”S” Words from Left Field II: Redux. A Supplement to the Logolept’s Diet

Posted on by demonymonic
Biographical, Creative Writing, Politics, Popular Culture, Regional History, Society & Culture

<Word meaning & root formation>

Sacerdotophrenia: clerical stagefright [It. Sp. Por. sacerdote (“priest”) + –phrēn (“diaphragm”; “mind”)]

Sacerdotophrenia

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]

Sermocination (photo: David Henry)

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”]

Sicarian (image: EBay)

Sillograph: writer of satires [from the book Gk. Sílloi by Timon of Phlius, (flourished ca.280 BC)+‎ -graphe]

Sillograph (Timon)

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]

Staurophobia: staurophobe-in-chief

Stegophile: someone whose pastime is climbing tall buildings [Gk. stegos (“roof”) + -philos]

Stegophile (source: wattpad.com)

Stentorphonic: speaking very loudly [from Stentōr, a Greek herald in the Trojan War (Homer’s Iliad)]

Stentorphonic (image: tumblr.com)

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

Posted on by demonymonic
Adult education, Creative Writing, Literary & Linguistics, Media & Communications, Popular Culture, Society & Culture
<Word origin and root formation>

Quadrimum: best or oldest wine; four-year-old wine [from L. quad (“four”) + -mus]

Quadrimum

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!]

<Word origin and root formation>

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]

Rasorial

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]

Remontado

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]

Rodomontade

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

Posted on by demonymonic
Ancient history, Creative Writing, Leisure activities, Literary & Linguistics, Memorabilia, Popular Culture, Regional History

<word meaning & root formation>

Pachycephalic: thick-sculled; stupid [from Gk. pakhús (“thick”) + –cephalic (“head”)]

Pachycephalic

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]

Palladian: Pallas Athena

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”)]

Pancratic Credit: Midjourney for the Greek Reporter

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”)]

Parorexia (photo: taste.com.au)

Passepartout: a master key; a safe conduct or passport (from Fr. lit. (“passes everywhere”)] 🔑

Passepartout (fictional character)

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”)]

Psephologist (credit: the Irish News)

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

Posted on by demonymonic
Ancient history, Creative Writing, Literary & Linguistics, Media & Communications, Society & Culture, World history,

<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”)]

Naupathia (photo: oceanservice.noaa.gov)

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”)]

Nikhedonia: Nike on a high

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)]

The Noyades of Nantes (image source: Selbymay (CC BY— SA) WHE)

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)

Nycterent (image: Steam)

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”)]

Obsidional (source: Medieval art by Marilyn Stokstad)

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)]

Ollapod (source: Wellcome Collection (CC))

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”)]

Onomasticon – Eusebius

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