Words

Submitted by jwalling on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 23:43
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  1. Words and phrases I examined since 2009

  2. Short URL: http://lbt.me/words
  3. a sop to Cerberus - a bribe given to propitiate a potential source of danger or problems
  4. ad hominem - "argument against the man" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem
  5. aerotropolis - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerotropolis
  6. agnosia - a loss of ability to recognize objects, persons, sounds, shapes, or smells while the specific sense is not defective nor is there any significant memory loss.
  7. anhedonia - the absence of pleasure or the ability to experience it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anhedonia
  8. anodyne - (n) a medicine used to relieve pain; (adj) capable of relieving pain
  9. anodynia - freedom from pain
  10. apophenia - the spontaneous perception of connectedness and meaningfulness in random phenomena: seeing patterns and connections where none exist http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia
  11. argumentum ad personam - ad hominem abusive
  12. armature - a framework to support the clay or other material used in modelling
  13. autarky - the quality of being self-sufficient, usually the term is applied to political states or their economic systems
  14. autodidact - a person who has taught himself, which includes you and me for learning these words
  15. avulsion - the forcible tearing away of a body part by trauma or surgery
  16. barratry - the offense of frequently exciting or stirring up suits and quarrels between others
  17. battle of fine print diplomacy - example: Jewish-Arab debate
  18. bildungsroman - a novel whose principal subject is the moral, psychological, and intellectual development of a usually youthful main character
  19. boffin - (British slang) a scientist, especially one engaged in research
  20. bombolitin - a small amphiphilic peptide isolated from bumblebee venom http://goo.gl/fb/d563s
  21. bon mot - (French: 'good word') a clever and fitting remark; a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
  22. boulevardier - a visitor of a city boulevard (especially in Paris)
  23. bowdlerize - To remove material that is considered offensive or objectionable; Named after Thomas Bowdler (1754-1825), who published an expurgated edition of Shakespeare in 1818.
  24. busk - To play music or perform entertainment in a public place, usually while soliciting money.
  25. CAPTCHA--'Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart'
  26. carrageenan (food additive) -> poligeenan (carcinogen) - http://www.notmilk.com/carageenan.html
  27. catoms - claytronic atoms, reconfigurable nanoscale robots http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claytronics
  28. Cerberus - (Greek mythology) the three-headed dog guarding the entrance to Hades; son of Typhon
  29. cerise - rose-red color; cerise name comes from the French word meaning cherry https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerise
  30. ceteris paribus - all other things being equal (a theoretical condition that has not existed since before the Big Bang) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceteris_paribus
  31. chanson - a song, especially a French one
  32. chanteuse - a woman singer, especially a nightclub singer
  33. charrette - an intense period of design activity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charrette
  34. chirality - of or relating to the structural characteristic of a molecule that makes it impossible to superimpose it on its mirror image
  35. churlish - rude and boorish; ungracious; having a bad disposition; ill-natured; surly;
  36. chutzpah - (Yiddish) unbelievable gall; insolence; audacity
  37. cinema verite - a movie that shows ordinary people in actual activities without being controlled by a director
  38. circumlocution - the use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea
  39. cladistics - a system of biological taxonomy based on the quantitative analysis of comparative data and used to reconstruct cladograms summarizing the (assumed) phylogenetic relations and evolutionary history of groups of organisms
  40. cloche - a close-fitting woman's hat with a bell-like shape; a usually bell-shaped cover, used chiefly to protect plants from frost
  41. cognescenti - expert, see "ignoramescenti"
  42. coprolalia - involuntary swearing or the involuntary utterance of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks
  43. crepuscular rays - in atmospheric optics are rays of sunlight that appear to radiate from a single point in the sky
  44. crofter - one who has tenure and use of a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable with a crofter's dwelling thereon
  45. cruft - (crap+stuff+shit)/3 http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cruft
  46. Danke Shoen (song) - Danke schön = "Thanks pretty" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danke_Schoen
  47. defenestration - an act of throwing someone or something out of a window.
  48. deism - a religious and philosophical belief that a supreme god created the universe and generally reject divine intervention
  49. denouement - the final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot.
  50. deprecate - to mark as obsolete to warn against its use in the future so that it may be phased out.
