Words you've never heard of before
Words you've never heard of before
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The Gauge

Original Poster:

5,270 posts

30 months

Friday 14th February
quotequote all
What new words have you just discovered?

Despite having roamed this planet for early 53 years I often come across new words (like the one below that was recently posted on PH) that I've never seen or heard of before, and I always wonder if I'm the only thick one that doesn't know the word, and everyone else does biggrin


obfuscation



The Rotrex Kid

33,160 posts

177 months

Friday 14th February
quotequote all
Invidious


Llentil the llama

902 posts

246 months

Friday 14th February
quotequote all
Ooh a thread I have nearly started many times.

A couple of years ago starting my first job post graduation (graduating at 57) using my newly gained enthusiasm and knowledge within the NHS I started the "Wednesday word" in our office. It was a small office with jaded stuck in routine people. I presented a word from three different areas, medical, words from my previous specialist knowledge or random. It was on a Wednesday as that was the only day everyone was in the office.

Within a few weeks everyone was researching words or picking up on words that they hadn't heard before but had heard for the first time in the previous week.

I believe English has more words than any other language but the average number of words by someone living in Britain in their everyday day life is about 800 words. This could now be incorrect and I could be misremembering a paper I read. Really happy to be critiqued on this but I think the stats on word usage compared to words available in English is shocking.

Here is my word, that enthused me about words in junior school. The task was to find a word you previously didn't know and present it to the class. My word that I found was xenodochium, a small ante room or porch. Obviously Latin based, split in two xeno and dochium.

I apologise for any grammar or spelling mistakes up front. I am not as cognitive as I might have been before, age does diminish functionality from birth to death we all follow a positive then declining continuum.

Llentil

Chauffard

917 posts

14 months

Friday 14th February
quotequote all
As a crossword doer, loads. Tend to be foreign words.

Burette
Neroli
Chai
Eton Mess
Kirsch
Entrecote

Tye Green

914 posts

126 months

Friday 14th February
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confabulate

Rayny

1,765 posts

218 months

Friday 14th February
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Scrofulous

Digger

15,787 posts

208 months

Friday 14th February
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Ornery I discovered a few days ago.

67Dino

3,636 posts

122 months

Friday 14th February
quotequote all
Absquatulate is a lot of fun to use. Sounds rude but just means to leave abruptly.

“Excuse me, I’m going to absquatulate”
hehe

Mr-B

4,159 posts

211 months

Saturday 15th February
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Was watching pointless the other day and Scottish words for snow came up and had never heard any of them.

Ergh was a red herring and is cornish for snow
Slubber slushy snow - pointless
Hog-reek - pointless
Lochaber - false, a place in the highlands
Skelf - a large snowflake
Feuchter - light, odd shaped snow

Not sure I will be making much use of my new found words.

FiF

47,054 posts

268 months

Saturday 15th February
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had to look up 'autarky' this morning.

Sheets Tabuer

20,441 posts

232 months

Saturday 15th February
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Contrafibularities

Super Sonic

10,232 posts

71 months

Saturday 15th February
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Imponderabilia

Monkeylegend

27,838 posts

248 months

Saturday 15th February
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jeremiad

perspicacious

beambeam1

1,532 posts

60 months

Saturday 15th February
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Someone used peripatetic in the "would you go to University again?" thread the other day.

Peripatetic means travelling from place to place, in particular working or based in various places for relatively short periods.

chip*

1,421 posts

245 months

Saturday 15th February
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intransigent


Soloman Dodd

483 posts

59 months

Saturday 15th February
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Xanthippe - A shrewish wife.

gruffgriff

2,014 posts

260 months

Saturday 15th February
quotequote all
Sheets Tabuer said:
Contrafibularities
hehe

Monkeylegend

27,838 posts

248 months

Saturday 15th February
quotequote all
I am sure my partner has never heard of

Sorry

Wrong

both preceded by "I am"

ARHarh

4,892 posts

124 months

Saturday 15th February
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My favourite, tintinnabulation.

M5-911

1,519 posts

62 months

Saturday 15th February
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Pulchritudinous.