Showing posts by: demonymonic
Manchu Frontierland: The Historic Willow Palisade System of Northeast China
Pastoral France and England of centuries past had their ha–ha walls𖤓𖤓 but China of the Qing Dynasty had its Willow Palisade (or wall). The willow palisade (Chinese: 柳條邊; pinyin: Liǔtiáo Biān) was a system of ditches and earth embankments planted with willow trees acting as a barrier to passage. The wall, stretching a length of 1,000 miles in a northeastern direction, contained gates (men | bianmen)🅰 with wooden towers, 21 in all, at 50–mile intervals. Some sections of the palisades also had moats or dikes.
Shànhâiguan wall (arrowed in red) (image: ltl-beijing.com)
The start-point of the Willow Palisade was the terminus point of the Great Wall, the Shànhâiguan fortress, from there it wound its way up to the Northeast (Dongbei) region (formerly known as Manchuria) into the modern–day provinces of Liaoning and Jilin, terminating at the Korean border (Yalu River). The palisade consisted of three sections and like the Great Wall of China it was built in stages. The first section (Laobian, “Old Border”), together with the second section, formed the inner palisade across the Liaoning Peninsula. The third (northern) section represented the outer palisade whose purpose was to separate the traditional areas of the Manchus from those of the Mongols.
The palisades as built were intended to be defensive, strategic and restrictive. Most historians and Sinologists see their primary purpose as creating a barrier to keep Chinese immigrants from entering Manchuria. The Manchu Dynasty’s desire to exclude them from the northern territories stems from a fear of its homeland being swamped by the masses of Han Chinese [Elliott, Mark C. “The Limits of Tartary: Manchuria in Imperial and National Geographies.” The Journal of Asian Studies 59, no. 3 (2000): 603–46. https://doi.org/10.2307/2658945.] A restrictive policy was seen as crucial to the preservation of Manchu culture and identity [Bulag, Uradyn E. “Rethinking Borders in Empire and Nation at the Foot of the Willow Palisade.” Frontier Encounters: Knowledge and Practice at the Russian, Chinese and Mongolian Border, edited by Franck Billé et al., 1st ed., Open Book Publishers, 2012, pp. 33–54. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vjss5.6. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.] Robert Lee and Bulag attribute the installation the wall of willows to a strategy to prevent an alliance forming between the Mongols and the Chinese…keeping the two groups apart would negate a potential threat to the ruling Manchu dynasty [Robert Lee, quoted in Bulag].
There were economic reasons to block Chinese migrating to the Northeast. As well as wanting to relocate in the more productive agrarian lands of Manchuria, many Chinese (and some Tartars) sought to poach the region’s rich harvests of ginseng. Sable was another valuable northern resource that the Manchus wanted to keep secure from southern poachers [Kim, Seonmin. “Managing the Borderland.” Ginseng and Borderland: Territorial Boundaries and Political Relations Between Qing China and Choson Korea, 1636-1912, 1st ed., University of California Press, 2017, pp. 77–103. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1w8h1p0.11. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.]
Another intended purpose of the Willow Palisade was to keep trespassers from Korea from venturing west into Qing Dynasty territory. Edmonds however contends that the part of the natural wall in proximity to Korea functioned more as “an internal boundary rather than the demarcation of the China/Korea border” [Richard L. Edmonds, ‘The Willow Palisade’, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol 69, Issue 4, December 1979, pp.599–621].
By the early part of the 18th century the ineffectiveness of the Willow Palisade was apparent. The porous palisade was failing badly in its aim of checking the transgression of Han Chinese immigrants and ginseng poachers into Manchuria which had become by the 1730s a constant flow (Bulag). The prohibition against crossing into the Chinese Pale was in any case not a watertight one, if the circumstance demanded more seasonal labourers for land cultivation or such, it was temporarily rescinded [Michael Meyer, ‘The Lesser Wall’, 06–June–2012, ChinaFile, www.chinafile.com]. Han refugees in the 1780s were imported into Manchuria and Inner Mongolia to farm produce.
Under the Manchus, by the mid–18th century control over the palisades was eroding – soldiers were now only guarding the areas near the gates. Willow Palisade maintenance was being neglected and the tree wall was deteriorating alarmingly with gaps in the willows and trees being cut or pruned for fuel as well, the dikes were wearing away and the palisade had become superfluous as a barrier of any utility. In the 20th century the Willow Palisade disappears from sight and from memory and history altogether. The 1,000–mi long, uncelebrated northern wall does not feature on any modern maps of China or the region. Very little physical evidence is left of the palisade…attempts to retrace the route have tended to rely on drawing the dots between villages in the northern provinces for the nearest approximation of location, the clue being any village name ending in –men (the word for “gate”), eg, Ying’emen (Meyer).
At eye–level the Willow Palisade’s shape resembles the Chinese character representing a “person striding forward” 人 – described as “a wishbone of soil and trees” (Meyer)
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𖤓𖤓 Ha-ha wall: a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier to entry (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view of the landscape beyond from the other, higher side (also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall or foss).
A note on the name “Manchuria”:: The oft-used name “Manchuria” is a controversial one in PRC due to its Japanese imperial associations – it derives from the Japanese exonym Manshū (from the name of the local people, the Manchus). The Northeast region of China has alternately but less commonly been referred to as “Tungpei”.
Architect of the Trojan Horse – Odysseus contra Epeius
𓃗 𓃗 𓃗
Leaving aside the small percentage of the population who are by nature petracolous𖤓, who in the West hasn’t heard something described as a “Trojan Horse” at some time or other, even if they may not grasp that its a reference to the fabled Trojan Horse of Greek mythology? Its usage in the modern world—signifying a trick or stratagem that causes a target to invite a foe into a securely protected bastion or place—makes it one of the great, storied metaphors of human interaction and existence. In the age of IT the term has also crossed over into computing jargon to describe any malicious computer program that fools users into willingly running it (often called simply a “Trojan”). But let’s get back to the origin story, the literary-mythical “Trojan Horse” (Troia hippos or douráteos hippos) of antiquity upon which its metaphorical longevity of currency rests.
The ancient sources of the classical world—principally Virgil’s Aeneid, Quintus of Smyrna’s The Fall of Troy and Homer’s Odyssey (but not the Iliad!)—gave us the legendary Trojan Horse story, an audacious ruse by the Achaeans§ to penetrate the impenetrable walls of Troy with the crafty “gift” of a deceptive and catastrophe-bringing equine decoy. The master-scheme, masterminded by Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, succeeded spectacularly, bringing the ten long years of a Hellenic-Trojan war, hitherto thought to be utterly inconclusive, to a swift and definitive conclusion.
Unsurprisingly in a story about great heroic warriors, all of the kudos for the triumph of the wooden horse gets lavished on Odysseus’ head, with the wily king of Ithaca being described by tradition as “the architect of the Trojan Horse”. The problem with this exalted tag being ascribed solely to Odysseus is that it completely glosses over the vital role of Epeius of Phocis who can stake a comparable (and literal) claim to the title in the Trojan Horse episode. The germ of the idea was the genius master-stroke of Odysseus, yes, but he still needed a highly skilled artisan–builder to bring the oversized horse decoy into being. Epeius, a soldier and pugilist in the Achaean ranks had been a master carpenter in his civilian life before the war, and the task was down to him, not Odysseus, to make the Wooden Horse a reality. Epeius designed and built the gigantic super-sized model of a horse with a hollow belly large enough to hold 30 warriors and their armour and weapons, making his creation a plausible structure, well-constructed and finely detailed…and he did all this in just three days – apparently with some help or inspiration from the goddess Athena. Without Epeius’ Herculean labour of monolithic scale carpentry, Odysseus would not have the Trojan Horse which is synonymous in Greek mythology with his name, the very instrument which proved a total game-breaker ending the stalemate in the decade-long war between Agamemnon’s Achaeans and Priam’s Trojans.
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𖤓 ie, living under a rock
§ the name Homer (or “Homer”) used in referring to the ancient Greeks
Lost Medieval Cities on the Caspian Sea Littoral
The Caspian “Sea”—geographically more correctly an inland saltwater lake, the biggest of its kind in the world—is bordered by five modern nations, Kazakhstan and Russia (to the north), Azerbaijan (west), Turkmenistan (east) and Iran (south). With a melting pot of ethnicities in the region, below we will meet some medieval cities situated on the Caspian littoral that prospered for a time during the Middle Ages before vanishing entirely from history.
Lost city of Aktobe–Laeti: Archaeologists whose fieldwork focuses on the Caspian Sea and Caucasus regions have had much to occupy themselves with in recent decades. Systematic excavations started in the 1970s and have unearthed hitherto-disappeared sites like Aktobe–Laeti, a buried urban settlement on the Great Silk Road route that thrived in the 14th and 15th centuries. Atkobi–Laeti is located in the Atyrau (western) region of Kazakhstan. Archaeologists discovered that the settlement contains three cultural layers on top of each other (cf. Troy). Furnaces and fragments found among the debris point to the erstwhile city having skilled artisans in metalwork and pottery crafts. Many of the newly unearthed artefacts are now on display at the local history museum [‘Ancient Land of the Caspian Sea Holds Secrets of the Past’, Aruzhan Ualikhanova, The Astana Times, 15-July-2023, www.astanatimes.com].
Reconstructing a Golden Horde settlement: It’s estimated that at its peak Aktobe–Laeti housed around 10,000 inhabitants who traded their goods and wares with travelling foreign merchants. It’s key position on the Silk Road linking Central Asia and the lower Volga and evidence of the minting of coins suggest that the city was a prosperous one during these times. Traces of a substantial urban settlement in Aktobe–Laeti having existed, contradicts the established view that the peoples of the Caspian Sea led exclusively nomadic lives (Ualikhanova).
In the 14th century this important city of commerce could be identified on maps of Italian travellers but by the 16th century Aktobe-Laeti had vanished without a trace. There are two theories put forward that account for it’s sudden disappearance – it was submerged under the rising waters of the Caspian, or the city was destroyed by Timur of Samarkand in his vast empire-extending, take-no-prisoners rampage across central and western Asia (Ualikhanova).
Sabayil castle, Atlantis for real: Climate change, the damming of some 100 rivers which flow into the sea including the Volga and the flow-on effects of the Aral Sea disaster, have all resulted in a shrinking of the Caspian and an on-going drop in the sea-level. The singular upside of this ominous ecological change, perhaps for archaeologists alone, is the surfacing of the upper sections of the long-disappeared Sabayil (or Bayil) Castle. The structure, built by Shirvanshah Faribirz III in 1232–1235 as an off-shore watchtower 350m from the shoreline to give the citizens of Baku advanced notice of impending attacks on the city. In 1306 the castle sank under water due to a mega-earthquake. The now visible tops of the towers reveals huge stone tablets engraved in both Arabic and Farsi script and decorations depicting imaginary animals and human faces [‘As the Caspian Sea Disappears, Life Goes on for Those Living by Its Shores’, Felix Light, Moscow Times, 27-Apr-2021,
www.themoscowtimes.com; ‘Sabayil Castle, vicinity of Baku’, OrexCA, www.orexca.com].
Caspian cities of the Khazar Khanate: Lost cities were also a feature of the medieval Khazaria Kingdom (a large area mainly to the north and northwest of the Caspian Sea). Prominent among these were Ithill (sometimes written “Atil”) and Balanjar. Ithill’s precise location is unknown, however Russian archeologists claim to have discovered the site of Ithill (near Astrakhan in Northern Dagestan), having unearthed a fortress, flamed bricks (a speciality of the Khazars) and yurt-shaped dwellings. The claim has not been substantiated. On the Silk Road route, Ithill, the Khazaria capital at one stage, at its zenith was a major centre of trade, including the Khazaria slave trade. Ithill’s road to ruin and downfall began in the 10th century after the city was sacked by Kievan Rus led by Prince Sviatoslav I. It may have been rebuilt afterwards but it was again decimated in the 11th century and wiped off the map for keeps. Balanjar was also a capital of Khazaria for a time and a city of considerable importance. It suffered the same fate as Ithill, decimated by nomadic conquerors (in the Arab-Khazar wars), rebuilt but went into terminal decline and was no more heard of after ca.1100𖤓.
Abuskūn: Medieval Persia was the site of a lost city on the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea, the port of Abuskūn. It’s location is uncertain but most scholars place it in within the Gorgān region. Abuskūn was a prosperous trading hub for its merchants who traded as far away as the land of the Khazars on the Volga trade route. The city’s wealth and vulnerable location made it a sought-after prize for the Rus and their Caspian expeditions. After 1220 Abuskūn is not mentioned in the documents, although in the 14th century a Persian geographer wrote that it had been an island in the Caspian which was submerged due to the sea’s rise in level.
Abandoned Dekhistan in the desert: Modern Turkmenistan is host to one or two lost cities of its own. The most significant was Dekhistan, aka Dekhistan-Misrian (S.W. Turkmenistan), near the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea…a ruined Silk Road city but at its peak (11th century) a major economic centre and the foremost medieval oasis in the region. It managed to survive the Mongol invasion albeit weakened, limped on till the 15th century but was ultimately undone by large scale deforestation precipitating an ecological disaster (failed irrigation system), turning the city into a ghost town. All that remains are mud-brick foundations, the outlines of a few caravanserais and what’s left of several minarets in varying degrees of decay [‘Ancient settlement of Dekhistan’, Silk Road Adventures, www.silkadv.com].
Derbent continuity: Derbent in the Dagestan region of Russia differs from the impermanence of these other medieval Caspian cities in it having achieved a continuity of existence right through to the present day. Archeological diggings reveal that the city has clocked up nearly 2,000 years of continuous urban settlement. The existence of Derbent (romanised as “Derbend”, from a Farsi word meaning “gateway”) as a fortified settlement, was known by Greek and Roman authors as early as the 3rd century BC [‘Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent’, UNESCO, www.whc.unesco.org]. Derbent’s strategic location, nestled tightly between natural barriers—the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains—has seen control of it pass from empire to empire – Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and finally Russian§. Under the Persians it formed part of the northern lines of the Sasanian Empire.
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𖤓 another Khazar city, Samandar—thought to be situated on the western shore of the Caspian roughly midway between Atil and Derbent—was also lost to history during this period
§ so prized because it allowed rulers of Derbent to control land traffic between the Eurasian Steppe and the Middle East [‘Derbent’, Wikipedia, http://en.m.wikipedia.org]
“W”, “X”, “Y” & “Z” Words from Left Field II: Redux. A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
<word meaning & root formation>
Wadi: valley; stream; watercourse drying up in summer; oasis [from Arab. wādī, (“river” or “watercourse,”)]
Wanion: unluckily, due to the waning of the moon [from MidEng. waniand, from wanien, wanen (“to wane”)]
Withershins: in an unfortunate direction [from MidHighGer. wider (“against”)+ –sin (“direction”)] Witling: a petty smart Alec; a mere pretender to wit (Bowler)[conjunction of wit + -ling]
<word meaning & root formation>
Xenium: a present given to a guest [from Gk. xenial (pertaining to hospitality or relationship between host and guest) (cf. Xenodochium: a building for the reception of strangers; a caravanserai)
Caravanserai in Fars, Iran
Xenogenous: due to an outside cause; of foreign origin [from Gk. xeno]
word meaning & root formation
Yaul: to deviate from a stable course because of oscillation about the longitudinal axis (Rocket science) (Origin unknown)
Yegg: a burglar of safes; safecracker (Origin obscure: one (dubious) suggestion is from German jäger (“hunter”))
The challenge of the Yegg (Chubb advertisement)
Yemeles: negligent; careless; heedless [OldEng. from Germ.]
Yisse: desire or covet (Origin unknown)
word meaning & root formationZeigarnik: (Psych.) the theory that people remember unfinished or interrupted tasks better than completed tasks; the tendency to remember an uncomplicated task [named after Lithuanian-Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik (Zeigarnik Effect]
Zelotypia: morbid zeal; excessive jealousy [L. zēlotypia (“jealousy”) (Pliny) from Gk. (“jealousy, rivalry, envy“)
Zoilism: carping; destructive criticism [from Zoilus, ancient Greek grammarian and literary critic … was hyper-critical of Homer (Zoilus the “Homeromastix”)]
Zoilus of Ephesus
Zooerastia: (–asty) the practice of a human engaging in sexual intercourse with an animal; bestiality [from Gk. zoo + -astia]
Zoopery: experimentation on animals [from zoo + L. –operārī (“to work, labor, toil, have effect”)]
Zugzwang: a state of play in chess where the player is at a disadvantage as his or her next move will worsen their position in the game (cf. snookering) [from Ger. (“compulsion to move”)]
Zugzwang
“U” and “V” Words from Left Field II: Redux. A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
<: word meaning root formation:>
Ucalegon: neighbour whose house is on fire or has burned down [from Gk. Oukalégōn – one of the Elders of whose house was set on fire by the Achaeans during the sack of Troy, a character in the Iliad (3.148)]
Ultracrepidarian: going too far; overstepping the mark; presumptious; intruding in someone else’s beeswax [from L. ultra- (“beyond”) + –crepidarian (“things concerning shoemaking”); attributed to the 18th–19th cent English essayist and writer William Hazlitt]
Ululate: to howl like a wolf [from L. ululāre (“to howl or bay”)]
Umbersorrow: fit, robust, sturdy, resisting disease or the effects of severe weather; rugged, uncultivated, surly disposition [from Scot. Eng. origin obscure]
Umbriferous: shady; making shade [from L. umbrifer, from umbra (“a shade”) + –ferre (“to bear”)]
Undinism: the association of water with erotic thoughts; sexual arousal from urination [from Ger. undine from L. unda (“wave”)+ -ism]
Unidextral: capable of using one hand only [L. uni (“one only”) + –dexter (“right hand”)] ✋
Upaithric: (Arch.) (a building or structure) without a roof [Gk. Origin obscure] (Synonym: Hypethral)
Urorilocal: (refer to Uxorious in the Logolept’s Diet 1.0) living with one’s wife’s family [borrowed from L. uxōrius (“of or pertaining to a wife”), from uxor (“wife”) + -local(?)]
<: word meaning root formation:>
Valetudinarian: an invalid, esp one with a tendency towards hypochondria; a person who is unduly anxious about their health [from L. valēre, (“to have strength” or “to be well”) + -arian]
Vapulatory: relating to flogging or beating [from L. vāpulō (“cry”; “wail”)]
Venery: sexual indulgence (from L. vener-, venus– (“sexual desire, sexual intercourse”) + -ery]
Verecund: modest; shy; bashful [from L. verēcundus (“shy, modest”)]
Verkramp: someone narrow-minded or extremely conservative in their views [Afrik. “cramped”]
Vetust: venerable from antiquity [from L. vetustus (“old, ancient”)]
Viduity: widowhood [from MidEng. (Scots) viduite, from L. vidua (“widow”) + –ity]
Viviseplture: the practice of burying someone alive [from L. vivus (“alive”) + –sepulture (from L. sepultura (“bury”)]
Voteen: a zealously pious person [from Gael. Irish. corruption of devotee + -een]
Vulpinate: to wilily cheat or deceive someone [from L. vulpes (“fox” )]
Bharat, Türkiye, etc. What’s in a Name?: The Politics of Country Rebranding
In international news of late there’s been speculation by some pundits that the Republic of India might be planning to drop the name “India”—the name the world identifies the South Asian mega-state by—as the official title of the country. The conjecture stems from an apparent signal given by Modi’s government in issuing invitations in the name of the “President of Bharat” to attendees of the September 2023 G-20 summit held in New Delhi.
Why Bharat? Well, Bharat is already the other official name of India, enshrined in the nation’s constitutionᗩ, with a backstory stretching far back into the Sub-continent’s pre-colonial history. The word comes from ancient Sanskrit—Bhārata (“to bear or to carry”), a shortened form of Bhāratavarsa (first used in the 1st century AD)—as does the name Hindustān, also in currency among Hindi-speaking Indians as another name to describe the country as a whole. Some Hindu nationalists have advocated for the creation of Akhand Bharat (“Greater India”) which would unite India with all of its contiguous neighbours in a South Asian super-state.
Origin of “India”: It derives from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, a name for the Indus River and the lower Indus basin. Etymology: Ancient Greek Indikē, Latin Indía. The name “Hindu”, the predominant Indian religion and dharma, also relates to the Sub-continent’s paramount river, being an Old Persian adaption of “Sindhu”.
Modi’s nomenclature move has received endorsement by government officials and followers (no surprise!) who contend that the name “India” as a nation title is “tainted” with its past connotations of colonialism and slavery, echoing the sentiment that “British colonial rulers had coined the name India to overshadow Bharat and forge a British legacy” [‘India’s government has used another name on the world stage. What does ’Bharat’ mean?’ SBS News, 06-Sep-2023, www.sbs.com.au].
If Bharat has already been an official name for India since 1949, why has the Indian government decided to publicise it just now? One answer comes from the political opponents of the BJP who allege that the notion is a diversional tactic by Modi’s party to try to upstage the recent formation of the opposition’s “INDIA” alliance to contest upcoming elections (Rahul Gandhi, Congress Party). This move follows a BJP pattern in power of erasing Indian place names which reflect India’s Mughal (Muslim) and (British) colonial past. Critics accuse the government of “pursuing a nationalist agenda aimed at forming an ethnic Hindu state out of a constitutionally secular India” [‘India’s Modi gov’t replaces country’s name with Bharat in G20 dinner invite’, Aljazeera, 05-Sep-2023, www.aljazeera.com]
Disassociating with the bird: In 2022 the Republic of Turkey notified the international community that it repudiates the name “Turkey” as a descriptor for it, instead the country should be be referred to officially by all as Türkiye (pronounced “Tur-kee-yay”)ᗷ, the communique stated. The government foreign minister said the use of Türkiye would increase “the country’s brand value”, but reputedly, a reason for the name switch is the president, Recep Erdoğan’s dislike of the association of his country with the Meleagris, a large gallinaceous bird (and by extension with the whole American Thanksgiving thing)…compounding that aversion to the name, is “turkey’s” colloquial meanings, (a person who is) inept or stupid; a movie or play which is a dud.
Another motive of Erdoğan’s could be in play – a political one. The move fits in neatly with his wish to be “rid of a westernised, anglicised name that jarred with his neo-Islamist, nationalist-populist brand” [‘The Observer view on Turkey’s name change’, The Guardian, 05-Jun-2022, www.imp.theguardian.com]. Critics of the Erdoğan regime take an even more scathing view, that “the rebrand is another populist device that Erdoğan is exploiting to divert attention away from the country’s persisting economic woes and to galvanise nationalist voters ahead of (upcoming) crucial elections” ‘ Turkey is now Türkiye: What other countries have changed their name?’, Euronews 28-Jun-2022, wwweuronews.com].
Switching synonyms: While India and Turkey are topical examples of the inclination for nomenclature rebranding, the 20th century is dotted with instances of other such name changes. In 1989 the authoritarian military government in Burma—a country named after the Burmans, the dominant ethnic group—caught the world by surprise by suddenly changing the country’s name to “Myanmar”. The regime explained the switch as jettisoning a name inherited from its colonial past and choosing a new name that would foster ethnic unity by recognising it was a multi-ethnic state. In reality it was “linguistic sleight-of-hand” as in the Burmese language “Myanmar” is merely a more formal version of “Burma”. The Burmese regime, viewed as an international pariah after years of violent repression against its citizens was seeking to rebuild its PR standing, so you only needed to be slightly cynical to see the thinking behind such a cosmetic name change ploy [‘Myanmar, Burma and why the different names matter’, Kim Tong-Hyung & Hyung-Jin Kim, PBS News, 03-Feb-2021, www.pbs.org].
Czechs of Czechia: The Czech Republic (Česká republika) came into existence in 1993 when Czechoslovakia ceased to be a single political entity (splitting amicably into two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia). In 2016 a further name change, or more correctly, name addition, happened, the Czech government introduced a short-form title, “Czechia”, for communication in English, while retaining Česká republika as its full name. Though less controversial than other instances, the term “Czechia” was criticised by some Czechs for being confusingly too close in sound to the name of the internal Russian republic, Chechnya. This was the very reason the Kingdom of Swaziland, a landlocked southern African country, swapped names in 2018, becoming (the Kingdom of) Eswatini. The change occurred by royal fiat…with the stated reason that when Swazi tourists were overseas locals would mistakenly think they were from Switzerland.
”Resplendent” name change: The small island nation of Ceylon left the British Commonwealth and became a republic in 1972…at the same time the government affected a name change to “Sri Lanka“, which combines the honorific Sri meaning “resplendent” and the island’s original name Lanka which simply means “island”. The name “Ceylon”, based on an earlier Portuguese name, had been adopted by the British rulers after they had colonised the island in stages between 1796 and 1817 [‘Sri Lanka erases colonial name, Ceylon’, Charles Haviland, BBC News, 01-Jan-2011, www.bbc.com]. Prior to becoming a British colony the island comprised two entities, a Dutch Ceylan part and the native Sinhalese Kandyan Kingdom.
Regime change ➔ name change: In the case of the small Southeast Asian state of Cambodia the changing of the country’s name, throughout the 1970s and ‘80s, became something of a merry-go-round. In succession it went from (the Kingdom of) Cambodia to the Khmer Republic to Democratic Kampuchea to (the People’s Republic of) Kampuchea to (the State of) Cambodia back to (the Kingdom of) Cambodia, reflecting the state-level instability of ongoing regime changeᑢ.
Ping-pong nomenclature in Bangkok: Prior to 1939 Thailand was known by the name “Siam”, deriving from a Sanskrit word, syam. In 1939 Prime Minster Phibun changed the kingdom’s name from Prathet Siam to Prathet Thai or Mu’ang Thai (English: “Land of the Thais”). At the end of WWII Phibun having backed the losing Japanese side fell from favour and the succeeding Thai regime changed the name back to Siam to distinguish itself from the previous regime associated with the fascist Japanese invaders. In 1948 however Phibun returned to power and reinstated the name Thailand, which the country has retained to the present [‘Thai or Siam?’ P Juntanamalaga, (1988), Names: A Journal of Onomastics, www.ans-names.pitt.edu].
Footnote: Endonyms and exonyms When Turkish president Ergodan objected to the continued use of the name “Turkey” by outsiders to describe his country, he was in fact rejecting the convention of exonyms (or if you like, xenonyms) – the non-native name by which others refer to your country (cf. endonyms, the native name by which you refer to your own country)…for instance, what an English-speaker calls “China” (an exonym), a Chinese-language speaker would call Zhōngguó or Chung-kuóᘿ(an endonym). Imagine how unwieldy and confusing it would get if every country insisted on universal usage of their particular linguistic exonym?
