"When..there is no possibility of catching a salmon except by that engine of death, the ‘Black Doctor’—the three big hooks tied back to back and dragged along the floor of a pool." – Westminster Gazette, Oct. 22, 1909
Haha! Yes, bilby, I cannot comment, for fear of what might happen to Wordie. (Never invite me over, John, for safety's sake— All would be well, until I'm gnawing on the cables or something)
The name of a character in a children's book of the same name by Heinrich Hoffmann (1809-1894), used attrib. to designate a person with long, thick, and unkempthair. Hence Struwwelpeterdom (of hair): the condition of being thick and untidy. Cf. synonymous shockheaded Peter.
This is me on mornings after particularly tumbly sleeps.
Logos, I agree that we should be able to express our distaste for a word — but, in keeping with the spirit of Wordie, it's reasonable to expect we do this tactfully, without stooping to personal insults. (And, while I can't speak for the lists, it's worth noting that the bulk of these comments have nothing to do with 42.)
I admire this word's ability to pass for something very serious and not at all to do with ostriches: "Did you enjoy the play?" – "Why, it was positively struthious!"
Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Æsop (Aesop), a semi-legendary Greek fabulist of the sixth century B.C.;
In relation to Russian and (Soviet) Communist literature: using a style or language that has hidden or ambiguous meaning, esp. as a device to disguise dissidentpolitical writing in allegorical form and so avoid official censorship.
A protein mixture obtained from the jellyfishÆquorea æquorea that luminesces with a blue light in the presence of calciumions, and is used for detecting these ions in living tissue.
Change of electrical, optical, or other physical qualities consequent upon change of position, as when the refractive property of a transparent body is not the same in all directions (fr. Greek for 'changeful' + 'turning'); anistrophy. The opposite of isotropy.
A pneumaticinstrument or toy, illustrating the force with which vapor generated by heat in a closed vessel rushes out by a narrow aperture. (It is said to have been invented by Hero of Alexandria, and has had many forms and applications, but is now arranged to illustrate the reaction of the air upon the issuing stream of steam, producing circular motion.)
(French æolipyle, fr. Latin Æoli pylæ, the doorway of Æolus, god of wind; the vapor bursting from an orifice like the winds from the opened door of the cave of Æolus.)
adj., Of Æolus, the mythic god of the winds; hence of, produced by, or borne on the wind, or by currents of air; aerial; in Geology: of formations produced or deposited by the action of wind.
Æolian harp: a stringed instrument adapted to produce musical sounds on exposure to a current of air.
Obs. n., River; a running body of water (OE. eá, é, ǽ; cognate with Latin aqua, OFris. â, ê, OS./OHG. aha, Goth. ahwa).
Obs. n., Law, especially the law of nature, or of God (OE. æ, æw); hence, legal custom, rite, marriage — and eaubruche (OE. æ + bruche, a breaking), adultery.
The thought of asking only "Are you animal, vegetable, or mineral?" tickles me greatly. I hope that someone, somewhere, considers these his all-governing categories.
Yesyes, that's the one. (It was a little before I ever watched the news, so this is the first I've heard of it, but I'd imagine most people would find the expatiation interesting.)
I hate this, in all forms. I have a lot of trouble with the juicy byproducts of anything, really (which leads to having to violently shake yogurts and things before opening will be considered).
My God, c_b! When I saw that earlier, I thought it was a metaphorical Emmy! (Can you blame me, really, this being Wordie, Land of Metaphors?) You are amazing.
Also, your name always puts this little piece of song in my head, whether or not it's intentional:
"So, with the courage of a clown, or a cur,
Or a kite, jerking tight at its tether,
In her dun-brown gown of fur, and a jerking of swan's-down and leather,
Bear would sway on her hind legs; the organ would grind dregs of song, for the pleasure
Of the children, who'd shriek, throwing coins at her feet, then recoiling in terror"
I just ran into this word in reference to flying, in this documentary: a pilot chooses to board a plane that meets the one-in-a-billion chance of total hydrolic failure, and manages to land it, against odds that no one on board would survive. The guy's very well-spoken, and goes into a good amount of detail — it's an unbelievable story, and a comforting reminder of just how capable these people are.
Oh meetinger; I love you in spite of your pedestrian definition: A person who attends a meeting or meetings; one who attends religious (esp. Nonconformist) services or meetings; a member of a Nonconformist congregation. (Recorded earliest in the compound night-meetinger.)
French calepin, ad. from Italian calepino, 'dictionary, polyglot,' from the cognomen of the Augustine friar, Ambrosio Calepino, of Calepio in Italy, the author of a famous Latin Dictionary, first published in 1502, which in its many editions was the Latin Dictionary of the 16th century, and the foundation of the later work of Forcellini.
Apparently from Callicrates, name of a Greek artist celebrated for his minuteivorycarvings of ants and other small animals (Pliny N.H. VII. xxi. §21, ‘Callicrates ex ebore formicas et alia tam parva fecit animalia ut partes eorum a ceteris cerni non possent’).
It's strange seeing this word celebrated — unlike pasticcio, I've never seen pastiche as a happy synonym for parody, pasquinade, motley, medley, potpourri, etc., and WeirdNet's last definition is just dead wrong — pastiche as an adjective implies, to me, the highly derogatory "insipid, derivative, counterfeit.." — Pasticheur is a snooty term for a derivative artist or writer (The word screams "inferiority!"); it's a nasty accusation, not an innocuous appellation. Like the creative equivalent of calling someone a slut.
Of course, this is only my impression, and you'll use the word however you damn well please, but I hope this serves as at least a marginally useful description of what kind of picture the word may paint?
OED gives a slightly different picture, from Billings' National Medical Dictionary, 1890: "Aboulomania: a form of insanity characterized by inability to exert the will." Synonymous with aboulia.
Oh, certainly! And you do have marmiton (from French, Marmite + -oon): 'An assistant to a chef or cook; a kitchen servant doing menial work, a scullion.'
(Or most of them. I'm actually on a fantastic sleeping medication that's had the wonderful and completely unexpected side-effect of letting me remember my dreams, for the past few months.)
But then it would post things like "Today I am a starfish. I speak with paint. Must we fish me?" (We're already halfway there when I browse Wordie while especially sleepy.)
And— Obs., A blue pigment consisting of the scum collected from the vat in dyeing with woad or indigo. Also floree; fr. French florée, var. of fleurée in same sense, fr. fleur (flower).
"Smalte or florrey being tempered in a shell with gumme water maketh a blewe." – The Art of Limming, 1573
My apologies to bilby for converting this list from "pied beginnings" into something else entirely and unintentionally rendering his comment nonsensical. It used to make sense; I promise.
n., Thoughts or scraps of information about all or many kinds of things, esp. (a collection of) notes, jottings, or short pieces of writing on various subjects.
Obs. Sc. A rippier; one who brings fish from the sea-coast to market in the inland country (fr. French chasse-marée; chasser, 'to drive in haste' + marée, 'tide, fresh fish').
This word is so pleasing — the Old English name for my birthmonth, July (OE. æftera, second + Líða, mild, serene; name of the two months June and July).
This may make you feel better, sarra — my first addition to this list is the most embarrassing: the correct spelling of "seperate" didn't dawn on me until well, well into high school. I still have no idea how, in years of papers, emails and IM conversations, not one person noticed or cared enough to correct me. Yeeearrsss.
A California market fish, "Sebastichthys serriceps, known as the 'Tree-fish,' an appellation originating with the Portuguese... and without obvious application." (G. Goode, American Fishes, 1888)
Any of several ornamental freshwaterfishes of the genus Xiphophorus (family Poeciliidae), native to Mexico and Central America, esp. Xiphophorus maculatus.
Any of various fishes with brilliant colours or markings, including the wrasse (cuckoofish), Labrus mixtus, and the peacock bass, Cichla ocellaris; (also) any of various fishes with conspicuous fan-shaped fins or tails, including the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, and tropical fishes of the genus Pterois (family Scorpaenidae).
The most basic, I think, might be to separate words and phrases — Beyond that, what do you think of when you're looking for a word you've saved? Is it the part of speech, the thing it applies to, the way that you found it..? Physically organizing things to match the way I've already subconsciously ordered them has always gone well (list-making is a bit more complicated, but it's similar in effect to "intuitive tagging"). If you're looking to find things more quickly, that might be something to think about. :)
Maori. A tall New Zealand foresttree, Laurelia novæ-zelandiae (family Monimiaceae), which has glossy aromatic leaves and small racemes of tiny yellowish flowers, and is noted for having plank buttresses at its base. Also: the tough pale brown wood of this tree, used for boatbuilding and furniture.
South African evergreenshrub of the genus Gardenia, esp. Gardenia thunbergia, belonging to the family Rubiaceæ and bearing large, fragrant, white or yellow flowers.
"Logopoeia, 'the dance of the intellect among words,' that is to say, it employs words not only for their direct meaning, but it takes count in a special way of habits of usage, of the context we expect to find with the word... It holds the æsthetic content which is peculiarly the domain of verbal manifestation and can not possibly be contained in plastic or in music." — Ezra Loomis Pound, NY Herald-Tribune, January 20th, 1929
Also sivathere; a fossilruminant of great size, with four horns, discovered in the Siwalik or Sub-Himalayan hills in Northern India, believed to've resembled an immense Gnu or Antelope. Latin, from Siva/Shiva (the Hindu god) + Greek for "wild beast."
Wrinkled; full of wrinkles or small folds; corrugated, furrowed — Of the skin, face, etc. (very common ca. 1530-1720); Of fruit (dried or stored up); Shrunken, shrivelled, esp. by heat; Pleated or gathered in small folds.
Allusively: the Fall of Man or the sin of Adam as resulting in the blessedness of the Redemption. Frequently, in transferred sense: an apparent error or tragedy which has happy consequences.
