Dial “M”

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”)]

”L”’s bells

“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]

Kafkaesque “K’s”

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]

”J”-curve 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”)