ᗩ Article 1 of the Constitution, “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”
ᗷ not really a name change as the nation officially has been called Türkiye (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti) since 1923
ᑢ Cambodia” is the exonym, cf. the endonym of “Khmer”
ᕲ also called an autonym
ᘿ meaning “Central Demesne” or “Middle Kingdom” or “Central Nation”
“T” Words from Left Field II: Redux. A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
<word meaning & root formation>
Tabescent: {appeared in Logolept’s Diet 1.0 but sans its Latin etymology, included here} [from L. tabescens]
Talionic: retaliation; retribution [from MidFr. talion, from L. talis (“such”)]
Tapinosis: {also made an entry in Logolept’s Diet 1.0 but have added Peter Bowler’s definition} the use of degrading diction [from Gk. tapeínōsis, (“lowering”)]
Tarhood: group of sailors, or state of being a sailor; collective term for sailors [from Dut. teer(?) (“seaman”; “mariner”)]
Tardigrade: slow in movement; microscopic water bear [from L. tardigradus (“slowly stepping”), from tardus (“slow”) + -gradior (“step”; “walk”)]
Tautegorical: saying the same thing with different words, opposite of allegorical [poss. from MidEng. tought (“distended”) + -gori(?) + -cal]
Tegestologist: a collector of beer mats or coasters [from L. teges (“covering”; “mat”) + -logy]
Temulency: inebriation; drunkenness [from L. temulentia]
Tetragram: a word containing four letters [from Gk. tetra (“four”). + -grāmma (“letter”)]
Thelyphthoric: that which corrupts the morals of women (Gk. Nonce word (?): coined by English clergyman and writer Martin Madan (1780) poss. from thelus (“woman”) + –phthora (“destruction”; “ruin.”) + –ic]
Thersitical: abusive and foul-mouthed; scurrilous; grossly defamatory [Gk. after Thersites, a minor character in the Iliad who slandered and mocked Agamemnon]
Thigmotaxis: the movement of an organism in response to stimulus [Gk. thigma, thigma (“touch”) + –taxis, (“arrangement”; “order”)]
Thrasonical: bragging and boasting; of, relating to, resembling, or characteristic of Thraso; a vainglorious boaster and swaggerer [L. Thrason-, Thraso, + (-cal): “Thraso”, a braggart soldier in the comedic play Eunuchus by 2nd century BC Roman dramatist Terence]
Tiffin: a snack or light lunch (meaning uncertain)
Tonitruous: thundering; explosive 🧨 [from L. tonitruum (“thunder”)]
Tonsorial: pertaining to barber or hairdressing [from L. tonsor (“barber”) from tondere (“shear”; “clip”) + -al]
Toparch: ruler or prince of a small district, city or petty state [from Gk. (“ruler of a small district”), from tópos, “place”) + –árkhēs, (“ruler”)]
Tralatitious: having a character, force, or significance transferred or derived from something extraneous; passed from one generation to another; handed down (metaphorically) [from L. transferre (“to transfer”) + -itius, -icius (“-itious“)
Tregetour: a magician or juggler 🤹 [from OldFr. tres (“across”) + -geter, -jeter (“to throw”)]
Trilemma: a difficult choice from three options, each of which is unacceptable or unfavourable [modelled on dilemma, with di- (“prefix meaning ‘two, twice, double’”) replaced by tri- (“prefix meaning ‘three’”)]
Tristiloquy: a dull and depressing speech [(?) + -loqui (“speech”)]
”S” Words from Left Field II: Redux. A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
<Word meaning & root formation>
Sacerdotophrenia: clerical stagefright [It. Sp. Por. sacerdote (“priest”) + –phrēn (“diaphragm”; “mind”)]
Saltire: X-shaped or diagonal cross [from MidFr. sautoir from MedLat. saltatoria]
Sanguisugent: bloodsucking; bloodthirsty [from L. sanguis (“blood”) + -gent(?)] 🩸
Sapid: flavoursome; lively; interesting [L. sapidus (“tasty”) from sapere (“to taste”)]
Scrivener: a copyist of documents; a clerk, scribe or notary [from OldFr. escrivein from L. scriba (“scribe”)]
Sebastomania: religious insanity or mania [ [Gk. sebastos, (“reverence”) + -mania]
Sermocination: the practice of making speeches; the habit of preaching constantly [from L. sermo (“speech”; “conversation”) + -ion]
Sicarian: a murderer, especially an assassin; mercenary fighter [from Sicarii a group of Jewish zealots/insurrectionists opposing the Roman occupation of Judea; cloak-and-dagger assassination unit [from sicae (“small daggers (sickles) concealed in the sicariis’ cloaks”]
Sillograph: writer of satires [from the book Gk. Sílloi by Timon of Phlius, (flourished ca.280 BC)+ -graphe]
Smatchet: a small, nasty person or child; a contemptible, unmannerly person [Scot. Eng. probably from MidEng. smatch + -et]
Somatoparaphrenia: (Psych. ) a type of monothematic delusion where one denies ownership of a limb or an entire side of one’s body [from Gk. sôma, (“body”) + -para (“beside”) + –phrenia]
Staurophobia: pathological aversion to the cross or crucifix (eg, cinematic portrayals of Dracula) [Gk. staurós, (“cross”) + -phobia]
Stegophile: someone whose pastime is climbing tall buildings [Gk. stegos (“roof”) + -philos]
Stentorphonic: speaking very loudly [from Stentōr, a Greek herald in the Trojan War (Homer’s Iliad)]
Stramineous: strawlike; valueless; consisting of straw [L. stramineus (“of straw”) from sternere (“to strew”; “spread out”; “lay flat”)]
Subderisorious: mocking gently and with affection; ridiculing with moderation [L. sub (“below”; “under”) + L. –dērīdeō (“I deride”) + -ous]
Subintelligitur: a meaning or understanding (as of a statement) implied but not expressed [from L. sub- (“secretly”; “under”) + intelligere (“to understand”) + -al]
Succussion: the action or process of shaking the body or the condition of being shaken especially with violence [L. sucussio, from -cussus, (“to shake up”)]
Supernumerary: (person) in addition to usual or necessary number [L. super- (“above”) + number]
Susurrant: gently whispering and rustling [from L. susurrare (“to whisper”)]
Syncretistic: seeking to identify common features of different belief systems, philosophies or civilisations and assimilate them or merge them into a single system [from syncretise (“to attempt to unite and harmonise”), from Gk. synkrētismos (“joining together of Greeks”)]
Synethnic: of (or together with) same race or country [Gk. syn (“same”; “with”; “together”) + –ethno (“people”; “race”; “tribe”; “nation”)]
“Q” and “R” Words from Left Field II: Redux. A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
Quadrimum: best or oldest wine; four-year-old wine [from L. quad (“four”) + -mus]
Quaintise: a cunning little ploy or strategem; craft; elegance [from Fr. cointise]
Qued: bad; evil [from Proto-Wt Germanic. kwād (“bad”; “evil”)]
Quillet: a subtlety in argument; a subtle distinction [Uncertain, poss from L. quidlibet (“anything”)]
Quinquagesima: pertaining to 50 days [from L. quinquaginta (“fifty”)]
Quisquous: hard to deal with; dubious; of people: having a character difficult to assess [from Scot. Eng. from L. quisquis (“whosoever”)]
Quodlibet: a philosophical or theological point proposed for disputation; a whimsical combination of familiar melodies or texts [from L. qui (“what”) + -libet (“it pleases)”]
Quondam: that once was; (a) former [as that grand dame of words Merriam Webster says: “Looking for an unusual and creative way to say “former”?” Quondam (which came to English in the 16th century from Latin quondam, meaning “at one time” or “formerly”) ~ look no further!]
Rampallian: a bold, forward, rampant or wanton woman [Elizabethan term, Henry IV Pt II, Act II)
Rasorial: habitually scratching the ground in search of food [from LateLat. rasor (“one that scrapes”) + -ial]
Recusant: refusing staunchly to comply with some generally accepted rule or custom (Orig. Relig.) [from L. re- + causari (“to give a reason”), from causa (“cause”; “reason”)]
Redivivus: restored to life, or to full liveliness; reborn [L. “reused”]
Remiped: (Zool.) having feet that are adaptable as oars [from L. remiped-, remipes (“oar-footed”)] 👣
Remontado: someone who has fled to the mountains or hills and renounced civilisation; a Northern Philippine’s tribesman; go-back (to the wild) [Galician (Sp.). remontado/remontada]
Renable: eloquent; fluent [from OldFr. resnable]
Resipiscence: recognising one’s own error or errors; to see reason once again [from L. resipīscere (“to regain consciousness, come to one’s senses”)]
Resupinate: (Botany.) upside down as a result of twisting ; (Medic.) lying on the back [from re + L. –supīnus, from sup- sub (“under”)]
Rhonchisonant: making a snorting noise; snorting [from L. rhonchus, + –sonans]
Rixation: quarrelling [from L. rīxārī (“to quarrel”)]
Roinous: mean, nasty and contemptible (origin unknown, possibly from Fr)
Rodomontade: empty boasting and blustering; arrogant ranting; braggadocio [from Rodomont, a character in Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso]
Ruptuary: one not of noble blood; a plebeian; a commoner; a roturier [from MidFr. roturier]
“P” Words from Left Field II: Redux. A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
<word meaning & root formation>
Pachycephalic: thick-sculled; stupid [from Gk. pakhús (“thick”) + –cephalic (“head”)]
Paleomnesia: good memory for events of the far past [Gk. paleo (“old”; “ancient”) + –mnesia (“memory”)]
Palimony: the division of financial assets and real property on the termination of a personal live-in relationship wherein the parties are not legally married (ie, de facto) [formed from “pal” + “alimony” (coined by celebrity lawyer Marvin Mitchelson)]
Palinoia: the compulsive repetition of an act over and over until perfection is achieved [? + Gk. –noia (“mind”)]
Palladian: pertaining to learning and wisdom [from Gk. Pallás an epithet of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom) + -ian]
Palpebrate: having eyelids; to wink. [L. palpebra, eyelid]
Paltripolitan: an insular city dweller [blending of “paltry” + -“metropolitan”]
Pancratic: (Hist.) an athletic contest called the pankration; athletic; pertaining to or having ability in all matters [Gk. pankratḗs, [“all-powerful”)]
Pandaculation: involuntary stretching and yawning [L. pandiculatus, from pandiculari (“to stretch oneself”)] 🥱
Pangrammatist: a person who composes verses or sentences using all letters of the alphabet [Gk. pan (“all”) + -grammar + -ist]
Pantophagy: a diet that consists of a large variety of foods; ideally, of all possible foods [from Gk. pant (“all”) + –phagein (“to eat”)]
Paracme: (Medic.) a point beyond the greatest or highest (eg, of a fever); the stage after one’s peak [from Gk. para, (“beyond”) + -akmē, (“highest point”; “prime”)]
Paradiastole: (Rhetoric) a form of euphemism in which a positive synonym is substituted for a negative word; to reframe a vice as a virtue [para + -diastolḗ, (“separation”; “distinction”)]
Paronomasia: word-play of the punning kind; playing upon words which sound alike for comic or clever effect [from para + –onomasía, (“naming”)]
Parorexia: a craving or appetite for unusual foods [from Gk. para + -orexia (“desire”; “appetite”)]
Passepartout: a master key; a safe conduct or passport (from Fr. lit. (“passes everywhere”)] 🔑
Peculate: to pilfer or embezzle (money, esp public funds) [L. from peculatus]
Pilgarlic: a pitiful bald-headed man [from “pilled”/“peeled” + “-garlic”]
Pleionosis: the exaggeration of one’s own importance [? + Gk. –osis (“disease”; “process”); “condition”)]
Preterist: (Theo.) a Christian eschatological view or belief that interprets prophecies of the Bible as events which have already been fulfilled in history; a person interested in the past [ from L. praeteritus, (“gone by”) + -ist]
Prevenient: anticipating; preceding in time or order; having foresight; preventing [from L. praeveniens (“precedes”)]
Procerity: tallness; height [from L. pro– (“forward”) + –cerus, from –crescere (“to grow”) + –itas (“-ity”)]
Proctalgia: a severe, episodic pain in the region of the rectum and anus; pain in the arse [Gk. prōktos (“anus”) + –algos (“pain”)] (cf. Rectalgia)
Procumbent: lying or kneeling with face down; prostrate [L. pro + -cumbere (“to lie down”)]
Protogenal: pertaining to primitive creatures [NewLat. protogenes, from L. prot (“first”) + –gen (“birth”)]
Psephologist: someone who studies elections and voting patterns [Gk. psēphos, (“pebble”)]
Psychagogic: attractive; persuasive; interesting [from Gk. psychagōgia (“persuasion”; “winning of souls”) + -ikos -ic]
Pyknic: relating to a stocky physique; rounded body and head, thickset trunk and tendency towards fat [from Gk. pyknos (“dense”; “stocky”)]
“N” & “O” Words from Left Field II: Redux. A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
<word meaning and root formation>
Nanocephalous: having an abnormally small head [Gk. nânos (“small”) + -cephal (“head”) + -ous]
Nasute: having an acute or sensitive sense of smell; having a long snout [from L. nāsus (“nose”) + -ūtus]
Naupathia: sea-sickness [Gk. naus (“ship”) + -pathos (“suffering”)]
Necromorphous: feigning death to deter an aggressor [from Gk. necro (“death”) + –morphe (“form”)]
Nefandous: unspeakable; unutterable [from L. ne- (“not”) + –fandus, ➨ –fārī (“to speak”)]
Neoteny: an indefinite prolongation of the period of immaturity, with the retention of infantile or juvenile qualities, into adulthood [from Gk. néos “young” + -o--O- + -teínein (“to stretch”; “extend”) + -y]
Nepheligenous: producing clouds of smoke [from Gk. nephélē, (“cloud”) + -genous (“producing). Coined by OW Holmes]
Neopotation: prodigality; extravagance; squandering one’s money on riotous living (OU)
Nidifugous: leaving the nest while still young [L. nīdus (“nest”) + –fugiō (“I flee”; “escape”) + -ous]
Nikhedonia: the pleasure and satisfaction derived from the anticipation of success [nik(?) poss. from Nike, Greek god of victory + Gk. –hedonikos (“pleasure”)]
Nimiety: excess; extravagance; surfeit [from L. nimius (“excessive”)]
Nocent: harmful [from L. nocens (“to harm”)]
Noctivagant: wandering by night [from L. nocti- (“night”) + –vagari (“to wander”)] 🌃
Noisome: noxious; smelly; nasty [from MidEng. noy (“annoyance”) + -some, (“characterised by a specified thing,”)]
Nonfeasance: failure to perform some action which ought to have been performed [L. non- + Eng. -feasance (“doing”; “execution”)]
Nostrificate: to accept as one’s own; to grant recognition to a degree (or other formal qualification) from a foreign university (or other registered educational institution) [from L. noster (“our”) + -cate]
Noyade: mass execution by drowning (esp in revolutionary France in Nantes, 1793-94) [from L. necare (“kill without using a weapon”) (nonce word)]
Nugacity: triviality; futility; drollery (cf. nugatory: of no value; trifling; pointless) [from L. nugacitas (“trifling”)]
Nullibiety: the state of being nowhere [from L. nūllus (“none”; “no”; “not any”) + –ibī (“there”) + -ety] (cf. Nullibist: one who denies that the soul exists in physical space)
Numen: pertaining to numina; awe-inspiring; supernatural) [L. nuō + –men (“a nodding with the head”; “command”; “will”)]
Nummamorous: money-loving (cf. Nummary: pertaining to coin) (OU) 💴 🪙
Numinous: divine; spiritual” [from L. nūmen]
Nuncheon: a noon drink [from MidEng. nonshench, noneschench, nonechenche (“slight refreshment, usually taken in the afternoon”) from L. nōnus] 🍷
Nutation: the act of nodding the head, esp habitually or constantly; a periodic variation in the inclination of the axis of a rotating object [from L. nūtātiō (“nodding”), from nūtō (“I nod”)]
Nycterent: someone who hunts by night [from Gk. nyct (“night”) + -ent] (cf. Nyctitropic: turning in a certain direction at night) (cf. Nyctalopia: night-blindness)
Nympholepsy: a passionate longing for something unattainable [from Gk mythology: nymphóleptos (“possessed by nymphs”)]
Key: OU = origin unknown
<word meaning and root formation>
Obsidional or Obsidionary: pertaining to a siege [from L. obsidiō (“siege”; “blockade”)]
Obsolagnium: waning sexual desire due to age [from L. ob- (“against”) + lagnium (“desire”)]
Obtund: to blunt, dull or deaden [from L. obtundere (“to dull”, “deaden”, “deafen”)]
Oculogyric: eye-rolling; rotation of the eyes [from L. oculo- (“eye”) + –gyric, from Gk. -gurus (“circle”)]
Oligophagos: eating only a few particular kinds of food [from Gk. olig (“few”) + –phagos (“eating”)]
Ollapod: pharmacist; (Orig. a country apothecary [name of a character in George Colman the Younger‘s comedy The Poor Gentleman (1801)]
Ombrophilous: capable of withstanding heavy and continuous rain [from Gk. ómbros (“rain”) + –philous (“love”)]
Omniety: the state or condition of being all [from L. omnis (“all”) + -iety]
Oneirataxia: inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality [Gk. oneiros (“dream” + –taxis (“arrangement”)]
Onomasticon: an ordered list of names (Orig. a gazetteer of historical and contemporary 4th-century place names in Palestine and Transjordan compiled by Eusebius) [Gk. onomastikós, (“belonging to names”), from onomázō, (“I name”)]
Onychophagia: nail-biting [from Gk. onych (“claw”) + -phagos].
Ophelimity: the ability to please another; economic satisfaction [from Gk. ōphélimos, (“helpful”)]
Opisthenar: back of the hand [from Gk. opistho- (“behind”; “back”) + –thenar (“palm of the hand”)] 🤚
Opsablepria: inability to look someone in the eye (OU) 👁️
Orarian: dweller by the seaside; relating to the seaside [from L. ōrārius (“coasting”; “along the coast”) + -an]
Orthostatic: relating to standing upright; straight posture [Gk. orth (“right angle”; “perpendicular”) + –statikós (“to make stand”)] (cf. Orthobiosis: a hygienic and moral lifestyle)
Osophagist: a fastidious eater [Gk. (?) + –phagos]
Otiose: serving no useful purpose; leisurely (cf. Otiant: idle or resting [from L. otium (“leisure”)]
Ozostomia: evil-smelling breath [from Gk ozóstom(os) (“having bad breath”)]
Key: OU = origin unknown
“M” Words from Left Field II: Redux. A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
<word meaning and root formation>
Macrologist: a person who engages in long and tiresome talk; ie, a bore [Gk. makrós, (“long”) + –logo (“word”) + -ist]
Macromastic: pertaining to large breasts; (Med.) (also called gigantomastic breasts) breasts which are usually heavy and pendulous with nipples and areolas facing down [Gk. macrós- (“long”) + -mastia (“abnormality of the breast”)]
Macrophallic: having an unusually large phallus [Gk. macrós- (“long”) + -phallós (“penis”)]
Marcid: exhausted; withered; wasted away; decayed [from L. marceō (“wither”) + -idus]
Megapod: having large feet [from Gk. mégas (“great”) + -poús “foot”)] 👣
Menseful: considerate; neat and clean [from mensk, from MidEng. menske (“courtesy”; “honour”)]
Mentulate: Referring to or characterised by a large penis; well-hung [from mentula (“cock”; “dick”; “penis”) + -ātus (“-ed”)]
Merkin: a pubic wig for women (Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue: “counterfeit hair for women’s privy parts”) [Origin uncertain but prob. from malkin, a derogatory term for a lower-class young woman]
Metoposcopy: using the physical appearance of the face (esp the pattern-lines on the forehead) to judge someone’s character [from Gk. métōpon, “forehead”) + -scopy]
Minimifidianism: having virtually no or almost no faith or belief [from L. minimus (“small”; “little”) + –fidian (?) + -ism]
Monandrous: having only one male sexual partner over a period of time [monós (“one”; “single”; “only”) + –androus (“man”; “husband”)]
Mummer: an actor in a traditional masked mime (a mummer’s play) [OldFr. momeur from mommer (“act in a mime”)]
Murcid: slothful; shirking work or duty (OU)
Mystagogue: one who instructs in mystical or arcane lore or doctrines [Gk. mystagōgos, from mystēs (“initiate”) + –agein (“to lead”)]
Key: OU = origin unknown
“L” Words from Left Field II: Redux. A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
Labefaction: shaking, weakening and/or downfall; impairment, especially of moral principles or civil order [L. labefactus, labefacere (“to cause to totter”; “shake”) from labare (“to totter”) + -facere (“to make”) + -ion]
Labile: unstable; liable to change [from L. labi, (“to slip or fall”)]
Labrose: thick-lipped [L. labrosus, from labrum (“lip”)] 👄
Laevorotatory or Levorotatory: counter- or anti-clockwise (opp. Dextrorotatory) [L. levo from laevus (“left”) + rotatiō] 🕰️
Lampadedromy: foot race with lighted torches, esp a relay race passing the torch from runner to runner (Anc. Greece: a race in honor of Prometheus in which the contestants ran bearing lit torches, the winner being the first to finish with his torch still lit) [Gk. lampein (“to shine”) + –dromos (“a running”)]
Lamprophony: speaking in a clear loud voice [Gk. lampróphónos (“clear-voiced”) from lamprós (“clear”; “distinct”) + -phone (“sound”) + -y]
Languescent: becoming tired or languid [from L. languescere (“to become faint”)]
Lapidate: stone to death [L. lapidare (“to stone”), from lapid-, lapis (“stone”) + -ate]
Latebricole: living in holes (OU) 🕳️
Latibulise: to hibernate (OU)
Latifundian: rich in real estate [ L. latus, (“spacious”) + -fundus, (“farm”, (“estate”)] (Latifundium was a large agricultural estate in Ancient Rome)
Leman: paramour; lover; inamorata [from OldEng. lēofmann (“lover”); (“sweetheart”); equiv. to lief + –man (“beloved person”)]
Lenitic or Lentic: living in quiet or still waters [L. lenitas (“mildness”) + -ic] (cf. Lotic: living in actively moving waters)
Lepid: charming; elegant; amiable [from Gk. lepid-, lepis (“scale”?), from lepein]
Lestobiosis: living by furtive stealing; the act of pilfering food, especially of ants 🐜 [Gr. lestes, (“robber”) +–biosis, (“manner of life”)]
Loganamnosis: a mania for trying to recall a forgotten word or words [Gk. log (“word”) + -amnosis (?) perhaps from –amnesia (“memory”)]
Lucifugous: avoiding daylight or light altogether [ from L. lucifugus, from luci- + -fugus (from fugere (“to flee”) + -al +-ous]
Lucripetous: money-hungry (OU) 💰
Luctiferous: sad and sorry [L. luctifer (“mournful”) from luctus (“sorrow”) + -fer (-ferous) + –ous]
Ludification: derision; mockery [from L. ludificatio, from ludificare (“to make sport of”), from ludus (“sport”) + -ficare (“to make”, in comparative)]
Lurdane: stupid, dull and lazy; a sluggard [MidFr. lourdin (“dullard”), from lourd (“heavy”)]
Lypophrenia: a vague feeling of sadness, seemingly without cause [OU. ? + Gk. –phrenia (“mind”)]
Key: OU = origin unknown
“J” and “K” Words from Left Field II – Redux: A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
<word meaning & root formation>
Jackanapes: “a silly impertinent monkey of a fellow” (Bowler); an impudent or conceited person; a tame monkey [nickname of William de la Pole, (Duke of Suffolk, d. 1450), MidEng. Jack Napis]
Jagannath: juggernaut [Sanskrit. Jagannath (“lord of the universe”) from jagat (“universe”) + -nātha (“master” or “lord”) ]
Janiceps: monster twins with two heads which look in opposite direction [from L. Iānus (“two-headed god”) + -ceps (“headed”)] (cf. Janiform: two-headed god of Greek mythology )
Jannock: pleasant; outspoken; honest; generous (somewhat the antithesis of a “Jackanapes”) (OU)
Jargogle: to befuddle, jumble or mess up (OU)
Jeofail: (Law.) an oversight in pleading, or the acknowledgment of a mistake or oversight [From OldFrench. j’ai failli [(“I have failed”)]
Key: OU = origin unknown
<word meaning & root formation>
Kedogenous: brought about by worry or anxiety [? + –genous (“producing”) OU]
Khamsin: (also Khamaseen) dust storm; oppressively hot, dry wind in Egypt that blows from the Sahara [from Egy Arabic. khamsīn (“fifties”)]
Khoja(h): title of respect for teacher or wise man [Khoja, from Khwāja (New Persian Khājé), a Persian honorific title of pious individuals]
Kickshaw: a fancy but insubstantial cooked dish, esp of foreign origin; an elegant but insubstantial trinket (Nth. Amer.) [Fr. quelque chose (“something”)]
Kinetosis: a fancy name for travel sickness; (Medic.) any disorder due to unaccustomed motion, aka motion sickness, seasickness, carsickness, etc [Gk. kinet(o)- (“movable” or “moving”) + -osis (“denoting actions, conditions or states)]
Kippage: commotion; confusion [Scot. usage, from modification of Fr. équipage (as in être en piteux équipage (“to be in a sorry plight”)]
Key: OU = origin unknown
“H” and “I” Words from Left Field II – Redux: A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
Haptodysphoria: a shiveringly unpleasant feeling experienced from touching certain surfaces, such as peaches or wool [Gk. háptō (“touch”; “hasten”) + -dus (“bad”) + –phérō (“I bear”; “carry”)]
Harpocratic: relating to silence (OU)?
Hartal: a general strike of labour, including a total shutdown of workplaces, businesses, courts, etc, as a political protest [Hindi haṛtāl, from hāṭ (“shop”) + -tālā (“lock”)]
Hebesphalmology: study of juvenile delinquency [OU; from Hebe (“goddess of youth and spring”(?)) + ? + -logy]
Henotic: promoting harmony or peace; unifying [Gk. henōtikós, (“serving to unite”)] ☮️
Hesternopotia: a pathological yearning for the good old days (OU)
Heteronym: a word with the same spelling but a different pronunciation and meaning [Gk. héteros (“other”; “another”) + -nym]
Heterotopia: strange or ambivalent places (places that defy the normal logic of ordering) [word popularised by philosopher Michel Foucault, Fr. hétérotopie, Gk. héteros + -topia from “utopia”, (“place”)]
Horrisonant: having an ugly, harsh sound; unpleasant to the ear [L. horrēre, sonānt-em (“to dread”; “shudder”) + -ant]
Humicubation: the act or practice of lying on the ground, esp in penitence or self-abasement [L. humus (“the ground”) + –cubare (“to lie down”)]
Hygeiolatry: fanaticism about health; the worship of health and/or hygiene [ Gk. hygie (“healthy”) + –latry (“worship”)]
Hygrophanous: seeming transparent when wet, and opaque when dry [Gk. hygr- (“wet”) + –phan, -phen (“to show”; “visible”)(?) + -ous]
Hyperhedonia: (Medic.) a condition where abnormally heightened pleasure is derived from participation in any act or happening (no matter how mundane) [Gk. hyper- + G. hēdonē, (“pleasure”)]
Hypertrichosis: excessive hairiness [Gk. hyper-, (“excess”) + -trikhos, (“hair”) and –osis]
Hypobulia: (the procrastinator’s curse!) (Psych.) a lack of willpower or decisiveness [Gk. hypo (“beneath“ or “below,”) + -aboulía (“irresolution”)]
Hypogeal: pertaining to the earth’s interior; subterranean; growing or existing underground [Gk. hupógeios (“underground”)] (cf. Hypogeum: underground temple, tomb or cavern)
Hypothimia: profound melancholy or mental prostration; depressive state of mind; diminished emotional response [Gk. hypo- + Greek -thymos (“spirit”)]
Key: OU = origin unknown
Idioglossia: secret speech or language, especially invented by children [Gk. idio- (“own”; “peculiarity”) + -glōssa, (“tongue”; “speech”)]
Idolum: insubstantial image; a spectre or phantom; a fallacy [Gk. eídōlon, (“image; “idol”), from eîdos, (“form”)]
Illuminati: those who claim to have exceptional intellectual or spiritual awareness (orig. a Bavarian secret society founded in 1776) [L. illuminatus (“enlightened”)]
Indocible: unteachable [in- + LateLat. -docibilis (“docible” (“teachable”)]
Ineluctable: unable to be resisted or avoided; inescapable [L. in- + –ēlūctor (“struggle out”) + -bilis]
Interciliary: between the eyebrows [L. inter- (“between“; “amid”) + –cilium (“eyelid”)]
Inexpugnable: that which cannot be taken by assault or storm; unconquerable; impregnable [L. in + -expugnābilis]
Innascible: not subject to birth; without a beginning; self-existent [L. innāscibilitās (“state of being unable to be born”)]
Invultuation: the use of or the act of making images of people, animals, etc, for witchcraft; sticking pins in a wax doll representing someone you wish to inflict pain on [MedLat. invultuāre (“to make a likeness”) from in- + vultus (“likeness”)]
Irrefragable: not able to be refuted or disproved; irrefutable; indisputable; unbreakable [LateLat. irrefragabilis, from L. refragari (“to oppose or resist”)]
Isographer: someone who imitates another person’s hand-writing [Gk. iso- (“same”) + –graphe (“write”)]
“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
“E” Words from Left Field II – Redux: A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
<word definition and root formation>
Ebriose: drunk; intoxicated [L. from ēbriōsum] (cf. Ebrious: slightly drunk) 🥃 🍸
Ecclesiarch: church ruler (-y: government ruled by clerics) [L. ecclesiarcha, from Gk.]
Ecmnesia: a form of amnesia in which the patient retains memories of older events but not of recent ones [Gk. ek (“out”) + -mnesis (“memory”)] 🤔
Ectorhinal: pertaining to the exterior of the nose; organ associated with sense of smell [Gk. from ektós (“outside”) + –rhin, -rhinós (“outside”) + -al]
Eldritch: weird, sinister or hideous; ghostly, otherworldly; uncanny [originally from Scot. perhaps rel. to “elf”]
Embonpoint: plumpness [Fr. en bon point (“in good shape”)]
Emolument: “salary”; “profit” [from L. emolumentum (“advantage”) from emolere, (“to produce by grinding”) (prob. originally a payment to a miller for grinded corn) 🌽 💰
Empressment: extreme politeness [from L. imperatrix (“emperor”) + MidEng. -ment]
Encephalalgia: headache [Gk. enkephalos, (“brain”) + -algos, (“pain”)]
Enchiridion: handbook; a book containing essential information on a subject [Gk. enkheirídion, from en, (“in”) + –kheír, (“hand”) — from ‘The Enchiridion of Epictetus’ by Arrian (2nd cent. AD]
Endophasia: inaudible speech; inner speech [Gk. éndon, (“inner”; “internal”) + –phēmí, (“I say”)] (cf. Exophasia: audible speech)
Engastrimyth: ventriloquist [MidFr. engastrimythe, from Gk. engastrimythos, from en (“in”) + -gastr- + -mythos (“speech”)]
Entopic: (Anat.) in the normal position (opposite of Ectopic) [Gk. en, (“within”), + –topos, (“place”)]
Ephebic: of a youth just entering manhood, esp in ancient Greek in the context of males aged 18-20 in military training [Gk. éphēbos (“adolescent”), from epí, (“early”) + –hḗbē, (“manhood”)]
Epicene: effeminate; unmanly; exhibiting the characteristics of both sexes, or of neither (sexless); lacking gender distinction [Gk. epíkoinos, (“common to many people”) (cf. génos epíkoinon, (“common gender”) from epi-, (“on, upon; on top of; all over”)+ -koinós (“common”; “general”; “public”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱóm (“beside, by, near, with”) + -yós]
Epigone: disciple; follower; imitator (esp one in a later generation) [Gk. epígonos, (“offspring”; “descendant”), from epigígnomai, (“I come after”), from epí, (“upon”), from gígnomai, (“I become”)]
Epilegomenon: an added remark [(?) epi (“upon”) + -leg (“say”) + -menon (?)]
