eloquent... exotic... esoteric... (please provide definitions)

[The Judge]

I always conflate turbid (as in Amazon) with turgid, which makes me think of the latter as meaning slow, but that's not necessarily the case


turgid -- swollen, congested; of language, pompous, overblown, bombastic

bombastic -- high-sounding but with little meaning or substance

pretentious -- affecting an importance or merit which isn't justified

affectation -- behaviour or language designed to impress; also a studied show of emotion, usually pretended

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Ah, bombastic! I've always had a soft spot for old Theophrastus, but not always for those who follow in his footsteps. These things are more amusing when viewed from a distance of centuries.

grandiloquence speech that affects to be complex and lofty in tone but only succeeds in being bombastic or pretentious.

magniloquence pompous, extravagant, and overblown discourse

ponderous heavy, weighty, massive; awkward and ungraceful; lacking in fluency; labored and dull

 

[paranoid marvin]

Dirigible - a steerable self-propelled aircraft , but also an adjective meaning 'capable of being steered or directed'.

Ironclad- 19th Century battleship with armoured plating , but also an adjective meaning 'inflexible or rigid'.

Contiguous - neighbouring/adjacent

 

[Ursa major]

coterminous a. having same boundaries or extent (in space time or meaning).

congruent a. suitable, accordant (with); (geometry, of figures) coinciding exactly when superimposed

congruous a. accordant, conformable (with); fitting.

corresponding a. 1. having similar attributes (in position, size, etc.) in relation to something else. 2. following or resulting indirectly; consequential

consequential a. following or required as a result or inference; following or resulting indirectly; self-important.


(I ought to mention inconsequential, but it isn't important....)

 

[J Riff]

Some stuff pulled from Chas. Lamb

mewed up - shut up: originally a hawking term.

supererogatory - beyond what is demanded.

Muftis - Turkish judges or interpreters of the law.

basting the bear - nothing more than a boy couching down, laden with the clothes of his comrades, and buffeted. Still a popular diversion among English boys.

crug - still Christ's hospital slang for bread.

 

[Hilarious Joke]

basting the bear - nothing more than a boy couching down, laden with the clothes of his comrades, and buffeted.

What?!?!?

 

[J Riff]

It's from Nineteenth Century Prose by J. W. Cunliffe (1904)
Charles Lamb (Elia) - Recollections of Christ's Hospital, published in Gentleman's Magazine 1813.
I don't profess to understand it all myself.

sweet Calne in Wiltshire - a bit of pure mischief.
cry roast meat - spoil a secret feast by noisy enjoyement of it
watchet weeds - blue garments

 

[Yeoman]

Personally, I have always loved these two words.

Ameliorate - To make better, improve.

Salubrious - Favourable to health, or wellbeing.

I especially like their use to describe the power of nature.

 

[Ursa major]

pannage n. (Right of or payment for) pasturage of pigs; acorns; beech-mast, etc., as food for pigs.

beech-mast n. fruit of beech.

wayleave n. right of way rented to mine owner (for the transport of coal, for example), quarry owners (for the transport of stone) and utilities (for the installation of items such as telephone or electricity cables), etc. Wayleave is sometimes pronounced "way leaf".

 

[Ursa major]

Obstant a. Standing against, resisting, opposing.

Obstrigillate v. Hinder; oppose or resist.

Obstringe v. Put under obligation; bind.

Obstuprate v. Ravish


.

 

[Abernovo]

Detritivore - an animal which feeds on decaying organic material, especially dead plant matter. It has an equally wonderful adjective - detritivorous.

Bey - an Ottoman provincial governor. Beloved by crossword writers.

Bibelot - a small ornament or trinket (a word I only came across today).

Defenestration - the act of throwing someone through a window. I adore this word, but I've never found a place to use it in writing, more's the pity.

Obverse - the opposite or counterpart of a fact.

 

[odangutan]

Necroclasm - Noun - Slang - A bulk, typically of supernatural origin consisting of many dead bodies amalgamated into one mass; often depicted as being sentient and hostile.

That doesn't follow, especially if your -clasm is from the same root as the -clasm in, say, iconoclasm (to break or destroy images). Necroclasm should therefore mean 'breaker of death'.

Also, a word for someone who is dying or near death? Especially if the word can also convey agony.

Moribund? That often implies a more inevitable decay into death rather than slow agony but might be workable.

I always like ersatz;an often-subpar replacement. Also scintilla; those specks of dust which, when suspended in sunlight, appear to scintillate.

 

[Heck Tate]

Flora - The plants of a particular region or period.

Fauna - The animals of a given region or period.

 

[alchemist]

bezoar :

1. a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, especially ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
2. Obsolete . a counterpoison or antidote.

borborygmus :

a rumbling or gurgling sound caused by the movement of gas in the intestines. (usually expressed as the plural, borborygmi)

 

[James Coote]

interdict
Noun: An authoritative prohibition.
Verb: Prohibit or forbid (something).
I've only really seen this in a military context; interdiction, interdictor

iridescent
Adjective: Showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles.
E.g. on oil slicks, when you see all those pretty rainbow patterns! Or on various parts of insects, such as on 'shiny' shells/exoskeletons.

 

[Ursa major]

bang v.t. & v.i. Strike or shut noisily; (cause to) make sound of blow or explosion.

bang n. sharp blow; sound of a blow; report of a gun; drug injection

bang adv. with sudden impact; abruptly; (colloq.) completely; explosively.

bang v.t. Cut (front hair) straight across forehead

bang n. Fringe (the result of cutting straight across forehead).

 

[Vertigo]

Eloquent no, esoteric maybe:

hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia - fear of long words, I kid you not. Go for it Ursa!!!

 

[Ursa major]

vicarious a. Deputed, delegated, (vicarious authority); acting or done for another (vicarious work).

vicarious a. Experienced imaginatively through another person (vicarious pleasure).

 

[Ursa major]

mordant a. (Of sarcasm) caustic, biting; pungent, smarting; corrosive, cleansing.

mordant a. & n. corrosive or cleansing (acid).

mordant a. & n. (Substance) serving to fix colouring matter (or gold-leaf) on another substance.

mordent n. (music) Grace consisting of one rapid alternation of written note with note immediately below it.

 

[silvermoon]

kauri

matai

totara

manuka

towai

kahikatea

all species of native trees in the New Zealand forests.