Word of the Day: unusual words you may not have heard of

[Omits]

Perichoresis, technically a theological term, but it is used in Arthur Machen's wonder tale "N" to refer to an interpenetration of dimensions.

https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~ac117/papers/PerichoresisF+P.pdf

 

[Karapace]

Hamartia The flaw or defect in the hero that leads to his or her downfall. From ancient Greek tragedy

 

[JunkMonkey]

Re: obdormiton - as my daughter once beautifully described it: "My leg's gone fizzy!"

 

[THX1138]

Versutiloquent: Speaking craftily

 

[THX1138]

Zanyism: Buffoonery

 

[farntfar]

Chroners.
A bunch of mindless jerks, against whom the wall will be first, when the revolution comes.

 

[Ray Zdybrow]

superciliousness

the quality of thinking that you are better than other people, and that their opinions, beliefs, or ideas are not important

Origin of my Chrons handle!

 

[Alex The G and T]

Origin of my Chrons handle!

Never would have noticed how to pronounce that; had you not pointed it out. How ubermeta of you..

 

[Ray Zdybrow]

Never would have noticed how to pronounce that; had you not pointed it out. How ubermeta of you..

Guilty, m'lud

 

[Snicklefritz]

contronym | noun | a word having two meanings that contradict one another Also known as an auto-antonym

• bound: tied, fastened or secured with a band or bond
• bound: going or intending to go, destined (for)

It certainly seems like I should have known this, but no.

 

[Ursa major]

It certainly seems like I should have known this, but no.

Yes, we were all sure that you were bound to know this....

 

[farntfar]

Snicklefritz unbound.

 

[Snicklefritz]

No apology, As usual discussion here is discursive.

 

[psikeyhackr]

Just ran into one the other day:

involuted as opposed to the convoluted

But there doesn't seem to be a significant difference in the definitions to me.

Of course there is always:

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

I presume that it is the disease you get from saying the word.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Just ran into one the other day:

involuted as opposed to the convoluted

But there doesn't seem to be a significant difference in the definitions to me.

Of course there is always:

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

I presume that it is the disease you get from saying the word.

That sounds a bit like flammable and inflammable.

 

[Pyan]

A lunar eclipse happens when the sun, Earth, and a full moon form a near-perfect lineup in space. The technical term for this is a syzygy.

​

 

[Pyan]

Borborygmus (pl: borborygmi)- the rumbling sounds of internal gases moving through the stomach and intestines.

 

[Pyan]

Mondegreen - mishearing the lyrics of a song, and mentally substituting different words.

As in Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bad Moon Rising: “Don’t go ’round tonight, it’s bound to take your life. There’s a bathroom on the right”

Alanis Morissette, You Oughta Know: “It’s not fair to deny me the cross-eyed bear that you gave to me.”

The Beatles’ Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds: “The girl with colitis goes by.”

 

[Alex The G and T]

Heard of; but never heard, Department:

I'd never actually heard the word "roue" spoken. Most people are more satisfied to describe a cad as a nether body part; and pardon the french.

American publishers are disinclined to print the word with an accent, for unknown reason. I've never seen it in print with an accent. I've seen it in print often enough and always pronounced it, mentally, as "roo," along with a vague notion that it might be akin to "rogue."

I had a WTF moment, last night, when Miss Priss, on tv, was complaining about being accosted by a "roo-ay;" repeating the term as if it were delicious on the tongue. I didn't know wether she was being pretentious or ignorant.

When I searched the internet for proper pronunciation, almost every hit included an accent over the "e." "Roo-ay" it is.

Where have all of these missing accents been all my life?

 

[Snicklefritz]

Heard of; but never heard, Department:

I'd never actually heard the word "roue" spoken. Most people are more satisfied to describe a cad as a nether body part; and pardon the french.

American publishers are disinclined to print the word with an accent, for unknown reason. I've never seen it in print with an accent. I've seen it in print often enough and always pronounced it, mentally, as "roo," along with a vague notion that it might be akin to "rogue."

I had a WTF moment, last night when Miss Priss, on tv, was complaining about being accosted by a "roo-ay;" repeating the term as if it were delicious on the tongue. I didn't know wether she was being pretentious or ignorant.

When I searched the internet for proper pronunciation, almost every hit included an accent over the "e." "Roo-ay" it is.

Where have all of these missing accents been all my life?

I can't provide a citation, but someone once said, "Never disparage a person who mispronounces a word, because it indicates they learned it by reading."