Epistaxis: a nosebleed [Gk. epi (“out”) + –staxis (“dripping”; “oozing”; “flowing”)] 👃🏽 🩸
Epistemolophile: someone with an abnormal preoccupation with knowledge [Gk. epistēmē, (“knowledge”; “understanding”; “skill”; “scientific knowledge”) + –philos]
Epithymetic: pertaining to appetite, sexual and otherwise [uncertain (?) Gk. epi upon + -thym (“mood”) + -etic]
Eremic: pertaining to sandy deserts or regions [Greek erēm-, erēmo-, from erēmos (“lonely”; “solitary”) + -erēmia (“desert”), from erēmos + -ia -y]
Ereption: the act of snatching away (OU)
Erinaceous: pertaining to the hedgehog [L. ērināceus (“hedgehog”)]
Esculent: fit to be eaten ; edible [L. ēsculentus (“fit for eating”; “edible”; “delicious”; “nourishing”; “full of food”) + -ent]
Eumorphous: well-formed [Gk. eu (“good”) + -morphē (“shape”; “form] (cf. Eumoirous: lucky or happy as a result of being good)
Euneirophrenia: peace of mind after a pleasant dream [from Gk. óneiros (“dream”) + –phrēn (“diaphragm”; “mind”)]
Eunomy: state of orderliness and good rule [Gk. eû (“well”; “good”) + -nómos (“law”; “custom”)]
Eutrapelia: the quality of being skilled in conversation; with; urbanity [Gk. eutrapelia “wittiness“)]
Evanescent: fleeting; vanishing; impermanent [L. from ē-, ex- (“away”; “out’) + vānēscō (“to vanish”) (from vānus (“empty”; “vacant”; “void”), from Proto-Indo-European h₁weh₂- (“to abandon”; “leave”) + -ēscō]
Exallotriote: foreign (OU)
Excursus: lengthy discussion, esp appended to a book; digression [L. excursus (“excursion”)]
Exophagy: (also Exophagous) cannibalism outside the family [from Gk. éxō (“out”; “outer”; “external”) + –phagia (“to eat”)]
Exoptable: extremely desirable [L. exoptō (“to long for”) + Proto-Italic –bilis]
Expergefaction: an awakening [L. expergēfaciō from expergēfactum (“to wake up”)]
Key: OU = origin unknown
“D” Words from Left Field II: Redux. A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
<word definition and root formation>
Dactylonomy: counting on the fingers [Gk. dactylo- (“finger”) + -nomy (“law”; “custom”)]
Dasypyal: having hairy buttocks [Gk. dasús, (“hairy”; “dense”) + –pugḗ, (“buttocks”)]
Delendum: (Pl. -da) thing to be deleted [from dēlinō, (“destroyed”; “annihilated”; “razed”)]
Desipient: silly, trifling or foolish [L. de- (“of”; “from”) + –sapere (“to be wise”)]
Desuetude: state of disuse [L. de +- suescere (“to become accustomed”)]
Deuteropathy: (Medic.) secondary illness [Gk. deúteros, “second” + -pathy -páthos, (“suffering”) + –y]
Diasyrm: rhetorical device of damning by faint praise, a method of ridiculing or disparaging someone [Gk. (?)]
Dicacity: oral playfulness; talkativeness [From L. dicacitas, from dĭcāx (“sarcastic”; “witty”) + -ity]
Didapper: one who disappears and then bobs up again [from a merging of “dive” and “dapper”]
Dilogy: ambiguous or equivocal speech or discourse; repetition of a word or phrase [Gk. dilogía (“repetition”), from dís, (“twice”) + -logia]
Dippoldism: (Psych.) the paraphilia of deriving pleasure from the implementation of any form of corporal punishment whether it be in the form of beating, whipping, or spanking of another; sexuoerotic arousal derived fron spanking or whipping school children [From Andreas Dippold, German schoolteacher convicted of inflicting abuse on children including manslaughter]
Dismissory: sending away; permit to depart [from L. dimittere (“send away”) (dismiss) + -ory]
Discalceate: barefooted [dis + from L. calceus (“a shoe”)] 👣
Diversivolent: desiring different things [L. diversi (“diverse”) + –volent-, volens, velle (“to will”; “wish”)]
Dolorifuge: that which drives away sadness, mitigates or removes grief [from L. dolere (“to grieve”) + –fugere (“flee”). Coinage modelled on centrifuge, febrifuge, vermifuge, etc.]
Drapetomaniac: a person with an impulse or intense desire to run away from home [Gk. drapetēs, “a runaway [slave]”) + -mania, “madness”; “frenzy”). Coinage: Dr. Samuel Adolphus Cartwright invented the term “Drapetomania” in 1851 to describe what he believed was the “psychological disorder”(sic) that caused a phenomenon of enslaved Blacks to run away from bondage before the American Civil War (masshist.org)
Dyslogy: censure; dispraise; uncomplimentary remarks [modelled on eulogy, Gk. dys (“badly”) + -logy]
“C” Words from Left Field II: Redux. A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
<word meaning and root formation>
Cabotin: ham actor; theatrical; poser (perjorative) [from Fr. cabotin (“histrionic”]
Cacedoxical: heretical (cf. Cacodoxy: heterodoxy) [from Gk. kákos (“bad”) + –doxa, (“opinion” or “glory”]
Cacestogenous: caused by unfavourable home environment (OU)
Calepin: a notebook; a dictionary, esp a polyglot dictionary [It. calepino, named after Ambrogio Calepino ((15th-16th cent. author of a Latin dictionary]
Callisteia: beauty prizes; originally a festival held by the women of the island of Lesbos, with a prize for the fairest beauty [name of the festival , named in honour of the Greek goddess of Callisto]
Callithumpian: a noisy band parade or demonstration [alteration of gallithumpian)
Cambist: one skilled in the science of financial exchange; a banker [from L. cambire (“to exchange”)]
Campestral: pertaining to or thriving in open countryside [L. from campester from campus (“field”; “plain”) + -al]
Canard: a fabricated anecdote; an unfounded sensational report; a phoney yarn; a hoax — or to put it in immediately-recognisable contemporary currency…fake news [Fr. canard (“duck”), in the sense of being a hoax] 🦆
Cancrine: reads the same backwards as forwards; palindromic [From Latin cancer (“crab”) + -īnus]
Canatory: pertaining to a singer or singing [from It. cantata from L. cantare (“to sing”) + -ory] (cf. Cantatrice: female singer) 🎤
Caprine: pertaining to a goat; goat-like [L. caprīnus, from caper (“goat”)] 🐐
Carriwitchet: absurd, riddling question; a condundrum; a kind of hoax; pun [uncertain, possibly a humorous alteration of catechism]
Castrophenia: the belief that one’s thoughts are being stolen by one’s enemies (OU, castro- kastron-(?))
Catholicon: a universal remedy or fix; panacea [Gk. katholikós, (“universal”), from katá, “(according to”) + –hólos, “(whole”)]
Charientism: a figure of speech wherein an insult is disguised as or softened by a jest [from Gk. kharientismós]
Chimera: (also spelt Chimaera) imaginary monster; fanciful; impossible idea; a body; an unjustified fear [from Greek mythology: a fire-breathing she-monster having a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail]
Circumforaneous: wandering from house to house, from place to place, from market to market [L. circumforāneus (“itinerant”), from circum- (“around”) + –forum (“marketplace”) + -aneus (“-aneous”)]
Claudicant: (Medic.) limping (L. claudicans from claudio (“to limp”) from claudus (“crippled”)]
Claviger: club-bearer; key-keeper or caretaker [L. from clavi- (“clavi”) – + -ger (“bearing, bearer”)] 🔑
Comiconomenclaturist: a connoisseur of humorous names; a specialist in the creation of funny names [from L. comicus (“of comedy”) from Gk. komikos (“of or pertaining to comedy”) + L. nōmenclātūra nomenclature (“naming”) + -ist]
Key: OU ➨ origin unknown
“B” Words from Left Field II – Redux: A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
<word meaning and root formation>
Badaud: a person given to idle observation of everything, with wonder or astonishment; a credulous or gossipy idler; an urban bystander who “rubbernecks” (gawks) at some incident [Fr. from Old Occitan badau, from badar, from Medieval Latin badare (“to gape”; “yawn”)]
Baffona: a woman with a slight moustache [It. from baffo (“moustache”)]
Balmaiden: a female surface miner [Cornish: bal (“mine”) + -maiden (“a young or unmarried woman”)]
Balistarius: a crossbowman [Gk. ballístra from bállō, (“I throw”) + -ius]
Balletomane: a person fanatically devoted to ballet; balletmaniac [from Fr. balletomane]
Balneal: pertaining to bathing or baths [L. balneum (“bath”) + -al, -ary] (cf. Balneotherapy: treatment using natural water)
Banausic: common, ordinary, mundane, undistinguished, dull, insipid [Gk. banausikós, (“of or for mechanics”), from bánausos, (“mechanical; ironsmith”)]
Bandobast: protection of a person, building or organisation from crime or attack [Pers. band-o-bast (“tying and binding”), from Urdu. bundobast]
Baryecoia: dullness of hearing; deafness (OU)
Basial: pertaining to kissing (OU) 💋
Battue: the driving of game towards hunters by beaters; massacre of helpless people [Fr. battue, (“beaten”), from L. battere]
Biverbal: relating to two words; punning [L. bi (“two”) + from LateL. -verbālis (“belonging to a word”)]
Brachiation: the act of swinging from tree limb to tree limb (as performed by primates) [L. bracchium, (“arm“) + -tion] 🐵
Breedbate: someone looking for an argument; originator of quarrels [Breed from OldEng. brēdan, from Proto-Germ. brōdijaną (“to brood”) + MidEng. –bate (“contention”), from OldFr. batre (Fr. battre), from L. battere.]
Byrthynsak: the theft of a calf or a sheep; stealing as much as you can carry (OU) 
Byrthynsak (source: thekashmiriyat.co.uk/)
Key: OU = origin unknown
“A” Words from Left Field II: Redux. A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet
<word origin and root formation>
Abderian: pertaining to foolish or excessive laughter [from Abderian, from Abdera (town in Thrace where Democritus, the Laughing Philosopher, lived) + -ian]
Acapnotic: someone who doesn’t smoke; a non-smoker [Gk. a (“not”) + –capno, –kapnós (“smoke”)] 🚭
Acataleptic: incomprehensible; one who suspends judgment as a matter of principle believing certainty is impossible [Gk. akatálēptos, (“incomprehensible”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + –katalambánō, (“I seize”)]
Accolent: dwelling near by; neighbouring [ac + -colo (“to move”; “to revolve around” 🔜 “to sojourn”; “to dwell”) + -ent]
Aceldama: field, or scene, of bloodshed [Gk. akeldamákh (“field of blood”). Originally from Aramaic] 🩸
Acephalist: an individual who acknowledges no head or superior [Gk. aképhalos (“headless”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + kephalḗ (“head”) + -ist]
Acousma: ringing or buzzing noise in head; illusory auditory perception of strange nonverbal sounds [Gk. ákou(sma) (“something heard”)]
Acrologic: Of or pertaining to initials or acronyms [Fr. acrologique, from acrologie from Gk. acr (“high”; “extreme”; “tip”) + -ique (“-ic”)
Acronychal: occurring at nightfall [ákronux, (“nightfall”)] 🌃
Acyrology: incorrect diction; imprecise or improper use of a word [Gk. akurología), ἀ- (a-, “not”) + –kuros, (“authority”) + –logia, (“speech”)]
Adiabolist: person denying existence of the Devil [a + -diabol + -ism from French diabolique, from Latin diabolicus]
Adumbral: dark; shadowy [L. ad (“to”;”toward”) + Sp. –umbral (“doorstep”; “threshold”)]
Afreet: (also spelt Ifrit) (Arabian mythology) an evil spirit or giant monster; a powerful type of demon in Islamic culture [possibly from Arab. afara, (“to rub with dust” or “to roll into dust”)]
Agastopia: admiring a particular part of someone’s body (OU) 👁️ 👁️
Agonist: one that is engaged in a struggle (as in “antagonist”) [Gk. agōnistḗs, (“combatant”; “champion”)]
Airmonger: someone who is attracted to visionary ideas and projects; quixotic, a hopeless visionary [air + L. –mangō (“dealer”; “trader”)]
Aischrolatreia: worship of filth, dirt, smut; cult of obscenity [Gk. aischros (“shameful”; “ugly”), from aischos (“disgrace”) + -latreia (“latry”)]
Allagrugous: grim and ghastly; sour; woebegone [Scot. Gaelic. origin uncertain]
Allision: intentional collision, especially of ships [Late L. allision-, allisio, from Latin allisus (allidere (“to strike against”) from ad- + -lidere, from laedere (“to hurt”) + -ion] 🚢 🛳️
Allochthonous: Originating in a place other than where it is found (esp in geology); foreign [Gk. állos (“other”) + –khthṓn (“earth”; “ground”)] (cf. Autochthonous: native to the place where it is found; indigenous)
Altivolent: flying high [L. altus (“high”; “deep”) + –volō (“I fly”)] ✈️
Ambisinister: unskilled or clumsy with both hands [L. ambi (“both”; “around”) + sinister (“on the left side; unfavourably located)] 🙌
Amphigean: found or occuring throughout the world; across all geographic zones [Gk. amphí, (“on both sides”) + –geō (“earth”)] 🌍
Anabiosis: return to life after seeming death; a state of suspended animation [Gk. aná (“again”) + -biōsis, from –bioun (“to live”), from -bios (“life”)]
Antibasilican: opposed to the principle of monarchy [anti (“-against”) + –basilike (“royal”; “kingly”)] 👑
Apanthropy: dislike of being in the company of other people; love of solitude [Gk. apó (“from”; “away from”) + –ánthrōpos, (“human”)]
Apaetesis: a matter put aside in anger to be taken-up later (OU)
Aurulent: gold-coloured [L. aurulentus (“golden”)]
Autoangelist: one who does his own communicating [self + -angelist(?)]
Autothaumaturgist: someone who pretends to be notable or feigns an air of mystery about him or herself [Gk. auto (“self”) + –thaumaturgist (“performer of miracles; a magician”)]
Key: OU = origin unknown
Note: some of the sources I have drawn on in the Redux A–Z, in addition to those previously acknowledged in the original Logolept’s Diet, include Peter Bowler, The Superior Person’s Great Big Book of Words (1996) and ‘Luciferous Logolepsy’ (arcane.org/)
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “Y” Words
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “Y” Words
”Y” words from the lexical womb
“Y” (pronounced the same as “why” or “wye”) is the 25th and penultimate letter of the English alphabet. “Y” appears in the Semitic alphabet as waw, which it shares with several other Latin letters, namely F, U, V and W. n the Classical Greek alphabet “upsilon” or “ypsilon” represents the letter Y. In mathematics “Y” is the 2nd unknown variable, following “X”. Y is a consonant but also can be a vowel in the articulation of certain sounds (eg, the semi-vowel “yes”).
{word} <meaning> <derivation>
Yale: (Euro. myth.) mythical animal resembling a horse (or antelope) with a tusk in combination with the the tail of an elephant (used in heraldry) [etymology uncertain but believed to be derived from the Hebrew word yael (“ibex“)]
Yam: (Hist.) was a postal system or supply-point route messenger system extensively used by the Great Khans; a posting-house along a road (Marco Polo: a yam was a waystation where a “large and handsome building” housed messengers and horses in “rooms furnished with fine beds” fit for a king, decorated with “rich silk” and “everything they can want.”) [Mongolian. örtöö, (“checkpoint”)]
Yarborough: hand of cards (whist) or bridge with no card above a nine; a weak hand [Eng. from toponymic surname, from Yarburgh (Yarborough) in Lincolnshire, from OldEng. habitational or topographic name eorðburg (“earthworks”; “fortifications”)]
Yardland: unit of land area equal to 30 acres (¼ of a hide🄰); also called a Virgate) [MidEng. yerdlond, from yerde (“yard”; “measure”) + –lond (“land”)]
Yare: (esp of a vessel) answering swiftly to the helm; easily handled; marked by quickness and agility; nimble; prepared [from OldEng. gearu (“ready”)]
Yarling: wailing; howling [Eng. from “yarl”, “to yarl”, a deep, guttural vocal style with affected pronunciation, characteristic of male grunge and post-grunge singers of the1990s and early 2000s]
Yaud: a worn out or old horse; a workhorse (Scot. mare) [MidEng.? yald from Old Norse. jalda (“mare”) of Finno-Ugric origin, cf. “jade”] 🐴
Yealing: person of the same age as oneself (of uncertain origin)
Yellowplush: a footman [from character in Yellowplush Papers, a series of satirical sketches by William Makepeace Thackeray (1850s) (compounding of “yellow” + “plush”)]
Yegg: a burglar of safes; safecracker (origin unknown)
Yobbery: hooliganism; characteristic of the (bad) behaviour of a yob; a rowdy, disruptive youth [coined 1970s by inverting the spelling of “boy”]
Yogibogiebox: a container holding the assessories used by a spiritualist [a compound of yogi + –bogey + –box. Coined or introduced by James Joyce in Ulysses (1922)]
Yogini female yogi [from yoga from Sanskrit. yuj (“to join or unite”)]
Yoicks: a hunting cry used to urge hounds after a fox or other quarry; expression of surprise or excitement (origin unknown but appears related to fox-hunting) (cf. Yikes: exclamation of alarm or surprise)
Yonderly: mentally or emotionally distant; vacant or absent-minded [from “yonder” from Eng. “yon” and from Dutch. ginder (“over there”)]
Yoni: symbol representing female genitalia [Sanskrit. yoni (“female reproductive organ”; literally “the womb” or (“the source”)]
Yowndrift: snow driven by the wind (Scot. Eng.? origin uncertain)
🄰 English unit of land measurement originally intended to represent the amount of land sufficient to support a household
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “X” Words
The letter “X” is the 24th letter of the Latin alphabet, as well as the Roman numerical symbol for “ten”(10). It derived from the Phoenician letter samekh, meaning “fish”, then circa 900BC the Greeks borrowed the samekh letter and renamed it Chi, giving it its present shape, the meaningful symbol of two diagonally-crossed vertical strokes. X is notable for its versatility and is powerfully ingrained in popular culture with so many different applications – it can signify the unexpected in everyday life, the mysterious phenomena or the unknown value of something; X can be defiantly undefinable. “X marks the spot” (see at bottom) or it can be a cautionary viewer-rating for television or films; it can represent a chromosome juxtaposed with its succeeding letter of the alphabet, “y”; it can stand in place of the word “Christ” as in “X’mas”; and it can be a shorthand affectionate or amorous sign-off between two correspondents (XXX or XOXO), the “kisses” in “kisses and hugs”; or the “crosses” in the perennial game of “noughts and crosses”; there’s “Generation X” of MTV-land and there’s “X” the rebranded moniker for the US-based social media website formerly known as Twitter (‘Before X Was X: The Dark Horse Story Of The 24th Letter’, January 09, 2019, www.dictionary.com)
Xanthippe: an ill -tempered woman [Gk. history: Socrates’ Athenian wife]
Xanthocomic: yellow-haired [Gk. xanthós (“yellow”) + (?)-kómēs (“harmony”) from -kome (“hair of the head”) (?) (cf. Xanthochroic: having yellow skin) 👱
Xenagogue: a tour guide; someone who conducts or directs strangers [Gk. xeno, xenós (“stranger”; “foreigner”) + -agōgos (“to lead”)] (cf. Xenodochy: hospitality; reception of strangers)
Xenarthral: resembling a sloth, an anteater or an armadillo [Gk. xenós (“foreigner”) + -árthron (“joint”)
Xenodocheionology: (studying) the history of hotels or inns; the lore of hotels or inns [Gk. xenodocheion (“inn”) + -o- + –logy]
Xenoglossia: supposedly when someone is able to speak, understand or write in a foreign language that he/she has never learnt or studied [Gk. xeno + -glossia (“speak)] (cf. Xenoglossophobia: fear of foreign languages)
Xerothermic: both dry and hot [Gk. xērós, (“dry”) + -thermós, “heat”) + –ic] (cf. Xerarch: growing in dry places) (cf. Xerasia: abnormal dryness of the hair) (cf. Xerostomia: excessive dryness of the mouth)
Xiphias: swordfish; a genus (the type of the family Xiphiidae) of large scombroid fishes comprising the common swordfish [Gk. xíphos, (“sword”)] 🗡️ 🐟
Xylopolist: one who sells wood; a timber merchant [Gk. xylo (“wood”) + –polist (“I barter”; “sell”)] 🪵
Xystus: (Hist.) architectural element in Anc Greece for covered portico of the gymnasium; covered walkway for exercises [from Gk. xustos, (“smooth”) (ie, polished floor of the xystus)
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A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “W” Words
A “W” beats a “single U”, and a “single V” for that matter!”
“W”, letter number 23 in the alphabet, traces its genesis to the Semitic letter vaw (as does f, u, v and y), which the ancient Greeks adopted as upsilon. W’s place in the English alphabet came about indirectly via the prior-existing letters “U” and “V”. At first there was no letter “W”, “W” was represented by two consecutive letter U or V …eventually one single character evolved to represent the “W” sound – “W” or “Double-U”. “It’s this history that gives W the longest name of any letter of the English language—and also means that the acronym www uniquely contains three times more syllables than it does letters” (www.mentalfloss.com).
Why Double-U and not Double-V? In print (but not cursive writing) “W” comprises two Vs (VV), so why wasn’t it called “Double-V”? Basically it’s to do with the timing of the letter W’s evolution in Old English. At the time the “W” symbol was created “V” did not exist in that language, so “W” was rendered as “UU”, and so it stayed (‘Why isn’t a W called a double V?’ Grammarphobia (27-Apr-2011), www.grammarphobia.com).
<word> <meaning> <derivation>
Wafture: (cf. Waftage) act of waving or making a wave-like motion; wafting: to convey or carry lightly and smoothly through the air or over water [from LowGer., Dutch wachter, from wachten (“to guard”, the sense of “convey by water”/“escort a ship”) from wafter (“armed convoy vessel”)] 👋
Waggoner: driver of a wagon; a collection or book of nautical maps [from OldDutch wagan, from Proto-West Germanic wagn, from Proto-Germanic wagnaz (“wagon”), from Proto-Indo-European woǵnos (“wagon”; “primitive carriage”), from weǵ- (“to transport”)] 📕
Wagtail: an obsequious person; a harlot (origin unknown)
Wale: to choose; the act of choosing(?) (origin unknown)
Wamble: nauseous; walk unsteadily; a staggering gait; wobbling or rolling motion; churning of the stomach [MidEng. wamlen; (“to become nauseated”), from L. vomere (“to vomit”)]
Wanchancy: unlucky; uncanny [from MidEng. wan-, from OldEng. wan-, from Proto-West Germanic wana- + From MidEng. chance, cheance, chaunce, cheaunce, a borrowing from Old French cheance (“accident”; “chance”; “luck”), from Vulgar Latin cadentia (“falling”)]
Wanhope: hopelessness; despair; vain hope; overconfidence; delusion [OldEng. wan-, from Proto-Germanic wanaz (“lacking”; “missing”; “deficient”) + from Old English –hopian (“hope”)]
Warray: to wage war on [from warry (“war-like”), from Fr, from Vulgar Latin werridiāre]
Wasm: a doctrine, ideology, rule, or theory that is no longer current or fashionable (etymology unclear, first appeared in print via Arthur Koestler, 1949)
Wassail: toast to someone’s health; to go caroling or carousing; spiced ale or mulled wine [Old Norse. ves heill (“be well”, toast] 🥂
Wasserman: a mythical sea monster, part man, thought to destroy ships [from Ger.Wasserman]
Webster: female weaver [OldEng. webbestre, from webba (“a weaver”) from webb]
Wegotism: excessive use of the pronoun “we” in speech or writing [blend of we + –egotism]
Weirdward: bordering upon the supernatural (origin unknown)
Welkin: the vault of the sky; firmament; heaven [from OldEng. wolcn (“cloud”)]
Wen: a very large, overcrowded city [from MidEng. wen, wenne, from OldEng. wenn, wænn (“wen”), from Proto-Ger. wanjaz]
Wergild: fine paid by family of murderer to family of murder victim (“man-price”) [MidEng. wergeld, from OldEng. wer (“man”) + -geld, alteration of gield, geld (“payment”; “tribute”) 💰
Wertfrei: without value judgement; morally neutral [Ger. wert (“worth”) + -frei (“free”)]
Whangam: an imaginary creature [17th cent. neologism coined by Oliver Goldsmith, Anglo-Irish author]
Whipcat: a person who makes, repairs, or alters outer garments, esp menswear; a tailor (slang: a worker “who whips the cat”) (origin unknown)
Whiskerando: a man with extravagant whiskers [Scand. Iceld. visk (“a wisp of hay”); allusion to Don Ferolo Whiskerando in RB Sheridan’s The Critic] (cf. Whiskerine: beard-growing contest)
Wiccaphobiac: one who fears or hates Wiccans or Wicca. A person with a morbid fear of witches or witchcraft [OldEng. wiċċa (“male witch”), from Proto-Germanic wikkô (“sorcerer”) + -phobia]
Widdershins: counterclockwise, anticlockwise; to walk around an object by always keeping it on the left MidLowGer. weddersinnes, (literally “against the way”, i.e. “in the opposite direction”)] cf. Widersinnen: “to go against”)
Wight: nimble; strong; courageous; a supernatural, man-like being [from MidEng. wight or wiȝt, from OldEng. wiht, from Proto-West Germanic wihti]
Williwaw: a sudden, violent gust of cold wind; a state of extreme confusion, turmoil, or agitation (origin unknown) 💨
Witticaster: a petty or inferior wit [from MidEng. witty, witti, from OldEng. wittiġ, witiġ, ġewittiġ (“clever”; “wise”), from Proto-West Germanic witīg + –aster]
Wold: a piece of high, open, uncultivated land or moor (Brit.) [OldEng. wald (“wooded upland”) of Germanic origin; perhaps related to wild]
Wondermonger: one who promises miracles; a person who tells of or exploits strange or freakish things [from MidEng. wonder, wunder, from OldEng. wundor (“wonder”; “miracle”; “marvel”), from Proto-West Germanic *wundr + from L. –mangō (“dealer”; “trader”)]
Woonerf: a road in a residential district which has installed devices (eg, traffic calming, low speed limits, shared space) to reduce or slow the flow of traffic (a living street) [Dutch: wonen (“reside”) + erf (“ground”; “premises”) (literally: “living yard” or “residential grounds”)]
Woopie: an affluent retired person able to pursuit an active lifestyle [derived from the acronym “well off older person” (“woop)”]
Worksome: industrious; diligent; labour-intensive [from MidEng. work, werk, from OldEng. weorc + from OldEng. -sum (“some”)]
Worricow: scarecrow; hobgoblin; frightening-looking person [Scot. from worry (“to harass”) + –cow (“hobgoblin”)]
Woubit: a small and shabby person; a hairy caterpillar [MidEng. wolbode, from woll (“wool”) + -bode (?)]
Wrackful: destructive or ruinous [from “wreck”, from OldNorse reta (“to drive”) ➠ Anglo-Norman Fr. wrec]
Writative: characterized by an inclination to write ✍️ [from MidEng. writen, from OldEng. wrītan, from Proto-West Germanic wrītan + -tive (poss. based on “talkative”)]
Wynd: narrow street or lane [MidEng: (Scots) wynde, probably from wynden (“to wind”; “proceed”; “go”) from OldEng. windan (“to twist”)]
Wyrd: the personification of fate or destiny [from Proto-Germanic wurdiz, from Proto-Indo-European wr̥ti-, wert- (“to turn”)]
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “V” Words
”V” for verbiage – a plethora of words!
