Little known english words

Set · Post by **Set** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 5:21 pm

Your nerdiness is showing.

I've got a little game for ye. Post one word, an english word, that pretty much no one has ever heard of before along with its definition. An actual word mind you, not a made up one. I'll start.

loquacious, adj.
Very talkative.

outwarddoodles · Post by **outwarddoodles** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 5:39 pm

Actually, I've heard that one before; it was on my vaocabulary test last year in school, I believe. That or I heard it on Dictionary.com.

fatidic:
of, relating to, or characterized by prophecy.

Scott Gardener · Post by **Scott Gardener** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:46 pm

efficacy- effectiveness of a drug. This term is unrelated to its strength (how many milligrams it takes to bring an effect) or its safety or side-effect profile. It's a statement of how effective the drug is at doing what it's intended. An efficacious antihypertensive will lower blood pressure a lot.

Hearth · Post by **Hearth** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:44 am

Soar
(Don't know if it's really unused, but still) Glide high up.

vrikasatma · Post by **vrikasatma** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 4:31 am

Spondulicks:
Money, cash.

I sub to A.Word.A.Day, I got a whole file folder of this stuff...

Hearth · Post by **Hearth** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:28 am

Brunt.
I only wish I'd know what this means....

Renorei · Post by **Renorei** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:56 am

A ton of people have heard this one, but many don't know the actual definition...which makes it all the more delightful to call them this in an insulting way and they simply have no idea.

Dingleberry
fecal matter stuck in small round clumps to the hair or fur around the anus

Fenrir · Post by **Fenrir** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:58 am

I was playing bolderdash rescently and came across this word

GRAPHOLAGNIA n: fascination with observing porn

Set · Post by **Set** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 1:55 pm

resplendent, adj.
Brightly glowing with light or color

Renorei · Post by **Renorei** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:19 pm

Set wrote:resplendent, adj.
Brightly glowing with light or color

Hey! That word was used in Kate and Leopold, and I never knew what it meant before now.

vrikasatma · Post by **vrikasatma** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 4:14 pm

I just picked up "Charlie & the Great Glass Elevator"...the sequel to "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory"...he had a word in there, <i>"lixivated."</i> As in, "We're all going to be lixivated!"

I tried looking it up and apparently it's one of Roald Dahl's nonsense made-up words that either doesn't have a definition per se or only he knew what it meant...and the definition died with him...

Kzinistzerg · Post by **Kzinistzerg** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 4:49 pm

nocent- harmful or bad (recall innocent?)

Ink · Post by **Ink** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:35 pm

[spoiler]Eightball
3.5 grams of cocaine.

*Shrugs* The average person never understands this when me and my friends start making bad jokes.[/spoiler]

Fizgig
(fiz'-gig) n. 1: a fishgig. 2: a giddy, flirting girl. 3: a kind of firework, made of damp powder, which gives a hissing or fizzing noise when ignited.

Set · Post by **Set** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:03 pm

Ever wonder where the band Evanescence got their name from? Well...

evanesce, v.
To dissipate or disappear like vapor

Silverclaw · Post by **Silverclaw** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 12:17 am

Lament
an expression of grief or sorrow: an expression of regret or disappointment: music poetry a song or poem of mourning

Melancholy
feeling or making somebody feel a thoughtful or gentle sadness: thoughtful or gentle sadness: gloomy character

I like 'em

Herpscott · Post by **Herpscott** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:11 pm

Prevaricate

def: (v) to not be honest or lead one away from truth by being ambiguous

vrikasatma · Post by **vrikasatma** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 10:59 pm

parrhesia (puh-REEZ-i-uh) noun

1. Boldness of speech.
2. The practice of asking forgiveness before speaking in this manner.

[From New Latin, from Greek, from para- (beyond) + rhesis (speech).]

Syzygy · Post by **Syzygy** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 4:26 pm

Stratagem
A military maneuver designed to deceive or surprise an enemy.

Obloquy
Strong and public condemnation.

Scott Gardener · Post by **Scott Gardener** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 7:32 pm

Obstipation: severe constipation, bad enough to warrant hospitalization

Kzinistzerg · Post by **Kzinistzerg** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 8:14 pm

what a wonderful topic...

anterior: front end

Syzygy · Post by **Syzygy** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 2:46 pm

Discombobulate:
To throw into a state of confusion.

Kzinistzerg · Post by **Kzinistzerg** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:29 pm

Nice name. astronomy!

convoluted:

complex, involved

Scott Gardener · Post by **Scott Gardener** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 9:12 pm

I use a number of these words! (Well, "anterior," obviously, since it's a medical term. But I also use "convoluted," and not just at work.)

egregious: (adjective) conspicuous, in a negative sense. It used to be more complimentary, implying sophistication.

vrikasatma · Post by **vrikasatma** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 10:39 pm

Come on, people, I know ALL these words! You can do better than that!

cark (kark) verb tr., intr.

To worry.

noun

A worry or care.

[From Middle English carken (to load or burden), from Norman French
carquier, from Latin carricare. Ultimately from Indo-European root
kers- (to run) that's also the source of car, career, carpenter, occur,
discharge, and caricature. Why caricature? Because a caricature
is a loaded or distorted picture of someone.]

"Crows in hundreds carking desolately from the blasted white skeletons
of dead trees."
Colleen McCullough; The Thorn Birds; HarperCollins Publishers; 1977.

Scott Gardener · Post by **Scott Gardener** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 11:53 pm

Oh, here's one you might not have heard of. "Lycanthrope." From "lykos," Greek for... Oh, wait. Never mind.