Has anyone heard of the Grandiloquent Dictionary? “[It] is the result of an ongoing project to collect and distribute the most obscure and rare words in the English language. It also contains a few words which do not have equivalent words in English.”
It makes an entertaining read. Such specific words!
Here’s a sample:
ablutophobia - A fear of bathing
abnormous - Something which is misshapen
acathasia - The habit of sitting down
accoucheur - A man who assists in delivering babies, usually at home
accubation - The practice of eating or drinking while lying down
acrocephalic - Having a pointy head [Who’d that be?]
alectromantia - A process in which a rooster is asked a question, and then
a single grain is placed on each letter of the alphabet and the order of his
eating determined the answer
alliaceous - Smelling like garlic or onions
As you can see, those are just ones I gleaned from the “A” section. Anyone who loves words will enjoy this dictionary.
Interesting site. I can honestly say most of these have left my daily vernacular.
A quick look finds these are mostly Latin or Greek prefixes, roots, and/or suffixes combined to make a descriptive word. But is that word then in the English Language? Or is it in the Latin or Greek languages but just utilized in the English language?
On the whole, a single word used commonly in English is English, even if it was originally Lattin or Greek. Compound words are definitely English. English words similar to the Latin include via, etcetera, forum.
Example: forum. In Latin, a forum was an open meeting place in the city. In modern English, it has a similar meaning but extended to include internet forums, discussion groups, annual meetings of people with similar professional interests, and so on.
As an English word, the plural is forums, not fora. Anyone who insists on “fora” should use all the other Latin versions such as foro and foribus at the right times.
Similarly with stadium and stadiums (not stadia) and various other words.
The plural of words ending with “us” is another trap. Fungus, fungi/funguses? Octopus, octopi/octopus? If using “fungus” in a scientific context, then fungi may be appropriate.
Octopi is never appropriate, because octopus is not and never was a Latin word. The Greek would be octopod and octopodes, I think.
Telescope is a compound word derived from the Greek, but you would certainly treat it as English.
There are others like criterion/criteria which retain their older singular and forms. These are a form of shibboleth.
lol
shivviness - A rough feeling caused by new underwear
feague - The act of putting ginger (or a live eel) in a horse’s behind to make
him carry his tail properly
Oh yeah, that just got bookmarked. I think it’s main use for me will be to embellish my facebook statuses. (or should that be stati?)
usufruct - The right to use another’s property, with the condition that the property be unchanged. Maybe this one could help out unicyclists riding on public property, or at least seem more intelligent than the skaters, just don’t say it too quickly.
)