V (lower case: v) is the twenty-second letter in the Latin alphabet, it appears in the modern English A—Z as well in as the alphabets of other western European languages. Its name in English is pronounced vee. As is the case with its sequential predecessor, “U”, which was the conduit for V’s linguistic journey, “V” ultimately comes from the Phoenician letter waw.The letter “V” in the popular consciousness is forever associated with “victory”, a symbolic nexus forged during the Second World War as a rallying call for the Allies’ war effort. It’s originator, an obscure Belgian politician, largely forgotten by the overarching giantic shadow of the phrase’s populariser, that wallflower of the shrinking violet variety, Sir Winston Churchill, for which the term “V for victory”, along with its accompanying Winnie trademark two-digit gesture, is eternally associated. Again, as with the letter “U”, Latin root words form the nucleus of “V” words in the following list.
<word> <meaning> <derivation>
Vaccimulgence: the milking of cows [L. vacci- (“cow”) + –mulgentia (“milking”)] 🐄 🥛
Vadelect: serving man, part of the household staff; personal servant [L. vadelectus, vad- (“go”) + unknown (?)]
Valetudinarian: a person who is obsessed with some ailment; hypochondriac [L. valēre, (“to have strength”; “to be well.”) + -ian]
Valuta: comparative value of different currencies (USD: AUD, etc) [[L. valēre]
Vaniloquent: speaking only of oneself or speaking egotistically [L. vanus (“vain”) + –loqui (“speak”)]
Vapulate: to beat with a whip [L. vāpulō [Prob. onomatopoeic in its origin, meaning “cry”; “wail”) from which meaning the attested meaning “be beaten, be stricken” evolved]
Veduta: panoramic view of a town; highly detailed, often large scaled painting or print of a cityscape or other vista [It. veduta (“view”)]
Vellichor: the strange wistfulness of used bookstores, which are somehow infused with the passage of time [velli- (unknown?) + -chor (“sing”; “dance”)]
Velocious: with great speed [L. veloc-, velox (“quick”) + -ious] (cf. Velocipede: swift-footed person)
Velologist: collecting of, study of, buying & selling of vehicle tax discs (UK) [L. velo (unknown?) + -logy]
Venator: (also Venerer) hunter; huntsman (cf. Venatrix (Fem.)); (Hist.) a type of Roman gladiator who specialised in hunting wild animals; type of wolf spider 🕷️ [from L. vēnor (“I hunt”) + -tor]
Vendible: capable of being sold [L. vēndere (“to sell”) + -bilis (“capable of being acted upon)”]
Venineman: juror (derivation unknown)
Ventripotent: having a fat belly, or being a glutton [L. ventr-, venter– (“abdomen”) + -potent-, potens, from OldLat. potēre (“to be powerful”)]
Venustaphobia: fear of beautiful women [L. Venus (“Roman goddess of love and beauty”) venust (“beautiful”) + -phobia]
Verbarian: coiner of words [MidLat. verbum (“word”; “verb”) + -arian]
Verbigerate: to continually repeat a word or phrase meaninglessly, usually unconciously [L. verbum (“word”) + -gerare, from gerere (“to carry”)]
Verger: church usher and attendant [L. verge (“rod”; “wand of office”) + -er] ⛪️
Veriloquent: speaking nothing but the truth [L. vērāc– (“true”) + –loqui] (cf. Veridical: veracious; genuine; truthful)
Vernarexia: (also Vernalagnia) a romantic mood brought on by Spring; “Spring Fever” [L. vernal (“spring”) + -orexia (“desire”)]
Versutiloquent: speaking craftily [ L. versūtus, from vertö, versum (“to turn”) + loqui] (cf. Versute: crafty; wily; artful)
Vertiginous: extremely high or steep; giddy, dizziness (affected by Vertigo) [L. veriginosus, from vertigo (“whirling about”)]
Vespertine: happening or active in the evening; flourishing or flowering at night [Gk. Hesperus is from (“evening star”) + -ine] (cf. Vesper: evening; the evening star)
Vesthibitionism: the flirtatious display of undergarments by a woman [L. vestimenta, (“clothes or undergarments”) + –exhibeo, (“to show”) +-ism]
Vestigial: a very small remnant of something once greater or more noticeable; rudimentary or degenerate organ/body part [Unknown, possibly from earlier verstīgium, from L. verrō (“to sweep”), or poss. from vē- + stīgō, from Proto-Indo-European stéygeti (“to walk”)]
Vetanda: forbidden things [Vetanda in Sanskrit vetanda (? “elephant”)]
Vetust: very ancient [L. vetustus (“old, ancient”)]
Vexillologist: a collector of flags for display [L. vexillum (“flag”) + -logist] 🇧🇷🇧🇮🇬🇱🏴🇨🇽🇺🇬🇨🇼
Viātor: “traveller;” “wayfarer” [from L. via (“track or road”) + -tor] (cf. Viaggiatory: traveling frequently)
Vicennial: occurring every twenty years [LateLat. vīcennium, (“period of twenty years”)]
Vicinage: neighbourhood; residents in a neighbourhood [L. vīcīnus (“neighbour”)]
Victrix: female victor [from L. vincere (“conquer”)]
Victualler: one who operates a pub or eatery; supplier of provisions to a naval ship or army; seller of alcohol [L. victus (“food”) + -ler]
Videndum: the thing to be seen [L. vindendus, from videō (“I see”)]
Vigneron: wine-grower 🍷 [from OldFr. vigne, (+ -ron) from L. vīnea (“vines in a vineyard”)]
Vilipend: to treat or regard with contempt; to belittle; to speak slanderously or slightingly of someone [LateLat. vīlipendere, from L. vīlis (“worthless”) + -pendere (“to esteem”)]
Virago: a woman who demonstrates abundant masculine virtues [L. virāgō (“vigorous maiden”) from vir– (“man-like”) + -ago] (cf. Viraginity)
Virgivitiphobia: a fear of being raped [L. virgi (“marriageable girl”?) + -phobia]
Viripotent: fit for a husband; marriageable [L. vir (“man”) + –potens (“fit for”)]
Virvestitism: a preference of some women to wear mens clothing [origin unknown)
y [L. viaggiatore (“traveller”; “voyager”) + -tory)] (cf. Viator:
Viatical: of, like or pertaining to roads or travel (cf. Viatecture: construction of roads and bridges)
Vociferant: clamorous; shout; complain; argue loudly or vehemently [L. vox (“voice”) + –ferre (“carry”)]
Voluptuary: sensualist; person fond of luxury [ LateLat. voluptuārius, from L. voluptārius (“pleasure-seeker”; “agreeable”; “delightful”; “pleasant”; “sensual”), (cf. Volupty: sexual pleasure)
Voraginous: pertaining to something which devours everything [L. vorāginōsus, from vorāgō (“abyss”) + -ous]
Vorago: gulf; chasm; abyss (origin unknown)
Votary: a devoted follower, esp a monk or nun; adherent; a staunch advocate of someone or something else [L. vot (“vowed”) + -ary]
Vulgus: the common people [L. volvō (“I roll”; “turn over”) (cf. Vulgo: commonly; popularly)
Vulpine: pertaining to foxes; (Literal: crafty; cunning [L. vulpinus, from vulpes (“fox”)] 🦊
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “U” Words
The letter “U”, 21st letter and ultima vowel of the Latin alphabet, phonemetically one-half of the letter “W” (“double-U”). “U” derives from the Semitic waw, as does F, and later, Y, W, and V. Pictorially its oldest ancestor goes to Egyptian hieroglyphs, and is probably sourced from a hieroglyph of a mace or fowl, representing the sound [v] or the sound [w]. This was borrowed to Phoenician, where it represented the sound [w], and seldom the vowel [u]. The bulk of the U-words that follow reveal the extent of the debt of their Latin roots.
<word> <meaning> <derivation>
Uberous: yielding an abundance of milk 🐄 🥛[L. uber (“full”; “fruitful”; “fertile”; “abundant”; “plentiful”; “copious”; “productive”) + -ous] (cf. Uberty: fruitfulness; abundantly productive)
Ubicity: whereabouts [L. ubi (“where”) + -icity] (cf. Ubique: everywhere)
Ucalegon: neighbour whose house is on fire [eponym from ancient Greek. ~ an Elder of Troy, Ucalegon’s house was set afire by the Achaeans during the sack of Troy (the Iliad; the Aeneid]
Ulotrichous: having woolly hair [Gk. oûlos, (“crisp, curly”) + –trikhos, (“haired”)]
Ultimo: of last month [L. ultimo (“mense”) (“in the last month”)]
Ultimogeniture: inheritance/right of succession going to the last son [L. ultimus (“last”) + Late Lat.-genitura (“a late birth”)]
Ultracrepidate: to criticise beyond the range of one’s knowledge; to go beyond one’s purview [L. ultra crepidam (“beyond the sandal”)]
Ultrafidian: going beyond more than mere faith; gullible [L. ultrā (“beyond”) + -fidem (“faith”) + -ian]
Ultrageous: violently extreme [L. ultrā + –geous(?)]
Ultraist: someone holding extreme views [L. ultrā + -ist]
Ultramontane: south of the Alps; other side of the Alps; a Catholic Church belief that supports the pope’s supreme authority [L. ultrā + -mont-, -mons (“mountain”)]
Ultroneous: pertaining to a witness who testifies voluntarily [L. ultroneus, from ultro (“to the further side, on his part, of one’s own accord”)]
Unasinous: equally as stupid as each other [L. ünus (“one”) + -asinus (“ass”) + -ous]
Unctuous: oily; slimy; greasy; offensively suave and smug; ingratiating; sycophantic [L. unguere (“to anoint”) + -ous]
Undecennial: occurring every eleven years [L. undecim (“eleven”) + –ial]
Undinism: the trait of having erotic thoughts when viewing or contemplating water; an awakening of the libido caused by viewing running water or urine [L. unda (“wave”) -ism]
Unicity: the fact of being or consisting of one, or of being united as a whole; the quality of being unique [L. ūnicitās, ūnicus (“uniqueness”) + -ity]
Unigeniture: the state of being the only begotten (ie, fathering a child into existence) [L. unigenitus (“only-begotten”), from unus (“one”) + –genitum (“to beget”)]
Unipara: a woman who gives birth only the once [unus, unius + –parus (“to produce”)]
Unsinew: to take the strength from [un- + from Old Saxon. sinewa]
Untreasure: to despoil [un- + Gk. thēsaurós, (“treasure house”)]
Unwithdrawing: not withdrawing or retreating”; “lavish or liberal” [un- + MidEng. from with from + drawen (“to draw”)]
Unzymotic: fabulous [(?) un- + zumoûn (“to ferment”)]
Upaithric: roofless; open to the sky [Gk. hypaithros, from hypo- + aithēr (“ether”; air”)]
Upas: poisonous or harmful institution or influence [Indon. Malay pohon upas (“poison tree”)] 🌳
Uraniscus: roof of the mouth; the palate [Gk. ouranískos, (“ceiling”)]
Uranism: male homosexuality [Gk. ouránios, (“heavenly”; “spiritual”)]
Urinator: a diver, especially someone who searches for things underwater [L. ūrīnātor (“diver”), from ūrīnor (“to plunge under water”; “dive”), poss. from ūrīna (“urine”; water(?))]
Ursine: of, like or pertaining to bears [from L. ursus (“bear”)] (cf. Ursiform: having the shape or appearance of a bear)
Urticant: (Path.) causing a stinging or itching sensation; irritating [MedLat. urticant-, urticans, from L. urticare (“to sting”)]
Usance: (orig.) habit; custom; firmly established and generally accepted practice or procedure; use, employment; (obs.) interest [L. ūsant-, from ūsāre (“to use”)]
Usitative: signifying a usual act [L. usitari (“to use often”)]
Usufruct: (Civil Law) the right to use and enjoy something; a limited real right which unites the two property interests of usus (usage of or access to) is the right to use or enjoy a thing possessed, directly and without altering it) and fructus (the right to derive profit from a thing possessed: eg, by selling crops (the “fruits” of production), leasing immovables or annexed movables, taxing for entry, and so on [L. uses et fructus (“use and employment”)] 𓍝
Uxorial: of, like or pertaining to a wife [L. uxōrius (“of or pertaining to a wife; overly fond of one’s wife”) from uxor (“wife”) + -al ] (cf. Uxorious: excessively fond of one’s wife) (cf. Uxorodespotic: morbid domineering by one’s wife; wifely tyranny of her husband ➲ (cf. Maritodespotism: tyrannical rulership of a wife by her husband)
⛩︎⛩︎⛩︎⛩︎⛩︎⛩︎ ⛩︎⛩︎⛩︎⛩︎⛩︎⛩︎ ⛩︎⛩︎⛩︎⛩︎⛩︎⛩︎
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “T” Words
The letter “T”/“t”, in English pronounced tee, numero venti (20) in the Latin alphabet, like many of its letters owes its advent to the Phoenicians et al. It derives from the Semitic Taw 𐤕 and Paleo-Hebrew script (Aramaic and Hebrew Taw ת/𐡕/, Syriac Taw ܬ, and Arabic ت Tāʼ) and once again the linguistic go-between is the Greek letter τ (tau). Unlike the English “T”, Taw was the last letter of the Western Semitic and Hebrew alphabets. The T-words that follow consist of lexemes and morphemes of all shapes and sizes, including the unholy trinity of the trim, the taut and the terrific, not to forget the terras, the teles, the technos, the thermos, the tachys, and a whole lot more!
<word> <meaning> <derivation>
Tabefaction: wasting away; emaciation (origin unknown)
Tabellary: auditor; carrier of letters [L. tabellārius from tabella (“letter”) + -ārius]
Tabellion: (Hist.) a scrivener under the Roman Empire with some notarial powers; an official scribe or notary public especially in England and New England in the 17th and 18th cent. [from L. tabella + -ion] 🪶
Tacenda: things not to be mentioned [from [L. tacëo (“silent;” “shut up”)] (cf. Tacent: (“to be silent”; “hold one’s tongue”)
Tachyphrasia: the act of talking very fast [Gk. takhús, (“swift”) + -phrasia (“talk”; “say”)] (cf. Tachyphagia: fast eating) (cf. Tachygraphy: shorthand; literally, “speedy writing” ✍️
Taliped: with a club-foot; with a foot twisted out of shape or position [L. talus (“ankle”) (?) + –ped (“foot”)]
Tambour: (Arch.) sloping buttress wall or fortification [Fr. tambour (“drum”), from Arabic ṭunbūr]
Tantième: share of profits or royalties [Fr. tantième (“percentage”;“proportion”)]
Tapinosis: use of degrading or diminutive diction regarding a topic; undignified language that debases something or someone; deliberately using a base word to diminish a person or thing’s dignity [Gk. tapeinós, (“low”)] (cf. Meiosis – using a euphemism to depreciate an object or thing’s size or significance)
Tarantism: (Psych.) an extreme impulse to dance, esp to overcome a feeling of melancholy [It. tarantismo (from Italian city of Taranto (during (15th-(17th. a spider bite from the tarantula was believed to trigger the dancing mania)] 🕷️
Tardiloquent: speaking slowly [L. tardi (“slow”) + –loqui] (cf. Tardigrade: slow-paced)
Tauromachy: the art or practice of bullfighting [Gk. taurus (“bull”) + –machia (“fight”)] 🐂
Tautochronous: lasting the same amount of time [Gk. tauto (“the same”) + –khrónos (“time”) + -ous]
Tautonym: word composed of two identical words/spellings/sounds (in repetition) eg, paw-paw, yo-yo 🪀 [Gk. tautó, (“the same”) + –onuma (“name”)]
Technopole: place where high-technology industries are located; tech hub [Gk. tékhnē, (“skill”) + –pólis (“city”)] (cf. Tectiform: shaped like a roof) (cf. Tectonic: structural component of a building/construction)
Telegenic: having an appearance and exhibiting qualities thought to be attractive to television viewers [Gk. têle, (“at a distance”; “far off”; “far away”; “far from”) + -genḗs, (“offspring”; “kind”)]
Telekinetic: (Psychic.) supposed skill to move objects at a distance by exercising your mental power only [Gk. têle + –kinēsis (“motion”) from -kinein (“to move”)]
Telos: ultimate object or aim; provides the moral justification [Gk. télos, (“end”; “purpose” or “goal'”)]
Temporality: (Philos.) linear projection of past, present and future; existing within or having some relationship with time; temporal [L. temporālis (“of time”) + –itāt, itās]
Tempore: in the time of; in historical literature, denotes a period during which a person whose exact lifespan is unknown, was known to have been alive or active, or some other date which is not exactly known, usually given as the reign of a monarch [L. tempus (“time”; “period”)] (cf. Temporise: to delay; to procrastinate) 🕰️
Tenebrific: producing darkness [NewLat. tenebrae (“darkness”) + -i- + -ficus] cf. Tenebrose: dark; gloomy) 🌃
Tentamen: experiment; attempt [L. tentāmen (“attempt”)] (cf. Tentation: experiment by trial and error)
Tentigo: priapism, tumescence; morbid lasciviousness [L. tentīgō (“lust”), from tendō (“stretch”)] (cf. Tentiginous: “lust-provoking”)
Teratology: study of monsters, freaks, abnormal growths or malformations [Greek terat-, téras– (“sign sent by the gods”; “portent”;“marvel”; “monster”) + –logie (“-logy”)] (cf. Teratoid: resembling a monster) (cf. Teramorphous: of abnormal or monstrous form)
Terdiurnal: three times per day [L. ter (“thrice”) + LateLat. –diurnalis “daily”)
Terebration: a pain that feels as though a drill is boring through some body part [L. terebro, (“to bore”) + -ion]
Tergal: of, like or pertaining to the back; (Zool.) relating to the terga of an arthropod [L. terga (“the back”)]
Tergiversation: the act of evading any clear course of action or speech, of being deliberately ambiguous; equivocation; fickleness [L. tergiversātiō, from tergiversārī (“to turn one’s back, to evade”; to avoid”) + -tiō (“-tion]
Termagant: a violent, nagging, brawling woman; a shrew [MidEng. termagaunt, earlier tervagaunt, alteration of OldFr. tervagan (“name of the imaginary deity”)]
Terraneous: of, like or pertaining to the earth [L. terrenum (“land”; “ground”), from terra (“earth”) + -ous] (cf. Terrigenous: produced on land; produced by the land)
Terremotive: (Geology) relating to an earthquake; seismic [L. terra (“earth”) + –mōtus (“movement”)]
Terrisonant: having a terrible sound [L. terrëo (“frighten”; “terrify”; “scare away” + -ant]
Tessaraglot: a person who is capable of speaking in four languages [Gk. téssara (“four”) + –glôssa (“tongue”)] 👅
Tessellation: fitting together exactly; leaving no spaces; surface tiling with no gaps or overlays [L. tessella (“small square”) from Gk. tessera, (“four”)]
Tesserarian: of, like or pertaining to games of dice [Gk. tessera + -ian] 🎲
Testicond: having the testes concealed within the body [L. testis (“testis”) + –condere (“to hide”)]
Thalassic: marine; of seas; of inland seas [Gk. thalassa (“sea”)] (cf. Thalassography: science of the sea) 🌊
Thanatopsis: the contemplation of death; considering one’s mortality [Gk. thanatos (“death”) + –opsis‘ (“view”; “sight”)] (cf. Thanatoid: apparently dead; deathly; deadly)
Thaumaturgic: performer of miracles, esp a magician or a saint [Gk. thaumatourgós (“performer of wonders (as an acrobat”) + -ia – y]
Theandric: divine and human at the same time [Gk. theandros (“God-man”)]
Thelemite: one who does as he or she pleases; libertine [Fr. thélémite, from L’Abbaye de Thélème, imaginary abbey with the motto “Do as you please” in Gargantua (1535) by François Rabelais (1553) + -ite] (cf. Thelemic: allowing people to do as they wish [Gk. thelema (“will”) + -ic)
Thelyotokous: having only female offspring [Gk. thêlus, “female”) + –tókos, (“birth”)]
Theologaster: petty or shallow theologian [Gk. theológos, (“one who talks about the gods”; “theologian”) + L. –aster (“inferior”; “shallow”, etc.)
Theotherapist: faith-healer; treatment of illness or disease by prayer and other religious exercises [Gk. theó, (“god”) + -therapeía, “(service”; “medical treatment”)]
Thereoid: bestial; savage [Gk. thēr, thērós (“beast”; “animal”) + –oid (“-like”)]
Thereology: the art of healing; therapeutics [Gr. therein=therapeuein, (“to tend the sick”) + -logy]
Theriacal: (Medic.) of, like or pertaining to antidotes [Gk. thēriakḕ, “of or related to poisonous reptiles”), from thēríon, “little beast”) from thḗr + -al]
Therianthropic: combining human and animal forms [Gk. thērianthrōpos (“beast-man”)]
Theriatrics: the science of veterinary medicine [Gk. thḗr, (“wild beast”) + iatrós, (“doctor”)]
Thermoplegia: (Medic.) heat- or sunstroke [Gk. thermos (“heat”) + –plēgē (“paralysis”; “stroke”)]
Thesmothete: law-giver; (Hist.) a junior archon or magistrate responsible for legislation in Ancient Greece [from Gk. thesmothétēs]
Thirdborough: petty provincial constable [MidEng. thridborro, probably by folk etymology, from frithborg (“frankpledge”)]
Thooid: resembling a wolf; (Zool.) relating to an obsolete group of carnivores including wolves, dogs and jackals [Gk. thōs jackal + -oid]
Threnody: a lament for the dead (poem, speech, song) [Gk. thrēnōidia, from thrēnos, (“dirge”)]
Threpterolagnia: A lust for female nurses [Gk. threptero(?) + –lagnia (“coitus”; “lust”)]
Thyestean: cannibalistic [from Greek mythology, Thyestes, a king of Olympia, was served his own children’s flesh by his vengeful twin brother Atreus as revenge for adultery]
Thygatrilagnia: an incestuous desire by a father for his own daughter [Gk. thygatro (“daughter”) + –lagnia]
Tibialoconcupiscent: having a lascivious interest in watching women put on stockings [L. tibia (“shinbone”?) + -lo (?) + –concupiscēns, –concupiscere (“to conceive an ardent desire for”)]
Timbromaniac: an avid stamp collector; a passionate philatelist [Fr. from timbre (“postage stamp”) + -o- + -mania]
Tirocinium: a soldier’s first battle; military baptism of fire [L. tirocinium (“first military campaign”; “inexperienced raw recruit”; “first attempt”]
Tmesis: a word compound that is divided into two parts, with another word infixed between the parts for emphasis, thus constituting a separate word compound, eg, “Absar—bloody—lutely!”; “in—fucking—credible!” [Gk. tmēsis (“a cutting”) from temnō, (“I cut”)]
Tolutiloquent: pertaining to a smooth talker, characterised by fluency or glib utterances [L. tolutim, “trotting along”) + –loqui (“speak”)]
Tomecide: the act of “murdering” or destroying a book, esp by the act of book burning [Gk. tomḗ + -cide]
Toponym: (Onomastics) a name by which a geographical place is known or a word derived from a place name or from a topographical feature eg, cashmere from Kashmir, lima beans from Lima [Back-formation from toponymy Gk. topos (“place”) + -nym] (cf. Toponymics: the study of place names)
Toxophilite: archer; fond of or an expert in archery [Gk. toxon, (“bow and arrow”) + -phil + -ite]
Tranch: a portion (literally: slice) of something [OldFr. trenche, (“slice”)]
Tritavia: (Ancient Rome) the female ascendant in the sixth degree; the great grandmother of one’s great grandmother; the mother of either an atavus or atavia [L. trēs (“three”) + –avus (“(“grandfather;” “uncle”)] (cf. Tritavus: great grandfather of one’s great grandfather)
Tropoclastics: the science of breaking habits [Gk. trope᷄ (“a turning”) + -klastos (“shattered”) from –klan (“to break”)
Tuism: apostrophe; reference to or regard to a second person [L. tu (“thou”) + -ism]
Tumultuary: chaotic; haphazard [L. tumultus; perhaps akin to Sanskrit tumula (“noisy”)]
Turgescence: act or process of swelling; swollenness [L. turgescent-, turgescens, turgescere (“to swell”)] (cf. Tumefy: to swell)
Turnverein: (Hist.) (19th-(20th. German-American association of gymnasts (members called “turners” promoted German culture, physical culture, and liberal politics); athletic club [Ger. turnen (“to practice gymnastics”) + verein (“club”; “union”) ]
Turriform: (Arch.) shaped like a tower [L. turris, (“tower”) from Gk. turrhís + ‑form]
Tutelary: having the guardianship of a thing [from L. tūtēla (“tutelage, guardianship; dependent, client”) + -ārius ]
Twain: two; couple or pair [MidEng. from OldEng. twēgen ] 👯
Twire: to peep out; to leer [origin unknown, perhaps akin to MidHighGer. zwieren (“to wink”)] 👀
Tycolosis: accident prevention (origin unknown)
Typhlology: the study of blindness [Gk. tuphlós (“blind”) + -logy] 🕶️
Tyroid: resembling cheese; cheesy [Gk. tyros (“cheese”) + -oid] (cf. Turophile: a connoisseur of cheese; a cheese fancier) 🧀
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “S” Words
“S” is the 19th letter of the Latin alphabet. Pronounced [ess] the letter is a veritable wellspring of onomatopoeic worddom – (alliterative indulgence follows for effect) sizzling, screeching, slithering, swaying snakes alive! As with other entries in the sequence, the symbol corresponds to the Semitic sin (“tooth”). The cool shape of the Latin “S” came about from the Greek Σ (sigma) by dropping one out of the four strokes of that letter. The (angular) S-shape composed of three strokes existed as a variant of the four-stroke letter Σ already in the epigraphy in Western Greek alphabets, and the three and four strokes variants existed alongside one another in the classical Etruscan alphabet. Trust the ‘truscans to always bob up in the linguistic story somewhere! In other Italic alphabets (Venetic, Lepontic), the letter could be represented as a zig-zagging line of any number between three and six strokes. The lower-case “s” used to be rendered as ∫¹ (sometimes called a medial S or a “long-s”) and looking more like a fancy f sans the cross stroke) but this went of vogue in English sometime in the 18th century and was eventually phased out like pounds, shillings and pence. Neato!
____________________
¹ sometimes written with a slight cursive tilt to the left
<word> <meaning> <derivation>
Sabulous: sandy; gritty; growing in sandy places [L. sabulosus, from sabulum (“sand”)]
Saccadic: a rapid movement of the eye between fixation points; jerky; twitching [OldFr. saquer (“to pull”)]
Sadogue: fat; easy-going person (origin unknown))
Salsipotent: ruling the salt seas; having the power of/over the sea (ref. to Neptune, Roman god of the sea [L. salsipotentem (as if from salsum (“salt”), (a false reading for salipotentem, from salum (“salt water”) + -potentem (“potent”)]
Saltant: leaping; dancing [L. salire (“to jump”; “leap”)]
Saltus: breach of continuity; jump to a conclusion [L. saltus (“a leap”)]
Sanable: able to be healed (cf. Sanatory: producing health) [L. sanare (“to cure”) + -abilis (“-able”)]
Sanctiloquent: speaking on heavenly or holy matters; prone to speaking in a sanctimonious manner; preachy [L. sanctus (“holy”) + loquens]
Sapid: having a perceptible or decided taste; savoury; agreeable [L. from sapere (“to taste”)]
Sapience: discernment; judgement [L. sapientia (“good taste”; “good sense”; “discernment”; “intelligence”; “wisdom”; from sapiens “sensible”; “shrewd”; “knowing”; “discrete”] (cf. Sapiential: providing wisdom)
Sapor (-ine🙂 property of substance of taste; flavour; pertaining to taste [L. sapor (“taste”; “flavour”) + -ine]
Sarcoline: flesh-coloured [Gk. sárx, sarkós (“flesh”) + -line (?))]