Looks like Mia at least got to hivemind on her considerable adding-spree. :) But surely "hivemind of Wordie" or "Wordie hivemind" wouldn't be out of place on a Favorite Things or meta list of some sort, though unfortunately I have neither!
I've had a sort of longing for Norway since seeing a few snapshots taken from someone's apartment window; it was an understated little town, but you could see the sea, and everything was so beautiful.
Oh yes. Perhaps "captial" (the original typo) should be the word for fault-finding capital letters. (Just did it again! I think my fingers have a thing for a-p-t.)
Characterized by spasmatic displays of ancient sculptural artistry in the embossing, chasing, and relief-work, etc. of ivory and metals. (Fr. toreutics, the aforementioned ancient art.)
Of those seeking newer and more efficient ways to act variously as freakishly productive and hopelessly frazzled wonderloons and worry their loved ones. Cf. manic-regressive.
Oho, yes. One compound ending in fracteur (looked lithofracteur up; the root is Latin fractor, 'breaker,' shared with fracture). It still makes no sense as a noun here: protecting breakage from damp? Protecting crack from damp? Splinter? The euphonic substitution of a diphthong for a simple vowel, owing to the influence of a following consonant? *dizzied*
"The Train-oyl runs into the Warehouse into a Vatt, whereout they fill it into Cardels or Vessels..A Cardel or Hogshead holds 64 Gallons." (1694Acc. Sev. Late Voy., 1711 ed.)
"The Dutch..took 57,590 whales, yielding 3,105,596 quardeelen of oil..A quardeel of oil contains..from 77 to 90 imperial standard gallons." (1857Polar Seas & Regions, ed. 20)
"Fracteur" is nowhere in the online OED — could it be related to fractable, "A term used, in the middle ages, for the crest table or coping running up and down the gables of a building?" It's the only thing that suggests shelter; everything else, predictably, relates only to fracture.
A perennialherbaceous plant of the genus Vriesia (family Bromeliaceæ), native to South or Central America and bearing rosettes of linear leaves and spikes of yellow, red, or white flowers. From the name of W. H. de Vriese (1806-62), Dutch botanist.
Apparently from Dutch poppekak, literally "doll's excrement," as in zo fijn als gemalen poppekak, "as fine as powdered doll's excrement" (showing excessive religious zeal, etc.).
Obs. A small vessel* resembling a pink — a small sailing vessel, usually having a narrow stern; specifically (a) a flat-bottomed boat with bulging sides, used for coasting and fishing; (b) a small warship in which the stern broadens out at the level of the upper deck to accommodate quarter guns, used esp. in the Danish navy. — in construction.
*Snow, as in, a small sailing-vessel resembling a brig, carrying a main and fore mast and a supplementary trysail mast close behind the mainmast; formerly employed as a warship.
A very large citrusfruit (also called shaddock), the fruit of Citrus maxima, which has a thick, loose rind and coarse, dry pulp, and is an ancestor of the grapefruit; Also: a grapefruit. Also: any of the trees producing these fruits.
Originally, in Middle English, Old French, Breton, Welsh, Cornish: elephant. The refashioning of oliphant after Lat. elephantum seems to have taken place earlier in England than in France, the French forms with el- being cited only from the 15th century.
S. Afr. n., A femaleemployer; also as a term of respect used by a subordinate to address a woman in authority. (Female equivalent of Dutch baas, from which we get boss.)
adj., Of a place: overgrown with nettles; Suggestive of nettles or their flavor, etc.; Of a person: irritable.
(Nettle + -y. Dutch netelig, 'tricky, ticklish, delicate,' could perhaps be a parallel formation, but is not recorded in the literal sense, and many etymologists connect it instead with Middle Dutch and Middle Low German nīten, 'to hit, push.')
S. Afr. colloq. Chiefly (as interrogative particle): "isn't that so?" Also, in recent use, for emphasis without interrogative implication. Comparable to "no?"
Also (obs.), an old Dutch and (in later use) South African dry measure of capacity, varying in amount but usually equivalent to about three bushels (approx. 109 litres).
Well, yes, but I can't imagine caring enough about a bag of grapes to carry them all the way (and, if you drove, it's downright silly to assume you'd bring them inside).
Used by John Ruskin — "As mere accidental stays and impediments acting not as wealth, but (for we ought to have a correspondent term) as 'illth' " — and later, such as in George Bernard Shaw's Fabian essays in Socialism, as the reverse of wealth in the sense of "well-being": ill-being.
The world; the earth as a middle region between heaven and hell; (also) the inhabitants or things of the world, esp. as opposed to those of heaven; worldly things as opposed to divine or spiritual things.
The right of the king or the lord of a port to purchase part of a merchant's merchandise at the same price the merchant paid for it. In modern use, understood as: a tax or toll levied on merchants.
Hence, also lovecopfree: exempt from paying lovecop.
Dung, excrement, filth; evil, wickedness, mischief; an evil thing, an evil deed; an evil person (from all over the place: Old Frisian qu�?d, excrement; West Frisian kwead, wicked; Middle Dutch quaet, evil; Middle Low German qu�?t, evil, filth..).
OED says: Adapted from med.L. hon�?rific�?bilitūdinit�?s , a grandiose extension of hon�?rific�?bilitūdo, 'honorableness,' from hon�?rific�?bilis, 'honorable.' The L. abl. pl. hon�?rific�?bilitūdinit�?tibus has been cited as a typical long word, as well as hon�?rific�?bilitūdinit�?te before it, by Dante (De Vulgari Eloquentia II).
OED says "Apparently so called on account of the shape of the spoon, although this is uncertain and disputed. Such spoons usually had a hooked stem with a front boss, and a relief image on the surface of the bowl appropriate to the occasion being celebrated."
For comparison, apostle spoon is listed — "old-fashioned silver spoons, the handles of which ended in figures of the Apostles; the usual present of sponsors at baptisms."
Strangely, an old term for "banana." There was "a very old European variety of apple having yellow fruit, borne on a small tree" called the same, but Dutch paradijsappel, French poume de paradis and Spanish mançana del paraíso all meant "banana."
v.i., Of a couple: to sit up together at night as a recognized part of courtship — couples would sit together by candlelight for a period of time determined by the length of a burning candle provided by the courted woman's family. An Afrikaner (originally Dutch) courtship custom practiced in the province of North-Holland in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, and current in South Africa well into the 20th.
Literally, "oil cake" — a small ball-shaped cake made of sweetened dough and traditionally fried in lard (similar to a doughnut), originating in Dutch cookery and introduced to America by Dutch settlers in New York.
A type of decorative silver ladle made to commemorate a wedding, christening, or funeral among people of Dutch origin living in the Hudson river area of the United States.
A courteous form of address to a married Dutch or Afrikaans woman; madam, mistress, milady. Also, a title given to a married Dutch or Afrikaans woman, esp. a teacher.
Also witblitz; home-brewed brandy, a strong and colourless raw spirit. (Irregular Afrikaans, fr. Dutch wit white + German blitz lightning — white lightning!)
Obs. A popular corruption or perversion of the Dutch Hoogmogendheiden, 'High Mightinesses,' title of States-General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. (Hence, any grandee or high and mighty person: used humorously or contemptuously of a person in power or who arrogates or affects authority, or a Dutchman of this sort.)
An obsolete game with a ball or bowl, prohibited in many successive statutes in the 15th-16th centuries. From 16th c. Dutch lexicographers and descriptions, it appears that the bowl used in the game had to be driven by a spade- or chisel-shaped implement, the klos-beytel, through a hoop or ring, as in croquet.
A name given by the Dutch settlers to a large Antelope (A. leucophæa) in South Africa for the effect produced by the animal's black hide showing through its ashy-grey hair. (From blaauw blue + bok buck, he-goat.) Also blue-buck.
As a polite or respectful form of address to a Dutchman or an Afrikaner: sir, mister (Mr). Also used as a title or sometimes substituted for the name of the man or the pronoun that would stand for this. (In Brit. use, often humorous or ironic.)
A Dutchman, an Afrikaner; esp. one who is a gentleman. Occas. collectively: the Dutch, the Afrikaners.
*Lupulin = Small shining grains of a yellowish colour found under the scales of the calyx of the hop; The bitter aromatic principle contained in the hop, also called lupulite.
The opeidoscope consists of a tube closed at one end by a taught membrane with a small mirror attached to its center, which vibrates in response to sound entering the tube at the open end, thereby causing a spot of light reflected by the mirror on to a screen to vibrate with varying amplitude and frequency according to the intensity and frequency of the sound.
A member of the sect founded by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (subsequently known as the Osho-Rajneesh movement, which combines elements of various religious traditions with Western philosophy and a countercultural critique of traditional morality.
Sunday Herald (Chicago), 1986 — "Informants have accused the Rajneeshees of spiking the salad bars of restaurants in The Dalles with salmonella-causing bacteria."
Oh, you! Not entirely — Probably < early Scandinavian (cf. Icelandic nirfill miser (17th c.), Norwegian regional nørle small conceited person, nurvil small thick-set person, Swedish regional nyrvil naughty boy, changeling), app. < the Scandinavian base of Norwegian regional nurv small thick-set person (of uncertain origin) + the Scandinavian base of Norwegian regional -le suffix.
I'm sure Ballyhooly is lovely! There are two "apparently"s in there. And the entry is marked as "DRAFT ENTRY June 2008," for whatever that's worth.
But yes, as recently as 2002 — "It was pandemonium. It was Donnybrook Fair. It was all ballyhooly let loose." (J. O'Neill, At Swim, Two Boys), and as early as 1837 — "By Jasus! he gave him Ballyhooly, the d—d insolent son of a sign-painter!" (Tait's Magazine)
Oh! In regard to your Belistful list: the be- prefix's entry I just ran across in the online OED has hundreds of words in — they let subscribers email non-subsribers with links to let them access an entry for three days; I immediately thought to ask the owner of that list if they'd like one to be-'s entry! (You can email me at <snipsnipsnip> if you'd rather not post yours here.)