  51. dioptric - relating to the refraction of light, especially by a lens; dioptric lenses are used in Fresnel lenses and camera viewfinders
  52. do-ocracy - http://www.communitywiki.org/en/DoOcracy http://www.aboutus.org/Do-ocracy
  53. doppelganger - someone that looks the exact same as another person, yet not a twin
  54. dysthymia - chronic depression http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysthymia
  55. ecdysiast - a performer who provides erotic entertainment by undressing to music
  56. echolalia - automatic repetition of vocalizations made by another person
  57. emend - make improvements or corrections to
  58. emendation - a correction resulting from critical editing, as in 'this word list could use some proper emendation'
  59. emolument - compensation received by virtue of holding an office or having employment
  60. entropic - a thermodynamic measure of the amount of energy unavailable for useful work in a system undergoing change
  61. epicenter - the point of the earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake
  62. erotomania - (episode of Doc Martin)
  63. ersatz - 'substituting for, and typically inferior in quality to', e.g. 'chicory is ersatz coffee'
  64. eschatology - the branch of theology that is concerned with such final things as death and Last Judgment; Heaven and Hell; the ultimate destiny of humankind
  65. escheat - a reversion to the state (as the ultimate owner of property) in the absence of legal heirs
  66. expiation - compensation for a wrong; the act of atoning for sin or wrongdoing (especially appeasing a deity)
  67. faience - glazed earthenware decorated with opaque colors
  68. faux-verite - film technique of immitating cinema verite as in "The Office"
  69. flummox - to puzzle or confuse (origin unknown)
  70. freetard - one who firmly believes in not paying for e.g. software, films, music. http://tinyurl.com/ku2hqj
  71. frustum - a truncated cone or pyramid
  72. gamine - a girl or woman of impish appeal
  73. ghrelin - a gastrointestinal hormone produced by epithelial cells lining the fundus of the stomach; appears to be a stimulant for appetite and feeding
  74. gilly - effed up - http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Gilly
  75. Gitchi gitchi ya ya ta ta - Lady Marmalade offering her services http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/semi-pro/ladymarmalade.htm
  76. gnosis - intuitive knowledge of spiritual truths; said to have been possessed by ancient Gnostics
  77. Gropecunt Lane - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gropecunt_Lane
  78. hackneyed and trite - 88-91% of spoken and written language
  79. haecceity - (see quiddity) literally, this-ness; a scholastic term to express individuality or singleness as this book; the essence that makes something the kind of thing it is and makes it different from any other
  80. haute bourgeoisie - upper middle class
  81. hominids - include humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and their extinct ancestors
  82. hominins - include humans, chimpanzees, bonobos and their extinct ancestors
  83. Humber - British automobile marque http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humber_(car)
  84. hybristophilia - a paraphilia involving being sexually aroused or attracted to people who have committed an outrage or a gruesome crime. In popular culture, this phenomenon is also known as the Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome.
  85. hypergolic - Of or relating to a rocket propellant consisting of fuel and an oxidizer that ignite spontaneously on contact.
  86. hypertufa - an artificial stone made from various aggregates bonded together using Portland cement.
  87. hypobole - (rhet.) a figure in which several things are mentioned that seem to make against the argument, or in favor of the opposite side, each of them being refuted in order
  88. ignoramescenti - a portmanteau of the words 'ignoramus' and 'cognescenti'; anyone that calls themselves a "Creation Scientist" qualifies
  89. in medias res - a literary technique where the narrative starts in the middle of the story
  90. indefatigable - showing sustained enthusiastic action with unflagging vitality
  91. indubitable - too obvious to be doubted; unquestionable
  92. intestate - having made no legally valid will before death or not disposed of by a legal will; "he died intestate"; "intestate property"
  93. jactitation - speaking of yourself in superlatives; (law) a false boast that can harm others, especially a false claim to be married to someone; (pathology) extremely restless tossing and twitching usually by a person with a severe illness
  94. je ne sais quoi - a quality or attribute that is difficult to describe or express, from French literally "I know not what"
  95. kerfuffle - a noisy and disorderly incident (Scots curfuffle, carfuffle)
  96. lachrymose - given to weeping; tearful; mournful; sad
  97. lagniappe - a small gift presented by a storeowner to a customer with the customer's purchase; an extra or unexpected gift or benefit
  98. laicize - to free from ecclesiastical control; give over to laypeople.
  99. leitmotif - a recurring musical theme, often used metaphorically http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitmotif
  100. Libran - one who is born under the sign of Libra
  101. lightening - reducing a load or making a lighter color
  102. lightning - a flash of light in the sky caused by an electrical discharge
  103. louche (adj) - of questionable taste, decency, or morality; not reputable; as, a louche nightclub; a louche painting
  104. mad cash-cow disease - e.g. newspapers coasting to oblivion
  105. margrave - a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom.
  106. marmite - (British) a sticky, dark brown paste with a distinctive, powerful flavour made from yeast extract, a by-product of beer brewing
  107. maroon - a term of derision often uttered by Bugs Bunny when referring to an interaction with a dopey adversary.