Sargasso: a mass of floating vegetation, especially sargassums (seaweed); gulfweed [from Port. sargaço (flowering plant related to the rockrose)] originally from L. salicastrum (“kind of wild vine found in willow-thickets”) ➾ Sargasso Sea (tract of still water with masses of thick seaweed in Nth Atlantic) ➾ which is prob. the source of Sargasso’s second meaning: a confused, tangled mess or situation]
Sarmassant: pertaining to sexual caressing or any such form of love-making (origin unknown) (cf. Sarmassate: to make love by handling, fondling or squeezing organs and tissues of a female)
Sartorial²: of or relating to a tailor or tailored clothes; (broadly) of or relating to clothes [L. sartor (“tailor”) + -ial]
Sarwan: a person who drives and guides a camel [Pers. sārwān, from sār (“camel”) + -wān (“keeping”; “guarding”)] 🐫
Satisfice: to aim for or achieve that which will suffice; (Heuristics) a decision-making strategy that aims for a satisfactory or adequate result, rather than the optimal solution [blend of satisfy and suffice]
Sative: cultivated; sown [L. sativus, from satus, serere (“to sow”) + -ivus (“ -ive”)]
Satrapess: A female satrap; an official who acts like a petty tyrant [from satrap Gk. satrápes, from OldPers. khshathapavan (literally “protector of the province”) + -ess]
Saturnalian: riotously merry or orgiastic; behaviour like the Saturnalia: an ancient Roman holiday/festival honouring Saturn, the god of seed-sowing, a time of jovial merrymaking with many social norms were relaxed and inverted; riotous merry-making [L. Saturn (Roman god of agriculture among other things)]
Saturnine❇note the nuance of meaning contrasted with the preceding entry :— of a gloomy or surly disposition; sardonic [L. Saturn + -ine]
Satyromaniac: a man with an abnormally great, uncontrollable testosterone sexual drive; satyriasis [Gk. sáturos (“satyr”)+ -mania]
Saxifragous: breaking stone; (Biol.) rock-splitting plant [L. saxifragus (“rock-breaking”)]
Scamander: to take a winding course; to meander [Gk.from Skamandros (also called Xanthos), a river god in Greek mythology. Origin uncertain ➠ poss. from skázō (“to limp”; “to stumble (over an obstacle)”) or from skaiós (“left(-handed”; “awkward”)]
Scanderoon: homing pigeon (origin unknown)
Scansorial: relating to, capable of, or adapted for climbing [L. scansus + -orius -ory) + –al]
Scapegrace: an incorrigible rascal; a mischievous or wayward person, esp a child [Eng. scape (Literally) one who escaped the grace of god]
Scaphism: form of execution (alleged relating to ancient Persia) by covering someone in honey and abandoning him in the sun or leaving him tethered between two boats [Gk. skaph (“boat”) + -ism]
Scazon: : a classical verse with a limping or halting movement; limping verse [Gk. skázō (“I limp”)]
Scepsis: (Philos.) philosophic doubt; skepticism; a skeptical approach or belief” [Gk. sképsis, “examination”); “observation”; “consideration”)]
Schesis: deriding an opponent’s argument by referring to his or her way of thought; mocking the habitude of an adversary [Gk. skhésis, (“state”; “condition”; “attitude”)]
Schoenobatist: a tight-rope walker [origin unknown(?) poss. from MidDutch. schoe, (“shoe”; “footwear”)]
Sciapodous: having large feet [Gk. Skiapodes, from skia (“shadow”) + -pod-, -pous (“-foot”) + -ous] (cf. Sciapods: (aka Monopods) (Greek mythology) a tribe of one-legged, giant-footed Libyan (some references say Ethiopian or Indian) men whose foot was so big they could raise it in the air to provide shade against the hot southern sun)
Scholarch: head of a school; (Hist.) the leader of an Athenian school of philosophy [Late Gk. scholarchēs (“scholar”)] school 🏫
Scible: that which is knowable (origin unknown)
Scientaster: a petty or inferior scientist [L. sciēns (“knowing”), from sciō (“know”) + -aster] 👨🔬
Scintillant: sparkling [L. scintillāns, scintillāre (“to send out sparks”; “flash”)] (cf. Scintillescent twinkling)
Sclerotic: grown rigid or unresponsive especially with age; unable or reluctant to adapt or compromise; hardening (eg, of emotions) [Gk. sklērōtos, from sklēroun (“to harden”)]
Scoliotropism: a diminished desire to attend school [origin uncertain(?), Gk. skoliós (“crooked”) + –tropḗ, (“turn”); “solstice”; “trope”) + -ism] ✎ᝰ.📖
Scolist: (someone) who pretends to have more knowledge than they really do; a superficial show of learning [LateLat. sciolus (“smatterer”; “pretender to knowledge” from L. scius “possessing knowledge”; “expert”) derivative of scīre (“to know”) —perhaps as back-formation from nescius (“ignorant”)— + –ist]
Scopophile: a person whose sexual pleasure is derived from watching others in a state of nudity, undressing, or engaging in sexual activity; (Psych.) one with a sexual dependency on openly observing genitalia and sexual acts (distinguished from a voyeur who watches in secret) [Gk. skopós, “watcher”) + -phile] 👁️👁
Scortation: fornication; lewdness [L. scorṯarī (“to consort with or like a harlot”)]
Scriniary: archives-keeper; archivist [from L. scriniarius “keeper of the scrinium” (“chest or box for keeping books, papers, letters”, etc)]
Scriptory: by, in or pertaining to writing [L. scriptorius, from scriptus, scribere (“to write”) + -orius (“-ory”)] (cf. Scripturient: having a violent desire to write) 📝 ✍️
Scurrier (also sp. Scurriour): a scout (origin unknown, possibly French)
Sebastomania: religious insanity [Gk. sebastos, “reverenced”; “mania”; madness”) + -mania]
Sectiuncle: a little or petty sect [nebulous etymology: L. secare (“cut”)(?) + –uncle (“small”; “little”)]
Secundogeniture: custom where second-oldest child inherits property; a dependent territory given to a younger son of a princely house and his descendants [L. secundus (“following”; “second”) + –genitus (“born”)] (cf. Tertiogeniture: third-oldest child is a beneficiary (rarely applied))
Sederunt: sitting of an ecclesiastical court (in Scotland); gathering; long discussion (cf. Sedent: seated or inactive) [L. from sedēre (“to sit”)]
Sedulous: accomplished with careful perseverance (craftsmanship); diligent in application or pursuit [L. sedēre (“meaning”; “to sit”) + -ous]
Selcouth: rare; strange; unusual; marvellous [from OldEng. seldcūth, from seldan (“seldom”) + -cūth (“known”)]
Selenic: of, like or pertaining to the Moon [Gk. selḗnē, (“moon”)] 🌒
Semelincident: (of a disease or ailment) occurring only once in the same individual [[L. semel, (“once”), + -incido, (“to happen”), from cado, (“to fall”)] (cf. Semelparous: reproducing only once in its lifetime)
Sempervirent: evergreen; always fresh [L. semper (“always”) + –virent, -virēre (“to be green”)]
Sempiternal: of never-ending duration; eternal [L. from semper + –æternus (“eternal”)]
Sempster: (also Seamster) a man who sews; tailor [OldEng. seamestre “sewer”; “tailor”; ”person whose work is sewing”)]
Senectitude: old age [L. senectus (“aged”; “old age”), senex (“old”)] (cf. Senectuous: very old)
Senient: conscious; perceiving; able to perceive or feel things [L. sentient-, sentiens, (“to perceive”; “feel”)]
Septentrional: to the north; northern [L. From septem (“seven”) + –triō (“plow”; “ox”)]
Septimanal: weekly [L. septi- + -manal(?)]
Sequacious: ready to follow a leader or authority; (pliant) compliant; tractable [L. sequac-, sequax– (“inclined to follow”) from sequi, (“to follow”) + -ous]
Seraglio: harem [It. serraglio, modification of Turkish saray (“palace”)]
Seraphic: serene; blissful; angelic [MedLat. seraphicus, from LateLat. seraphim (“an angel”) + -icus]
Sermuncle: a little sermon [L. sermo, sermonis—serĕre, (“to join”) + –uncle]
Sesquipedalian: (of a word) polysyllabic, long [L. sesquipedalia verba (“words a foot and a half long”) from sesqui- (“one and a half times”)]
Sexdigitated: (Med.) six-fingered or -toed [L. sex, six, + -digitus, finger or toe]
Sexotropic: obsessed with sex [L. sexus + –tropḗ]
Shenango: a casually employed dock worker [probably from the Chenango river and canal in south-central New York state]
Shunamitism: (Med./Psych.)) the rejuvenation of an old man by sleeping with a young woman, although not necessarily having sex with her [from Hebrew. Shunem (small village mentioned in the Pentateuch) + -ite]
Sialoquent: spitting or emitting saliva excessively while speaking [blend of sialic + –eloquent, from Gk. (“síalon”; “spittle”; “saliva”)]
Sibylline: characteristic of a sibyl (a pagan female oracle); prophetic; oracular; mysterious [Gk. Síbulla + -ine]
Sicarian: murderer; assassin (origin unknown)
Siffleur: whistler, esp an animal (such as the whistling marmot) that makes a whistling noise [Fr. siffler (“to whistle”) + -eur -or] (cf. Siffilate: to talk in a whisper)
Signate: distinct; distinguished; designated; identified; having markings like letters [L signatus, signare (“to mark”; “seal”; designate”)]
Significs: (Semiotics.) science of meaning [L. from significare (“to indicate”; “signify”) from signum (“sign”)]
Sillograph: one who writes satires; a satirist [Gk. from Sílloi (satirical poem) of Timon of Phlius, (circa 280BC) + -graph; etymology uncertain, poss. relating to “silhouette”]
Simous: having a flat; upturned nose [L. simus (“snub-nosed”)]
Sinistromanual: left-handed [L. sinistro (“left”) + -manus (“hand”)] ✋
Siriasis: sunstroke [Gk. seiríāsis, equiv. seiri(ân) (“to be hot”; “scorching”) + -asis] ☀️
Skoptsy: self-castration [from Rus. skopets (“castrate”) (the Skoptsy were a Christian Spiritualist sect during the Russian Empire who practised male castration and female mastectomy in accordance with their beliefs]
Smellfungus: a person who finds faults with everything; a grumbler; a complainer [after Smelfungus, a hypercritical traveler in Laurence Sterne’s 1768 novel A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy]
Sociogenesis: origin of human societies [NewLat. from socio- + L. genesis]
Soldatesque: soldierlike; soldierly [from It. soldatesco]
Somnambulist: a person who walks about in their sleep; a sleepwalker [from L. somnus (“sleep”) + –ambulō (“to walk”)] (cf. Somniloquent: someone who talks in their sleep) (cf. Somnophile: someone who’s sexually aroused by the sight of sleeping or unconscious people) (cf. Somnifacient: sleep-inducing ⟺ Somnorific: causing sleep; soporific)
Soubrette: coquettish and intriguing maid; a female theatrical role in opera and drama [from L. superare (“be above”)]
Sovenance: remembrance; memory [MidFr. sovenance, souvenance, from (se) sovenir, (se) souvenir (“to remember”) + -ance]
Spadassin: swordsman; fighter [from It. spadaccino (“swordsman”)]
Specious: superficially plausible but actually wrong; having deceptive attraction or allure [L. speciosus, (“beautiful”); “plausible,”)]
Sphairist: (cf. Sphairistikè: game that evolved into “tennis”) tennis-player [Gk. sphairistike techne, (“the skill of playing with a ball” (coined by Maj. Walter Wingfield (1874) inventor of a form of modern tennis incorporating aspects of earlier ball and racket games Badminton and Rackets)
Splenetic: bad-tempered; malevolent; spiteful [L. splen, (“bodily organ responsible for storing and filtering blood”)]
Stagiary: a resident canon; a law student [MedLatin. stagium, estagium (“term of residence”) + –arius (“ary”)]
Stallenger: (Hist.) keeper of a markets stall (Scotland (18th.) [OldScots. stallangear, from O.Fr. estalagier, (“one who pays stallage, a stall-tax at a fair”)]
Stasiarch: ringleader in sedition [Gk. stásis, (“part”; “band”; “sedition”) + –árkhēs, (“ruler”)/(-arkhós (“leader”)]
Steatopygous: having excessively fat buttocks and thighs [Gk. steato (“fat”) + –pȳgḗ (“buttocks”)]
Stegophilist: one who climbs the outside of buildings as a sporting activity [Gk. stego (“roof”) + -phil]
Stentorian: extremely loud (cf. Stentor: loud-voiced person) [Gk. Greek herald Stentor (character in the Iliad), distinctive for his loud, booming voice]
Stercorate: to shit [L. stercorare (“to dung”)]
Stasiology: study of political parties [Gk. stasis (“faction”; “discord”) + -ology]
Sthenolagnia: sexual arousal from displays of strength or muscles [Gk. sthénos (“moral or emotional strength”; “might”; “power”)+ -lagnia (“lust”)]
Stochastic: of, like or pertaining to a sequence of random events; having a random probability distribution [Gk. stochastikos (“skillful in aiming”) from stochazesthai (“to aim at”; “guess at”) from stochos (“target”; “aim”; “guess”)] 🎲
Stomachous: resentful; haughty; spirited; brave [Gk. stómakhos (“throat”; “gullet”; “oesophagus”) + -ous]
Stomatiferous: having an orifice or mouth [Gk. stóma (“mouth”) + –ferous (“bearing”)]
Storiograph: writer of folk tales [LateLat. storia from L. historia (“history”; “account”; “tale”; “story” (+ Gk. –graphia (“writing”)]
Stratocrat: a military ruler; despot [Gk. stratos (“an army”)] (cf. Stratonic: of or relating to an army)
Struthious: of, relating to, or resembling the ostrich or related ratite birds [from Gk. strouthos (“ostrich”)] 𓅦
Suggilate: to beat until bruised [L. suggillo (“to beat until bruised”)]
Supernaculum: drink to the last drop; wine or alcohol so good you want to drink to the last drop; (Hist.) a drinking game [from L. super (“over”; “on”) + NewLat. nagulum, naculum (“nail”) from German nagel (“fingernail”)]🍷🗿
Sybarite: person devoted to pleasure and luxury; hedonist [Gk. Subarī́tēs, (“inhabitant of Sybaris (city in Magna Graecia (ancient Italy); (adj.) (“decadent”; “self-indulgent”)]
Symmachy: an alliance of disparate parties fighting jointly against a common enemy [Gk. sym (“with”) + –machy (“fight”)]
Symposiarch: (Hist.) master of a feast (Ancient Greece); a master of ceremonies [Gk. from symposium ➠ sumpósion, (“drinking party”) + -arch] (cf. Symposiast: someone engaged in banqueting and merrymaking with others; a fellow-drinker)
Syndasmia: open marriage (origin unknown)
Synonymicon: thesaurus [from Gk. sunōnumía, (“synonym”)]
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² “Sartorial”, specifically the phrase “sartorial elegance” became such a cliche in the 1970s that it almost doesn’t qualify to be a compendium of obscure and unusual words – except for the fact that its usage as a stock phrase has greatly diminished now
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “R” Words
“R” is the 18th letter of the modern Latin Alphabet. It corresponds to the ancient Semitic resh and is perhaps derived from an earlier hieroglyph representing a human head. From the Egyptian symbol the letter evolved into a triangular flag shape and then to a rounded “P” under Greek influence, before the descending, angled stroke of “R” was added in the 3rd century BC, giving the letter the form we recognise today. The standard English pronunciation is ar. R-words can be fun and surprising – “r” is the letter of the dictionary we turn to when we decide to open the dictionary at random! Or they can be positive and uplifting – why else would we describe a day that signifies a special significance or opportunity to us as a “red-letter day”?
<Word> <Meaning> <Derivation>
Rabelaisian: coarsely humorous; bawdy; ribald [after Francois Rabelais, (16th cent. French writer and satirist]
Rabulous: vile; scurrilous [L. origin unknown]
Rackrent: excessive rent [from “the rack” – medieval torture device (Irish/Brit.)]
Ragabash: an idle, ragged person [origin unknown]
Raisonneur: a personage in a play or book embodying an author’s viewpoint [Fr. raison (“reason”) + –eur]
Ragmatical: turbulent; riotous [origin unknown]
Rampallion: scoundrel; ruffian; villain [of unknown origin, appears in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 2 uttered by Falstaff]
Rampasture: a room in which several unmarried men live, usually in a boarding house or inn [conjunction of “ram” + “pasture”, early (20th.]
Ranarium: a place where frogs are kept, usually for breeding 🐸 [L. rāna (“frog”) + –arium, -arias] (cf. Raniform: frog-like)
Rancescent: becoming rancid [L. rancescens (“turning rancid or sour”)]
Rand: border; edge; margin; a long rocky ridge [OldEng. rand (“a place at the border or edge”)]
Rantipole: wild; disorderly [Eng. “rant”, from Dutch ranten, randen (“to talk nonsense, rave”) + -y + -L. pālus (“stake, pale, prop, stay”)]
Rarissima: extremely rare books, manuscripts or prints [from L. rārissima]
Ras: headland; cape [from Amharic. rās (lit. “head”)]
Ratheripe: early ripe [MidEng. rathe “quick”, from OldEng. hræth]
Ratten: to practice sabotage against [MidEng. ratoun (“rat”) + -en]
Razzmatazz : meaningless talk; hype; nonsense [origin unknown, 1890s slang, perhaps a varied rhyming reduplication of “jazz”] 🎵
Rebarbative: causing annoyance; irritation; repellant [L. barba (“beard”) + -ive]
Rebus: picture puzzle representing a word (a combination of a picture and an individual letter prompts a particular word) [from L. res (“thing”)]
Reciprocornous: (Zool.) having horns that turn backward and then forward (like a ram’s) [L. poss. from re- (“back”), prō(“forwards”) and -que (“and”)╰┈➤ (“back and forth”) + -ous]
Recondite: out of the way; little known or obscure; difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend [L. from recondere, [“to conceal”)]
Recreant: craven; cowardly; false; apostate [L. re- + credere (“to believe”)]
Rectigrade: moving or proceeding in a straight line or course [L. rectus (“straight”) + -gradus (“step”)]
Rectopathic: one who is easily hurt emotionally [L. rectus + –pathic (“suffering”)]
Recumbent: lying down; representing a person (or effigy) lying down [L. re– (“back”; “again”) + -cumbere, “to lie down”]
Recumbentibus: a knockout blow, either verbal or physical [L. recumbent-, recumbens + -ibus (?)] 🥊
Resipiscent: (Literary) acknowledgment that one has been mistaken; to learn from experience and have one’s sanity restored; a change of mind or heart (often prompting a return to a sane, sound, or correct view or position) [LateLat. resipiscere (“to recover one’s senses”; from L. “sapere (“to know”)]
Redact: edit for publication, esp censoring or obscuring part of a text for legal or national security reasons [L. redigō (“to lead back, collect, prepare, reduce to a certain state”)] (cf. Redactophobe: someone who has a fear of editing or editors)
Remontado: a person who lives in the forest or mountains and avoids civilisation [Spanish. remontado (“to flee or go back to the mountains”)]
Rend: tear or rent apart; rip into pieces (cf. Riven: split or tear apart violently [From Middle English. renden, from Old English. rendan (“to rend”; “tear”; “cut”; “lacerate”; “cut down”), from Proto-West Germanic (h)randijan (“to tear”), of uncertain origin]
Rhinophonia: extreme nasal sound in one’s voice [L. rhino- + Gk. rhis, rhin (“nose”) + –lalia, (“talking”)]
Rittmaster: captain of a troop of horse (cavalry) [part. transltn. of German rittmeister, from ritt (“troop of horsemen”) from reiten (“to ride”), from Old High German rītan + -meister (“master”)]
Rixatrix: a scolding or quarrelsome woman; a common scold [L. rixārī (“to quarrel”) + –trix (Latinate fem. agent noun)]
Rupicoline: rock-dwelling [rupi, rupes- (“a rock”) + Eng. -colous, -coline] (cf. Rupellary: rocky) 🪨
Rurigenous: one who has been born in the country [L. rus, ruris (“the country”) + –genere, –gignere (“to bring forth”; “to be born”)]
Rusticate: go, live in the country for a time; live a rustic life [L. rūsticor (“live in the countryside”)] (cf. Rusticity: rustic manner; simplicity; rudeness)
Ruth: (also Ruthful) a feeling of pity, distress or grief [Hebrew. Ruth (“friend” or “companion”) Biblical figure (Old Testament)]
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “Q” Words
“Q”, (pronounced cue), is the 17th letter of the alphabet. The letter is from the Phoenician equivalent of Hebrew koph, qoph, which was used for the deeper and more guttural of the two “k” sounds in Semitic. The letter existed in early Greek (where there was no such distinction), and called koppa, but it was little used and not alphabetized; it mainly served as a sign of number (90). Correspondingly, the root base of English Q-words is uniformly Latin and characterised by the total absence of Greek prefixes and suffixes, which is in sharp contrast to other letters. The form of the letter “Q” could have been based on the eye of a needle, a knot, or even a monkey with its tail hanging down… /q/ is a sound common to Semitic languages, but not found in many European languages. One view is that the form of the letter “Q” is even more ancient: it could have originated from Egyptian hieroglyphics. And “Q”, like “M” before it, is of course a character in the never-ending James Bond franchise.
<Word> <Meaning> <Derivation>
Qua: in the capacity of [Latin. qua “which way”; “as”. From qui (“who”)]
Quab: something unfinished or immature (origin unknown)
Quacksalver: one who falsely pretends to knowledge of medicine
Quadragenarian: someone aged between 40 and [L. quadrāgēnī (“40 in each”) + -ārius (“-ary”), from quadrāgintā (“four tens, forty”)]
Quadratary: relating to a square [L. quadrātus from quadrō (quadrat),(“make square”) + -ary] (cf. Quadrate: to make square; to make to agree)
Quadrigamist: someone who has been married four times or is married to four people simultaneously (polygamy?) [L. from quattuor (“four”) + -gam (“married”) + -ist]
Quadriliteral: relating to a word with four letters; a 4-letter word [L. quadri + –littera, –litera (“a letter”)] (cf. Quadrilateral: a four-sided figure)
Quaestuary: seeking money or trying to make money; concerned with profit 💰[L. quaestus , quaerere (“to seek”; “gain”; “ask”) + -arius (“ary”)] (cf. Quomodocunquize: to make money by any means possible)
Quaestor: (Hist.) magistrate; a medieval pardoner (in ancient Rome an official in charge of public revenue and expenditure) [L. quaestor (“investigator”); quaesit (“submit”)]
Qualtagh: first person you meet after leaving the house; first person you meet on New Year’s Day [from Manx. quaaltagh, cognate with Old Irish. com (“co”) + -dál (“meeting”)] 🏠
Qualtrayle: one’s great, great, great grandfather (origin unknown)
Quantophrenia: obsessive reliance on statistics and mathematical results [LateLat. quantitātīvus (“quantity”) + –phrḗn (“mind”) + -ia]
Quantulum: a very small quantity [L. quantus (“how much”) + -lum]
Quaquaversal: facing or bending all ways [L. quaqua versus (“turned wheresoever”)]
Quassation: act of shaking or being shaken [L. quassō (“shake repeatedly or violently”) + -tiō]
Quatch: a word, a sound; squat, plump (Shakespeare) (origin unknown) (cf. Sasquatch: (in Canadian folklore) a hairy beast or manlike monster said to leave huge footprints)
Quarternity: fourness; any set of four things [L. quattuor (“four”) + -ity]
Quean: a lewd woman; hussy; an impudent or badly behaved female of ill-repute [Old English. cwene (from “queen”)]
Querulant: (Psych. & Legal) a person who obsessively feels they have been wronged, particularly about minor cases of action [L. querulus (“complaining”)] (NB: a Querimony is a complaint) (cf. Querent: one who asks a question)
Questmonger: one whose occupation is to conduct inquests [L. quaesta (“tribute”; “tax”; “inquiry”; “search”) + –mangō (“dealer”; “trader”)]
Quickhatch: a woverine [from East Cree (Algonquian language) kwi˙hkwaha˙če˙w]
Quicquidlibet: whatever one pleases; anything whatsoever [L. quic (quis) + -quid (“anything”) + –libet (”it pleases”)]
Quidditch: fictional sport for broomstick-riding mavens in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter fantasy book series [NB: the etymology of “quidditch” long predates Harry Potter, poss. derives from Anglo-Saxon cwæō-dīc (“mud-ditch”)]
Quiddity: (also Quidditative) eccentric; quirky; unique essence; (a sort of “x-factor” — whatever makes something the type that it is) [MedLat. quidditat-, -quidditas (“essence”) from L. quid (“what”) neuter of quis (“who”) + -ity]
Quidfather: father-in-law (origin unknown)
Quidnunc: an inquisitive and gossipy person; a person who always wants to know what’s going on (the latest news and gossip) [L. quid nunc (“what now?”)]
Quincaillerie: hardware store [Fr. clincaille, akin to clinquer (“clink”)]
Quindecad: set of fifteen things [L. quīnque (“five”) + –decem (“ten”)]
Quinquagesimal: consisting of 50 days; a 50-day period [MedLat. quinquagesima + -al]
Quisling: a traitor who collaborates with an enemy force occupying his country; a “puppet” leader propped up by an invading foreign power [after Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian military officer, Nazi Germany’s puppet ruler of Norway during their WWII occupation]
Quisquous: difficult to deal with or settle; perplexing; (of a person) of dubious character (origin unknown)
Quixotic: extravagantly and romantically chivalrous; enunciator of wildly impractical, lofty ideals to the point of being ludicrously out of touch with reality [after Don Quixote, eponymous protagonist of Cervantes’ The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha (publ. 1605)]
Quizzacious: satirical; mocking [Eng. quiz (“to mock”), poss. from L. qui es? (“who are you?” + -acious]
Quodlibertarian: a person who is happy to discuss any subject at pleasure [L. quod libet (lit. “that which is pleasing”) + -arian]
Quoniam: female genitalia; the vulva [from L. quoniam (“since”), prob. educated respelling/euphemism of Old French conin (“coney, rabbit”)]
Quotidian: occurring every day (or every 24 hours); daily; ordinary or mundane [L. quotidie (“every day”); from quot + -dies (“day”)]
Quoz: absurd person or thing [prob. alteration of quiz]
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “P” Words
A myriad of P’s in this pod
“P” is numerus XVI in the English alphabet letter of sequence. The letter has a special place in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)…the symbol ⟨p⟩ represents a type of consonantal sound used in most spoken languages, the voiceless bilabial plosive or stop (sometimes called the unvoiced labial stop). “P” corresponds to the Semitic pe, perhaps deriving from an earlier sign for “mouth.” The early Greeks renamed this form pi(Π). The rounded shape of the “P”(“p”) is thought to be a Latin borrowing from the ancient Etruscan language. Another feature of the letter p is its use in combination with h in words of Greek origin to denote the unvoiced labiodental spirant expressed in other words by the letter f—e.g., philosophy, phonetics, and graphic (www.britannica.com)
{word} | {definition} | {derivation}
Padrone: (in Italy) an innkeeper; employer, esp one who exploits immigrant workers [It. (“protector”; “owner”) from L. patronus (“patron”)]
Pagophagia: the eating of ice [Gk. pagos (“frost”) + phagō (“to eat”)] 🧊
Palzogony: foreplay; love-play (origin unknown, It. ?)