A fishpond; or, a stone basin for draining water used in Mass, found chiefly in Roman Catholic churches (including some pre-Reformation churches now used for Protestant worship).
Obs. trans. v., To embody in bread. (In Eucharistic theory, impanation is a local presence or inclusion of the body of Christ in the bread after consecration.)
The OED says: "Apparently from Ballyhooly (Irish Baile �?tha hÚlla), the name of a village in County Cork, Ireland, apparently formerly notorious for faction fighting, although this may reflect a later rationalization of the word."
Mina; a monetary unit formerly used in Greece and the Middle East, equivalent to the weight of one mina in silver. (Fr. classical Latin mina, fr. ancient Greek mna.)
A new dictionary of the terms ancient and modern of the canting crew, a. 1700 — "a Doctor, Surgeon, or Apothecary, or any one that cures a Clap or the Pox."
Comments by she
Show previous 200 comments...
she commented on the word nudibranch
O, nudibranchs! Dream-spun mollusks!
You look like flowers , and forests! And psychedelic bonnets! Like hippopotamus gardens, and—and this ! With sproingy things!
You lay egg-spirals. You masquerade as the world's teensiest whales! I would build for us a house with walls made out of fishtanks..!
But I have garden slugs. :<
August 22, 2008
she commented on the word black stripe
A disease of the tomato plant, produced by the fungus Alternaria solani.
August 22, 2008
she commented on the word black strap
An inferior kind of port wine; also, a mixture of rum and treacle taken as a beverage.
August 22, 2008
she commented on the word black rent
n., Blackmail; an illegal tribute.
August 22, 2008
she commented on the word black paternoster
n., A night-spell recited to conjure up evil spirits or devils. See paternoster.
August 22, 2008
she commented on the word black neb
Formerly (Scottish, obs.): a person charged with democratic sympathies at the time of the French Revolution.
August 22, 2008
she commented on the word black doctor
"When..there is no possibility of catching a salmon except by that engine of death, the ‘Black Doctor’—the three big hooks tied back to back and dragged along the floor of a pool." – Westminster Gazette, Oct. 22, 1909
August 22, 2008
she commented on the word 42
Haha! Yes, bilby, I cannot comment, for fear of what might happen to Wordie. (Never invite me over, John, for safety's sake— All would be well, until I'm gnawing on the cables or something)
August 22, 2008
she commented on the word testicond
adj., Having the testes concealed within the body, as members of the order Cetacea.
August 21, 2008
she commented on the word 42
I've ruined it now, but:
August 21, 2008
she commented on the word golilla
Obs. n., A kind of starched collar worn in Spain. Spanish golilla (French golille), dim. of gola, throat (fr. Latin gula).
August 21, 2008
she commented on the word doolally tap
Somewhat of a cousin of cabin fever, from Deolali, a town in India, and Sanskrit tapa, 'heat or torment.' See World Wide Words.
August 21, 2008
she commented on the word struwwelpeter
The name of a character in a children's book of the same name by Heinrich Hoffmann (1809-1894), used attrib. to designate a person with long, thick, and unkempt hair. Hence Struwwelpeterdom (of hair): the condition of being thick and untidy. Cf. synonymous shockheaded Peter.
This is me on mornings after particularly tumbly sleeps.
August 21, 2008
she commented on the word snickersnee
They must be very cute knife-fights.
August 21, 2008
she commented on the word 42
Logos, I agree that we should be able to express our distaste for a word — but, in keeping with the spirit of Wordie, it's reasonable to expect we do this tactfully, without stooping to personal insults. (And, while I can't speak for the lists, it's worth noting that the bulk of these comments have nothing to do with 42.)
August 21, 2008
she commented on the word struthious
I admire this word's ability to pass for something very serious and not at all to do with ostriches: "Did you enjoy the play?" – "Why, it was positively struthious!"
(Also: struthious truthiness? Struthiness.)
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word æsc
See Wikipedia.
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word Æsopic
Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Æsop (Aesop), a semi-legendary Greek fabulist of the sixth century B.C.;
In relation to Russian and (Soviet) Communist literature: using a style or language that has hidden or ambiguous meaning, esp. as a device to disguise dissident political writing in allegorical form and so avoid official censorship.
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word Æsculapius
The Roman god of medicine; hence, figuratively: a physician.
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word æschynomenous
adj., Of plants: sensitive (fr. Greek for 'ashamed, bashful').
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word æquorin
A protein mixture obtained from the jellyfish Æquorea æquorea that luminesces with a blue light in the presence of calcium ions, and is used for detecting these ions in living tissue.
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word æquoreal
adj., Marine, oceanic (fr. Latin æquore-us, fr. æquor, sea).
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word Æpyornis
A genus of extinct gigantic struthious birds known from remains discovered in Madagascar; elephant birds.
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word æolotropy
Change of electrical, optical, or other physical qualities consequent upon change of position, as when the refractive property of a transparent body is not the same in all directions (fr. Greek for 'changeful' + 'turning'); anistrophy. The opposite of isotropy.
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word æolist
A pretender to inspiration or spiritual regeneration (from Latin Æolus, god of winds). J. Swift, 1704 – "The learned Æolists maintain the original cause of all things to be wind."
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word æolipyle
A pneumatic instrument or toy, illustrating the force with which vapor generated by heat in a closed vessel rushes out by a narrow aperture. (It is said to have been invented by Hero of Alexandria, and has had many forms and applications, but is now arranged to illustrate the reaction of the air upon the issuing stream of steam, producing circular motion.)
(French æolipyle, fr. Latin Æoli pylæ, the doorway of Æolus, god of wind; the vapor bursting from an orifice like the winds from the opened door of the cave of Æolus.)
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word Æolian
adj., Of Æolus, the mythic god of the winds; hence of, produced by, or borne on the wind, or by currents of air; aerial; in Geology: of formations produced or deposited by the action of wind.
Æolian harp: a stringed instrument adapted to produce musical sounds on exposure to a current of air.
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word Æluroid
adj., Belonging to, or having the characters of, the division Æluroidea of Carnivora, comprising the feline and allied families;
n., An animal of this division.
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word ægrotant
n., A sick person, an invalid. See æger.
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word ægophony
n., A tremulous resonance of the voice, like the bleating of a kid, occurring in cases of pleurisy.
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word ægithognathous
adj., Having a formation of palate/jaw characteristic of the family Ægithognathæ (perching birds, woodpeckers, swifts).
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word ægis
See aegis.
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word æger
Latin, "sick" (prev. used at universities in excusing absence on account of illness; hence, a note certifying that a student is 'æger,' or sick).
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word ægæde
Obs. n., Luxury (adapt. Old Norse á-gæti excellence, glory).
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word ecphore
v., To evoke or revive (an emotion, a memory, or the like) by means of a stimulus.
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word æ
Obs. n., River; a running body of water (OE. eá, é, ǽ; cognate with Latin aqua, OFris. â, ê, OS./OHG. aha, Goth. ahwa).
Obs. n., Law, especially the law of nature, or of God (OE. æ, æw); hence, legal custom, rite, marriage — and eaubruche (OE. æ + bruche, a breaking), adultery.
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word catshit
Cf. batshit, apeshit. Specifically useful for feline or feline-induced crazies? and perhaps by those with some form of the name Katherine.
Have: returned from matrimonial weekend shindig; a tummyache.
August 19, 2008
she commented on the word naumachia
I feel all validated.
August 15, 2008
she commented on the word overmorrow
Obs. adv./adj., On, of, or relating to the day after tomorrow. Cf. nudiustertian.
August 15, 2008
she commented on the word nudiustertian
Ooh, oh! Overmorrow.
August 15, 2008
she commented on the word cecutient
Obs. adj., Partially blind, dim-sighted (fr. Latin cæcūtient-, pr. ppl. stem of cæcūtīre, to be blind, fr. cæcus, blind).
August 14, 2008
she commented on the word glow-worm symphony of delightedness
See bilby on bumptious.
August 14, 2008
she commented on the word spasmglow
Haha—here; I won't unseat you.
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word naughtical
Salacious and seafaring?
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word bitter-sweeting
The bittersweet apple.
Romeo and Juliet: "Thy wit is a very Bitter-sweeting, It is a most sharpe sawce."
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word spasmglow
What! Now, who would ghost this word?
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word cumble
Obs. n., Heap, accumulation (French comble, fr. Latin cumul-um, heap, heap over and above a measure, summit, apex, etc.);
Obs. v., To oppress, deprive of power; esp. to stiffen or benumb (acumble) with cold (French comble-r, to load, fr. Latin cumul�?re). Cf. cumber.
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word cum-twang
'An obsolete term of contempt.'
Citation in the OED: "Those graybeard huddle-duddles and crusty cum-twangs were stroke with such stinging remorse." – Thomas Nashe, Lenten Stuffe, 1599
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word cumsloosh
I suppose it was too much to hope this would be in the OED. However, it lead me to cum-twang!
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word wet bread
Certainly!
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word fusc
As in "for fusc's sake," and "fuscing obfuscers.." See obfuscate.
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word wrive
Obs. v., To rub.
From MDu. wrîven (Du. and Flem. wrijven; MLG. and LG. wrîven, wrîfen; WFris. wriuwie, NFris. wriwe) = OHG. rîban (MHG. rîben, G. reiben).
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word writhled
Obs. adj., Of persons, the skin, etc.: Wrinkled; shrivelled, withered.
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word biwrixle
Bi- (be-) + wrixle.
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word wrixle
Obs. v., To alter, change, confound; also, to exchange (fr. OE wrixlian).
