bunny Girl

Pasture-ized

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.

summertime...

I have plans...

Miss Behave

Hapless Virago

Everything is what it seems.

Absinthe O'Malice

4-8-8-4

They've been very bad, Mr Flibble

Mackinac Island Fanatic

Hapless Virago

Pasture-ized

Dream at a gallop!

I'm evolving

Pasture-ized

Honey Badger don't give a shit.

Pasture-ized

My eyes! It burns!

Pasture-ized