Pancratic: accomplished all-rounder, good at many sports or games; having a mastery over numerous subjects) [Gk. pankratḗs, “all-powerful”) + -ic]
Pangloss: one who is optimistic regardless of the circumstances [Gk. pan (“all”) + –glossa (“tongue”) from the character “Pangloss”, optimistic tutor in Voltaire’s Candide (1759)] (cf. Panglossian: excessively optimistic; marked by the view that all is for the best in this best of possible worlds)
Pannapictagraphist: collector of comic books (origin unknown)
Panoply: a collection or assortment of things; an impressive or extensive array [Gk. panoplia (“full suit of armour worn by hoplite warriors in Ancient Greece”) ]
history.co.uk)
Pantagamy: married to everybody: practice of intra-communal marriage of all members to each other in some proto-communistic societies such as in certain Amerindian tribes [Gk. pan + -gam + -ic]
Paraethesia: a prickly feeling one gets when your limbs fall asleep; a sensation of “pins and needles” [L. para- (“alongside”, “irregular”; ie, “disordered”) + -aisthēsis (“perception”; “feeling”)] 📍 🪡
Paralian: a person who lives near the sea [Gk. parálios, (“coastal”; “maritime”)] 🌊
Paralipsis: (also called Apophasis) a rhetorical device whereby the speaker emphasises the point they are trying to make by (calculated) denial…example: “I’m not saying that…“ (assertion). By merely suggesting it, they are inferring that it is in fact the case; the ploy involves drawing attention to some issue by denying that you talking about it [Gk. pará, (“by”; “near”) + -leípō, (“I leave”)]
Paramnesia: (psych.) a disorder prompting someone to recall events that never happened [Gk. par, para (“beside”; “next to”) + -mnesia (“memory”)]
Paranymph: the best man or bridesmaid at a wedding; a ceremonial assistant or coach to the best man/bridesmaid at a wedding [Gk. para- + -nymphē. (“bride”)]
Parapraxis: a memory lapse, a slip of the tongue, usually revealing a hidden thought (“Freudian slip”) 👅 [Gk. para– + –praxís (“doing”)]
Parateresiomaniac: a compulsive voyeur 👁️ 👁️ [Gk. para + -teresio(?) + -maniac]
Parergon: a piece of work that is supplementary to or a by-product of a larger work [Gk. párergos, (“beside the main subject”; “subordinate”; “incidental”)]
Parthenolagnia: the desire to copulate with virgins [ Gk. parthenos (“maiden”; “virgin”) + –lagneía (“sexual intercourse, -lasciviousness”)]
Partialism: (psych.) a sexual fetish with an exclusive focus on a specific part of the body other than genitals [L. pars (“part”) + -ism] (cf. Paraphilia: a form of sexual arousal caused by objects, situations, or targets that are considered atypical or not of the norm)
Pauciloquent: using a few words as possible when speaking [L. paucus (“little”; “few”) + –loqui, loquor (“to speak”)]
Patavinity: the use of local slang expressions or dialects when writing [L. patavinitas, from Patavium (Padua), Italy (birthplace of Livy) + -itas -ity]
Pecunious: possessing buckets of money [L. pecūnia (“money”) + -ious] 💰 💵
Pedotrophy: the art of raising children properly [Gk. paîs, (“child”) –tréphō, (“I congeal”; “thicken”)] 👧 👦🏽
Pentapopemptic: a person who has been divorced five times [Gk. pent, penta + -apo (“off”; “away”) + –pempē (“to send”) + -ic]
Peristerophilist: one who collects pigeons (origin unknown) (-phily: the art of training pigeons)
Pernoctation: someone who stays up all night to work or to party [L. pernoctātus (“having spent the night”) + -iōn (cf. Pernoctator: someone who stays up all night to study) 🎆🌃
Pervulgate: to publish something [L. pervulgo (“to publish”; “to make public”)]
Phagomania: insatiable hunger [Gk. phagós (“eating”) + -mania]
Phanerolagniast: a psychologist who studies human lust [Gk. phaneros (“visible”; “evident”) from phainein (“bring to light”; “cause to appear”; “show”) + –lagnia]
Phillumenist: collector of matchboxes and their labels [Gk. phil- + L. -lumen (“light “) + -ist]
Philodox: one who loves his or her own opinions [Gk. phílo– (“beloved”) + –dóxa (“glory; “opinion”)] (cf. Philoxenist: a person who loves to entertain strangers)
Phosphene: the phenomenon of seeing light without light entering the eye; what occurs when you see ”stars and dots” after rubbing your eyes [Gk. phōs- (“light”) + -phainein (“to show”)] 💡
Phrontifugic: helping to escape from one’s thoughts [Gk. phrēn, (“diaphragm, mind”) + It. -fuga, from Latin, “a running away”; “flight”]
Phrontistery: a place for thinking or study [Gk. phrontis (“thought”; “care”; attention”) + -ery]
Picayune: of little value or significance; petty; a small coin in (18–(19 th. Louisiana with a low monetary value [Occitan. picaioun (“small coin”) from pica (“to jingle”)] 🪙
Pictophile: one who gets sexual gratification from pictorial porn or erotic art [ + -phile]
Pilosism: (also -ity) excessive hairiness [L. pilo- (“hair”) + -ism]
Plangonolist: [origin uncertain, one suggestion: Gk. plangon from plaggon (wax dolls in ancient Greek theatre substituting for female roles(?)) + -ist]
Planiloquent: talking plainly about some subject or other [L. planus (“flat”) + –loqui]
Platypygous: having a broad bottom [Gk. platys” (flat or broad) + -pygous, -pugē (“buttocks”)] (cf. Pygephanous: displaying one’s buttocks)
Pleniloquent: excessive talking; fullness of speech [L. plēnos (“full”) + –loqui]
Pleonasm: using more words than necessary; redundancy of words [Gk. pleōn (“more”) + -asm]
Pogontrophy: the practice of grooming a beard or moustache [Gk. pogon (“beard”) + –trophy (“nourishment”; “growth”)(cf. Pogontomy: cutting or trimming a beard)
Polemologist: student of war [Gk. pólemos (“war; battle”) + -logy]
Politicaster: 2nd-rate or inferior or petty, contemptible politician [polī́tēs (“citizen”; “freeman”) + -aster§] (cf. Poetaster: an inferior poet)
Polyoquent: garrulous; loquacious; discourse on many topics [Gk. poly + -loqui (“speak”)]
Polyphage: someone who eats many kinds of food [Gk. poly + –phage]
Polyphasic: consisting of two or more phases [Gk. poly + -phase + -ic]
Pomiculturalist: fruit-grower [L. pōmum (“fruit tree”; “fruit” + –culture] 🍇 🍈 🍉
Preantepenultimate: fourth from last [L. prae (“before”) + –ante (“preposition and prefix”) + –paene (“almost”) + –ultimus (“last”)]
Pre-meridian: before noon [L. pre + -meridies (“noon”)] 🕚
Presbycusis: loss of hearing due to old age [Gk. presbys, (“old man”), + akousis, (“hearing”) (cf. Presbyopia: loss of sight due to old age)
Preterpluperfect: better than perfect [L. praeter (“past”; “beyond”) + –plūs (“more”) + –quam (“than”) + –perfectus (“achieved”; “finished”; “perfected”) (literally, “more than finished”)]
Pridian: yesterday; previous day [L. prior + -dies (“day”) + -anus (“-an”)]
Proctor: disciplinary officer (university); particular class of senior lawyer [MidEng. procutour (“procurator”; “proctor”)]
Progenitor: ancestor or parent [L. pro- (“forth”) + –gignere (“to beget”)]
Propinquity: physical proximity or similarity between things (like attracts like); close kinship [L. prope (“near”) + -quity]
Prosopolethy: inability to remember a face [Gk. prosōpon (“person”; “face” + -lēpsis (“act of taking hold or receiving”; “acceptance”) + -ia -y]
Protean: ever-changing: versatile; mutable; able to change frequently or easily [Gk. from Proteus, in Greek mythology a sea-god with a tendency to shape-shift)]
Pseudandry: use of a masculine pseudonym by a woman [Gk. pseudēs (“false”) + –andrós (“male”)] (cf. Pseudogyny: use of a feminine pseudonym by a man)
Puellaphilist: (Psych.) one who loves girls (and perhaps sexually desires them) [L. puella (“young girl”) + –phil]
Pulchritudinous: comely; beautiful; dazzling; ideal; a looker [L. pulcher (“beautiful”) + -tūdō (“-ness”)]
Pusillanimous: lacking courage or resolution; timidly cowardly [Latin pusillus (“very small”) (diminutive of pusus (“boy”) + -animus “spirit”)]
Pyknic: being of stocky physique and a rounded body and head; thickset [Gk. puknos (“thick“) + -ic]
Pysmatic: always asking questions and inquiring (origin unknown)
Pythogenic: coming from garbage [Gk. pytho– from pythein (“to cause to rot”) + -genic]
Standout P-word in the ALDOOCDO catalogue of lexical merit: Pernickety: fussy, particular; extensive attention to esp trivial or minor detail (an OCD candidate?) [Scots. pernickety, persnickety, of uncertain origin; (resembles in form per- (“intensifying prefix”) + –nick, but might be derived from particular + -finicky)]
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§ the suffix –aster, whenever it pops up tacked on to the end of some base word is invariably pejorative, meaning something that is inferior, small or shallow
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd”O” Words
ALDOOCDOW reaches one of the key letters in lexicon entries, “O”, the great connector of syllables. The story of “O”, the 15th letter and fourth vowel in the alphabet, is an interesting one. Circular in shape like the number zero, the letter “O” surfaces for the first time in writing systems in the Semitic languages some time around 1,000BC as a consonant (the cognate Arabic letter ayin which possibly evolved earlier from a hieroglyphic sign representing an eye). When it reached the archaic Greeks “O” morphed into the vowel we recognise in English today.
Obeliscolychny: a lighthouse [Gk. obelískos (“obelisk”) + –lukhníon (“lamp-stand”)]
Obelise: to condemn as spurious, doubtful or corrupt [Gk. obelós, (“obelus” – a sharpened stick, spit, or pointed pillar)]
Obequitate: to ride about; to ride aimlessly on a horse 🐎 [L. ob + equito (“to ride”)]
Obganiate: to irritate someone by constantly repeating oneself [It. ostinato (“obstinate”; ”persistent”)]
Oblectation: enjoyment; pleasure; satisfaction [L. oblectare (“to delight”)]
Oblivescence: forgetfulness; forgetting [L. oblīv(īscī) (“to forget”) + (–influenced by -escenc)]
Oblocutor: one who denies or disputes [L. obloqui (“to speak against”) + -or]
Obrogate: to alter the law by passing a new law [L. ob- (“toward; “against”) + rogare (“to ask”, “propose”, “propose a law”)]
Obsidional: of, like or pertaining to a siege [L. obsidēre (“beset”; “besiege”; “hem in”)]
Obsolagnium: waning sexual desire due to age [L. ob- (“in the way”) + –sol (?) + Gk. -lagneía (“sexual predilection”) ]
Obtenebrate: to cast a shadow over; to darken as if by shadowing [L. ob-(“to”; “toward”; “over”) + -tenebrae (“darkness”)] (cf. Obumbrate: to overshadow)
Obvert: to turn; to alter; to change the appearance or seeming of [L. ob- + vertere (“to turn”)]
Occlusion: closing or blocking off of an opening, passage or cavity [L. -ob (“in the way”) + -claudere (“to close or shut”)]
Ochlarchy: mob rule [Gk. ochlo (“mob”) + -archy (“rule”)]
Octamerous: having parts in eights [Gk. okta, okt (“eight”) + -meros (“part”)] (cf. Octan: recurring every eight days)
Octothorp: hash sign/tag (also called number sign or pound sign) #️⃣ [Gk. octō- (“eight”) + (?) –thorpe (“field”; “hamlet”; “small village”)] (Word apparently coined by staff at Bells Telephone Labs, late 1960s)
Odalisque: female slave or concubine in a harem (esp of the Ottoman sultan’s) Fr. from Turk. odalık, (orig.) oda (“room”)]
Odontalgia: toothache 🦷 [Gk. odóus (“tooth”) + –álgos (“pain”)]
Oecist: founder of a colony [Gk. from oîkos house + -istēs (“-ist”). The oíkistēs was the citizen chosen by an ancient Greek polis as the leader of any new colonisation quest
Oecodomic: of, like or pertaining to architecture [(?) Gk. oec (“house”) + L. –dom (“house”) + -ic(?)]
Oenologist: a person who studies wines and winemaking [Gk. oînos (“wine”) + -logia (“study of”)] 🍷
Ogee: a double curve, resembling the letter S (or serpentine shape or sigmoid shape); S-shaped [MidEng ogeus (?)]
Oikofugic: a desire to leave home; an urge to wander or travel [Gk. oîkos (“household”) + L. fugere (“to flee”); coined by psychologist G Stanley Hall, 1904 (cf. Obambulate: (“to wander about”) 🧳 (cf. Oikotropic: the desire to stay put at home)
Oikology: the science of houses and homes, especially in respect of their sanitary conditions [Gk. oîkos + -logy] 🏠
Oikonisus: desire to start a family [Gk. oîkos + -nīsus (“planting one’s feet firmly on the ground”)]
Oleaginous: oily; resembling oil: marked by an offensively ingratiating manner or quality [Gk. elaia (“olive”) + -ous]
Olecranon: a bony prominence at the elbow, on the upper end of the ulna; the tip of the elbow; the funny bone [Gk. ōlenē (“elbow”) + -kranion (“skull”)]
Olent: having a scent; fragrant [L. olere (“to smell”)]
Oligophrenia: feeble–mindedness [Gk. olígos (“few”; “scanty”) + -phrēn, (“diaphragm”; “mind”; “heart”)]
Olio: miscellany; potpourri [L. olla (“cooking pot”)]
Ollamh: (or Ollam) (hist) in ancient Ireland, a man of science or learning, considered equivalent to a university professor [Old Irish ollam (“doctor”)]
Ololygmancy: fortune-telling by the howling of dogs 🐕 [Gk. ololuzō (“howl”) + -manteia (“prophecy”)]
Ombiblous: a person who drinks everything, alcohol/non-alcohol 🍸 [Gk. om (?) + –bibere (“to drink”) coined by HL Mencken]
Ombrophilous: tolerant of large amounts of rainfall [ómbros (“rain”) + -philos (“love”)] 🌧️
Omneity: state of being all; allness [Gk. ómnis (“all”) + -ity]
Omnify: to make large or universal [Gk. ómnis + –fy]
Omniloquent: speaking on all subjects [Gk. ómnis + loqui (“to speak”)]
Omnivert: a personality trait that alternates between introvert and extrovert polarities [L. omnis (“all”) + –versus, -vertere (“invert”)] (cf. Ambivert: similar, but more of a balance between the two extremes)
Omphaloskepia: navel-gazing; the contemplation of one’s navel as an aid to meditation [Gk. omphalós, (“navel”) + sképsis, (“perception”; “reflection”)] (cf. Omphaloslopsychite) 👁️
Omphalos: the navel; a boss; the centre or hub of something [Gk. omphalós (“navel”)]
Onanism: masturbation; gratify oneself through sexual self-stimulation NewLat. onanismus, from Onan, son of Judah (Book of Genesis)]
Oniomania: uncontrollable urge to shop; a retail therapy preoccupation and compulsion [Gk. ṓnios, (“for sale”) + -mania]
Oneirodynia: nightmare; unpleasant or painful dream [Gk. oneiros (“dream”) + -odynē (“pain”)] (cf. Oneirology: the scientific study of dreams)
Onomasiology: study of nomenclature [Gk. onomázō (“I name”) + -logy]
Onomatous: bearing the author’s name [Gk. onomat, onoma (“name”) + -ous]
Ontocyclic: returning to an infantile state or character in old age [Gk. ont + -kuklós (“circular”)]
Ontological: based upon being or existence [Gk. ontós (“existing”; “being”) + –logia (“study”) + -al] (cf. Ontology: (metaphysics) science of pure being; the nature of things)
Onychophagia: practice/habit of biting one’s fingernails [Gk. ónux (“nail”) + –phagos (“eater”)] 💅
Onymous: having a name [back-formed from “anonymous”]
Ophelimity: economic satisfaction; the ability to please another [Gk. ōphelimos “useful”; “helpful”. Coined by Italian polymath Prof Vilfredo Pareto]
Opiniaster: (someone) obstinately attached to their opinion; (obsol.) an opinionated person [MidFr. opinionastre, opiniatre, from L. opinio (“opinion”; “conjecture”) + -aster]
Opisthosomal: of, like or pertaining to the posterior region of the body [New Latin, from opistho– (“back”; “rear”; “behind”) + –soma (“body”)]
Oppidan: an urbanite, a resident of a town, townsman; (formerly) an inhabitant of a university town not a member of the university or a university student residing in the town but not in the college [L. oppidum (“chiefly walled or fortified town”)]
Opsigamy: one who marries late in life [Gk. opsi (“late”) + –gámos (“marriage”)]
Opsimathy: learning or education that occurs late in life [Gk. opsi + –manthanein (“to learn”)]
Opsiproligery: the ability to still have children late in life [Gk. opsi + (?) -proligery(?)]
Opsomaniac: a person with an extreme enthusiasm for a particular food, esp a delicacy [Gk. opson (“rich food”; “delicacy” + -mania] (cf. Opsophagy: the eating of delicacies)
Orarian: coastal; a coast-dweller [L. ōrārius (“ora”, “of or belonging to the coast”)]
Orgulous: proud; haughty [Anglo-Fr. orguillus, from orguil “pride” of Germanic origin]
Ornithoscelidamania: an obsession with dinosaurs 🦖 [Gk. ornís (“bird”) + –celida(?) + -mania]
Orthographer: a person who is skilled in orthography (the conventions of the spelling system of a language); an expert speller [L. orthós (“straight”) + LateLat. -graphus (“grapher”) + -er]
Oryzovorous: rice-eating 🍚 [Gk. óruza (“rice”) + -vorare, -vorax (“devour”)]
Oscular: of, like or pertaining to the mouth or to kissing [L. ōscul(um) kiss”; “mouth”) + -ar]
Ostiary: doorkeeper; doorman; porter 🚪 [L. from ostium (“door”; “mouth of a river”) + -arius (-ary)]
Otiose: lacking use or effect; producing no useful result; idle, reluctant to work or exert oneself [L. ōtiōsus (“idle”), from ōtium (“ease”)]
Outlier: (orig.) a person whose residence and place of business are at a distance; something (someone) that lies outside the main body or entity; person or thing that is atypical within a particular group, class, or category [Eng. (17th. out + -lier (“to lie”)]
Ovine: sheep-like 🐑 [L. ovis (“sheep”) + -ine]
Ovivorous: egg-eating 🥚 [L. ōvum (“egg”) + –vorare (“to devour”)]
Oxyacaesthesia: extreme sharpness of senses [Gk. oxús “sharp”; “pointed”) + -aisthēsis (“sensation”)] (cf. Oxyblepsia: extremely keen sight/ Oxygeusia: extremely keen sense of taste/ Oxyphonia: sharpness or shrillness of voice)/Oxyesthesia: being extremely sensitive to touch)
Ozostomia: bad breath [Gk. ózein (“smell”) + –stóma (“mouth”)]
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “N” Words
The 14th letter in the alphabet is “N” (pronounced en). It is the sixth” most-common letter in the English alphabet. The written form of “N” (“n”) traces its genesis to Egyptian hieroglyphics and the symbol for snake 𓆓 . N’s etymological ancestors are the Semitic letter Nun and the Greek letter Nu. N-words are especially germane to the compilation of the topic of this blog series – including as they do, nomen (meaning “name”), nomenclature (the devising or choosing of names for things) and nomenclator (lexicon; word-list; one who assigns names).
Nacket: meaning>(hist.) a ball-boy at tennis (16th. ; a pert or smart child; snack; light lunch derivation>[Obsolete Scots nacket(t) “caddie at tennis”, from MidFr naquet “valet”)] 🎾 👦🏽
Naiant: (of a fish or marine creature) swimming horizontally [L. natare (“to swim”)] fish 𓇼 ⋆｡˚ 𓆝⋆｡˚ 𓇼
Nanoid: dwarf-like [Gk. nanos (“dwarf”) + -oid]
Napoo: to destroy; something finished, ruined, inoperative or dead [from Fr. “there is no more”; “it’s over”]
Narcoleptic: a sudden, involuntary deep sleep; pathological drowsiness [Gk. nárkē (“numbness”) + -, –lēpsia, (“seizure”)]
Naskin: prison [origin unknown] ⛓️⛓️
Nassologist: taxidermist [origin unknown]
Nasute: keen-scented; critically discerning; having a big nose [L. nasus (“nose”)] 👃🏽
Natation: the act or art of swimming [L. natare (“to swim”)] (cf. Natatorium: swimming-pool) 🏊♀️
Nates: the buttocks [L. natis (“buttocks”)]
Naucify: to despise; to hold in low esteem [L. naucum (“a trifling thing”)]
Naufrageous: in a state of danger or ruin; threatened [L. naufragium (“a shipwreck”) from navis (“ship”)] (cf. Naufrague: shipwrecked person)
Naumachy: mock sea battle [L. navis (“naval”) + Gk. -makhē (“a battle”; “fight”)]
Naupathia: sea sickness [Gk. naus (“ship”) + -pathos (“suffering”)]
Naupegical: of or relating to shipbuilding [Gk. naus + -pegical(?)]
Nautics: art of navigation [Gk. nautēs (“sailor”) + -ics]
Naviform: boat-shaped [L. navis (“ship”) + -form] ⛵
Neanic: of, like or pertaining to the adolescent period: young [Gk. neanias (“young man”) + -ikos]
Neanimorphism: looking younger than one’s actual age [L. neanias (“young man”) + -morphic (“shape”; “form”)] (cf. Nearomatria: a young mother)
Nebbich: colourless; inconsequential person [Yiddish. nebekh (“so what”; “whatever”; “who cares?”)]
Nebulochaotic: a state of being hazy and confused [L. nebulosus (“mist”) + Gk. -khaos (“abyss”; “that which gapes wide open”; “is vast and empty”)]
Nebulist: artist whose style comprises indistinct lines [L. nebulosus + -ist]
Necrographer: obituary writer (cf. Necrologue: obituary) [Gk. nekrós (“dead body”) + –graphos]
Negaholic: habitually pessimistic [neg (from “negative”) + -aholic]
Nelipot: someone who is walking without shoes; going barefoot [dubious (?) – origin unknown] 👣
Nemophilist: one who loves the woods (cf. Nemoricolous: living in forests and groves [Gk. nemos (“grove”) + -philos (“affection”)] 🌳
Neogamist: newlywed [Gk. néos (“new”; “young”) + -gamy]
Neolagnium: puberty [Gk. néos + ?]
Neoteric: recent in origin; modern [from Gk. néos + -teric(?)]
Nephalism: 💯% abstinence from alcohol [Gk. nēphein (“to be sober”; “drink no wine”) + -ismos]
Nescience: lack of knowledge; [ne- (“not”) + -scire (“to know”)]
Nesiote: living on an island [Gk. (“of islands”)] 🏝️
Nettlesome: irritable; difficult [Old Saxon netila (?) + OE. sum (“one”; “as one, together with”)]
Neutrologistic: expressing neither praise nor disapproval [L. neutralis (“neuter”) + Gk. –logos (“speech”; “word”) + -istic]
Newspaperacious: of a form or style usual in newspapers [coined 1843; first appeared in Fraser’s Magazine]
Nexility: compactness of speech [L. nexus (nectō) (“bind”) + -ity]
Nimrod: a skilful hunter [Hebrew. Nimrōḏ (from hunter-warrior biblical personage in Book of Genesis]
Nippaitaty or Nippitatum: particularly good and strong liquor, esp good good ale [origin unknown] 🍺
Niveous: snowy; white [L. niv, nix (“snow”)] ⛄️
Noctambulist: someone who walks late at night [L. nox, noct (“night”) + –ambulare (“to walk”) + -ist] (cf. Noctivagant: wandering in the night; a night-walker)
Noctidiurnal: comprising one day and one night [L. nocti (“night”) + -dies (“day”) + –urnus (denoting time)]
Noisant: harmful; troublesome; grievous [OF. nuisant (“harmful”; “hurtful”)]
Nomiatrist: a lawyer who specialises in medical cases [Gk. nomos (“law”; “arrangement”) + –iatris (“physician”; “heal or cure”; “treat”; “medical healing”)] ⚖ 🚑 ☤
Nomic: customary; conventional [Gk. nomos (“law”; “custom”) + -ic]
Nomographer: a writer of laws 📝 [Gk. nomos (“law”) + –graphos (“write”; “scribe”)]
Nonage: legal infancy; legal minority; time of immaturity [L. non + -age]
Nonparous: a woman without children; not having given birth [L. non (“not”) + –parus (“bearing”)]
Novenary: based on the number 9 [L. novenus (“nine”) + –arius (“ary”)]
Nosism: use of the Royal “We”; assumption of role of group mouthpiece [L. nos (“we”)]
Nosocomium: (hist. an ancient hospital; hospital (cf. Nosocomial: of, like or pertaining to a hospital) [Gk. nósos (“disease”; “suffering”) + –koméō (“to tend”)] 🏩
Nostrum: medicine of secret composition recommended by its preparer but usually without scientific proof of its effectiveness; a quack medicine or dubious remedy [L. noster (“our” or “ours”)]
Novercaphobia: an irrational fear of one’s step-mother [from L. novus (“new”) + -phobia] (cf. Novercal)
Nudiustertian: relating to the day before yesterday [L. nū̆diū̆stertiānus (“taking place the day before yesterday”) coined by Nathaniel Ward (1647)]
Nullibicity: the state of being nowhere [LateL. nullibi (“nowhere”) (from L. nullus (“null”) + -ibi (“here”; “there”) + -icity] (cf. Nullibiquitous: existing nowhere)
Nullifidian: having no faith or religion; one who is faithless [L. nullus (“null”) + -fides (“faith”) + -an)
Nulliverse: universe devoid or any plan or organising principle [L. nullus + (adapted from) universe. Coined by William James, American philosopher)]
Numinous: arousing spiritual or religious feelings; emotional; mysterious or awe-inspiring [L. numen (“nod of the head”; “divine will”) + -ous]
Numismatist: a person who collects and studies coins and paper currency [L. numisma (“coin”) + -ist] 🪙 💴
Numquid: an inquisitive person [ L. num (“whether”; “if”) + –quid (“something”)]
Nuncius: messenger (“long”; “large”) + –biota (“life”; “living”)] 🏤
Nuncle: to defraud; to deceive; to claim to be one’s uncle” [ME: modification of “mine uncle”]
Nundinal: of, like or pertaining to a fair or market [L. nundinae Nundine (market day every 9 days in Ancient Rome) + -alis -al]
Nurvill (or Nyrvyl): a little man; dwarf [poss. Norw. nurv (?)]
Nutrice: wet nurse; nurse [ L. nūtrīcem (“nurse”)] (cf. Nutricial: relating to nurses) ℝ☤ℕ
Nyctalopia: night-blindness [Gk. nyct- (“night”) + -al(aós) blind + –ōpia-opia] 🌌
Nycterent: a hunter who hunts at night; a nocturnal hunter [Gk. nycti (“night”) + -ent]
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “M” Words
We arrive at “M”, lucky letter number 13, the midway or median point in the Latin alphabet. “M” is also the Roman numeral for 1,000. The “most powerful letter in the world”, according to those renowned linguistic authorities, BMW car manufacturers! “M”’s etymological antecedents are the Semitic mem and the Ancient Greek mu (M). M-words don’t tend to go in for half-measures, there’s a million of them and they are inclined to span the full gamut of dimensions…from “mini” or “micro” up the scale to “macro” or “maxi”.
Mabsoot: meaning>happy derivation>[Arabic/Urdu: mabsut (“happy”; “content”; “satisfied”; “extendedness”)]
Macarism: a beatitude; taking pleasure in another’s joy [Gk. makários (“happy”) + -ism]
Macaronic: muddled or mixed-up (Macaronic Latin is jumbled-up Latin) [It. maccarone (“dumpling”)]
Macerate: to emaciate (someone who fasts and becomes emaciated is a Macerator) [L. macerare (“soften by steeping and soaking”)]
Macilent: lean; excessively thin [L. macer (“meager”; “poor”)] (cf. Marcidity: “great leanness”)
Macrobiote: long-lived organism [Gk. macros (“long”; “large”) + –biota (“life”; “living”)]
Macrocephalous: having a large head [Gk. macros + -keptos, kephalē (“head”; “headed”) + -ous] (cf. Multicapitate: many-headed)
Macrology: much talk but saying little; redundancy; pleonasm [Gk. macros + logós (“talk”)]
Macropodine: of, like or pertaining to kangaroos [Macropod (“Marsupial family”) + -ine] 🦘
Macroscian: one with a long shadow; an inhabitant of polar regions [Gk. macros + -skia (“shadow”) + -an] 👤
Macrotous: (zool.) having great big ears 👂 [Gk. macros (“long”; “large”) + -ous (“ear”)]
Maculation: the act of spotting or staining [L. macula (“spot”; “stain”)]
Madefy: to moisten or make wet [L. madēre (“to be wet”) + facere (“to make, do”) (cf. Madescent: growing damp; Madid: wet; dank)
Maffick: to celebrate exuberantly and boisterously, esp for a victory [Brit. from the Siege of Mafeking in 2nd Boer War, 1899-1900]
Magnality: a great or wonderful thing; a marvel [L. magnus (“big”; “large”; “great”; “important”)]
Magnicaudate: having a long tail [L. magnus + –cauda (“tail”)]
Magniloquent: speaking in a grand or pompous style [L. magnus + loqui (“to speak”)]
Maidan: open plain; open space near a town [Pers. maidān (“town square”/“field”)]
Maicutician: midwife [origin unknown]
Mainour: stolen goods discovered on a thief’s person or in his or her possession [Old French manœuvre (“manual labour”)]
Malacophonous: soft-voiced; gently spoken [mala(?) + phōnē (“sound”; “voice”)]
Malapert: bold; forward; impudent; saucy [L. male (“badly”) + MidEng. –apert (“insolent”)]
Malfeasance: evil-doing; illegal activities, esp by a public official [L. malus- (“bad”) + -feasance (“doing”; “execution”)]
Malloseismic: suffering from frequent and severe earthquakes [Gk. mallós (?) + -seismic]
Malversation: corruption in office; corrupt administration; misconduct [L. malus (“bad”) + –vertere (“to turn”)]
Mammetry: idolatry; paganism; idols in collective sense [orig. from Arabic. Muhammad]
Mammiferous: having breasts [L. mamma (“a breast”) + Gk. –ferous (“bearing”)]
Mammothrept: spoiled child [Gk. mámmē (“grandmother”) + –tréphō (“to bring up”)]
Manal: relating to the hand [L. manus (“hand”)]
Mandament: a command or order [L. mandare (“to command”)] (cf. Mandative: of, like or pertaining to commands and government and Mandarism: government with a large bureaucracy)
Mandriarch: founder or leader of a monastic order [Gk. mandare(?) + –arch (“rule”)]
Manducate: to chew or eat [L. mandūcarē (“to chew”, “eat”)]
Manège: the art of horsemanship [It. maneggiare (“to control (a horse”;)]
Manochlous: (also Monoculus) one-eyed person [origin unknown]
Manqué: having had unfulfilled ambitions; failing to achieve expectation [L. manco (“having a crippled hand”; “lacking”; “left-handed” Manicism(?))]