August 13, 2008
she commented on the list words--4
The thought of asking only "Are you animal, vegetable, or mineral?" tickles me greatly. I hope that someone, somewhere, considers these his all-governing categories.
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word wet bread
Hah! Oh, for `fusc's sake. There's a word for everything.
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word synchronised googling pictures of eamon sullivan
Beijing Olympics: Smiling bicep joy
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word wet bread
I have been kindly redirected here from musquirt—
Wet bread was a plague upon my time in elementary school! By lunchtime, one slice of bread in my PBJ sandwich was always soaked with jelly.
bilby.. that sounds terrifying. :(
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word yaw
Yesyes, that's the one. (It was a little before I ever watched the news, so this is the first I've heard of it, but I'd imagine most people would find the expatiation interesting.)
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word musquirt
Aulgh, soggy bread! :S
I hate this, in all forms. I have a lot of trouble with the juicy byproducts of anything, really (which leads to having to violently shake yogurts and things before opening will be considered).
August 13, 2008
she commented on the user chained_bear
My God, c_b! When I saw that earlier, I thought it was a metaphorical Emmy! (Can you blame me, really, this being Wordie, Land of Metaphors?) You are amazing.
Also, your name always puts this little piece of song in my head, whether or not it's intentional:
"So, with the courage of a clown, or a cur,
Or a kite, jerking tight at its tether,
In her dun-brown gown of fur, and a jerking of swan's-down and leather,
Bear would sway on her hind legs; the organ would grind dregs of song, for the pleasure
Of the children, who'd shriek, throwing coins at her feet, then recoiling in terror"
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word yaw
I just ran into this word in reference to flying, in this documentary: a pilot chooses to board a plane that meets the one-in-a-billion chance of total hydrolic failure, and manages to land it, against odds that no one on board would survive. The guy's very well-spoken, and goes into a good amount of detail — it's an unbelievable story, and a comforting reminder of just how capable these people are.
August 13, 2008
she commented on the word rorqual
I'm partial to this list: 1) Join Wordie. 2) List exactly two whale-words.
3) Revel in satisfaction. Oh yes.
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word has had less sleep than anyone
I didn't sleep at all last night. Are there consolation prizes?
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word axolotl
Approximate view from axolotl-petting range:
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August 12, 2008
she commented on the word syrup of ipecac
I don't believe I have a best vomit. :(
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word axolotl
Anyone who has seen Planet Earth will know that these're all that and a bag of cats' pyjamas.
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word meetinger
Oh meetinger; I love you in spite of your pedestrian definition: A person who attends a meeting or meetings; one who attends religious (esp. Nonconformist) services or meetings; a member of a Nonconformist congregation. (Recorded earliest in the compound night-meetinger.)
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word libstick
Lovage (Anglicization of med.L. libisticum, corruption of levisticum).
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word calepin
A dictionary (sometimes ‘a polyglot’); fig., one's book of authority or reference; one's notebook or memorandum-book.
French calepin, ad. from Italian calepino, 'dictionary, polyglot,' from the cognomen of the Augustine friar, Ambrosio Calepino, of Calepio in Italy, the author of a famous Latin Dictionary, first published in 1502, which in its many editions was the Latin Dictionary of the 16th century, and the foundation of the later work of Forcellini.
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word calicrat
Obs. n., An ant.
Apparently from Callicrates, name of a Greek artist celebrated for his minute ivory carvings of ants and other small animals (Pliny N.H. VII. xxi. §21, ‘Callicrates ex ebore formicas et alia tam parva fecit animalia ut partes eorum a ceteris cerni non possent’).
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word calid
adj., Warm, tepid; hot. Cf. gelid.
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word caligate
Wearing caligae, Roman military footwear. This adjective is more useful in light of their bizarre comeback.
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word calipee
The edible, cartilaginous substance attached to a turtle's lower shell.
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word pastiche
It's strange seeing this word celebrated — unlike pasticcio, I've never seen pastiche as a happy synonym for parody, pasquinade, motley, medley, potpourri, etc., and WeirdNet's last definition is just dead wrong — pastiche as an adjective implies, to me, the highly derogatory "insipid, derivative, counterfeit.." — Pasticheur is a snooty term for a derivative artist or writer (The word screams "inferiority!"); it's a nasty accusation, not an innocuous appellation. Like the creative equivalent of calling someone a slut.
Of course, this is only my impression, and you'll use the word however you damn well please, but I hope this serves as at least a marginally useful description of what kind of picture the word may paint?
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word äijiä
Mollusque wins.
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word harmadels
Ha! That ties in nicely with helmet hair..
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word mene mene tekel upharsin
I'd only just added this when I realized it was better suited to reesetee's list — the writing on the wall.
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word takahē
Rediscovered birds! They remind me of my great-grandmother's upholstery.
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word raining animals
Brings to mind the end of Magnolia.
Wikipedia
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word wonderkind
Wunderkind, perhaps? :)
August 12, 2008
she commented on the list m-ogle
Items of interest!
moggadored; adj., confused; confounded, at a loss
harmoge; n., (a) harmony of colors or sounds (Latin harmogē, shares harmony's Greek etymon)
pulmograde; n., member of the obs. group Pulmograda Acalephæ, comprising most jellyfish (Latin pulm�? + -gradus, lit. 'walking lungs')
samogon; n., an illegally distilled spirit, similar to vodka (Russian samo- 'self' + gon-, stem of gnat´ 'to distill')
cosmogyral; adj., whirling 'round the universe (nonce wd.)
mogra; n., Arabian jasmine
Mogao Caves; Chinese Buddhist grottoes
trollimog; n., a trollop (cf. moggy)
kymograph; n., 'wave writer' (Wikipedia)
tremogram; n., a tracing recording involuntary muscular motion
Moganite; a mineral
Piz Tremoggia; an Alpine mountain
Mogthrasir; a mythological giant
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word aboulomania
OED gives a slightly different picture, from Billings' National Medical Dictionary, 1890: "Aboulomania: a form of insanity characterized by inability to exert the will." Synonymous with aboulia.
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word spar
I'm partial to the OED's definition: "..a number of crystalline minerals more or less lustrous in appearance and admitting of easy cleavage."
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word marmem
'Shape memory' (after mar- of martensitic + mem- of memory; see martensite).
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word bovrilize
Nope; -ril seems to be an arbitrary tacking-on.
Oh, certainly! And you do have marmiton (from French, Marmite + -oon): 'An assistant to a chef or cook; a kitchen servant doing menial work, a scullion.'
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word frenemy
I agree. I think because it's in cahoots with pronouncing friend as "fren."
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word bovrilize
v., To concentrate the essence of; to epitomize, condense.
From Bovril, the proprietary name of a concentrated essence of beef, invented in 1889 by J. Lawson Johnston. (Holy sh░t.)
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word bowdled
Obs. ppl. adj., Having the feathers ruffled; swelled out (origin obscure).
"Much heare left on the cheekes will make the owner looke big like a bowdled hen." – W. Harrison, Description of England (1587)
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word vellus
Peach fuzz. :)
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word enormance
"All ready to put up the tents for my circus.
I think I will call it the Circus McGurkus.
And NOW comes an act of Enormous Enormance!
No former performer's performed this performance!"
- Dr. Seuss, If I Ran the Circus
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word naumachia
This word belongs on more lists.
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word naupegus
A shipwright or designer of ships (classical Latin naupēgus, 'shipwright'; in post-classical Latin, also 'ship-owner').
August 12, 2008
she commented on the word harmadels
I have! I've just forgotten them.
(Or most of them. I'm actually on a fantastic sleeping medication that's had the wonderful and completely unexpected side-effect of letting me remember my dreams, for the past few months.)
August 11, 2008
she commented on the word saleratus
I keep reading this as slateralus.
August 11, 2008
she commented on the word harmadels
But then it would post things like "Today I am a starfish. I speak with paint. Must we fish me?" (We're already halfway there when I browse Wordie while especially sleepy.)
August 11, 2008
she commented on the word den of iniquity
Oh c_b. I could hug you.
August 11, 2008
she commented on the word vorspiel
Prelude; overture. (German vor, before + spiel.)
August 11, 2008
she commented on the word riant
Ooo.
August 11, 2008
she commented on the word harmadels
You know how you wake up sometimes with some key piece of the previous night's dream in hand? This morning, it was "helmets were called 'harmadels.'"
August 11, 2008
she commented on the word analphabet
Is it wrong that I was pleased enough at finding this word to laugh out loud? Really. I'm tickled.
August 11, 2008
she commented on the word iliac crest
Iniquitous lions?
August 11, 2008
she commented on the word iliac crest
Haha! I expect it's very near the den of iniquity.
August 11, 2008
she commented on the word iliac crest
A favorite place.
August 10, 2008
she commented on the word pipsiculture
It is obviously the controlled or artificial breeding and rearing of fish in Pepsi.
August 10, 2008
she commented on the word apparitional eatery
Phantom Diner Appears Only to Those in Their Drunkest Hour
August 10, 2008
she commented on the list the-mind-baubles
Think of all the terrible rumors!
"Mad?" – "Oh yes, completely. Sooner or later, he'll always start to think you're talking about pie—only no one's talking about pie."
August 10, 2008
she commented on the word hiplings
No, no! Blech.
"And in one ill-fated over-swivelling, our lady, thrown hiplings from the balcony by her own centrifugal force—"
August 10, 2008
she commented on the word bliss ninny
Nise blettirs.
August 10, 2008
she commented on the word crowbait
This word makes me sad. :<
(Oh oh, and: bankbait, bearbait, bullbait, cadbait, clambait, clapbait, codbait, redbait, sharkbait, spoonbait, strawbait, whitebait..)
August 10, 2008
she commented on the word similor
A very yellow kind of brass used in making cheap jewellery (imitation gold). From French similor (Latin simil-is, like + French or, gold).