  108. Marquess of Queensberry rules - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquess_of_Queensberry_rules - 1867 boxing rules - replaced London Prize Ring rules (1838, revised 1853), which replaced Boughton Rules (1743)
  109. mauve - (rhymes with "grove"; from the French form of Malva "mallow") is a pale lavender - lilac color, one of many in the range of purples
  110. McGurk effect - a perceptual phenomenon which demonstrates an interaction between hearing and vision in speech perception http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-lN8vWm3m0&feature=related
  111. memristor - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memristor http://spectrum.ieee.org/dec08/7024
  112. merckin - (slang) a wig made of pubic hair
  113. milquetoast - one who has a meek, timid, unassertive nature
  114. mimesis / diegesis - show and tell / drama and epos
  115. murmuration - a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
  116. Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism - chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo http://www.nst.org/
  117. nobility - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_and_noble_ranks
  118. nullipara - (adj nulliparous) a woman who has never given birth
  119. numbskullery - stupid acts, used by Mr. Burns in The Simpsons
  120. obstreperous - noisily and stubbornly defiant
  121. oeuvre - a work of art; the sum of the lifework of an artist, writer, or composer.
  122. oneiric - of or relating to or suggestive of dreams; Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot)
  123. otoacoustic emission (OAE) - a sound which is generated from within the inner ear
  124. palate - roof of mouth
  125. palette - holds paint colors
  126. palilalia - repetition or echoing of one's own spoken words
  127. pallet - holds stuff; use with a forklift
  128. paraphilia - abnormal sexual activity, see Hybristophilia
  129. Paraquat - the trade name for one of the most widely used herbicides in the world.
  130. pavane - a slow, stately court dance of the 16th and 17th centuries, usually in duple meter, A piece of music for this dance.
  131. perspicuity - clearness and lucidity, clarity as a consequence of being perspicuous
  132. perspicuous - clearly expressed or presented; easy to understand
  133. petite bourgeoisie - lower middle class; Marx's working class
  134. philtrum - the groove on your top lip that lies just beneath your nose
  135. plinth - an architectural support or base (as for a column or statue); Ex: When destroying idols, save the plinths, they may come in handy.
  136. plutocrat - someone who exercises power by virtue of wealth; plutocracy - a wealthy class that controls a government
  137. pnictide - any binary compound of a pnictogen http://tinyurl.com/pnictide
  138. pnictogen - any element from group 15 of the periodic table; nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony and bismuth
  139. portmanteau - a new word formed by joining two others and combining their meanings
  140. prima facie - Latin expression meaning on its first appearance, or at first sight
  141. prodrome - an early symptom indicating the onset of an attack or a disease
  142. propitiation - the act of placating and overcoming distrust and animosity
  143. pullulate - (of animals) to breed rapidly or abundantly; teem; swarm - (of plants) to sprout, bud, or germinate
  144. punctilious - attentive to detail; paying scrupulous attention to correctness in etiquette
  145. punschrulle - (Swedish) small cylindrical pastry covered with green marzipan with the ends dipped in chocolate, and inside a mix of crushed cookies, butter, and cacao, flavoured with punsch liqueur
  146. qualia, singular 'quale' - a term used in philosophy to describe subjective conscious experiences, like seeing the color red http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualia
  147. quantum levitation - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws6AAhTw7RA
  148. quiddity - (see haecceity) essence; irrelevant distinction; more: http://www.dict.org/bin/Dict?Form=Dict2&Database=*&Query=quiddity
  149. quotidian - found in the ordinary course of events; recurring daily; commonplace
  150. rapporteur - a recorder appointed by a committee to prepare reports of the meetings
  151. rebus - an allusional device that uses pictures to represent words or parts of words; also refers to the use of a pictogram to represent a syllabic sound
  152. rebus principle - using existing symbols, such as pictograms, purely for their sounds regardless of their meaning, to represent new words
  153. restive - uneasily impatient under restriction, opposition, criticism, or delay
  154. rhabdomyolysis - the rapid breakdown (lysis) of skeletal muscle (rhabdomyo) due to injury to muscle tissue
  155. riposte - a retaliatory action, maneuver, or retort
  156. risible - arousing or provoking laughter
  157. rusticate - to go to, send to or live in the country; suspend from college; give (stone) a rustic look
  158. sagacious - having or showing keen discernment, sound judgment, and farsightedness
  159. sarcastic - expressing or expressive of ridicule that wounds
  160. sardonic - disdainfully or ironically humorous; scornful and mocking
  161. sartorial - Of or relating to a tailor, tailoring, or tailored clothing
  162. schadenfreude - pleasuring in other's failures
  163. secateurs - small pruning shears with a spring that holds the handles open and a single blade that closes against a flat surface
  164. seven dirty words - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_dirty_words http://www.booshmagazine.com/articles/cat/14/item/65
  165. shibboleth - a favorite saying of a sect or political group
  166. simulacrum (pl. simulacra) - a likeness; a semblance; a mock appearance; a sham; -- now usually in a derogatory sense.
