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

[paranoid marvin]

Apparently the longest word in the English language has 180,000 letters and takes 3 hours to pronounce.

And no, I'm not going to type it here!

 

[farntfar]

I know a word that's 180,003 letters long, but I'm not going to write that out either.

It's pronounced "Chumley-Warner".

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

Apparently the longest word in the English language has 180,000 letters and takes 3 hours to pronounce.

And no, I'm not going to type it here!

Actually, it's 'smiles' because there is a mile between the first and last letter

I'll get me coat

 

[Ursa major]

Lapidary: (noun): A person who cuts, polishes, engraves, or deals in gems (plus other meanings).

(adjective): Pertaining to gems and precious stones, or the art of working them.​

 

[pogopossum]

I was told, in the days of my youth, spent in England, that the longest word in the English language was antidisestablishmentarianism.
"Opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England."
England had the language first, so it would be proper that they are parochial about it.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I was told, in the days of my youth, spent in England, that the longest word in the English language was antidisestablishmentarianism.
"Opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England."
England had the language first, so it would be proper that they are parochial about it.

Now this is a word that is fondly remembered by fans of Blackadder.

 

[THX1138]

Gowpen: The hollow of two hands held together, as if forming a bowl.

 

[Snicklefritz]

HIRAETH, n. (Welsh) A spiritual longing for a home which maybe never was. Nostalgia for ancient places to which we cannot return. The echo of the lost places of our soul's past and our grief for them. In the wind, rocks, and waves, it is nowhere and everywhere.

Would make a great writing prompt.

 

[Paul J. Menzies]

Tergiversation

I came across this in a blog article the other day and it is rare to come across a word---in a blog of all places---that I've never heard of before but there it was and I had to look it up.

According to the Cambridge English Dictionary:

The act of making statements that are different from each other, so that they cannot both be true.

Appears some dictionaries allow a verb version---"to tergiversate"---but not the dons who write the Samuel Js at Cambridge apparently.

 

[THX1138]

Xerothermic: Dry and hot

 

[Rjalex]

Apricity: Apricity is a noun that refers to the warmth of the sun on a cold winter's day. It specifically describes the feeling of the sun's rays warming your skin during a chilly, clear day. The word is not commonly used in modern language, but it evokes a delightful and cozy sensation of basking in the sunlight on a crisp winter morning.

 

[Pyan]

Vexillophile - someone who loves flags.

 

[Rjalex]

Petrichor: Refers to the pleasant, earthy smell that lingers in the air after a fresh rainfall. It is the unique aroma created when rainwater comes into contact with dry soil, releasing various organic compounds and essential oils. The word "petrichor" originates from Greek, where "petra" means "stone," and "ichor" refers to the fluid that flows through the veins of gods in Greek mythology. It was coined in the 1960s by researchers to describe this specific scent associated with rain.

 

[THX1138]

Abacinate: To blind by putting red-hot copper basin near the eyes.

 

[THX1138]

@Pyan Yep, .

Abacination is a form of corporal punishment or torture, in which the victim is blinded by infliction of intentional damage to the eyes. Damage can be in the form of removal of the eyes or eyelids, slitting the eyes, burning, excessive pressure, chemical burns, nerve injury, or brain damage. In one account, a corrosive chemical, typically slaked lime, was contained in a pair of cups with decaying bottoms, e.g., of paper. The cups were strapped in place over the prisoner's eyes as they were bound in a chair. The slowly draining corrosive agent from the cups eventually ate away at the eyeballs.

 

[THX1138]

Cabas: Woman’s work basket or handbag.

Something more pleasant.

 

[THX1138]

Tessellation: A regular pattern made up of flat shapes repeated and joined together without any gaps or overlaps.

 

[Lacedaemonian]

Let's see if we can push the forum's typographical capabilities, just a whimsy. This Japanese word is one that I collected while still working at HBJ …

つじぎり (rōmaji tsujigiri, literally crossroads killing)

noun
1. The killing of a chance passerby on the road at night, in order to test the sharpness of a sword or to improve one's skill.

There was once a member of Chronicles who had that word as his moniker.

 

[Pyan]

Floccinaucinihilipilification: the act of estimating something as being worthless

 

[Lacedaemonian]

Floccinaucinihilipilification: the act of estimating something as being worthless

Imagine seeing that casually used in a sentence on the page ha ha. It's brutal in every sense.