August 10, 2008
she commented on the word florey
And— Obs., A blue pigment consisting of the scum collected from the vat in dyeing with woad or indigo. Also floree; fr. French florée, var. of fleurée in same sense, fr. fleur (flower).
"Smalte or florrey being tempered in a shell with gumme water maketh a blewe." – The Art of Limming, 1573
August 10, 2008
she commented on the word deplore
Deplore is one of those sneaky, too-familiar words that hide how lovely they are until the hundredth-or-so time you've used them.
August 10, 2008
she commented on the word woolly-bear
Right, yes— Unbearably cute name for the hairy caterpillar. Also woolly-worm.
August 10, 2008
she commented on the list the-mind-baubles
My apologies to bilby for converting this list from "pied beginnings" into something else entirely and unintentionally rendering his comment nonsensical. It used to make sense; I promise.
August 10, 2008
she commented on the word wooly-bear
Oh hey. I've never noticed the difference in spelling before. You know, I think I prefer woolly.
August 10, 2008
she commented on the word niveous
Snowy, resembling snow; white and lustrous.
August 10, 2008
she commented on the word limnetic
adj., Of, pertaining to, or living in the open part of a freshwater lake or pond, away from the margin or bottom.
August 10, 2008
she commented on the word delitescent
adj., Lying hid; latent; concealed.
August 10, 2008
she commented on the word squeteague
The weak-fish or sea-salmon, Cynoscion regalis (formerly Otolithus regalis, Labrus Squeteague), of the eastern United States.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word quoz
An odd or ridiculous person or thing; people or things of this kind.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the list bird-wirds-nicknames
Ooh, oh: poë's another I came across recently.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word jacture
n., Loss, injury, detriment (Latin jactūra, 'loss, detriment,' f. ppl. stem of jacĕre, 'to throw, throw away' + -ure; so OFr. jacture).
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word jaspure
n., Decoration with spots or clouds of various color; marbling (French jaspure, fr. jasper, 'to jasper').
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word goldvein
Ooh! Doubly nice. Well, conceptually.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word felsenmeer
Whoopsfixed. My mind read "G." and jumped to "Greek."
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word beylicat
adj., Of or belonging to the dominion or jurisdiction (beylic) of a Turkish governor (bey) of a province or district.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word wooly-bear
Unbearably cute name for the hairy caterpillar. Also wooly-worm.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word littératrice
A literary woman (fem. of French littérateur, from littera, letter).
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word hiplings
Obs. adv., With the hips foremost.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word omniana
n., Thoughts or scraps of information about all or many kinds of things, esp. (a collection of) notes, jottings, or short pieces of writing on various subjects.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word abluent
adj., Washing away; carrying off impurities; abstergent. Also n. (From Latin ablu-ĕre, 'to wash off or away.' Chiefly in medical use.)
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word tullibee
A species of whitefish, Coregonus tullibee, found in the Great Lakes of North America (from Cree and Odjibway too-nie-bee).
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word cashmarie
Obs. Sc. A rippier; one who brings fish from the sea-coast to market in the inland country (fr. French chasse-marée; chasser, 'to drive in haste' + marée, 'tide, fresh fish').
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word afterlithe
This word is so pleasing — the Old English name for my birthmonth, July (OE. æftera, second + Líða, mild, serene; name of the two months June and July).
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word heiligenschien
Psst: I think you mean heiligenschein. :) (It is a neat word. Welcome to Wordie!)
August 9, 2008
she commented on the list words-i-assumed-i-had-not-been-misspelling-until-greeted-somewhere-by-the-fact-of-my-wrongness
Tanks, kingran!
This may make you feel better, sarra — my first addition to this list is the most embarrassing: the correct spelling of "seperate" didn't dawn on me until well, well into high school. I still have no idea how, in years of papers, emails and IM conversations, not one person noticed or cared enough to correct me. Yeeearrsss.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word cantaknerous
Ha!
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word up the apples and pears
Up the stairs (Cockney rhyming slang).
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word Ӓ
Cyrillic capital-A with diaeresis is.. is.. Ӓ
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word goldvein
Struck me as an unusually nice name for "an unincorporated hamlet in Fauquier County, Virginia."
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word lipothymic
Characterized by or tending to lipothymy (fainting, swooning, syncope; an instance of this.)
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word sopite
v., To put or lull to sleep; to render drowsy, dull, or inactive.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word mournival
It's precisely the word I hope to use when I next encounter four people of the sort.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word urolagnia
Urolagniac spotted! (I keed, I keed.)
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word treefish
A California market fish, "Sebastichthys serriceps, known as the 'Tree-fish,' an appellation originating with the Portuguese... and without obvious application." (G. Goode, American Fishes, 1888)
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word platyfish
Any of several ornamental freshwater fishes of the genus Xiphophorus (family Poeciliidae), native to Mexico and Central America, esp. Xiphophorus maculatus.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word peacock fish
Any of various fishes with brilliant colours or markings, including the wrasse (cuckoofish), Labrus mixtus, and the peacock bass, Cichla ocellaris; (also) any of various fishes with conspicuous fan-shaped fins or tails, including the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, and tropical fishes of the genus Pterois (family Scorpaenidae).
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word mournival
In the former game of gleek: a set of four aces, kings, queens, or knaves, in one hand. In extended use: a set of four things or people.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word loose fish
Colloq., a person of irregular habits; or Obs., a common prostitute.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word odd's fish!
A minced oath; "God's fish!" (perhaps an alteration of "God's flesh").
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word fishmint
Water mint.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word fish-tiger
A bird that preys upon fish.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word fisher-fish
Fisher-fish, a species of Remora, said to be trained by the Chinese to catch turtle. — Smyth's 1867 Sailor's Wordbook
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word fiddlefish
A name given to the angelfish or monkfish.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word cuckoofish
Striped wrasse.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word cloak-fish
Stingray.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word button-fish
The sea urchin (eep).
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word plumicorn
A tuft or crest of feathers on top of a bird's head; esp. either of the paired ear tufts typical of many owls.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word plumeopicean robe
From classical Latin plūmeus, 'feathery' + piceus, 'pitchy' — a tar-and-feathering.
"Those whom it proposed to teach would destroy the types, and invest the compositors with the plumeopicean robe of the republican Nemesis." (1861)
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word pink fairy armadillo
They aren't imaginary! See pichiciego.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word thrinter
Of three winters; see twinter.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word twinter
adj., Of two winters; two years old: said of cattle and sheep (also of colts); or n., A two-year-old cow, ox, horse, or sheep.
Cf. thrinter.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word twinkum twankum
A refrain of a song, expressing careless jollity.
"Old oaks can defy the thunder's roar, and I can stand woman's tongue—that's more. With a twinkum, twankum, &c." — John Gay, Polly (1728)
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word liripipionated
Furnished with a liripipe (or liripoop, though I suppose that would be liripoopionated). From French liripipionné. Really.
August 9, 2008
she commented on the list words--4
The most basic, I think, might be to separate words and phrases — Beyond that, what do you think of when you're looking for a word you've saved? Is it the part of speech, the thing it applies to, the way that you found it..? Physically organizing things to match the way I've already subconsciously ordered them has always gone well (list-making is a bit more complicated, but it's similar in effect to "intuitive tagging"). If you're looking to find things more quickly, that might be something to think about. :)
August 9, 2008
she commented on the word pukatea
Maori. A tall New Zealand forest tree, Laurelia novæ-zelandiae (family Monimiaceae), which has glossy aromatic leaves and small racemes of tiny yellowish flowers, and is noted for having plank buttresses at its base. Also: the tough pale brown wood of this tree, used for boatbuilding and furniture.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word κατ' �?ξοχήν
(adverbial phrase) Or kat' exochen; Greek, "par excellence;" pre-eminently.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word katavothron
A subterranean channel or deep chasm formed by the action of water. Modified Greek for "swallow-hole."
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word katjiepiering
South African evergreen shrub of the genus Gardenia, esp. Gardenia thunbergia, belonging to the family Rubiaceæ and bearing large, fragrant, white or yellow flowers.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word mise-en-page
The design of printed pages, including the layout of text and illustrations; the composition or layout of a picture.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word circumfusile
adj., Poured or spread around.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word poiological
adj., Relating to or concerned with quality, rather than quantity.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word poecilomere
(Zool.) n., A part of the body of an animal in which variations of coloring tend to appear first.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word poë
(Or poë bird, poë honey-eater.) The tui or parson bird, Prosthemadura novaeseelandiae; a name used by some early visitors to New Zealand.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word logopoeia
"Logopoeia, 'the dance of the intellect among words,' that is to say, it employs words not only for their direct meaning, but it takes count in a special way of habits of usage, of the context we expect to find with the word... It holds the æsthetic content which is peculiarly the domain of verbal manifestation and can not possibly be contained in plastic or in music." — Ezra Loomis Pound, NY Herald-Tribune, January 20th, 1929
August 8, 2008
she commented on the user john
As do I! (Quickly, assemble the mobs!)
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word brouheehee
Ahh!
August 8, 2008
she commented on the list via-i-poplollies-bellibones-i
I'd be honored! They are here for the plundering.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word pangolin
Oh dear! Yes, dontcry, absolutely no offense was taken or intended! Please stay — I wouldn't trade you for a thousand pangolins.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word jungermanniaceous
Of Jungermanniaceæ, scale-mosses, the largest order of Hepaticæ.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the list words-i-wish-i-hadn-t-looked-up
I guarantee adipocere qualifies for this list. Augh. :(
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word tinkershire
What a funny little thing to be ghosted.
A term for the guillemot.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word sivatherium
Also sivathere; a fossil ruminant of great size, with four horns, discovered in the Siwalik or Sub-Himalayan hills in Northern India, believed to've resembled an immense Gnu or Antelope. Latin, from Siva/Shiva (the Hindu god) + Greek for "wild beast."
