“F” & “G” Words from Left Field II: Redux. A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet

<word meaning and root formation>

Facinorous: exceedingly wicked [L. facinorōsus, from facinus (“deed”; “bad deed”), from facio (“to make”; “to do”)]

Facundity: eloquence [L. facunditas, from facundus + -itas (“-ity”)

Fascia: band of colour; a name-board over a shop entrance; a dashboard [L. fascia (“band”; “door frame”)]

Fatidic: foretelling the future; prophetic [L. fātidicus, from fātum (“fate”) + dico (“I speak”)]

Fideism: relying on faith alone; epistemological view that faith is independent of reason [ L. fidēs (“trust”; “belief”; “faith”) + -ism]

Flagitious: grossly criminal; utterly disgraceful; shamefully wicked [L. flagitium (“shameful thing”)]

Forisfamiliate: (Scot. law) to disinherit; to shed parental authority [Medieval Latin. forisfamiliatus, forisfamiliare, from L. foris (“outside”) + -familia (“family”)]

Fungible: (Legal.) replaceable by or acceptable as a replacement for a similar item [L. fungi (“to perform”)]

Fustian: ridiculously pompous, bombastic or inflated language [Anglo-Fr. fustian (“a kind of fabric”), prob. from L. fustis (“tree trunk” or “club”; “staff”)]

Fustigate: to criticise severely; to cudgel, ie, to beat with a stick [L. fustis + –igare ]

Fylfot: “Saxon” swastika; a type of swastika associated with medieval Anglo-Saxon culture (cf. Gammadion)

<word meaning and root formation>

Gabion: a cage, cylinder or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil used as a retaining wall in civil engineering, road building, military applications and landscaping [from It. gabbione (“big cage”) from It. gabbia from L. cavea (“cage”)]

Galactophagous: milk-drinking [galaktophágos, (“milk-fed”) from gálaktos (“milk”) + –phagos (“eating”)] 🥛

Galliardise: great merriment; gaiety [from Fr. galliard + -ise, from Transalpine Gaulish gal- (“strength”) +‎ -ard, from Proto-Celtic galā (“ability”; “might”)]

Gambrinous: full of beer; an icon of beer [named after Gambrinus, a mythical Germanic or Flemish king who is supposed to have invented beer]

Gelogenic: provoking laughter; laughable [Gk. gélōs, (“laughter”)]

Genarch: (also sp. Genearch) head of family; a chief of a family or tribe [Gk. géniteur (“genitor”) + -arch ]

Genial:¹ diffusing warmth and friendliness; cordial [L. geniālis (“relating to birth or marriage”; from genius (“tutelary”; “deity”)]

Glycolimia: (also sp. Glycaemia) a craving for sweets;  presence or level of sugar (glucose) in the blood [from NewLat. glyco- (“sugar”) + -emia (“condition of the blood.”)]

Gormandise: eat greedily or voraciously [from MidEng. gourmaunt, gormond, gromonde, from OldFr. gormant (“a glutton”) + -ise]

Gracile: slender [L. gracilis (“slender”)]

Gramercy: used to thank someone; an exclamation of surprise [Fr. from grand merci (“a special thank you”)]

Graminivorous: grass-eating [L. gramin-, gramen (“grass”) + -vorus + -ous (“eating”)]

Grammatolatry: the worship of letters or words Gk. grammato, from grammat-, gramma) + -latry (Grammatolatry could be the motto for this whole project!)

Grampus: a blowing, spouting, whale-like sea creature; a cetacean of the dolphin family [grampoys, from graundepose (“great fish”)]

Grandgousier: someone who will eat anything and everything [Fr. grand gosier, (“Big throat”) a fictional character in the story of Gargantua by François Rabelais]

Graphospasm: writer’s cramp [Gk. grapho (“writing”) + –pasmós”; “spasm”; “convulsion”)] ✍️

Grassation: the act of attacking violently; living in wait to attack [L. grassatio, from grassatus, grassarito (“go about”; “attack”; “rage against”) + -ion]

Graveolent: having a rank smell; fetid; stinking [L. graveolent-, graveolens, from gravis (“heavy”) + -olent-, -olens ]

Gravid: pregnant (-a: pregnant woman); full of meaning [L. gravidus (“laden”; “pregnant”), from gravis (“heavy”)] (cf. Gravific: that which makes heavy)

Groak: to watch people silently while they’re eating, hoping they will ask you to join them (OU)

Grobianism: rudeness; boorishness [from Middle High Ger. grob or grop (“coarse or vulgar”). 1. a Grobian is an imaginary personage known for boorish behaviour, appearing in works of 15-16th century writers 📑 2. a fictional patron saint of the vulgar and coarse, St Grobian

Gyrovagues: wandering or itinerant monks devoid of leadership. Having no fixed address they were reliant on charity and the hospitality of others [Late Latin. gyrovagus from L. gȳrus (“circle”) + –vagus (“wandering”)]

¹ genial’s a word that gets bandied round a lot in casual conversation and on the net, however there seems some haziness about the term’s meaning…perhaps a homophonic issue through some confusion with “genius?”)

Key: OU = origin unknown