Mansuetude: meekness; tameness: sweetness of temper [L. manus (“hand”) + -suescere (“to accustom”)]
Mansworn: perjured [OldEng. mān (“crime”; “guilt”; “sin”; “false oath” + -swerian (“to swear”)]
Mantology: fortune-telling [Gk. mantis (“prophet”) + -o +-logy]
Manuduction: careful guidance; leading by hand [L. manus + –ductio (“action of leading”)]
Mappemond: medieval map of the world [L. mappa (“map”) + -mundi (“world”)]
Maricolous: living in the sea [L. mar (mare) (“sea”; “ocean”) + -cola (“inhabitor”) + -ous] (cf. Marigenous: produced by the sea) 🌊
Maritodespotism: ruthless domination of one spouse by another within a marriage (usually by the husband) [L. marītus (“husband”) + –despótēs (“lord”; “master”; “owner”) +-ism]
Martymachlia: sexual arousal resulting from having others watch a sexual act being performed (a form of paraphilia) [origin unknown]
Mascaron: grotesque, frightening (usually human, sometimes chimeric) face on a door-knocker, originally to supposedly ward off evil spirits [LateLat. mascara (“mask”) + -on]
Maskirovka: (hist.) Soviet use of deception or camouflage as military stratagem [Rus. mácka (“disguise”; “mask”)]
Mattoid: (Psych.) a person displaying eccentric behaviour and mental characteristics that approach the psychotic; someone bordering between sanity and insanity [It. matto (“insane”) + -oid (“likeness or resemblance”)]
Maturescent: becoming mature [L. maturus (“ripe”) + -cent]
Matutinal: of, occurring in or relating to morning [LateLat. matutinalis (Roman goddess of morning — see following entry)]
Matutolagnia: antemeridian (am) sexual desire [L. Mātūta, (Roman goddess of morning or dawn) + Gk. –lagneía (“sexual predilection”)]
Matutolypea: getting up on the wrong side of bed; the state of being in a bad mood and easily annoyed, esp in the morning [L. Mātūta, from Gk. lúpē (“sadness, suffering, affliction”) ]
Mechanolatry: worship of machines [Gk. mēkhanikós (“pertaining to machines or contrivance, mechanic”; “ingenious”; “inventive”) + –latreía (“service”; “worship”)]
Medianic: of, like or pertaining to spiritualists, mediums and prophets (origin unknown)
Medicaster: quack doctor; “charlatan” [L. medicus (“a doctor”; “a physician “; “a surgeon”) + –aster (“little”; “petty”; “partial”; “incomplete”]
Megathermic: surviving only in tropical climates [Gk. mégas (“great”; “large”; “mighty”) + –thermal (“to heat”; “warm”)]
Mehari: a type of fast-running dromedary camel, used for racing or transportation [Arab. mahara, (“to be deft or skillful”)] 🐪
Meliorism: the belief that human progress is a real concept, improvement in the world can be made by human intervention and effort [L. melior (“better”) + -ism]
Melliloquent: speaking harmoniously or sweetly [L. mel, mellis (“honey”) + –loqui (“to speak”)] cf. Mellisonant: pleasing to the ear; sweet-sounding[L. –sonare (“to sound”)]; cf. Mellivorous: honey-eating) 🍯
Melomania: abnormal fondness for music [Gk. mélos (“musical phrase”; “melody”; “song”) + -mania] 🎵 🎶
Mendaciloquence: lying speech [L. mendācitās (“falsehood”) + -loquor (“to speak”)]
Mensal: of, like or pertaining to the dinner-table; monthly, occurring once a month [L. mensis. (“month”)]
Mercedary: a hirer, one who hires staff; pertaining to the giving or receiving of wages [L. mercēdārius (?)]
Meretricious: apparently attractive, esp in a flashy or vulgar way, but having no real value; characteristic of a prostitute [L. meretrīx (“harlot, prostitute”) from mereō (“earn, deserve, merit”) + -trīx (“female agent”)]
Mésalliance: unsuitable marriage; marriage with a socially-inferior partner [Fr. mésallier (“to misally”)]
Mesomorph: person with a compact, muscular build [Gk. mesos (“middle” ) + -morphē (“form”; “shape”)]
Metagnostic: incomprehensible; beyond understanding [Gk. meta (“beyond”) + –gnōstós (“known”)]
Metempirical: beyond the scope of knowledge [Gk. meta (“after” or “beyond”) + –empeirikós “based on observation (of medical treatment”; “experienced”) + -al]
Methomania: morbid craving for alcohol; alcoholism [Gk. méthu, (“wine”) + -mania] (cf. Methysis: drunkenness) 🥃
Métier: profession; occupation; calling; business [OldFr. mistier, mestier (“duty”; “craft”; profession”)]
Metonym: (descriptive) name used instead of the (proper) name, as a substitute because it is close associated with it (eg, the White House for the US Presidential (POTUS) Residence/Office of the Executive [Gk. meta (“among”; “with”; “after”) + –onyma (“name”)]
Metoposcopy: foreign-telling or judgement of character divined by the lines of the forehead [Gk. meto (“measure”) + –scopéō (“examine”; “inspect”)]
Metronym: system of kinship and naming that follows the female line [Gk. mėtēr (“mother”) + -name]
Micropolis: small city [Gk. mikros (“small”) + –polis (“city”)]
Microsomatous: having a small body; small-framed [Gk. mikros + sōma (“body”)] (cf. Macrosomatous) (cf. Mignon: small and dainty)
Mien: air or look; manner; bearing [ME. demean (“ to conduct or behave (oneself) usually in a proper manner”)]
Militaster: soldier without skill or ability; pretender to possess military expertise but lacks actual experience or knowledge. [L. militaris (“of soldiers”; “warlike”) + –aster)]
Milquetoast: very timid; very unassertive person [from character Caspar Milquetoast of the comic strip The Timid Soul (1920s on)…fictional name derived from US dish “milk toast”]
Minatory: threatening; having a menacing quality [L. minari (“to threaten”)]
Mimetic: imitative; of, like or pertaining to mimicry [Gk. mimos (“mime”)]
Minutious: (or Minutiose) paying undue attention to minutiae [L. Latin minutia (“thorough”; “detailed”) + -ous]
Miothermic: of, like or pertaining to temperature condition on earth at the present time [Gk. mi + -therm (“heat”) +-ic] 🔥
Mirabiliary: miracle worker [L. mīrābilis (“wonderful”; “marvelous”)] (cf. Mirabilia: wonders)
Misocainea: hatred of new ideas [Gk. miso (“hatred”; “hater”) + –kainos (“new”; “recent”)]
Misocapnic: an aversion to smoking, tobacco and its smoke [miso- + capno- (kapnós (“smoke”)] 🚭 (cf. Acapnotic: someone who doesn’t smoke; a non-smoker)
Mizmaze: labyrinth; bewilderment [miz + poss. OE. maes (“to confound”; “confuse”)]
Mnemonist: one from whose memory nothing is erased; someone who can memorise long lists of data [ Gk. mnēmē (“memory”; “a remembrance”; “record”) + -ist]
Mofussil: provincial; rural; non-urban regions [Bengali mophośśol (“to divide”; “classify”]
Moiety: each of two parts into which a thing can be divided; a part or portion (esp lesser) [L. medius (“middle”; “half”)]
Moirologist: professional mourner; a hired wailer [Gk. moîra (“fate”) + –lógos (“speech”; “oration”)]
Mollescent: softening; tending to soften [L. mollis (“soft”) + -cent]
Momus: satirist; critic [Gk. Momus (Greek myth. personification of satire and mockery)]
Mongery: the trading or trafficking of some commodity of a specific type (eg, “ironmongery”; “fishmongery”); a person who tries to stir up or spread something usually of a petty or discreditable nature (eg, “scandal-mongery”) [Gk. mánganon (“contrivance”; “means of enchantment”)]
Mononym: a person’s name consisting of the one, single word, typically a first name sans a surname [Gk. monós (“alone”; “only”; “sole”) + -name]
Monopolylogue: dramatic work in which one actor plays many roles [neologism coined from “monologue” Gk. monólogos (“speaking alone”) + –poly (“many”)]
Mopsical: short-sighted; mope-eyed; purblind; (fig.) stupid [origin unknown]
Mouchard: a police spy, esp in a Francophone country; an undercover investigator [Fr. mouche (“a fly”) + -ard] 🪰
Motherlode: (alt. Mother lode) a rich source of something; (geol.) a principal vein of an ore or mineral [L. māter + MidEng –lode (“a burden” (orig. “a way”; “a course”)
Mournival: a set of four things; (arch.) a hand of four (aces, kings, queens, knaves) in card game Gleek [MidFr mornifle (?)]
Mugwump: (hist.) dissident Republicans (1884); one who politically-neutral, aloof or independent of party politics [from Amerindian (Massachusett) “war leader”]
Mulctuary: punishable by a fine [L. mulcta (“fine”)]
Muliebrile: womanly; feminine [L. mulier (“woman”) (cf. Muliebrity: womanhood)
Multanimous: having a many-sided mind [L. multus (“many”) + –animus (“mind”)] (cf. Multeity: manifoldness; very great numerousness)
Multifarious: having great diversity; manifold [L. multi + -farius (“diverse”)]
Multiloquence: talkative; garrulous; using many words [L. multi– + –loquēns (“speaking, talking”)]
Multiparous: (of a woman) having given birth to multiple offspring [L. multi + -parere (“to give birth to”; “bring into being”)]
Multipotent: having the power to do many things [L. multi + -potis, pote (“able”)] (cf. Multivious: offering many different pathways; leading in many directions; and Multivocal: having many meanings]
Mumpsimus: adherence to or persistence in an erroneous use of language out of habit or obstinacy; a person who persists in a mistaken expression or practice [coined erroneously by an illiterate mass-priest in place of the correct Latin term sumpsimus…despite being corrected he stubbornly refused to change his choice of words]
Munificence: magnificent liberality in giving; bestowing great generosity [L. munus (“gift”; “duty”; “service”) + -cence]
Mussitation: murmuring; grumbling [L. mussitāre (“to mutter”)]
Mycterism: sneering; rhetorical sarcasm or irony [Gk. muktērízō, (“I sneer”) + -ism]
Myrmecoid: ant-like, resembling an ant [Gk. -myrmēk (“ants”) + -oeidēs (“oid”) / Myrmex, Gk goddess of ants] 🐜
Myrmidon: a follower or subordinate of a powerful person; one who carries out orders unquestioningly (typically unscrupulous) [Gk. Myrmidon (from Greek myth.) eponymous ancestor of the Myrmidons]
Mysophobic: someone with a pathological fear of contamination and germs; a germophobe; a compulsive hand-washer [Gk. mýsos (“pollution”; “defilement”)] + -phobia] 🦠
Mysteriosophy: system of knowledge concerning secrets and mysteries [L. mustḗrion, (“mystery”) + -sophy (“knowledge or wisdom”)]
Mythogenesis: origin of myths [Gk. mûthos (“myth”) + –génesis (“origin”; “source”; “beginning”)] (cf. Mythoclast: destroyer of myths; Mythopoeic: giving rise to myths)
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Malaxophobia: a morbid fear of seduction, love play or love games (esp in women)[Gk. malax– (?) (cf. Sarmassophobia)
Matronolagnia: an attraction to older women, esp women who have children [L. māter (“mother”) + –lagneía (“lust”)]
Microlipet: someone who gets upset about trivial stuff [micro (“small”) + ME -lippē(?) (“a little bit”(?)]
Misopolemiac: a hater of war and strife [miso (“hatred”) + pólemos (“war”)]
Misoxene: one who hates strangers [miso (“hatred”) + xénos (“stranger”)] (cf. Xenophobe)
Monomath: someone who knows all about a single subject and nothing else [Gk. monós + –máthēma (“that which is learnt”)]
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “L” Words
“L” is the twelfth letter of the alphabet while doubling as the Roman numeral for 50. The letter “L”’s ancestors can be traced to the Semitic lamedh, which may have derived from an earlier symbol representing an ox goad, and the Greek lambda (λ), itself adopted from the Phoenician letter lamed. In English “L”/“l” represents a voiced alveolar lateral continuant. “L” is for “logomaniacs”, “logolepts”, “logophiles”, “logonik”, call them by whatever label you prefer, the following are some worthy additions to the vocabulary of word aficionados from the unorthodox “L” word department.
Labeorphilist: <meaning> a collector of beer bottles, but also of their accoutrements – brand labels, can openers, books on the topic <derives from>[Gk. origin unknown] (cf. Tegestologist who collects beer mats)
Labiomancy: lip-reading; a form of divination by reading lips [MedLat. labiālis (“pertaining to the lips”) + -manteíā (“divination”)] (cf. Labrose: having large or thick lips)
Laconicum: sauna, specifically a dry sweat room; a room in an ancient Roman baths used for hot-air or a steam bath [L. laconicus from Gk. lakōn (“laconic”)]
Lactiferous: forming or conveying milk [LateLat. lac (“milk”) + –fer (“carrying”; “bearing”)] 🥛
Lacuna: an unfilled space; a gap; a cavity especially in the bone [L. lacus (“lake” & lacuna (“pool”)]]
Laeotropic: turning to the left or anticlockwise [Gk. laiós (“left”) + –tropḗ, (“turn”; “solstice”; “trope”).] (cf. Laevoduction: movement leftwards)
Lagostoma: hare-lip [Gk. lagos, (“hare”) + –stoma, (“mouth”)]”; “emotion”; “therapy”)]
Lairwite: (also Legruita) (hist.) fine paid to the lord of the manor by his villein in instances where the serf’s daughter committed adultery or fornication (in medieval times it was a punishment for sexual misconduct while maintaining the lord’s authority over his female villeins) [origin unknown]
Lambent: flickering; softly radiant; marked by brilliance of expression [L. from lambere (“to lick up”)] (cf. Lucent: glowing; giving off light)
Laodicean: being lax or lukewarm in one’s religious beliefs; indifferent to religion or politics [L. from Laodicea (“a city in Asia Minor”) + -an]
Lapidate: to stone someone to death [L. lapidātus (“to throw stones at”)] 🪨
Lapidicolous: living under a rock (or stone) [L. lapis (“stone”) + -colere (“to inhabit”)]
Latrocination: the act of robbing or pillaging from someone; overcharging people [L. Latrocinium (“highway robbery”)]
Lavacultophilia: the desire to stare at someone in a bathing suit [L. lavere (“to bathe”) + –culto (uncertain) + -philia] 🩱
Lecanoscopy: to hypnotise yourself by staring into a pool of water, eg, in a basin [Gk. lekane “dish-pan” + –scopein (“examine;” “look at”)]
Lector: a lecturer or (academic) reader at university (UK); a reader of lessons in a church service [L. legere (“reader”)] (cf. Letrice: a female reader in church)
Leguleian: like a lawyer; underhand and legalistic; a petty and argumentative lawyer [L. lēguleius (“pettifogger”) from lēx, lēgis (“law”)]
Lethologica: inability to recall a precise word or name for something or someone [Gk. lḗthē (“forgetfulness”) + -lógos “word”]
Levirate: marriage of a widowed woman to her deceased husband’s brother (practiced in particular cultures) [L. levir (“brother-in-law”)]
Lexiphanicism: showing off by using pretentious words or language (in fact what this blog post may be accused of doing!) [Gk. Lexiphanes (a character in the works of Lucian) + -ic]
Libidinist: a lewd or lustful person; oversexed lecher [L. libidinor (“I indulge”) {🔜 “libido”} + -ist] (cf. Donjuanism: (esp of a man) exhibiting compulsive sexual behaviour)
Librocubucularist: someone who likes to read in bed [L. liber (“book”) + cubiculum (“bedroom”), from cubō (“lie down”)] 📕 🛌
Limbate: possessing a border [L. limbatus (“bordered”) + -atus (“-ate”] (🔙 Limbus: border)
Litterateur: professional writer; a person interested in and knowledgeable about literature [L. littera (“letter”; “writing”)] ✍️🪶
Logicaster: a person who is pedantic in argument; a petty logician [Gk. lógos (“speech”; “reason”) + -aster (“little”; “petty”; “partial”; “incomplete”)]
Logodaedalus: artificer in words; one manipulates words with skill or cunning; skilled in coining words [Gk. logos (“word”) + –daidalous (“cunning worker; “skilful”)]
Logomachy: a battle about words; a verbal war [Gk. logos (“word”) + –machesthai (“to fight”)]
Logorrhoea: extreme and overwhelming prolixity; verbal diarrhoea [Gk. logos (“word”) + –rhoe (“to flow”)]
Longanimity: capacity to suffer patiently; forbearance [LateLat. longanimis (“patient”; “forbearing”) + -tās]
Longiloquent: extremely long-winded [L. longus (“long”) + loquent (“talking”)] (cf. Loquacious: characterised by excessive talk; wordy; garrulous)
Lotologist: someone who collects lottery tickets as a hobby [origin unknown]
Lubberland: a mythical paradise reserved for the lazy [poss. from Swed. lubber (“fat lazy fellow” + -land] (cf. Cockaigne: an imaginary land of plenty, supposedly a medieval paradise of extreme luxury, comforts and easy life)
Lucubrator: a person who studies during the night [L. lūcubrō (“work by candlelight”) + -or] 🌃
Lupanarian: pertaining to a brothel [ L. lupanar (“brothel”), from lupa (“prostitute”; literally “she-wolf”), from lupus (“wolf”)](cf. Lupine: pertaining to wolves) 🐺
Lustrum: period of five years; (hist.) a ceremonial purification of the people of Rome undertaken every five years [L. lūstrum (“a purificatory sacrifice”)]
Lychnobite: a person who works at night and sleeps during the day [Gk. lúkhnos (“lamp”) and bíos (“life”)🏮
Lygerastia: a condition of someone who is amorous only when the lights are turned out [Gk. lyge (“twilight”) + –erastes (“lover”)] (cf. Amaurophilia: a preference for having sex blind-folded or in total darkness)
Lysistrataphobia: (path.) a fear that women will subvert men and take over the world [Gk. from Lysistrátē, (“Army Disbander”), 5th cent. BC play by Aristophanes about a woman (Lysistrataphobia) who hatches a plan to have Athenian and Spartan women withhold sexual privileges from their men-folk until the men bring the Peloponnesian War to an end]
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “K” Words
The letter “K” is derived from the Semitic letter kaph, possibly from an earlier Egyptian hieroglyph for a hand. In Greek it became “kappa”, and in that form passed into the Roman alphabet. In English it generally represents a voiceless velar plosive consonant with the same sound as the “hard” form of “c”, as in kitten. That’s the skinny on how the letter “K” found its way into the English alphabet, now for word nerds here’s a selection of uncommon, archaic, quirky, even strange and weird words which begin with “K”.
Kakistocracy: <meaning>government by the worst, less qualified and most unscrupulous citizens <derived from>[Gk. kákistos, (“worst”) + -cracy]
Kalogram: a monogram which uses the person’s full name [origin unknown)
Kalokagathia: combination of good and beautiful [Gk. kalós kaì agathós (“beautiful and good”)] (cf. Kalopsia: the delusion that things are more beautiful than they really are)
Kareeza: sexual intercourse which avoids climax (a method of coitus reservatus) [It. carezza (“caress”) neologism coined 1896 by US obsterician Alice Stockham]
Katabasis: (myth.) Ancient Greek hero journeying to the underworld; a downward journey; a retreat especially a military one [Gk. katá “”downwards”) + –baínō (“go”)] cf. Anabasis (a going or marching up; esp a military advance (from book by Xenophon)
Katoptronophile: a person aroused by having sex in front of mirrors [Gk. katopron (“mirror”) + –phile] 🪞
Katzenjammer: confusion; uproar; a severe headache due to a hangover [Germ. katze (“cat”) + –jammer (“distress”) (19th. popularised by American cartoon “Katzenjammer Kids”]
Kenodoxy: the love, study or desire of vainglory [Gk. kenos (empty” + -doxy]
Kerdomeletia: an excessive desire for material wealth [Gk. kerdo (“gain”; “profit”) + unknown origin]
Kinesipathy: the practice of treating illness with exercise [Gk. kinēsis (“movement”; “motion”) + -pathy (“suffering”; “emotion”; “therapy”)]
Kirkbuzzer: someone who robs churches [Nth MidEng. Kyrie (“church”) + -buzzer)] ⛪️
Klebenleiben: a pathological reluctance to stop talking about a particular subject [Germ. kleben (“to glue”) ?+ unknown]
Kleptocracy: government by thieves; government by people who exploit their hold on power to steal the country’s resources [Gk. kleptēs (“thieves”) + -cracy]
Korophilia: an attraction to young men or boys [kóros (“boy”; “youth”) + -philia]
Kosmokrator: (also Cosmocrator) the ruler of the world [Gk. kosmo (“world”) + –kratos (“the god and personification of power and strength”)]
Kouros: statue of young Greek nude male [Gk. kouros (“youth”; “boy, esp of noble rank”)]
Kraken: enormous, legendary sea monster (said to have appeared off the coast of Norway) [Norway. krake (“malformed or overgrown, crooked tree”)]
Kritarchy: rule by judges in Ancient Israel [Gk. kritēs (“a judge”)]
Krukolibidious: a person who’s aroused by staring at someone’s crotch [origin unknown]
Ktenology: science of putting people to death [Coined by US psychiatrist and neurologist Leo Alexander, etymology unknown)]
Kurveyor: (South Africa: a trader who transports goods by ox cart); a travelling merchant who sells dry goods from a cart [Dutch. origin unknown)]
Kyle: narrow strait or channel of water between two separate formations of land [Scot. Gaelic. caol (“narrow”; “thin”; “strait”) ]
Kyphorrhinos: humped nose [origin unknown] 👃🏽
Kyriology: (also Kyriolexy) the use of literal or simple, expressions rather than figurative or obscure ones [Gk. kúrios (“literal”) + -logy]
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “J” Words
The letter “J” (pronounced “Jay”), the 10th letter of the Latin alphabet, has got an interesting history as a Johnny-come-lately “bookend” of sorts…”J” is the English alphabet’s “Hawaii”, the last to achieve letterhood. This 26th and final letter was introduced as a swash, a typographical embellishment for the already existing “I”. Phonetically, the vowel “I” and the consonant “J” used to sound the same and were interchangeable until a clear phonetic distinction between the two was made by an Italian grammarian (GG Trissino) in 1524. When Roman numerals were in their heyday “J” or “j” were used on the end of a sequence of numerals…so for “123”, instead of writing CXXIII, it be could rendered as CXXIIJ. Here’s a scattering of “J” words unlikely that you will find popping up in everyday intercourse.
Jabberwock: nonsense; gibberish [from “Jabberwocky”, dragon-like creature in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass (1871)]
Jactancy: boastfulness; vainglorious boasting [L.jactare (“to throw”; “speak out”; “boast”)]
Janiform: having two faces looking in opposite directions [L. Janus “”Roman god”) + –fōrmis (“having the form of”)]
Janizary: (also Janissary) a follower or supporter; (hist.) member of Ottoman Turkish infantry, (14—(19th. [Turk.Yeni (“new”) + -çeri (“troops”)]
Jargonaut: one who uses excessive jargon [comb. Of “jargon” and Gk. -naut (“sailor”)]
. Jejunator: one who fasts [L. Jejunus (“fasting”) + -ator]
Jejune: dull; insipid; lacking in substance; superficial; naive; simplistic (of writing or ideas) dry and uninteresting [L. Jejunus (“fasting” – ie, being empty in a figurative sense)]
Jentacular: relating to breakfast; specifically to one taken early in the morning or immediately upon getting up [L. from ientō (“to have breakfast “) 🍳
Jeremiad: prolonged complaint; angry or cautioning harangue; lamentation; catalogue of woes [Fr. jérémiade, after Biblical prophet Jeremiah (Old Testament)]
Jesuitical: cunning; equivocating; quibbling [Fr. jsuitique (pertaining to the Jesuits)] (behaviours once attributed to the Jesuits)
Jovialist: a convivial person [L. ioviālis (“relating to the Roman god Jupiter”) + -ist]
Jumboism: admiration for bigness [(19th. circus elephant, Jumbo + -ism]
Jumentous: smelling strongly of horse urine or of some similar beast of burden [L. jumentum (“yoke-beast”)]
Jurisconsult: legal expert [L. jus (jur) (“law”) + consultus (“skilled”)]
Juvenescence: state of growing younger [L. juvenis (“young”) + -cence (?)]
Juvenilia: the works (literary, artistic, musical) of one’s youth (cf. Juvenal: a youth) [L. iuvenīlia (“of or pertaining to youth”)
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “I” Words
I, that single vertical stroke, is the most selfish letter in the entire English alphabet. It’s all about “I”, “I”,”I”! By which we mean “me”, “me”, “me”. The opposite of “U”, its more outward-looking brother vowel. No surprise we get “individual”, “idiosyncratic”, “intransigent” and “IPhone” from the letter “I”…”I” is all about “Isness”. Linguistically, “I” corresponds to the Semitic yod (early symbol for hand?) and the Greek iota (I). Anyway, having impugned I’s reputation, let’s accentuate the positive side of the letter—also the Roman numeral for “1”—by feeding the word-maniacs and lexical tragics out there with a sampler of I-words almost none of which succumb to the pitfall of self-centredness.
Iamatology: <meaning> study of remedies [<derivation>Gk. iama (“remedy”) + -logy]
Iatrarchy: government by physicians) [Gk. iatros (“doctor”; “healer”) + –arkhein (“to rule”)] (cf. Iatramelia: medical neglect)
Ichthyic: of resembling or pertaining to fish [Gk. ikhthús (“fish”) + Eng. -ic]🐠
Ichnogram: footprint [Gk íkhnos (“foot imprint”) + -gramma (“that which is drawn”)] 🐾 👣
Iconolagny: sexual stimulation from pictures or statues [Gk. eikon (“likeness”; “image”, “portrait”) + –lagnia (“lust”)]
Ideocrassis: intrinsic peculiarity or unique feature [Gk. ideo + uncertain (poss. Pre-Greek)
Ideopraxis: one compelled to carry out an idea [Gk. ideo (“idea”) + –praxis “doing”)] 💡
Idioglossia: private, idiosyncratic language developed between children [Gk. ídios “own”, “personal”, “distinct”) + -glôssa (“tongue”)]
Idiolect: distinctive, individual form of speech [Gk. ídios “own”, “personal”, “distinct”) + légō (“I speak”)]
Impecunious: little or no money [L. pecūnia (“money”) + -ōsus (“full of”)]
Imperator: ruler; military commander [L. imperare (“”to order”; “command”)]
Ineluctable: irresistible or inescapable [L. in (“not”) + -eluctari (“struggle out”)]
Incivism: neglect of duty as a citizen [Fr. incivisme (“non-compliance”; “anti-social behaviour”)]
Incondite: not well assembled; poorly constructed; unpolished [L. un (in) (“not”) + -conditus (“to put in”; “restore”)]
Incult: uncultivated; coarse [L. in + –cultus (“to till”; “cultivate”)]
Incunabulist: (cf. Incunabulum) one who collects early books [L. in (“into”) + -cunae (“cradle”) + Eng. -ist] 📚
Infelicious: unhappy, unlucky [Gk. in (“not”) + L. -felicitas (“happiness, fertility,”)]
Infonaut: a voyager in cyberspace/virtual reality; a frequent or habitual user of the internet [ “info” from “information” [L. īnfōrmātiō (“formation, conception; education”) + Gk. –nautēs (“sailor”)]
Infracaniniphile: someone who champions or favours the underdog [Neologism, L. infra (“below, under, beneath”) + -canino (“dog) + -phile (“to prefer”)
Interamnian: situated between or enclosed by rivers [L. inter- (“in between”; “amid”) + amnis (“river”)]🏞️
Intercolline: situated between hills [L. inter “between”; “amid”) [L. inter- (“in between”; “amid”) + coll (“hill”) + Eng. -ine]
Intercrural: the area between one’s legs [L. inter (“between”; “amid”) + -crūs (“leg”)]
Interstices: small spaces (figuratively as well as literally) [L. inter- (“in between”; “amid”) + –stes (“standing”)
Irenic: peaceful; conducive to peace; non-confrontational (cf. Irenology: the study of peace [Gk. eirēnē (“peace”) from Eirene, Greek goddess of peace] ☮️
Iridal: of, like or pertaining to the rainbow [origin unknown]
Irresiant: having no residence [origin unknown]
Irrison: the act of laughing at another [origin unknown]
Isagogic: introductory (cf. Isagoge: academic introduction to a subject, chiefly to do with Christian theology) [Gk. eisagōgē (“lead-in”) + -ics)]
Isorropic: (geom.) of equal value [Gk. isos (“equal to”; “the same as”; “equally divided”) + –rropic (?)]