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word halithere
An animal of the genus Halitherium of extinct Sirenia (related to manatees, dewgongs, etc.). From Greek for "sea-beast."
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word ergosphere
The conjectural region surrounding a black hole from which energy can theoretically escape.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word chalicothere
A perissodactyl mammal of the extinct genus Chalicotherium (family Chalicotheriidæ), with a horse-like head and clawed toes.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word athletary
"The Greeks, in their... athletary agonies." — Edward Waterhouse, A discourse and defence of arms and armory, 1660
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word armozeen
A stout plain silk, usually black, used for clerical gowns and mourning scarves.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word braaivleis
An outdoor meal, esp. a picnic, at which meat is grilled; a barbecue (Afrikaans, lit. "grilled meat," f. braai, to grill + vleis, meat, flesh).
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word rixosous
Obs. adj., 'Full of brabbles' (Cockeram, 1623). Adapted from Latin rix�?sus.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word rixle
Now with added OED™!
v., To reign, bear sway; to rule, have dominion; to prevail
(fr. Old English rix-ian, to rule + -le).
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word rivelled
Wrinkled; full of wrinkles or small folds; corrugated, furrowed — Of the skin, face, etc. (very common ca. 1530-1720); Of fruit (dried or stored up); Shrunken, shrivelled, esp. by heat; Pleated or gathered in small folds.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word frost-riven
Encountered in felsenmeer's definition. What a pretty word — riven (split, cloven, rent, torn asunder) by frost.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word felsenmeer
An expanse of angular frost-riven rocks which may develop on flat terrain in arctic and alpine climates; a boulder field (German, lit. "rock-sea").
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word fellmonger
A dealer in skins or hides of animals, esp. sheep-skins. (In modern use, restricted to an operative who works skins.)
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word fellifluous
Flowing with gall (from Latin fel, gall + fluĕre, to flow).
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word felix culpa
Latin, literally "happy fault."
Allusively: the Fall of Man or the sin of Adam as resulting in the blessedness of the Redemption. Frequently, in transferred sense: an apparent error or tragedy which has happy consequences.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the list colorful-cousins-and-fanciful-facets-of-more-common-conturbations
Looks like Mia at least got to hivemind on her considerable adding-spree. :) But surely "hivemind of Wordie" or "Wordie hivemind" wouldn't be out of place on a Favorite Things or meta list of some sort, though unfortunately I have neither!
(Also, I love the new additions!)
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word favre's syndrome
My brother makes up for the man by pronouncing his name "Fahvfuhfv."
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word mangina
What's the term for a female pain in the chest, then?
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word telemegaphone
That's remarkable.
I've had a sort of longing for Norway since seeing a few snapshots taken from someone's apartment window; it was an understated little town, but you could see the sea, and everything was so beautiful.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word Ȫ
Oh yes. Perhaps "captial" (the original typo) should be the word for fault-finding capital letters. (Just did it again! I think my fingers have a thing for a-p-t.)
How an owl? (—How now, brown owl?)
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word pangolin
It's insensitive remarks like these that propagate manis depression. :'(
If you accidentally mistook a pangolin for your mandolin, I imagine it would sound like one of those scrubby washboard things.
August 8, 2008
she commented on the word Ȫ
Well, if there has to be one symbol all others strangely default to, the fleur-de-lys is not too shabby.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word baguette's syndrome
Outbursts of delicious bread.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word Ȫ
Whoops! I— damn. The English language is obviously not yet large enough, as there are no extant captia- words I can pretend to've meant.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word bullet-proof bra
Science!
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word manis depression
Evidently, c_b is not manis-depressive and has instead cultivated a healthy fondness for that which she cannot be! (—being a bear)
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word bullet-proof bra
I am slightly more impressed by the Bionic Bra to Harness the Energy of Bouncing Breasts.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word toreutic syndrome
Characterized by spasmatic displays of ancient sculptural artistry in the embossing, chasing, and relief-work, etc. of ivory and metals. (Fr. toreutics, the aforementioned ancient art.)
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word manis depression
Abject despair at being or not being a pangolin.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word pranic depression
Despondency brought on by perceived inadequacies in one's meditative breathing technique. See prana.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word danic depression
Depression due to, relating to, or simply coinciding with the fact of being Danish.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word manic-progressive
Of those seeking newer and more efficient ways to act variously as freakishly productive and hopelessly frazzled wonderloons and worry their loved ones. Cf. manic-regressive.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word manic-digressive
Of those who, during manic episodes, have the tendency to— have I mentioned how much I look forward to Zubbles?
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word manic-caressive
Of a condition marked either by inappropriately enthusiastic episodes of cuddlesomeness or the desire to pet manic depressives.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word manic-transgressive
Of manic transgression, a condition marked by feelings of moral exemption leading to impulsive and exuberant wrongdoing.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word manic-impressive
I think this is the best guess for what those in the "mental illness would make me more interesting" camp hear when they read 'manic-depressive.'
August 7, 2008
she commented on the user sionnach
Yes, who is "who?"
Happy getaways, sionnach!
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word fracteur
Oho, yes. One compound ending in fracteur (looked lithofracteur up; the root is Latin fractor, 'breaker,' shared with fracture). It still makes no sense as a noun here: protecting breakage from damp? Protecting crack from damp? Splinter? The euphonic substitution of a diphthong for a simple vowel, owing to the influence of a following consonant? *dizzied*
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word conturbation
Physical or mental disturbance (to conturb from Latin conturb�?re, 'to disturb greatly, throw into confusion').
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word quardeel
Oho! Furthermore,
"The Train-oyl runs into the Warehouse into a Vatt, whereout they fill it into Cardels or Vessels..A Cardel or Hogshead holds 64 Gallons." (1694 Acc. Sev. Late Voy., 1711 ed.)
"The Dutch..took 57,590 whales, yielding 3,105,596 quardeelen of oil..A quardeel of oil contains..from 77 to 90 imperial standard gallons." (1857 Polar Seas & Regions, ed. 20)
—Hot damn.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word paradise apple
My poor, crowded head could only ever hold on to Alt+0169, the © symbol. :<
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word pastinaceous
For tod— this afternoon.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word fracteur
"Fracteur" is nowhere in the online OED — could it be related to fractable, "A term used, in the middle ages, for the crest table or coping running up and down the gables of a building?" It's the only thing that suggests shelter; everything else, predictably, relates only to fracture.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the list fly-me-to-the-moons
Hopefully the answer isn't 'S/2000 J 11,' or 'S/2003 J.. 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19,' or '23' (the unnamed moons)!
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word pastinaceous
And isn't that function our heart and soul, really? I think I've reached Wordie fulfillment.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word ȫ
It's a Latin character, but I'm remiss as far as any usage examples.
August 7, 2008
she commented on the word vriesia
A perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Vriesia (family Bromeliaceæ), native to South or Central America and bearing rosettes of linear leaves and spikes of yellow, red, or white flowers. From the name of W. H. de Vriese (1806-62), Dutch botanist.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word purring iron
A fire poker. From purr in the sense of 'poke' (Dutch regional por, poker).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word poppycock
Apparently from Dutch poppekak, literally "doll's excrement," as in zo fijn als gemalen poppekak, "as fine as powdered doll's excrement" (showing excessive religious zeal, etc.).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word ploat
trans. v., To pluck; to strip of feathers, wool, etc. Frequently, figuratively: to rob or plunder, to fleece; also, to scold.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word pink-snow
Obs. A small vessel* resembling a pink — a small sailing vessel, usually having a narrow stern; specifically (a) a flat-bottomed boat with bulging sides, used for coasting and fishing; (b) a small warship in which the stern broadens out at the level of the upper deck to accommodate quarter guns, used esp. in the Danish navy. — in construction.
*Snow, as in, a small sailing-vessel resembling a brig, carrying a main and fore mast and a supplementary trysail mast close behind the mainmast; formerly employed as a warship.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word pinc-pinc
Any of several small South African warblers of the family Sylviidae; esp. the cloud cisticola, Cisticola textrix.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word pawn
Also (hist.), a gallery, colonnade, or covered walk; esp. one in a bazaar, market, exchange, etc., within which traders display their goods for sale.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word pampelmoes
A very large citrus fruit (also called shaddock), the fruit of Citrus maxima, which has a thick, loose rind and coarse, dry pulp, and is an ancestor of the grapefruit; Also: a grapefruit. Also: any of the trees producing these fruits.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word oliphaunt
OED says it's a Middle English variant spelling. :)
(That's a wonderful name! If you don't actually resemble an elephant.)
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word oliphant
Originally, in Middle English, Old French, Breton, Welsh, Cornish: elephant. The refashioning of oliphant after Lat. elephantum seems to have taken place earlier in England than in France, the French forms with el- being cited only from the 15th century.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word nooi
S. Afr. n., A female employer; also as a term of respect used by a subordinate to address a woman in authority. (Female equivalent of Dutch baas, from which we get boss.)
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word honorificabilitudinity
Or honorificabilitudinitifulness? *wince*
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word noker-tree
The common walnut tree, Juglans regia.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word nithe
Obs. n., Envy, malice, hatred; enmity, ill-will.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word nettly
adj., Of a place: overgrown with nettles; Suggestive of nettles or their flavor, etc.; Of a person: irritable.
(Nettle + -y. Dutch netelig, 'tricky, ticklish, delicate,' could perhaps be a parallel formation, but is not recorded in the literal sense, and many etymologists connect it instead with Middle Dutch and Middle Low German nīten, 'to hit, push.')
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word nê
S. Afr. colloq. Chiefly (as interrogative particle): "isn't that so?" Also, in recent use, for emphasis without interrogative implication. Comparable to "no?"
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word Ȫ
I'm sure this says something about each of us, psychologically.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word paradise apple
Having this monster list of Unicode characters bookmarked.
