Continuing the A–Z series of out-of-the-norm, non-mainstream quirky words…this time exploring lexical items starting with the ostentatiously curvy letter “C“, the third letter and second consonant of the modern English alphabet. “C” comes from the same letter as “G”. The Semites named it gimel. The sign is possibly adapted from an Egyptian hieroglyph for a staff sling, which may have been the meaning of the name gimel. Another possibility, contested by some classical scholars, is that it depicted a camel, the Semitic name for which was gamal. The utility of “C” extends to the Romans’ numeral system where it represents the number for “100”, “C” for century!
Word | Meaning | Derivation |
Cacodoxy | bad doctrine or wrong opinion | Gk caco ("bad") + -doxia ("opinion") |
Cacogen | an anti-social person | Gk caco ("bad") + -genēs ("offspring") |
Cacophemism | a perjorative expression used instead of a mild one | Gk caco ("bad") + -logía ("speech") |
Cagamosis | an unhappy marriage | origin unknown |
Calcographer | one who draws with crayons and pastels✍️ | L calco ("thread", "trample on") + graphe ("write") |
Callpygous | having beautiful buttocks | Gk kallos ("beautiful") + -pūgē ("buttocks") |
Camelot | newspaper vendor ️ | F origin unknown |
Carpophagous | fruit-eating | Gk karpós ("fruit") + -phágous ("eating") |
Catapedamania | an impulse to jump from high places | Gk cata ("downward") + -ped ("ground") ⛰️ |
Catchpole | sheriff's deputy, esp one who makes an arrest for failure to pay a debt | OE cace ("catch") + Med L pullus (a chick") |
Celerity | swiftness of movement | L celer ("speedy"; "swift") |
Celsitude | loftiness, esp in rel. to position or standing | L celsus ("high"; "lofty") |
Cenobite | monk; member of religious order | Gk koinos ("common") + -bios ("life") |
Cereologist | someone who studies crop circles, esp one who believes they are not man-made or formed by other terrestrial processes ⭕️ | L Ceres (Roman goddess of agriculture ") + -logy ("study") |
Chaetophorous | having bristles | Gk khaítē ("hair") + -phoros ("bearing") |
Chasmaphilous | fond of nooks & crannies | Gk chasma ("abyss"; "cleft") + phil |
Chiliad | divide into parts of 1,000; Millennium | Gk khilioi ("thousand") |
Chorizent | someone who challenges the authorship of a major work, esp one who believes that the Iliad & the Odyssey were not penned by Homer ✍️ | origin unknown |
Chryosophist | a lover of gold ⚱️ | Gk chrys ("gold") + -philos ("phile") |
Cicisbeo | male companion of a married woman | origin unknown |
Cicerone | a guide for tourism information ℹ️ | L from Cicero, agnomen of Roman orator, (2th BCE |
Clerisy | class of the intelligentsia; group of learned & literary people | Gk klēros ("heritage") |
Concision | tenseness & brevity of speech & writing; saying much in a few words | L concīsus ("cut short") |
Consign | deserved & appropriate, esp a fair & fitting punishment | L con ("altogether") + -dignus ("worthy"; "appropriate" |
Copacetic | completely satisfactory; in good order | origin unknown |
Coruscating | sparkling; glittering | L coruscatus ("to vibrate", "glitter") |
Cosmocracy | rulership of the world; global government ️ | Gk cosmo ("universe") + -krátos ("rule"; "power") |
Coterminous | having the same boundaries | Eng, (18th. |
Crepuscular | resembling or rel to twilight | L crepusculum ("twilight") |
Cruciverbalist | one who is skilled at or enjoys solving crosswords 里 | L cruci ("cross" + -verbum ("word"). Neologism, 1977) |
Cryptarcy | secret government or rulership | Gk kryptos ("hidden"; "secret") |
Cryptogenic | (disease) of unknown origin | Gk kryptos ("hidden"; "secret") + genēs ("offspring") |
Cryptonym | a code or secret name | Gk kryptos ("hidden"; "secret") + -nym ("name") |
Cumbent | "lying down"; "reclining" | L incumbere ("lie or lean on") |
Curiosa | pornographic books | L curiosus ("curious") |
Curlicue | calligraphic twist or curl in the design object; decorative | Eng, (18th. "Curly" + "cue" ("pigtail") |
Cursoril | limbs adapted to running (zool.) | Med L cursorius ("of running") |
Cyesolagnia | attracted to pregnant women | Gk cyeso(?) + -lagnia ("lust") |
Cynoid | dog-like; canine | Gk kyn ("dog") + oid ("resembling") |
Cynosure | anything that attracts attention; object of interest | Gk kunosoura (lit. "dog's tail") an association der. from the shape of the constellation Ursa Minor |
Cereologist: pondering the enigma of the crop circle ⭕️
Chorizent: Not Homer!