Ithyphallic: indecent; immoral; esp a statue with the representation of an erect penis [Gk. ithúphallos, “Bacchic phallus,” lit. “straight penis” + -ic)]
Itinerarian: traveller [Neologism: Late Lat. Itinerari (“to journey”) + an]
Ivresse: drunkenness; intoxication [OldFr. ivre (“drunk;” “inebriated”) + –esse (fem. form of noun)]
Izzard: an archaic word for Z [OFr. et zede (lit. “and zed”)]
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “H” Words
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “H” Words
H, the whispering onomatopoeic sound whose pronunciation is debated by different tribes of Anglophone peoples…is it “Aitch” or “Haitch”? Well, it depends to some extent on your linguistic-cultural sub-group and which national flag you fly under. “H” came to the Latin alphabet from the Semitic cheth via the Greek eta (Η), which possibly derived from an early symbol for a fence. Words starting with the letter “H”, however you say it, can run the gamut of extremes, at one pole they can be “hyper” (high, beyond, above normal, excessive), at the other end they can be “hypo” (beneath, below normal, under) Here’s some seldom-uttered “H” words you may not have not encountered before.
Habilatory: <meaning> of, like or pertaining to clothes or dressing (cf. Habile: dextrious; adroit) <derivation> [MedLatin habitualis (“pertaining to habit or dress”)]
Habromania: a form of delusional insanity characterised by cheerful or joyous imaginings [ Gk. habros (“graceful”? + -mania]
Haemathermal: warm-blooded (cf. Haematic: blood-coloured) [Gk. haîma “blood” + –therme (“heat”)]
Hagiocracy: government by holy men (cf. Theocracy) [Gk. hagios (“holy”; “saint”) + -cracy]
Hagridden: worried or tormented, as by a witch; affected by nightmares or anxieties [OldEng. hægtesse, hægtis (“a fury”, “witch”) + -ride (“that has ridden”)🧙
Halibiotic: like or pertaining to the entirety of life under the sea [Gk. hali (“indication of salt or the sea” + bio (“life”) + -ic (“like”)](cf. Halieutics: the study of fishing) halieutikós (alieutikós), (“of or about fishermen”)] 🐠 🎣
Hamartia: a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine (Gk tragedy, Aristotle Poetics) [Gk. hamartánein (“to miss the mark”)]
Hapax: word or expression which occurs only once within a given context (eg, in an author’s oeuvre; in a single text) [Gk. translit. from “being said once”)]
Haptic: of, like or pertaining to the sense of touch [Gk. haptesthai “to touch”)]
Haussmannize (or Haussmannise): to destroy the old in order to build the new; to rebuild an area , esp on a massive scale [coined after Baron Haussmann, 19th. French public official]
Hawkshaw: detective (cf. Shamus) [19th. coinage, from play “The Ticket of Leave Man”] 🕵🏾
Hebdomadally: every week [Gk. hepta (“seven”) (Hebdomad = period of 7 days) [
Hebetic: of, like or pertaining to puberty [Gk. hēbē (“youth”) + –tēs (“agent”) + –ikon]
Hecatomb: slaughter of 💯 (people, animals, etc); (hist.) in Rome and Ancient Hellas, a public sacrifice of 100 oxen [Gk. hekaton (“hundred”) + –bous (“ox”)
Hedonics: part of ethics or psychology dealing with pleasure (cf. Hedonism) [Gk. hēdon(é) (“pleasure”) + –ikon]
Heliolatry: sun worship (cf. Heliosis: exposure to the sun; sunburn) [Gk. hēlio (“sun”) + –latry (“worship”)] 🌅
Helixophile: someone who collects corkscrews [Gk. hélix (“something twisted or spiral”) + -phile]
Hellion: a rowdy or mischievous person, esp a child who behaves thus [Nth Eng/Scot. hallion (“scamp, worthless fellow”)]
Hemiolic: based of a ratio of 3:2 [Gk. hēmiolios (from hemisus “half”) + Eng -ic)]
Henotic: tending to unify or reconcile; promoting harmony [Gk. henōtikós (“serving to unite”)]
Heptamerous: divide into parts of seven [Gk.heptá (“seven”) + -merēs (“having parts”)]
Heresiarch: leader of a heretical movement [Gk. hairesíarchēs (“leader of a school or sect”) + –archēs)
Hereticaster: a petty or contemptible heretic [heretic + L.-aster (“little, petty, partial, incomplete”) cf. Criticaster (“a petty or contemptible critic”)]
Hermetic: of, like or pertaining to sorcery and alchemy (mod. sense: (1) seal or close completely airtight) (2] solitary) [Gk. From mythological god Thrice-great Hermes, via MedL hermeticus]
Heterist (alt. Hetaerist): one who indulges in extra-marital sex; a general system of temporary and continued sexual relations outside wedlock (concubinage) [Gk.hetaira (“female companion”) + -ismos]
Heteroclite: one who deviates from the ordinary forms or rules; irregular; an abnormal thing or person [Gk. héteros (“other”; “different”) + –klinō (“lean”; “incline”)]
Heterophemy: accidental use of word different to that meant [Gk. héteros (“other”; “different”) + –phemia (“speech”; “talk”)]
Heterotrichosis: having hair of varied or mixed colours [Gk. héteros (“other”; “different”) + -trichōsis (“growth of hair”)]
Heuristic: enabling someone to discover or learn something for themselves [Gk. heuriskein (“find”)]
Hexamerous: divide into parts of six [(Gk. hexa (“six”) + -merēs (“having parts”)]
Hibernaculum: winter retreat; (zool.) a place where an animal seeks refuge from winter (eg, a cave for members of the Ursidae family) [L. hibernāculum (“tent for winter quarters”)
Hidrotic: causing or exuding sweat [Gk. hidrōs (“sweat”)]
Highbinder: a scheming or corrupt politician; a swindler or gangster; a ruffian [Amer. Highbinders, Chinese gang in NYC (19th.]
Hipparchy: rule or control of horses (cf. Hippoid: equine, Hippodamist: horse-tamer) [Gk. hippo (“horse”) + –archy (“rule”)]🐎
Hirci: armpit hair [Proto-Finnish. hirci, poss. from L hirtus (“hairy”, “shaggy”)] (cf. Hircine: “goat-like”)]
Hodiernal: of, like or pertaining to the present day [L. hodiernus from hodie (“today”) + Eng. -al].
Hodometry: measurement of the distance of a sea voyage (cf. Horometry: time measurement) [?uncertain + –metrein (“to measure”)]
Hodophile: a lover of travel; a travel aficionado [Gk. hodos (“journey”; “road”; “travel” + -philia (“love”)]🛬
Holobenthic: passage of entire life in the deep ocean [Gk. holo (“whole”) + -bénthos (“the depths”)]
Holocryptic: inscrutable; undecipherable [Gk holo (“whole”) + –krúptō (“to hide”)]
Homiletics: the art of preaching [Gk. homilein (“converse with”; “consort”] (cf. Eng Homily)
Hominiform: shaped like a human; of human form [L. homo (“male human”) + -form]
Homnivorous: eating humans [L. homo + –vorous (“eating”; “devouring”)]
Homuncule: little artificial person [L. homunculus (“little person”) + –culus, (“diminutive”)]
Houghmagandy: fornication [Scot. origin uncertain]
Hoyden: tomboy [prob. Middle Dutch heiden (“heathen”; “gypsy”)]
Humgruffin: terrible or repulsive person [neologism, blending of “hum”; “gruff”; “griffin”]
Hybristophile: someone who is sexually attracted to individuals who have committed crimes, particularly cruel or outrageous ones [Gk. hubrizein “to commit an outrage against someone”, from hubris + –phil (“preference for”)]
Hyoid: having a “U” shape [Gk. hyodeides (”shaped like the letter Upsilon (U)”
Hypalgesia: diminished susceptibility to pain (cf. Hyperalgia: extreme sensitivity to pain) [Gk. hypo (“under”) + -algos (“pain”) + -ia
Hyperacusis: abnormally good sense of hearing 👂 [Gk. hupós (“over”) + -ákousis, (“hearing”)]
Hyperborean: an inhabitant of the extreme north [Gk. hupós (“over”) + –borean (“northern”)] (cf. Heteroscian: inhabitant of a temperate zone [Gk. hetero + –scian “shadow”(?)]
Hypermetropia: long-sighted person; can see objects far away but not up close (cf. Hyperope: far-sighted person) [Gk. hupós (“over”) + metron (“measure”)]
Hyperosmia: very keen sense of smell [Gk. hupós (“over”) + osmē (“odour”)]
Hyphaersis: omission of letter or sound from a word (eg, “around” becomes “round”) [origin unknown]
Hypnogogic: sleep-inducing; drowsiness (cf. Hypnomogia: insomnia) [Gk. hypnos (“sleep”) + -agōgós (“leading”)]
Hypocorism: informal short version of a name [Gk. hupo (“under” + -korē (“child”) + -ism. lit: (“play the child”)]
Hypogeal: underground [Gk. hupo (“under” + L. -gelare (“to freeze”; “congeal”)]
Hypometropia: myopia or near-sightedness; near objects are clear but far away objects are blurry [Gk. hupo (“under” + metron (“measure”)]
Hypotrichosis: hairlessness 👩🦲 [Gk. hupo (“under”) + -trichōsis (“growth of hair”)]
Hypotyposis: vivid and picturesque description of a scene [Gk. hupo (“under”) + typos (“impression”; “cast”)
Hysteromania: nymphomania [Gk. hystera (“uterus”) + -mania]
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “G” Words
G-words, words starting with the letter “G”, like “G-men” can be gritty, exacting and uncompromising…sometimes they salaciously and lustfully invoke “the beast with two backs”. Here’s some fairly unorthodox, non-mainstream “G” words you quite possibly have not encountered before.
Gallimaufry: a mixture of different things; a hodge-podge [MFr galimafree (“a kind of stew concocted from various ingredients)]
Galluptious: (or Goloptious) wonderful, delightful, delicious; provocative and sexually alluring [origin uncertain, perhaps alteration of “voluptous]
Gamic: carnal or sexual; requiring fertilisation (biol.) [Old Nth Fr. gam (from “animal’s leg”)]
Genoph: a pickpocket [origin unknown)
Geophilious: live in or near the ground [Gk geo (“earth”) + -phil (“love”)]
Gewgaw: a showy trifle; a trinket; useless, worthless [ME. giuegaue (orig. meaning uncertain)]
Gigantology: the study of giants [Gk. “giant” + -logy]
Glabrous: without hair; smooth [L. glaber (“smooth”; “bald”; “hairless”)] 👨🏾🦲
Glossoid: like a tongue [Gk. glōssoeidēs + -oid] 👅
Gnomic: a phrase that’s short, catchy and clever; puzzling, enigmatic and ambiguous yet seemingly profound [Gk. gnome (“an opinion”)]
Goliard: a learned person, esp in the humanities; (hist.) a wandering, fun-seeking scholar/clerical student in medieval Europe who wrote goliardy (irreverent , satiric Latin verse) [MF, origin uncertain)]
Grallator: someone who walks on stilts (taking quite long strides); an ichnogenus dinosaur [L. grallotores (“stilt-walker”)] 🦕
Gremial: pertaining to the lap or bosom; intimate [L. gremium (“lap”)]
Gymnogynomania: urge to rip women’s clothes off [Gk. gymnos (“naked”; “bare”) + gyn (-“wife”; “-woman”) + -mania
Gymnophoria: the sensation that someone is mentally undressing you [Gk. gymnos (“naked”; “bare”) + -phoria (“to bear”)
Gynotikolobo-massophilia: a proclivity for nibbling one’s earlobes [Gk. gyn + –lobos (“earlobe”) + -masáomai (“to chew”) + -phile] 👂
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “F” Words
The sixth letter in the alphabet is the consonant “F”. Pre-English, the Phoenicians used to write “F” with a symbol that looked a lot like “Y,” and pronounced it waw. The ancient Greeks changed it into digamma and put a tip on the “Y”, transforming it into the sixth letter in the alphabet we readily recognise today. The “f” sound has a kindred spirit in the “ph” as the two can be interchangeable in spelling, eg, people who live in the Philippines are called “Filipinos”. “F” for frank and forthright and “F” for frivolous and fickle…it would however be remiss of us to not acknowledge that the expression “F-word” has another, polarising, connotation which for many in society is still is a taboo one, as, to use a somewhat old-fashioned-sounding term, a “swear” word… “fuck” and its many derivatives such as “motherfucker”, “fucker”, etc. ad nauseam. So there you have it, “F”, all in all a letter for all seasons and dispositions!
Falerist (or Phalerist): someone who collects and studies medals, badges, pins, ribbons and other decorations [from the Greek mythological hero Phalerus: Gk. Phaleros]
Farraginous: consisting of a confusing mixture, orig. of grains for cattle feed (cf. Farrago); jumbled; messy; heterogenous[L. far “spelt” (ie, grain)]
Favonian: pertaining to the west wind (esp mild, gentle) 💨 [L. fovēre (“to warm”)] (cf. Zephyr)
Firmament: (Relig.) the vault or arch of the sky; the heavens; the field or sphere of an interest or activity [Late Latin. firmamentum, from L. firmare (“support”)]
Flâneur: a man who saunters around observing society; a stroller (fem: approx comparable to Flaneuse). [Old Norse. flana (“to wander with no purpose)]
Flexiloquent: speaking evasively or ambiguously [L. flexibilis (“that may be bent”) + –loquēns (“speaking”; “talking”)]
Florilegium: an anthology esp excerpts of a larger work; collection of flowers [L. flos (“flower” +-legere (“to gather”)] 🌺
Frotteur: (Psycho-sex.) a person who derives sexual gratification—Frottage—thru contact with the clothed body of another person in a crowd [Fr. frotter (“to rub”)]
Funambulist/Funambulator: a tightrope walker; an acrobat who performs balancing acts on a taut, high horizontal rope (also known as an Equilibrist [L. funis (“rope”) + –ambulare (“to walk”)]
Fusilatelist: someone ( with a lot of time on their hands) who collects phone cards from telcos (origin unknown)
Futilitarian: a person devoted to futile pursuits; one who believes that human striving is futile [(19th neologism, a portmanteau word formed from blending “futile” and “utilitarian”]
Fysigunkus: a person devoid of curiosity [Scot. Eng, (19th. origin unknown]
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd ”E” Words
The fifth letter and second vowel in the modern English alphabet, “E” can trace its ancestry to the ancient Greek letter epsilon, which in turn has its source in the Semitic letter hê. Words beginning with “E” can be positive and affirmative—energetic, empathetic, etc—but they can also exclude, excise and excommunicate. Here’s some fairly unorthodox, non-mainstream “E” words you possibly have not encountered before.
Eccendentesiast: an insincere person who fakes a smile [L. ecce (“I present to you’) + –dentes (“teeth”) + –iast (“performer”)]
Ecdysiast: a striptease artist; erotic dancer [Gk. ekdysis (“a stripping or casting off”). Coined 1940 by HL Mencken]
Ectomorph: a person with a lean and delicate build of body; also can refer to someone with an introverted, thoughtful personality [Gk. ecto (“outside”, “external”) + –derm (“skin”) + –morphē (“form”; “shape”). Coined 1940 by WH Sheldon]
Eleemosynary: relating to or depending on charity; charitable [Gk. eleos (“mercy”; “pity”; “compassion”; (pertaining to alms)]
Encomium: a speech or piece of writing which praise someone or something highly (cf. eulogy) [Gk. en (“within”) + –komos (“revel”)]
Endomorph: a person with a heavy, rounded (big-boned) build of body [Gk. endon (“in”; “within”) + –morphē (WH Sheldon 1940)]
Endonym: (also known as Autonym) the native name for a national group, an individual, geographical place, language or dialect; used inside a particular group or linguistic community for self-identification [Gk. endon (“within) + –ónoma (“name”)]
Ennad: any group of nine; orig. a group of 9 deities in Egyptian mythology [Gk. ennea (the number 9)]
Epeolatry: the worship of words [Gk. epos (“word”) + -latry (“worship”)]
Epicrisis: something that follows a crisis, specifically a secondary crisis; a critical or analytical study, evaluation or summing up, esp of medical case [Gk. epíkrisis, (“determination”, “judgment”, “award”)]
Epigamic: attractive to the opposite sex, esp in zoological context [Gk. epi (“upon”; “on”; “near”) + –gamus (“wedding”; “marriage”)]
Epistolographer: a writer of epistles (elegant, formal didactic letters); a letter writer [Gk. epistellein (“send news”) + –graphe (“write”)] ✍️📝
Ergatocracy: rule by the workers [Gk. ergátēs (“workman”) + –crazy]
Eschatological: theological considerations relating to death, judgement and the finality of the soul and humankind [Gk. éskhatos (“last”) + -logy]
Excoriate: to denounce or berate severely; verbally flay; to strip or remove the skin (Gk. ex (“out”) + –coríum (“skin”; “hide”)
Excursus: a diversion or digression in a book from the main subject which involves a detailed side-discussion [L. excurrere (“run out”)]
Exonym: (also known as Xenonym) the non-native name for a national group, an individual, geographical place, language or dialect [Gk. exo (“outside) + –ónoma (“name”)]; eg, the exonym for Deutschland (Germany) in Spanish is Alemania
Expiscate: to find out thru scrupulous examination or detailed investigation; fish out (something) (usage Scot.) [L. expicatus from Gk. ex (“out”) + –piscari (“to fish”)] 🎣 🐠
❘༻༺༻༺❘༻༺༻༺❘༻༺༻༺❘༻༺༻༺❘༻༺༻༺❘༻༺༻
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “D” Words
The letter “D” corresponds to the Semitic daleth and Greek delta (Δ). “D” is also the Roman numeral for 500. The form (D) is thought to derive from an early pictograph, possibly Egyptian, indicating the folding door of a tent. Later “D” got its more rounded shape, with which we are familiar, from the Chalcidian alphabet, which the Latins may have borrowed for their alphabet (https://www.britannica.com/topic/D-letter). Words beginning with “D”, numero quattro in the English alphabetical order, are an eclectic lot. They can be delightful, decadent or distasteful. Here’s a brief sampler of logophile-friendly “D” words for serious verbivores. 
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
(word) Dacnomania (meaning) a compulsive urge to bite (derivation) Gk dáknō (“bite”) + -mania 🦷
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Dactylogram fingerprint Gk Daktylos (“finger”) + –gramma (“that which is written/drawn”)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Daedalist
aviator; pilot
Gk from Didalos, L Daedalus (“skilfully wrought”)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Dapifer one who brings meat to the table (ie, a servant) origin unknown 🍖
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Defenestration
throw someone through a window; remove or dismiss someone from a position of authority
L de “down from” + –fenestra (“window”)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Deimatic pattern of behaviour of a bluffing character (zool) Gk deimatóo (“to frighten”)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Deipnosophist learned amateur Gk deipnon (“dinner”) + –sophistēs (“knowledgeable in the arts” (from Athenaeus’‘Deipnosophistaí’)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Deltiologist someone who collects and studies postcards [Gk. deltion (“writing tablet”) + -ist]
Deltiologist (image: emaniuz-collection.blogspot.com)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Depontification throw someone off a bridge L de + –pons (“bridge), following pattern of defenestration
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Didascalar Didactic; pertaining to teaching origin unknown
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Diddicoy scrap dealer; Brit: group of caravan-dwelling travellers who adopt a Gypsy-like lifestyle origin unknown
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Diestrus a period of sexual inactivity New L dia + -estrus from Gk Oistros (“gadfly”, “sting”)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Digladiator swordfighter origin unknown
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Dithyrambic wildly irregular in form Gk dithyrambos (unknown, pre-Hellenic?)
Diversiloquent able to speak on different topics; in different ways L. diversi (“diversus”) + –loquēns (“to speak”)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Docent an academic immediately below the professorial rank; a voluntary guide at a museum, zoo or art gallery L docēns (“to teach”)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Doctiloquent speaking learnedly L from doceō (“I teach”) +-loquēns (“to speak”)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Domatologist
professional housekeeper
origin unknown
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Dontopedology science of putting your foot in your mouth Gk odoús (“tooth”) + –pes (“foot”) + –logos (“word”)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Douanier customs official Fr, origin unknown
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Doulocracy rule by slaves Gk doûlos (“servant”, “slave”) + –kratéō (“rule)
Doulocracy: Spartacus, slave army leader
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Dragoman interpreter, translator or guide Gk dragumanus from Arab targuman (“interpreter”)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Dulciloquent speaking in a sweet, pleasant and agreeable way L. dulcis (“sweet”) + -loquēns (“to speak”)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Durative describing an action that is continuing, incomplete; transforming L. durare (“to harden”)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Dysania Difficult to wake up in the morning origin unknown
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Dyschromatopic colour-blind Gk dys (“bad”) + -chroma (“colour”) + -ops (“eye”)
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Dysphemism using an offensive word in the place of an inoffensive one Gk dys (“bad”) + –pheme “speech”,
⍔⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍠⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⌼⍔
Dystelology doctrine of purposelessness Gk dys (“bad”) + –télos (“end”, “purpose”, “goal”) + –logos
⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎⚗︎
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “C” Words
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!
The Cruciverbalist’s playground
Cynosure: all eyes on Ursa Minor, aka “the Little Dipper”
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “B” Words
The letter “B” has quite a backstory on route to its destination in the English alphabet. Its equivalent second letter in Phoenician, beth, was part of that ancient language’s alphabet more than 3000 years ago. It looked a little different, but it made the same sound as “B”/”b”. The shape of the letter resembled the floor plan of a house, and the word beth meant “house.” In Hebrew, the letter was called beth, bet or bayt which also means “house.” (‘The Letter B Once Had A Much Longer Name’, (2014), www.dictionary.com). Here’s a far from definitive selection of unusual, obscure and archaic words beginning with “B” – useful additions to the vocabulary of any budding lexiphile, logophile or verbivore out there.
Word | Meaning | Derivation |
Babeldom | a confused sound of noise | ME babble + OE -dōm ('state') |
Bacchanal | drunkard; reveller | L bacchanalis (from the god Bacchus) |
Bahadur | self-important official | Persian bahādur ('brave', 'valiant') |
Balatron | joker; clown | L balatrō ('jester'; 'buffoon') 嵐 |
Barmecide | an insincere benefactor (someone who promises but doesn't deliver) | Per Barmeki ('The Arabian Nights', family name) |
Barratry | inciting riot or violence | OF Barraterie (der from 'deceive') |
Bathykolpian | deep-bosomed | Gk bathys ('deep') + kolpos ('breast') |
Bedswerver | an unfaithful spouse | Eng (17th, Shakespeare |
Benedict | benign; a newly-married after being a long-time bachelor | L bene ('good') + -dicte ('speak') |
Bersatrix | babysitter | Fr berseaux ('cradle') + trix (fem. suffix) |
Bibliognost | well-read individual: person with a wide knowledge of books | Gk biblio ('book') + -gnōstēs ('one who knows'j |
Bodacious | remarkable; unmistakable; sexy; voluptuous | Eng 'bold' + 'audacious' |
Boursocrat | Stock exchange official | origin unknown |
Brio | enthusiastic vigour | It 'mettle'; 'fire'; 'life' |
Bromaphile | lover of food; a "foodie" | Gk brôma ('food') + -phile ('lover') |
Bromopnea | bad breath | Gk brômos ('stink') + nea |
Brumal | wintry; of, like or pertaining to winter 略 | L brūmalīs ('relating to the winter solstice') |
Burrole | an eavesdropper | origin unknown |
Bywoner | agricultural labourer | Afrikaans from Mid Dutch bi + ('dweller') |
ADDENDUM | ||
Barbigerous | bearded; bearing a beard 倫♂️ | L barbiger ("beard"; + -gero ('bearing') |
Bavian | baboon; insignificant or unskilled poet | D baviaan |
Belliferous | bringing war | L bellum ('war') + ferō ('to bear') |
Bloviate | talk at length in empty, pompous, inflated fashion | Eng (19th. 'blow' (as in boasting, orig. to describe politicians) |
Brobdingnagian | immense in size; gigantic | Eng (18th. novel by Jonathan Swift ✍️ |
A Logolept’s Diet of Obscure, Obsolete, Curious and Downright Odd “A” Words
The Big A! In the beginning was A.
“Words, Words, Words”, mused Shakespeare’s brooding and enigmatic eponymous protagonist in Hamlet [Act II, Scene II]. Indeed, for those wordsmiths, verbivores and aficionados in the grips of logolepsy (fascination or obsession with words), words, lexemes, morphemes, lógos, verba, call it whatever you like, are the very stuff of the world. If you are like me and take a delight in being exposed to new words, always looking to add to the building blocks of your vocabulary, then your interest might be piqued enough to browse the following list of words, a select lexicon with entries which include the obscure, the archaic, the unusual, the peculiar and (sometimes) the downright creepily weird. To begin at the beginning, the letter “A”, primus intra pares among the strictly-ordered glyphs. “A” in the Latin alphabet is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter Alpha, from which it derives.
Word | Meaning | Derivation |
Abactor | cattle thief or rustler | L Late Latin abigō ('drive away') |
Achloropsia [cf. Acyanopsia colour-blind blue] | colour-blind green | Gk a + clor ('green') + -podia (rel. to 'sight') |
Acephalous | lacking a (clearly defined) head | Gk akephalous ('headless') |
Acersecomic | one who has never had his or her hair cut | Gk akersekómēs ('young with unshorn hair') |
Acrologic | pertaining to initials; using a sign to represent a word denoting its initial letter or sound, assoc with hieroglyphics & acronyms | Fr acrologique |
Adelphogamy | a form of polyandry; marriage of 2 or more brothers & 1 or more wives (context: Royal marriages in Ancient Egypt, usually between siblings) | Gk adelphi ('brothers') + -gamus ('marriage') 戮 |
Adventitious | occurring as a result of an external factor or by chance, rather than by design or inherent nature; coming from outside, not native | L adventicious (coming to us from abroad") |
Agelast | someone who never laughs; a humourless person | Mid Fr agélastos ('not laughing') |
Agersia | not growing old in appearance | Gk a ('not') + geras ('age') |
Agnomen | an epithet; an appellation appended to a name (eg, Rufus the Indolent) | Anc Rome a 4th name occasionally bestowed on a citizen in honour of some achievement |
Agnosy | ignorance esp universal ignorance; unenlightened; bereft of spiritual understanding or insight | Gk agnōsia ('ignorance') |
Aleatory | something dependent on the throw of dice or on chance; random; (esp in indurance) | L alea a kind of dice game |
Amanuensis | Iiterary or artistic assistant, in particular one who takes dictation or copies manuscripts | L a manu + -ensis ('slave at handwriting') + 'belonging to') |
Ambivert | someone who a balance of extrovert & introvert features in their personality | L ambi ('on both sides') + vertere ('to turn') |
Aneabil | unmarried; single | origin unknown |
Anecdotage | someone with a tendency to be garrulous; anecdotes collectively | Gk anekdota ('unpublished') + -age |
Anemocracy | government by the wind or by whim | Gk anemo ('wind') + -cracy ('rule') |
Anhedonia | inability to feel pleasure in normally pleasurable activities | Fr anhédonia+ ('without pleasure') |
Animadvert | criticise or censure; speak out against | L animadvert-ere ('to notice or remark on a subject') |
Antanaclasis | a literary trope whereby a single word is repeated, but in 2 different senses (for effect, a common form of punning) | Gk antanáklasis ('reflection'; 'bending back') |
Antelucan | pre-dawn | L ante ('before') + luc ('light') |
Antemundane | existing before the creation of the world | L ante ('before') + Fr mondain ('of this world') |
Antipudic | covering one's private parts | anti + L pudendum ('genitals'; shame') |
Apodysophilia | feverish desire to undress (a form of exhibitionism) | origin unknown |
Appurtenance | accessory associated with particular lifestyle, eg, luxury | OFr from L appertinere ("belong to") |
Aptronym§ | the name of a person which neatly matches or is amusingly appropriate to their occupation or character (eg, possessor of the highest-ever recorded IQ, Marilyn vos Savant; a Russian hurdler by the name of Marina Stepanova) | neologism, purportedly coined by US columnist Franklin P Adams |
Archimage | great magician, wizard or enchanter 慄♂️ | New Latin from Late Gk archimagus |
Aristarch | a severe critic | after Aristarchus of Samothrace, a Greek grammarian, (2nd BC) |
§ the concept of aptronym gives legs to the theory of nominative determinism which hypotheses that people tend to gravitate towards jobs that fit their surname, eg, a BBC weather presenter with the name Sara Blizzard ️ | |
ABACTOR (Image: American Fine Art)
ADELPHOGAMY
ARISTARCH: Aristarchus of Samos