But I believe the quick way is ' ñ '
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word meese
Nooo, a titmouse (obs. Middle Dutch, cognate of mose).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word muntjac
(Eeeee)
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word mump
To cheat, to get the better of. Also with of, out of. Now Eng. regional (south-west.) (rare), though very common in the second half of the 17th cent.
Now slang and Eng. regional: To obtain by begging or scrounging; To beg, go about begging; to sponge upon.
Brit. slang, Of a police officer: to accept a small gift or bribe in return for services.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word mull-madder
The lowest grade of madder, obtained by grinding the loose fibers and fragments detached from the root during threshing.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word mud
Also (obs.), an old Dutch and (in later use) South African dry measure of capacity, varying in amount but usually equivalent to about three bushels (approx. 109 litres).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word mousebird
After South African Dutch muisvogel, Afrikaans muisvoël.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the list dutchly-things
Oh. :)
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word mossbunker
The Atlantic menhaden (fish), Brevoortia tyrannus.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word paradise apple
Ah, the mañana banana — always so close, but it never arrives..
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word art department
Well, yes, but I can't imagine caring enough about a bag of grapes to carry them all the way (and, if you drove, it's downright silly to assume you'd bring them inside).
edit: Ha, dontcry!
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word slonk
Perhaps you could think of slunk as merely the past participle of slink?
And what, a hork successor? Never.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word art department
"Heavens, Auntie Mae could be dying! But, perhaps she would like a grape!"
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word brain corals
Despite how much sense it makes, I honestly wasn't aware this term existed.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word pastinaceous
Of the nature of or resembling parsnip. Ha!
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word pathopoeia
Rhetoric and (in later use) Music. The arousing of emotion in a hearer; a passage designed to arouse emotion or affect the emotions.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word versute
Cunning; crafty; wily (from Latin versūtus, from versĕre, vertĕre, to turn).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word versipellous
Having the faculty of changing the skin (from Latin versipell-is, fr. versĕre, vertĕre, to turn + pellis, skin).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word dulciloquent
adj., Speaking sweetly. From L. dulcis, sweet + loquens, pres. pple. of loqui, to speak.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word illusor
A deceiver, deluder (from late L. illūsor, illūs�?rem, agent-n. from illūd, illūsĕre, to illude). See illusory, illusion, etc.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word illth
Used by John Ruskin — "As mere accidental stays and impediments acting not as wealth, but (for we ought to have a correspondent term) as 'illth' " — and later, such as in George Bernard Shaw's Fabian essays in Socialism, as the reverse of wealth in the sense of "well-being": ill-being.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word illatebrate
Obs. intr. v., To hide in corners. Hence illatebration, 'a hiding in, or seeking of corners.'
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word illapse
Rare intr. v., To fall, glide, or slip in.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word mirtle
Obs. intr. v., To crumble away; to fall to pieces.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word miltsiekte
Anthrax in livestock, which causes gross splenomegaly, esp. in cattle; milt-sickness.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word middenerd
The world; the earth as a middle region between heaven and hell; (also) the inhabitants or things of the world, esp. as opposed to those of heaven; worldly things as opposed to divine or spiritual things.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word melanagogue
From French mélanagogue, purge for melancholy; a medicine supposed to expel black bile.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word meisie
A girl, a young woman (esp. a white Afrikaans-speaker); a girlfriend or wife. Also as a form of address. From South African Dutch meisje.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word mecop
Poppy (obs.)
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word mealie-meal
Maize meal or flour (fr. S.Afr. Dutch, Afrikaans mieliemeel).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word mereswine
A dolphin; a porpoise (chiefly Sc. in later use).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word ӳ
Cyrillic little "u" with double acute accent appears flirtatious.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word Ӧӧ
You have surprised both the Cyrillic capital and small letter "o" with diaereses.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word ѿ
Cyrillic small letter 'ot' is a sneaky or self-satisfied kitty.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word ȫ
Little o with diaeresis and macron is shocked!
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word Ȫ
Capital-O with diaeresis and macron is aaangry.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word malefigie
Naut. slang. Obs. rare. A seabird whose presence is said to presage bad weather (sometimes identified with the storm petrel).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word makrelty
Brokerage.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word lovecop
The right of the king or the lord of a port to purchase part of a merchant's merchandise at the same price the merchant paid for it. In modern use, understood as: a tax or toll levied on merchants.
Hence, also lovecopfree: exempt from paying lovecop.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word lovage
Also the name of a group whose sole offering was the very entertaining Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word quede
Dung, excrement, filth; evil, wickedness, mischief; an evil thing, an evil deed; an evil person (from all over the place: Old Frisian qu�?d, excrement; West Frisian kwead, wicked; Middle Dutch quaet, evil; Middle Low German qu�?t, evil, filth..).
Also, The Quede: The Devil.
Related: quedely, adv., quedeship, quedehead, ns.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word quedeship
Evil, wickedness; a wicked deed (quede + -ship). Syn: quedehead.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word honorificabilitudinity
Honorableness.
OED says: Adapted from med.L. hon�?rific�?bilitūdinit�?s , a grandiose extension of hon�?rific�?bilitūdo, 'honorableness,' from hon�?rific�?bilis, 'honorable.' The L. abl. pl. hon�?rific�?bilitūdinit�?tibus has been cited as a typical long word, as well as hon�?rific�?bilitūdinit�?te before it, by Dante (De Vulgari Eloquentia II).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word commeline
A genus of endogenous plants, typical of the family Commelinaceæ.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word blood-strange
An undeservedly obsolete name of the Mousetail herb (Myosurus minimus).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word dutch clover
White trefoil.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word slonk
Rare v.t., To swallow greedily.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word monkey spoon
OED says "Apparently so called on account of the shape of the spoon, although this is uncertain and disputed. Such spoons usually had a hooked stem with a front boss, and a relief image on the surface of the bowl appropriate to the occasion being celebrated."
For comparison, apostle spoon is listed — "old-fashioned silver spoons, the handles of which ended in figures of the Apostles; the usual present of sponsors at baptisms."
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word paradise apple
Strangely, an old term for "banana." There was "a very old European variety of apple having yellow fruit, borne on a small tree" called the same, but Dutch paradijsappel, French poume de paradis and Spanish mançana del paraíso all meant "banana."
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word opsit
v.i., Of a couple: to sit up together at night as a recognized part of courtship — couples would sit together by candlelight for a period of time determined by the length of a burning candle provided by the courted woman's family. An Afrikaner (originally Dutch) courtship custom practiced in the province of North-Holland in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, and current in South Africa well into the 20th.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word olykoek
Literally, "oil cake" — a small ball-shaped cake made of sweetened dough and traditionally fried in lard (similar to a doughnut), originating in Dutch cookery and introduced to America by Dutch settlers in New York.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word monkey spoon
A type of decorative silver ladle made to commemorate a wedding, christening, or funeral among people of Dutch origin living in the Hudson river area of the United States.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word mezereon
(formerly also Dutch mezereon)
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word mevrouw
A courteous form of address to a married Dutch or Afrikaans woman; madam, mistress, milady. Also, a title given to a married Dutch or Afrikaans woman, esp. a teacher.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word witblits
Also witblitz; home-brewed brandy, a strong and colourless raw spirit. (Irregular Afrikaans, fr. Dutch wit white + German blitz lightning — white lightning!)
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word liskin
Obs. n. A Dutch maidservant (cf. French lisette, a French maidservant, both from dim. forms of the name Elisabeth).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word leaguer
A military camp, esp. one engaged in a siege; an investing force (adapt. fr. Dutch leger camp).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word korfball
A co-ed ball game of Dutch origin (see Wikipedia).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word hogen mogen
Obs. A popular corruption or perversion of the Dutch Hoogmogendheiden, 'High Mightinesses,' title of States-General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. (Hence, any grandee or high and mighty person: used humorously or contemptuously of a person in power or who arrogates or affects authority, or a Dutchman of this sort.)
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word frokin
Obs. A little woman or child (fr. obs. Dutch vrouwken, dim. of vrouw: see frow).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word free burgher
A free citizen. Also (S. Afr.): a Dutch-speaking colonist freed from Dutch East India Company controls.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word dorp
A (Dutch) village; in South Africa, a small town. (Cf. thorp.)
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word dodkin
An early name for the doit, a small Dutch coin. Hence, any coin of very small value.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word closh
An obsolete game with a ball or bowl, prohibited in many successive statutes in the 15th-16th centuries. From 16th c. Dutch lexicographers and descriptions, it appears that the bowl used in the game had to be driven by a spade- or chisel-shaped implement, the klos-beytel, through a hoop or ring, as in croquet.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word clinquant
(From French clinquant clinking, tinkling, pr. pple. of obs. v. clinquer, adopted from Dutch klinken to clink, ring.)
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word quardeel
A hogshead containing, in the 17th c., 64 gallons, used in the Dutch whaling trade. Also cardel, kardel.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word butter-box
Contemptuous designation for a Dutchman (also butter-bag, butter-mouth); also, in nautical slang, a Dutch ship.
These make very little sense to me.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word blauwbok
A name given by the Dutch settlers to a large Antelope (A. leucophæa) in South Africa for the effect produced by the animal's black hide showing through its ashy-grey hair. (From blaauw blue + bok buck, he-goat.) Also blue-buck.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word dutch bargain
One concluded as the parties drink together (also wet bargain).
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word mynheer
As a polite or respectful form of address to a Dutchman or an Afrikaner: sir, mister (Mr). Also used as a title or sometimes substituted for the name of the man or the pronoun that would stand for this. (In Brit. use, often humorous or ironic.)
A Dutchman, an Afrikaner; esp. one who is a gentleman. Occas. collectively: the Dutch, the Afrikaners.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word mynheerify
v.i., to study Dutch (fr. mynheer).