  167. skel - low-life - http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=skel
  168. skiffle - a type of folk music with jazz, blues and country influences
  169. skullduggery - verbal misrepresentation intended to take advantage of you in some way
  170. snark - the use of meanness, sarcasm, and schadenfreude as a cheap way of feeling like a smug member of your favorite tribe while excluding others from the party.
  171. solipsism - the theory that the self is the only thing that can be known and verified
  172. soupcon - a slight but appreciable amount; "this dish could use a touch of garlic"
  173. spandrel - an approximately triangular surface area between two adjacent arches and the horizontal plane above them
  174. spelter - zinc, especially in the form of ingots, slabs, or plates
  175. Spiegeltent - (German for "Mirror Tent") is a large travelling tent, constructed in wood and canvas and decorated with mirrors and stained glass, intended as an entertainment venue
  176. stroppy - (NZ, UK, Australian, slang) ornery, fractious, belligerent, or obstreperous, and hence difficult to deal with
  177. sua sponte - Latin for "of one's own accord," is a legal term that means to act spontaneously without prompting from another party
  178. suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) - regulates circadian rhythm
  179. Sybaris - ancient Greek colony in south Italy, notable for the luxury of its inhabitants
  180. sybarite - a person devoted to pleasure and luxury, see voluptuary
  181. synaesthesia - the subjective sensation of a sense other than the one being stimulated
  182. synecdoche - substituting a more inclusive term for a less inclusive one or vice versa, as in 'He looked at a room full of faces'
  183. synesthete - person who experiences synesthesia
  184. taramasalata - a Greek dip or paste of smoked carp roe combined with milk, bread crumbs, lemon juice, and olive oil
  185. tendentious - marked by a strong implicit point of view; partisan
  186. tessellation - the careful juxtaposition of shapes in a pattern; "a tessellation of hexagons"
  187. testate - a person who makes a will; having made a legally valid will before death
  188. theobromine poisoning - chocolate poisoning in dogs
  189. toponomy - the study of place names
  190. trochee - a metrical unit with stressed-unstressed syllables http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trochee | http://xkcd.com/856/
  191. troll - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet) http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/What_is_a_troll%3F http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/Troll
  192. trope - language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense; familiar plot points (see Lagniappe below)
  193. usufruct - the legal right to use or profit from another's property
  194. VCFS - 22q11.2 deletion syndrome - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22q11.2_deletion_syndrome
  195. vertiginous - a: characterized by or suffering from vertigo or dizziness b: inclined to frequent and often pointless change : inconstant
  196. voluptuary - one whose life is devoted to sensual appetites; a sensualist, a pleasure-seeker
  197. Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir? - (French) Would you sleep with me, tonight?
  198. vuvuzela - plastic horn, about 2 ft long, which produces a loud monotone note
  199. wheelhouse - area of expertise, a particular skill; individual's swinging range
  200. wisenheimer - someone who makes smart aleck, sarcastic comments
  201. Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome - http://www.pia.org.uk/publications/Wiscott-AldrichBooklet.htm
  202. zeugma - use of a word to govern two or more words though appropriate to only one, as in 'Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave'

  203. Lagniappe:

  204. Ballet: http://www.theatredance.com/balletterm1.html
  205. British slang lookup: http://www.effingpot.com/slang.shtml http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/
  206. British sounding words: ballixed beastly bloody brilliant dandy dodgy dreadful fancy(verb) gorgeous impertinent jolly love lovely marvelous naughty_bits posh proper rubbish shocking splendid swimmingly utterly
  207. Fencing glossary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_fencing
  208. Hipster: http://www.theatredance.com/hipster.html
  209. Music: http://www.theatredance.com/musicterm1.html
  210. The Free Dictionary (provides audio pronunciations): http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
  211. TV, movie, and game tropes: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage
  212. Virtues: http://www.wisdomcommons.org/virtues
  213. Word titillation with Marina Orlova: http://www.hotforwords.com/
Author Comments: 

29-Apr-2012 added 18 words
14-Feb-2012 added 08 words
25-Nov-2011 added 08 words
28-Oct-2011 added 06 words
10-Sep-2011 added 21 words
02-May-2011 added 10 words
24-Dec-2010 added 12 words
02-Aug-2010 added 10 words
04-Jun-2010 added 06 words
19-Mar-2010 added Lagniappe with 2 bullets plus 6 new words
27-Dec-2009 added 03 words