Word Journal

A journal of interesting and infrequently encountered words. Feel free to submit your own words.

[wordjournal]

tendentious

adjective • / tɛnˈdɛnʃəs / • having a tendency, written or spoken, with a partisan, biased or prejudiced purpose, especially a controversial one; implicitly or explicitly slanted; biased

From tendency + -ious, after the German tendenziös or tendentiös (obsolete), derived from Tendenz "tendency" + -iös

[wordjournal]

saxicolous

adjective • \ sak-ˈsi-kə-ləs \ • inhabiting or growing among rocks

From Latin saxum "stone, rock" and -cola "inhabitor, tiller, worshipper"

There are a number of similar words ending in -colous that have the same general meaning. For example, sanguicolous, "something that lives in blood", or sphagnicolous, which has the remarkably specific definition "something that grows in/inhabits moss of the genus Sphagnum". Humans and the animals we live alongside, willingly or not, are generally urbicolous. It is left to the reader to determine what that could possibly mean.

[wordjournal]

ablaut

/ˈɑbˌlaʊt/, /ˈɑpˌlaʊt/, /ˈæbˌlaʊt/ (all US)

noun • the substitution of one root vowel for another, thus indicating a corresponding modification of use or meaning - for example, get and got, sing and song - distinct from the phonetic influence of a succeeding vowel

verb • 1) to undergo a change of vowel (intransitive); 2) to cause to change a vowel (transitive)

From German Ablaut “sound gradation”, which itself is from ab “down, off” + Laut “sound”

For more information on this, Wikipedia has a page on sound changes, not just letters, within words that indicate grammatical information - this topic is called apophony.

[wordjournal]

scissiparity

noun • /ˌsɪsɪˈparɪti/ • reproduction by fission (biology)

From the Latin past participle of the verb scindere “to split”, which is scissus "split", and the verb parere “to bring forth”

[wordjournal]

expropriate

verb • to deprive a person of their private property for public use.

From Latin expropriātus, derived from expropriāre "to separate from one's own", from ex- "from" + propriāre "to make one's own".

[wordjournal]

galactagogue

noun • a substance that induces lactation

From Ancient Greek γάλακτος (galaktos, genitive of γάλα (gala, “milk”)) + ἀγωγός (agōgos, “guide”).

[wordjournal]

aphasia

noun • /əˈfeɪzɪə/ • a partial or total loss of language skills due to brain damage

From Attic Greek ἀφασία (aphasia), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + φάσις (phasis, “speech”)

[wordjournal]

proprioception

noun • /ˌpɹəʊ.pɹi.əʊˈsɛp.ʃən/ (UK), /ˌpɹoʊ.pɹi.oʊˈsɛp.ʃən/ (US) • the sense of the position of parts of the body, relative to other neighbouring parts of the body

From Latin proprius “one’s own” + -ception (from perception)

[ragbag]

folie à deux

[wordjournal]

noun • in psychiatry, a form of psychosis in which two people who are intimately associated come to share the same delusions.

also:

fait accompli・noun・something that has been done and cannot be reversed

flânerie・noun・leisurely strolling without a fixed destination

frisson・noun・a sudden, small quiver of fear or emotional excitement; a thrill.

[wordjournal]

bibliotaph

noun • one who buries books by keeping them under lock and key.

[ragbag]

fisselig

[wordjournal]

adjective • rhymes with "thistle fish" • flustered to the point of incompetence

[ragbag]

freols

[wordjournal]

noun • a time of freedom; a day free from work

[ragbag]

feax-fang

[wordjournal]

noun • a taking hold by the hair

[ragbag]

kassiber

[wordjournal]

noun • a letter smuggled out of jail, a secret coded message.

this german loanword is derived from the yiddish word kessaw meaning “written.”

[ragbag]

[wordjournal]

aread (verb) • to divine the meaning of obscure words, interpret a dream, or solve a riddle or enigma.

serendipitist (noun) • a person with an aptitude for making lucky discoveries by accident.

ululate (verb) • to howl or wail; to lament loudly.

these are some of the unusual words that make a cameo in the first chapter of a novel-length book that i wrote.

[ragbag]

[wordjournal]

over at the ragbag (a component of the internet) i recently wrapped up my word summer series. i have cross-posted a few of these here throughout the summer but because of trust issues, i have not posted all of them...until...now...so...here...you...go...

crookle · to coo as a pigeon

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis · a factitious word alleged to mean ‘a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust’ but ocurring chiefly as an instance of a very long word

gossipry · a body of gossips

pulvil · perfumed powder for powdering the wig

enatation · an escape by swimming

lakke · one hundred thousand items, especially coins

ben trovato · of a story: appropriate even if untrue

gongoozler · a person who stares at anything for a long time

belgard · a kind or loving look

palpebrous · having large eyebrows

tyromancy · divination by means of cheese

polydoggery · the keeping of a number of dogs

[ragbag]

smogger

[wordjournal]

noun • the road-sign language of hobos

the pictographic language has a rich history which is said to have been introduced into england in the time of henry viii. here is a great resource for many of these long-lost signs.