R. Southey, Letter to Lieut. Southey, Sept. 12, 1804 — "I am learning Dutch, and wish you were here... to mynheerify with me."
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word myospasm
Med. n., Muscle spasm or cramp; an instance of this.
(Myo- is used in forming compound terms relating to muscles or muscular tissue.)
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word labretifery
The only word in the English language ending in -tifery.
For shame.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word tikkudoggie
tikkudoggie: returns zero Google results!
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word lurkydish
The herb Pennyroyal (Mentha Pulegium). (Cheshire dial.)
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word lupuline
adj., Resembling a bunch of hops.
*Lupulin = Small shining grains of a yellowish colour found under the scales of the calyx of the hop; The bitter aromatic principle contained in the hop, also called lupulite.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word mousey
Ha! If only this were what was meant by saying "mousey girls" and "mousey brown hair."
August 6, 2008
she commented on the list belistful
Beautiful!
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word zarigüeya
Random word has been kind tonight.
August 6, 2008
she commented on the word kitty-needy
The sandpiper.
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word frixory
Obs. n. Frying pan.
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word tickety-boo
Colloq., 'in order; correct; satisfactory.'
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word rantantingly
adv. Extravagantly; cf. ran-tan, 'a loud banging noise; a riot.'
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word zoofulvin
I'd rather not think about how it's extracted!
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word caribou
I but lament
this human form,
where I was born;
I now repent —
Cariboooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooou,
cariboooo-oooooooooooooooooooooooooo-ooooou
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word oorhodeine
Obs. rare n. A reddish pigment occurring in the shells of birds' eggs.
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word oometry
Obs. rare n. The measurement of birds' eggs. Also oömetry.
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word oocyan
Rare n. A blue pigment occurring in the shells of birds' eggs.
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word ooxanthine
Obs. n. A rare a yellow pigment occurring in the shells of birds' eggs.
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word oont
Anglo-Indian & Austral. colloq. n. Camel.
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word ookinete
Biol. n. A zygote capable of autonomous movement, esp. as a stage in the life cycle of some parasitic protozoa.
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word opeidoscope
The opeidoscope consists of a tube closed at one end by a taught membrane with a small mirror attached to its center, which vibrates in response to sound entering the tube at the open end, thereby causing a spot of light reflected by the mirror on to a screen to vibrate with varying amplitude and frequency according to the intensity and frequency of the sound.
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word oozooid
Zool. n. In some tunicates: the zooid arising from the fertilized egg, which reproduces asexually by budding.
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word ooplasm
Biol. The cytoplasm of an egg. Also: each of the regions of the cytoplasm of an egg which develop into distinct structures in the body.
Mycol. In an oomycete, esp. one of the order Peronosporales: the central portion of the oogonial cytoplasm, which becomes the oosphere.
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word oolith
Geol. n. Any of the small, rounded granules of which oolite is composed.
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word billbergia
Bilby, you seem to have neat-looking relatives.
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word siliquiferous
Bot. adj., pod-bearing
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word zooscopy
Adj.: zooscopic. :)
August 4, 2008
she commented on the word zoofulvin
A yellow pigment found in touraco plumage.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word zoonerythrin
A red pigment found in sponges and the plumage of touracos, large African birds.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word weequashing
The spearing of eels or fish from a canoe by torchlight.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word weggebobble
Ulysses, p. 163 (Joyce) — "Coming from the vegetarian. Only weggebobbles and fruit."
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word weirdward
Approaching the supernatural.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word whisterclister
Another whistersnefet! Also whister-clister.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word fire alarm
dontcry, please never turn off your finger-faucets.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word wanwordy
Scottish? Obs. adj., Worthless (wan + wordy worthy)
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word muisvoël
Afrikaans muis mouse + vogel bird. Mousebird.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word tinkershere
British name for the common guillemot; also for the black guillemot.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word squarepusher
Slang n., a respectable girl; a boyfriend.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word shamsheer
Scimitar (possibly fr. Persian shamshīr).
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word rajneeshee
A member of the sect founded by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (subsequently known as the Osho-Rajneesh movement, which combines elements of various religious traditions with Western philosophy and a countercultural critique of traditional morality.
Sunday Herald (Chicago), 1986 — "Informants have accused the Rajneeshees of spiking the salad bars of restaurants in The Dalles with salmonella-causing bacteria."
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word pullishee
Pulley (Scottish, obs.)
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word potashery
A factory where potash is made.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word octopusher
One who plays octopush.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word mordisheen
Syn: cholera.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word mishellene
A person who dislikes or is opposed to Greece or the Greeks.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word fetisheer
A charmer, sorcerer, ‘medicine-man’; a priest.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word co-feoffee
One who is enfeoffed with another or others; a joint feoffee.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word feoffee
The person to whom a freehold estate in land is conveyed by a feoffment. Even better: two or more feoffees are then co-feoffees!
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word cacoëpy
Bad or erroneous pronunciation; opposed to orthoepy. Fr. Greek for 'faulty language.'
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word nepte
Catmint (fr. its genus, Nepeta).
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word nephsystem
Meteorol. n., A large-scale array of clouds associated with a weather system.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the list cinnamony-sea-anemones-co
I guess when you do, they're more like d's and b's. (And what's the cure for the common cold? Zs? Hurr.)
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word nirvil
Oh, you! Not entirely — Probably < early Scandinavian (cf. Icelandic nirfill miser (17th c.), Norwegian regional nørle small conceited person, nurvil small thick-set person, Swedish regional nyrvil naughty boy, changeling), app. < the Scandinavian base of Norwegian regional nurv small thick-set person (of uncertain origin) + the Scandinavian base of Norwegian regional -le suffix.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word ballyhooly
I'm sure Ballyhooly is lovely! There are two "apparently"s in there. And the entry is marked as "DRAFT ENTRY June 2008," for whatever that's worth.
But yes, as recently as 2002 — "It was pandemonium. It was Donnybrook Fair. It was all ballyhooly let loose." (J. O'Neill, At Swim, Two Boys), and as early as 1837 — "By Jasus! he gave him Ballyhooly, the d—d insolent son of a sign-painter!" (Tait's Magazine)
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word tessaraphthong
ouei!
Fun fact: The only four-vowel words in the OED are ieie, a tree, and ooaa, a bird (and the International Atomic Energy Agency, if you count acronyms).
August 3, 2008
she commented on the user whichbe
Oh! In regard to your Belistful list: the be- prefix's entry I just ran across in the online OED has hundreds of words in — they let subscribers email non-subsribers with links to let them access an entry for three days; I immediately thought to ask the owner of that list if they'd like one to be-'s entry! (You can email me at <snipsnipsnip> if you'd rather not post yours here.)
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word pisculent
Fishful; that may be fished (fr. classical Latin pisculentus abounding in fish).
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word piscose
Of a taste: fishy.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word piscinity
The quality or condition of being a fish; fishiness.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word piscina
A fishpond; or, a stone basin for draining water used in Mass, found chiefly in Roman Catholic churches (including some pre-Reformation churches now used for Protestant worship).
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word piscifauna
The fishes of a particular habitat or region collectively.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word piscicle
A small fish.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word piscage
Payment for fishing rights.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the list fishful-thinking
Oh yes, thank you!
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word impane
Obs. trans. v., To embody in bread. (In Eucharistic theory, impanation is a local presence or inclusion of the body of Christ in the bread after consecration.)
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word nirvil
A dwarfish person.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word tessaraphthong
A group of four vowels.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word octophthalmous
Octonocular; having eight eyes.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word ballyhoo of blazes
Ballyhoo; hell (nautical slang).
R. Kipling, Captain Courageous (1897) — "Oh, ef it had bin even the Fish C'mmission boat instid o' this bally-hoo o'blazes."
F. C. Bowen, Sea slang: a dictionary of the old-timers' expressions and epithets (1929) — "The last word of contempt for a slovenly ship."
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word ballyhooly
Hell (you know, Hades, Sheol.. the netherworld).
The OED says: "Apparently from Ballyhooly (Irish Baile �?tha hÚlla), the name of a village in County Cork, Ireland, apparently formerly notorious for faction fighting, although this may reflect a later rationalization of the word."
Related is the wonderful "ballyhoo of blazes."
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word mnam
Mina; a monetary unit formerly used in Greece and the Middle East, equivalent to the weight of one mina in silver. (Fr. classical Latin mina, fr. ancient Greek mna.)
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word mamallian
Whoops! Yes, this is not a word at all.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word monomino
A square, esp. considered as a structural unit or as occupying a position in a rectangular grid (mono- + the -omnio in domino; cf. pentomino, polyomino, tetromino, and tromino).
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word mononomian
Obs. adj., Recognizing or based upon one law (fr. antinomian).
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word mononymy
The use of mononyms, technical names consisting of one word only.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word mudminnow
Any of several carnivorous freshwater fishes of the genus Umbra, able to survive low oxygen concentrations and very low temperatures.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word munnion
Any of the (usually vertical) bars dividing the lights in a window, esp. in Gothic architecture; mullion.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word nigmenog
A fool; an idiot; "a very silly fellow." Colloq., now archaic (cf. niddicock, nidgit, nidiot, and later ning-nong).
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word nim-gimmer
A new dictionary of the terms ancient and modern of the canting crew, a. 1700 — "a Doctor, Surgeon, or Apothecary, or any one that cures a Clap or the Pox."
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word nim-nosed
Swift to pick up a scent (nonce word; cf. nimble).
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word nominance
Obs. rare A name; designation.
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word nummiamorous
Nope, a nonce word. :)
adj., fond of or loving money: 1650, Nathaniel Ward, Discolliminium — "I could demonstrate it to be... versipellous, centireligious, nummiamorous"
As it happens, nummamorous is nowhere in the OED!
August 3, 2008
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